“Moon over Manifest”

“Moon over Manifest” by: Clare Vanderpool 2011 Newbery Winner

I actually read this in 2020. I don’t know why I chose this book to read then it just sounded interesting, the story being that of a girl named Abilene Tucker and set during the Great Depression in the 1930’s.
It was set up as a bit of a mystery and went back and forth between her time and back when her father was a child.
Abilene’s father had to make the hard decisions to send her away to live with family while he worked because he didn’t really have a choice in where he worked; he just had to work wherever there was work and that was not always safe for a child. And Abilene just wants to stay with her father and doesn’t really understand why he is sending her to basically the most boring place on earth. She soon learns though that there is some excitement in the town and starts unraveling a mystery of not only the town but also her father’s past.
This was a bit of a hard book to read, although the story did hold my interest. The problem I had with the book that made me have to keep taking breaks reading was actually the timing of when I read it. While the part of Abilene is set in the 1930’s the part of her fathers past is set in 1917 and during the Flu Pandemic, which was eerily close to what was going on in 2020, which made the book at times seem to real. I did really enjoy it though once I got through it.

Does someone die? We are dealing with a flu pandemic in this book so… Yeah.

Amos Fortune

Amos Fortune, Free Man By: Elizabeth Yates 1951 Newbery Award Winner.

The story is about a Man born in Africa in the 1700’s stolen from his country and sold into slavery in America and how he works to become free.
I’m not actually sure how I felt about this book, the ending was better than the beginning, but there was a lot about this book I didn't like. I felt as if there wasn’t enough character development for one thing. It was like it would start getting into it and then just stop, so much so I actually checked in the middle of the book to make sure I hadn’t accidentally gotten an abridged copy because it read like one.
And I absolutely abhorred the fact that the book acted as if being a slave wasn’t that bad of a thing, that it was more of an inconvenience to the slave than anything. Towards the end of the book though the author did start talking about how people shouldn’t be owned, and how everyone longs to be free, but it still didn’t make up for the other parts.
Like I said I am not sure how I felt about the book, I know it's supposed to be biographical but I feel like it didn't really capture the passion the man must have felt about longing for freedom. Of course this is a kids book from the 1950’s, so maybe they were worried about how it might negatively affect children if they went too much into reality or actually admitted Amos was an actual human being and not a lesser being since it seems like in the 1950's people freely strugled with that concept. the book felt outdated for our time but was probably fairly foward for its day.

Does someone die? Yes. but since it was kind of a biography it made sense.

Johnny Tremain

Johnny Tremain By: Esther Forbes 1944 Newbery Award winner.

The story starts out just before the American Revolution starts. a story about a boy hoping to find his place in the world, he’s actually really annoying and is very prideful and boasting of his silversmithing till an accident brings him down and he is forced to navigate the world as a poor unskilled man with no prospects. His hopes of being rich and well to do once he finishes his long apprenticeship dashed, he goes out into the world and manages to make great friendships while navigating through the beginnings of the Revolution and helping out where and how he can. It was a story well told even if a little implausible. It went into friendships and how meaningful they can be to a person, and how complex family and lack thereof can be. I think if they were to make this into a movie today they would probably have Johnny and Rab be more than just friends, whether or not that was the author's intent.

Does someone die? Yes.