Common Sense Media Review
By Patricia Tauzer
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Girl finds meaning of home in nostalgic, robust tale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 6 parent reviews
Based on 13 kid reviews
Kids say the book offers an engaging story set during the Great Depression, with a strong emphasis on historical accuracy, and is both educational and entertaining. While some found the beginning slow and the narrative confusing at times, most appreciated the character development and the intriguing twists, praising it as a worthwhile read overall.
- educational
- engaging story
- character development
- historical accuracy
- intriguing twists
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
After riding the rails and traveling around with her father for most of her life, 12-year-old Abilene is sent back to the town of Manifest, Kansas, to spend the summer living with an old friend of her dad's. At first, she is confused, defensive, and a bit rough-and-tumble abrasive. Her life has been anything but normal up to this point, and she really has no clue about where she should call home. Is it a real place like Manifest? Or is "it not down in any map; true places never are" (a quote from Moby Dick that pops up several times throughout the book). But things quickly begin working out for her. She forms a spy club with some new friends she meets, and they spend the summer unraveling the mysteries of the town, flushed out by stories people tell them, hidden letters -- and a relationship Abilene forms with a Hungarian woman who professes to be from a family of diviners. In the process, Abilene learns about her own father's history, and finds a real home.
Is It Any Good?
This intriguing story weaves a number of different threads together to create a world that is both believable and mysterious. The characters are an assortment of unique individuals -- from a Hungarian woman with a bit of magic to the spirited protagonist -- each with his or her own story to tell, and life with them in Manifest is both nostalgic and fascinating at the same time.
Readers will have no trouble connecting with Abilene, since most tweens and teens are trying to find out where they fit in this world just like she is. The flashbacks let her story unfold in a creative way, making this a good resource for teaching storytelling or fiction writing. Historical details about World War I and the Great Depression, as well as the author's list of resources, offer further opportunities for educational exploration.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about historical fiction. How do you find the line between fact and fiction? Do you find it easier to digest history when it's told this way? Does it ever get confusing?
Vanderpool won the 2011 Newbery Award, which the American Library Association gives to the author of the best children's literature book of the year. Do you think this book deserves this prestigious prize? Seeing the list of past winners of Newbery Awards and Honors, are there others you would like to read?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Historical Fiction
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Delacorte Press
- Publication date : October 12, 2010
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 9 - 12
- Number of pages : 368
- Award : Newbery Medal and Honors
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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