Clare Vanderpool

Jumping off a train in Kansas to learn more about her father's exciting past, Abilene Tucker is initially disappointed by the run-down Depression town she encounters before finding a hidden box of mementos and letters that mention a spy who played an important role in the town's secret history.

Moon Over Manifest

Jessica Ford

What a sweet YA book. The story is funny and heartbreaking at the same time. The characters are all lovable, even those not on the up and up. I love the way the story was told within a story. Great descriptions. I could picture all of the characters and Manifest of 1918. Overall, a great book.

Callie Anna

This must be one of my favorite books that I've read this year. The POV changes often, but it simple to follow. I loved the setting and characters! The writing style was stunning. I highlighted all over the place, and will be buying a copy of this novel very soon. It is arguably my favorite Newbery, which is saying a darn lot. Read it now, though it'll make you tear up.

Katie Day

** spoiler alert **
           A Newberry? Really? Is this one I'm missing, or is it just too American for me? Yes, another historical fiction warm-hearted orphan story illuminating small-town Midwest America (Kansas) in 1918 and in 1936. It covers WWI, the Depression and hobos, immigrants, racism, the Klu Klux Klan, and small-town politics..... Told via first-person narrative in 1936, flashback stories to 1918, 1918 newspaper clippings, and letters from 1918. A town comes together in a far-fetched plot to foul the ugly mine owners. (Reminds me of Stop the Train by McCaughrean). I just can't see my students in Singapore getting a grip on it.

Jeni Enjaian

I enjoyed the premise of this book but a few pages into the book it started to feel like so many other books of this genre. Nothing stood out from the characters, of which most lacked significant development or development of any kind, to the split narrative stream, to the revelation of answers to the protagonist's pressing questions posed throughout the start of the book.
I read this book quickly but cannot say that I enjoyed it. Despite the awards it has won, I do not think that this book stands out from its compatriots in the genre.

Moon Over Manifest

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