LitPick Review
Abilene Tucker doesn't know much about her father, Gideon.She is given the opportunity to learn more when he sends her off one summer to live with an old friend in his hometown of Manifest, Kansas. With the help of her two new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, and an old fortune teller named Miss Sadie, she attempts to piece together her father's past. When they host a contest, encouraging people to "remember when," their efforts also refresh the villagers' fond memories of Manifest.
Opinion:
I loved this book because I personally favor historical fiction. Abilene is strong-willed and persistent, and her determination keeps the plot moving. This book is based during World War I in a small town in the American West where people are very close to and supportive of each other. This setting enhances the story because Manifest's people trust each other enough to share personal thoughts and ideas. Clare Vanderpool uses four different styles - letters, flashbacks, Abilene's story, and Hattie Mae's News Auxiliary - which each expresses its own vivid emotions to create a wonderful whole. The writing is very powerful, with cliffhangers when you least expect them. I would recommend this book to readers 10 and up because in order to understand the plot, kids must know certain historical events.
