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shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
This is the latest Newbery Award Winner and it's wonderful!! It surely deserved the award. The story merges back and forth between 1918 and 1936 in a small mining town in Kansas populated with mostly immigrant families. It's a beautiful story told with humor, depth and love. In the author's note at the end, Vanderpool does a great job telling her young (and not so young) readers which parts of the story are based on 'fact' and which on imagination.
cindyjac's review against another edition
5.0
This was a richly layered book; it felt a little slow at first. (I put it down and picked it back up after a month.) Once I let myself slip into the story of Jinx, Abeline, and the town of Manifest I was hooked. The story weaves a connection between the years 1917/18 and 1936. Abeline has been sent by her father to live in Manifest and she doesn't understand, feeling abandoned. Gradually she learns the towns story and begins to put together the mystery of her father's life. The characters, setting, and "mystery" are well developed and it begins to feel like a place you have lived with people you care about.
mschrock8's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this little mystery we read for Zeta Reads. I think it is very open to a sequel.
esshgee's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book and was frustrated when life got in the way of my reading it. I liked the characters, the change in time periods and the historical information woven through the stories
akublik's review against another edition
3.0
The meandering nature of this story suited the subject matter, and the narrator's storytelling style. Enjoyed it.
katie_chandler's review against another edition
4.0
A beautifully woven story. I cried. But I struggled to get into Manifest from the beginning. Maybe this is a pattern for me lately, or I've gotten used to having an early engaging plot. Either way, I wasn't motivated to read until more than halfway through the book.
michellehenriereads's review against another edition
5.0
I am thrilled with Clare Vanderpool and amazed that this is a first published novel! I highly recommend it as the people are interesting, the situation is nicely portrayed and it is creative.
Hope is a theme throughout the novel. The immigrants coming to America had hope for a better future. The young men heading off to war had hope of being heroes. The people left behind hoped their loved ones would come home. Jinx hoped to find a home. Shady hoped to be a better man. Miss Sadie hoped to be heard. Gideon hoped for his daughter's well-being. The town of Manifest was seeking for a hope to pull themselves out of the Depression. Abilene hoped for Gideon to return, and hope for a place to belong.
I loved how Vanderpool introduces the hodge podge of cultures in Manifest through the immigrants' native dishes and sporting games. It is also interesting to consider the plight of the immigrants' working conditions in 1936 compared to the conditions of today's immigrants. Aren't immigrants still seeking hope for a better future? In fact, isn't the American Dream truly a dream of ...
To read the full review go to ...http://talesuntangled.wordpress.com
Hope is a theme throughout the novel. The immigrants coming to America had hope for a better future. The young men heading off to war had hope of being heroes. The people left behind hoped their loved ones would come home. Jinx hoped to find a home. Shady hoped to be a better man. Miss Sadie hoped to be heard. Gideon hoped for his daughter's well-being. The town of Manifest was seeking for a hope to pull themselves out of the Depression. Abilene hoped for Gideon to return, and hope for a place to belong.
I loved how Vanderpool introduces the hodge podge of cultures in Manifest through the immigrants' native dishes and sporting games. It is also interesting to consider the plight of the immigrants' working conditions in 1936 compared to the conditions of today's immigrants. Aren't immigrants still seeking hope for a better future? In fact, isn't the American Dream truly a dream of ...
To read the full review go to ...http://talesuntangled.wordpress.com
kristenremenar's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the voice and I like the author's style, but there was a lot going on in this story. Found myself flipping back to the list of characters in the front of the book too often.