I have said it here before. I generally prefer the Newbery Honor books to the winner. I wonder how much this belief colors my perception when I read the new Newberys. This much I know for fact - I read Turtle in Paradise in a day and I read One Crazy Summer in two. I figured I could read Moon Over Manifest in four due to its 350 pages. (Yeah, I’ve set up a schedule to avoid fines and put these books back in the system as quickly as possible.) And I tell you what. I really had to push it. I kept falling asleep.
I tell you what disappoints me. We have three or four copies of Moon and they have yet to sit on the New Book shelf. The request list is eight to ten people long because it won the award. We have three copies of Crazy and they are all on the New Book shelf. We even have a special Coretta Scott King Award display to feature Crazy. But I am selling it like crazy!
For me, the most exciting part of Moon is that Decatur, yes, Decatur, Illinois, is mentioned TWICE. I kid you NOT. Also Springfield, Peoria and Quincy. Neil Gaiman mentioned Decatur in a book and Mr. John, one of my partners in crime, wrote to the author and he responded! We’re thinking Mr. John might try it again! Let’s see, So I Married an Axe Murderer, the movie, features a map with Decatur in plain sight. The movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off also mentions Decatur. These things stick out in my mind. LOL.
But enough about quirky me. I recommend this book for kids in 6th through 8th grade who enjoy Historical Fiction. I believe adults will enjoy it more. My guess is that it will be a hard sell to boys even though a main character is a boy, but the primary main character is a girl even if she is a tom boy.
Abilene Tucker has spent her childhood traveling from railroad job to railroad job with her father, Gideon. Gideon has determined that his newest job is not a good fit for a man with a child and so he sends Abilene to Manifest, Ohio, his claimed hometown, to live with Pastor Shady for the summer.
Pastor Shady is an intriguing character. He is the temporary pastor of the First Baptist Church. The church burnt down 14 years ago and the former pastor left. Shady has been preaching ever since from his pub. And he at least used to make moonshine there …
The book is a story within a story. Abilene is living in the summer of 1936 amidst the Great Depression. Abilene learns about her father’s 1918, WWI Manifest through newspaper articles and a Diviner – fortune-teller. She is hoping to find her father’s mark to no avail, but she is entranced with the stories of a young orphan, Jinx, and his escapades. Boys would appreciate this part of the book. Jinx is a schemer.
Why I’m not entranced? Number one – Abilene never engaged me. Number two – I understand the beauty of the blueprint of the book, but in the end, I’d rather just have the meat without all of the extras. If the story is remarkable on its own, then why all of the fancy explaining? I liked Jinx’s story. I would have left out 1936. Then it would be a lovely boys’ novel. Now, I’m not sure what audience, the novel is searching for.
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