A review by bookgirl4ever
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

5.0

Abilene and her father Gideon are drifters during World War 1 and the Great Depression. After Abilene suffers a bad injury her father is shook up and sends her to live in Manifest, Kansas with his "preacher" friend Shady. Gideon starts telling her stories about Manifest, but once there, Abilene can't find any hint that Gideon had ever lived there. She feels abandoned. Abilene finds a mysterious cigar box under her bedroom floorboard full of letters from a soldier named Ned to a boy named Jinx and some miscellaneous trinkets. One letter makes reference to a spy called the Rattler. Abilene and her friends try to solve the mystery of the Rattler. Meanwhile, Abilene starts doing odd jobs for the local, mysterious diviner and fortune teller, Miss Sadie who tells Abilene the story of Ned and Jinx.

I loved this Newbery Award winner and hope others pick it up to enjoy it. I enjoyed the flashback stories, the mystery, and young Abilene's journey to figure out her roots in a town where very few residents have roots.

Grades 5-7.