Moon Over Manifest

 I finally got my hands on the 2001 Newbery Award Winner – The Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool.  The story is set during the Great Depression in a small town called Manifest, Missouri.  It is here that the reader meets Abilene, a 12-year-old girl searching for herself.

Interwoven throughout Abilene’s story is the story of the town of Manifest in 1918, during which time coal-mining was king and the immigrants who moved to Manifest knew it.  With the help of two new friends, Abilene begins to learn the history of the town and as the reader finds out – her own history as well.

I felt this story was very well-written and it is not often that a new author receives such high acclaim, but I also felt the story was a little long in some places and that the story had so many directions that it was hard to keep track of all the characters, subplots, and I also felt that the target audience may not understand all of the historical references.  Although the story is not action-packed, I believe the strength of the characters may be exactly what some readers are looking to find.

Title: Moon Over Manifest
Author: Clare Vanderpool
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Page Number: 368 pgs.