The Great Depression, a father's love for his daughter, an untimely (indefinite) trip to Manifest, Kansas, and young girl who is apprehensive - so say the least about her new living arrangements.
Abilene must go to live with her father's friend, Shady. Her father had to take a job with the railroad because he felt that he needed to be able to provide for his daughter better. Abilene gets to know two girls and their adventures begin (as they try to solve the mystery of The Rattler). But, Abilene also is introduced to an Hungarian women named Miss Sadie. This relationship is the one that Abilene gets to know about her father's past.
I liked how the story went back and forth in time (from 1918 to 1936). I also liked how the beginning of the story started out like a play...each character was listed and given a description based on how they related, in time, to the story.
It's no wonder this book won the Newbery Medal. The idea for the book was as interesting to me as the book itself...Moon Over Manifest.
I also liked how the story switched between two time periods--and how they were both very important time periods in history. It was helpful to have the list of characters in the beginning of the book. I found myself referring to it a couple of times to make sure I had the relationships correct between the characters. I thought her description of Shady was funny--1918: saloon owner and bootlegger--1936: still a little shady.
ReplyDeleteI could not get passed the connection of Miss Sadie. As I reflect, it seems like her demeanor towards Abilene would have been different, but I guess if it were it would ruined the surprise.
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