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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
im super biased bcz i have loved this book sicne like 4th grade. but i totally forgot all of it! it was very good hearing it and tbh i could prolly read it again also!
Set during the Great Depression, Moon Over Manifest, presents a story of a girl who finds the path to love, while paving the way for the rest of the town of Manifest. Abilene's father sent her to live with a good friend from his home town, Manifest, Kansas. Her father believes that a young lady should not grow up riding the rails and thinks that she would be better suited to grow up in a stable environment. Abilene feels lost without her father and doesn't understand why she can't stay with him. She is determined that she is just visiting Manifest, but soon after finding a box of seemingly random keepsakes she becomes obsessed with finding the meaning behind them. The townsfolk, and more specifically, Miss Sadie lead Abilene to the story of the keepsakes and the history of Manifest. This story is truly about redemption and second chances.
It is a beautiful story within a story (both of which are compelling). The characters are real and fun. I wish I could visit Manifest.
It is a beautiful story within a story (both of which are compelling). The characters are real and fun. I wish I could visit Manifest.
Audio version: Jenna Lamia does a perfect job narrating Abilene's story of her time in Manifest. The story has a story within a story, a little mystery in a box, a diviner, a speakeasy/church, and lots of quirky (maybe a tad stereotypical) characters. It's a delightful listen, if not particularly profound. It's like spending a day in childhood memories. Abilene says that her father's stories were "like sucking on butterscotch. Smooth and sweet." This one from Clare Vanderpool is just like that. I'll listen to it again in the future, because I haven't been transported to another world like I was with this book in a very long time.
This book is so wonderful! An engaging story for all ages with humor, warmth, history and even a bit of mystery.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Very cute, quick read. There was a very unexpected twist at the end (well really two twists, but one of them was not that unexpected..) that nearly broke my heart and completely changed my view of one of the characters.
I had a hard time understanding the larger point of this story. I believe it had a point but for some reason I missed it.
It was a good book overall. The main character discovers herself as we uncover the mysteries of Manifest’s past. I like the historical aspect. But I feel there are far too many storylines going on at the same time. It was too busy!
Hm. This book won a Newbery. I don't know why. I found the story so dull. I will do some research and see if I change my mind.
I was hoping for a lot from this book. The idea seems right up my alley: it's historical fiction, and even more than that, the narrator is on her own journey into the past. I just love that whole the-past-enriches-the-present theme. And besides, this is a Newbery book!
Well, as much as I did like the last hundred pages or so (lots of loose ends tied in up in surprising ways), the first two-thirds of the book was just s-l-o-w. The narrator Abilene felt really two-dimensional to me, thinking lots of things that I couldn't imagine a twelve-year-old thinking. And what's with her instant sidekicks, Lettie and Ruthann? Did they just have nothing going on until Abilene moved into town and set them loose on a twenty-five-year-old mystery?
Besides the unbelievable-character thing, I had a hard time of keeping track of all that was in the story. There were two generations' worth of townsfolk to remember, and they were dealing with the Depression, World War I, Prohibition, orphan trains, the Ku Klux Klan, Ellis Island, life in a mining town, and the Spanish Influenza. Really.
And one more issue I had (and still have, actually): why is like time suspended between 1918 and 1937? It's like nothing happened in between.
But putting all these grievances aside, I'll reiterate that the ending *was* really quite good. I really do like the whole past-enriching-the-present theme, not to mention the ideas of home and friendship and love that helped tie it all together. I might even up the star-rating in a couple of days as I think on this some more.
Well, as much as I did like the last hundred pages or so (lots of loose ends tied in up in surprising ways), the first two-thirds of the book was just s-l-o-w. The narrator Abilene felt really two-dimensional to me, thinking lots of things that I couldn't imagine a twelve-year-old thinking. And what's with her instant sidekicks, Lettie and Ruthann? Did they just have nothing going on until Abilene moved into town and set them loose on a twenty-five-year-old mystery?
Besides the unbelievable-character thing, I had a hard time of keeping track of all that was in the story. There were two generations' worth of townsfolk to remember, and they were dealing with the Depression, World War I, Prohibition, orphan trains, the Ku Klux Klan, Ellis Island, life in a mining town, and the Spanish Influenza. Really.
And one more issue I had (and still have, actually): why is like time suspended between 1918 and 1937? It's like nothing happened in between.
But putting all these grievances aside, I'll reiterate that the ending *was* really quite good. I really do like the whole past-enriching-the-present theme, not to mention the ideas of home and friendship and love that helped tie it all together. I might even up the star-rating in a couple of days as I think on this some more.