Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool captures a young Abliene persistence of figuring out the truth about her father’s past and experiences. Abliene’s life she’s known has always be “a life on the go” because her father job dealt with working on the railroad. Because the story takes place in the Great Depression, the job market was not stable, so the two had to travel from place to place. When Abliene injured herself while on the road, her father decided to have Abliene stay in Manifest, Kansas.

As Abliene journeys into the past and becomes intrigue with a cigarbox of artifacts, she ventures into discovering who the items belong to. She develops a fond relationship with Miss Sadie and her hypnotic tales of two young boys named Ned and Jinx. Abliene is determined to make connections between her father’s impressionable memories of Manifest, and why the town made a lasting impression on her father.

Clare Vanderpool depicts her passion for historical fiction, and beautifully writes Abliene’s story and curiosity as readers fall in love with the character’s development and unraveling of secrets in Manifest. This books is a must have in the classroom, and would be great as an anchor book for middle school students. An outstanding book that truly deserves a “5.”  http://www.clarevanderpool.com/