MMGM: Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

Date Published: October 12th 2010
ISBN: 0385907508
Genre: Historical Fiction, middle grade
Themes: Community, home, family, friends, loss
Narrators: Jenna Lamia, Cassandra Campbell, Kirby Heyborne
Run Time: 9 hrs and 31 minutes
Producer: Listening Library
About The Book:  The movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby. I closed my eyes to the dusty countryside and imagined the sign I’d seen only in Gideon’s stories:Manifest—A Town with a rich past and a bright future.

Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was.

Having heard stories about Manifest, Abilene is disappointed to find that it’s just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos, including some old letters that mention a spy known as the Rattler. These mysterious letters send Abilene and her new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, on an honest-to-goodness spy hunt, even though they are warned to “Leave Well Enough Alone.”

Abilene throws all caution aside when she heads down the mysterious Path to Perdition to pay a debt to the reclusive Miss Sadie, a diviner who only tells stories from the past. It seems that Manifest’s history is full of colorful and shadowy characters—and long-held secrets. The more Abilene hears, the more determined she is to learn just what role her father played in that history. And as Manifest’s secrets are laid bare one by one, Abilene begins to weave her own story into the fabric of the town.

First Line: The movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby.

Great Quote: “If there is such a thing as a universal--and I wasn't ready to throw all of mine out the window--it's that there is power in a story. And if someone pays you such a kindness as to make up a tale so you'll enjoy a gingersnap, you go along with that story and enjoy every last bite.”

What Others Are Saying: “History and fiction marry beautifully in this lively debut novel. It's as if readers jump off the train in Manifest, KS, in 1936 with Abilene Tucker, 12, the feisty, likable, and perceptive narrator. She is there to live with Pastor Shady Howard, her father's friend, while her father works on the railroad back in Iowa. An equally important story set during World War I is artfully intertwined.”—School Journal

“The absolute necessity of story as a way to redemption and healing past wounds is at the heart of this beautiful debut, and readers will cherish every word up to the heartbreaking yet hopeful and deeply gratifying ending.” —Starred Kirkus Review

Other Blogger Reviews:
Bunbury In The Stacks
Dee's Book Blog
Book Cubs

My Analysis:
1.POV: Abilene, stories told by Ms. Sadie, letters, newspaper articles.
2. 368 pages
3. The Hook: Abilene is sent on a train by herself by her father.
4. Inciting event: Abilene find the cigar box.
5. Plot and Pace: Several plot lines twist and wind against each other. The pace is lively.
6. Voice: Abilene's voice is incredible accurate for the age and the time.

What I Thought: Abilene immediately whisked me away and I was immersed into her world. I love her outlook, her personality and the way she deals with her situation. I'm incredibly impressed with Vanderpool's ability to to pull all these independent stories into a cohesive project that spans many years. Pretty incredible debut novel and deserving of the Newbery Award Medal. 

About The Author: 

Clare Vanderpool

Website

Who: Clare Vanderpool lives in Wichita, Kansas, about four blocks from where she grew up, in an old neighborhood called College Hill. She grew up reading many wonderful books, with favorites including Harold and the Purple Crayon, Anne of Green Gables, and Island of the Blue Dolphins. She has a college degree in English and Elementary Education, but says that her "best education has come from reading, listening to family stories, looking out the car window on road trips, pretending to be pirates with my brother, and just plain imagining." —Book Browse

How: Want to hear more about how Vanderpool created her book? Check out this audio where she shares some backstory.

Vanderpool's newest book just came out? Have any of you picked it up yet??
Don't miss the other great MMGM reviews, you can find links in my sidebar!

Next Week:Bonyo, Bonyo by Vanita Oelschlager

MMGM: Gingersnap by Patricia Reilly Giff

Date Published: January 8, 2013

ISBN: 0375938915

Genre: Historical Fiction
Themes: Family, home, friendship, food, wartime  

About The Book: It's 1944, W.W. II is raging. Jayna's big brother Rob is her only family. When Rob is called to duty on a destroyer, Jayna is left in their small town in upstate New York with their cranky landlady. But right before he leaves, Rob tells Jayna a secret: they may have a grandmother in Brooklyn. Rob found a little blue recipe book with her name and an address for a bakery. When Jayna learns that Rob is missing in action, she's devastated. Along with her turtle Theresa, the recipe book, and an encouraging, ghostly voice as her guide, Jayna sets out for Brooklyn in hopes of finding the family she so desperately needs.
First Line: Just a couple of dreams?

One Great Line: You can't help but love the simple recipes that Jayna shares throughout the book. Here's my favorite. 

   

What Others Are Saying: "Unfortunately, the cover image of a girl with a suitcase walking by brownstone houses won't entice readers, though the story itself is riveting. While the outcome is foreseeable, Jayna's journey is a memorable one." —Kirkus Starred Reviews

"Not full of difficult vocabulary, the book is a gem of character development. Perfect to use when teaching third through fifth graders about character traits. All the characters in the book have unique characters traits that are created and solidified during the course of the book.
This would be a wonderful read aloud or a great book for small group discussion. Great choice for a classroom teacher or a young book group." —The Examiner

Some Other Bloggers Weigh In:

Jen Robinson's Book Page

The Children's War
Book Mama

My Analysis:
1. POV is consistently first person through Jayna's perspective and
2. 160 pages
3. The Hook: Giff uses an interesting introduction labeled "Afterward" where Jayna actually tempts the reader: "If you don't believe in ghosts or voices that c ome out of almost nowhere, there's probably no sense in reading what I have to say." What middle grader could resist some reverse psychology?
4. Inciting event: Rob leaves to fight in the war.
5. Plot and Pace: The character driven plot had several twists and lots of tension on every page.
6. Voice: It was easy to submerge myself into Jayna's world because her voice was believable and very middle grade.

What I Thought Overall: I really enjoyed Jayna's journey to find home. The universal themes of family and self discovery that led her and then the mysterious ghost all kept me reading. Add to that the historical setting, Brooklyn, the food and the relationships together wrapped me in a cozy blanket during this quick read. Amazing how much happened in only 160 short pages.  

About The Author: 
     Patricia Reilly Giff
Website
Blog (Hasn't been updated since 6/11)
Interview

Who: "In Brooklyn, there's a garden so small I could almost put my arms around it: Emily's garden. I stop to look at it whenever I go back. I walk from there along the streets my parents and grandparents must have walked when they were young. I keep looking up because in front of me is the most beautiful bridge in the world.

"Ah, that Brooklyn Bridge. It's so delicate, so lovely. It's hard to believe that its hundredth birthday was a long time ago. It's hard to believe that men scrambled deep under the East River in caissons to begin that bridge, that they hung in chairs high overhead to finish it.

"I wrote Water Street because I love Brooklyn and that bridge, and because a woman named Emily finished the bridge during a time when women stayed home. But more, I wrote it because the Mallon family is alive to me: Nory and Sean, Bird, and Thomas Neary, Bird's friend. The love they have for each other is like the love I find every day in my own family. And they remind me of what it must have been like to live in Brooklyn in those long ago days when the bridge was being built.

"I hope you enjoy the story of these people. Maybe you'll go to Brooklyn as I do, and see Emily's garden and that beautiful bridge." —Patricia Reilly Giff

"I want the children to bubble up with laughter, or to cry over my books. I want to picture them under a cherry tree or at the library with my book in their hands. But more, I want to see them reading in the classroom. I want to see children in solitude at their desks, reading, absorbing, lost in a book."—Giff

If you haven't read any of Giff's other books here's a great list to check out. Talk about a prolific writer! She's received multiple honors for several of her books: The Newbery Honor for Pictures of Hollis Woods and Lily's Crossing, which is also a Boston Globe—Horn Book Honor Book. Nory Ryan's Song was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and an ALA Notable Book.

Next week: Newbery Medal Winner Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool 

The list of MMGM Reviewers has really grown, be sure to stop by some of the others. You can find them in my sidebar!!