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Clare Vanderpool

Author of Moon Over Manifest

3 Works 3,524 Members 186 Reviews

About the Author

Clare Vanderpool is an author of children's books. Her inspiration comes from the many great books she read and listening to stories growing up. Vanderpool has a degree in English and Elementary Education. She is the author of award winning Moon over Manifest (Delacorte October 2010) and Navigating show more Early (Delacorte January 2013). (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the name: Clare Vanderpool (Author)

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Works by Clare Vanderpool

Moon Over Manifest (2010) 2,504 copies
Navigating Early (2013) 1,019 copies

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Canonical name
Clare Vanderpool
Birthdate
20th century
Gender
female
Nationality
USA
Places of residence
Wichita, Kansas, USA

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Reviews

Have been reading Newbery winners and this one is really a standout. There is a framing story of a young girl living in the town her dad spent years in as a teen and she learns about the various people in the town through letters , newspaper entries and the town "medium." It is by turns funny and sad and really held my interest
 
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cspiwak | 132 other reviews | Mar 6, 2024 |
I read this as a buddy read with Margie and Hilary. We read it in 11 sections over 10-11 days, reading about 30 pages a time, and discussing it each day. I would have enjoyed the book no matter what but I got so much more out of it discussing it with friends.

I love Abilene. I loved quite a few of the characters.

I love the humor in the book. For me Abilene and Shady are the most unforgettable characters but there were many others too.

I love the heart in the book.

A lot of it is very sad but that sadness is offset by the heart and the humor.

I did laugh, a lot, and I did cry, especially toward the end of the book.

There is a real mystery that is fun to contemplate. There are actually a few mysteries and they were all solved, thankfully.

“When There’s nothing better to do, I guess you go back to what once felt good.”

This is a story about stories and how powerful they can be and how they can heal and how they can foster belonging.

I appreciate the excellent author’s note at the end of the book where she explains what is fact and what is fiction. I always like having that information when I read historical fiction books. I love how four of the characters in the book are given the names of her family members who lived in that area at that time and are based on them. The Acknowledgments are lovely (another one of the characters is named after someone she knew in college) and from the about the author section (and this book) I can tell that she is a superb teacher.

I might add to this review at some point, maybe in this section but more likely in the spoiler filled section. There was something about thoroughly discussing the book as I read that made me feel less compelled to write much of a review. I’ve already said it all, to two people.

Huge spoilers so read the book first unless you’re certain you don’t want to ever read it:



For me, Shady is the main hero of the story, even though Sister Redempta and Miss Sadie and plenty of others are heros too. Shady takes in Jinx/Gideon, he takes in Abilene, he helps many of the townspeople and the town including the homeless hobos, and he knows it’s a problem for him so he stays away from drinking the bootlegged alcohol.

I should have known how important Miss Sadie would be to the story given how much page time she is given. I wasn’t expecting to necessarily find Abilene’s mother. She was always interested in learning more about her father. I didn’t realize we’d find Ned’s mother though.

There were multiple mysteries. I liked that they were solved. The teacher-nun-midwife being the Rattler, the undertaker being the snitch to the mine owner and pit boss, who Jinx was, etc.

I was glad that it was shown how the influenza pandemic impacted the town, eventually.

The two heart-in-throat moments of thinking that Jinx is dead and then thinking that Abilene might be leaving to hop on a train to look for Gideon, were mercifully short.

I loved how the sheriff asked the questions later.

I love Abilene’s subterfuge at the end that gets Gideon to come and I’m glad that they both stayed in Manifest.
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Lisa2013 | 132 other reviews | Mar 5, 2024 |
On my third try, I finally finished this book! I made it through the audiobook, even though I was tempted to quit a bunch of times.

So. This book. Jeez. I can't even begin to imagine what Newbery deliberations must have been like the year it was chosen as the Medal winner. Let me break it down:

1. I would never have finished it if it wasn't a Newbery winner. It's way, way too long (my primary complaint) and way too full of cliches (of the both the Newbery and historical fiction variety). I would rather read [b:Turtle in Paradise|6871737|Turtle in Paradise|Jennifer L. Holm|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406889760s/6871737.jpg|7088141] or [b:One Crazy Summer|6609764|One Crazy Summer (Gaither Sisters, #1)|Rita Williams-Garcia|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388201603s/6609764.jpg|6803731] any day of the week.

2. Still, I will gladly say that the writing was good and the story eventually found some footing and held my interest. It just occurs to me that this would have been a lot better if the 1936 story had been left out (or cut way down) and we had just heard the 1918 story because that's what really drew me in.

3. Of the two reveals that happen at the end of the book, one was completely obvious to me from the beginning and the other seemed to come out of nowhere and defy logic. Did any reader ever doubt that Jinks was Gideon? Does it seem at all plausible that a woman with no resources could track down a son she hasn't seen in years across a great big foreign country?

4. My issues with this book are similar to my issues with [b:Navigating Early|13642663|Navigating Early|Clare Vanderpool|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1340194887s/13642663.jpg|19257738], which I suppose means that Clare Vanderpool and I are not compatible. I can admire her talents and at the same time know that her books are not up my alley.
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LibrarianDest | 132 other reviews | Jan 3, 2024 |
"There are no coincidences. Just boatloads of miracles." If you can take this aphorism seriously, you may love this book. If, like me, you think that's kind of a silly thing to say, the number of "miracles" in this book may put you off the otherwise great story. Let me explain (minor spoilers ahead).

This book has a story within a story. The main story takes place in 1945 and concerns a Kansas boy named Jack who's just lost his mother and been shipped off to boarding school in Maine. There he meets "the strangest of boys," Early Auden, and they embark on an adventure instigated by Early.

The secondary story is one that Early tells about a boy named Pi. Have you read the book or seen the movie [b:Life of Pi|4214|Life of Pi|Yann Martel|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320562005s/4214.jpg|1392700]? It's kind of like that--Pi goes off on a boat and has some crazy times. Early says he's "reading" Pi's story from the digits of the number pi.

Here's my problem: Why does each thing that happens in Early's Pi story have to have such a neat corollary in the real world story? It makes the whole book seem kind of magical or allegorical--only, wouldn't it be better if the reader could believe Jack's adventure was real? I started to wonder if maybe Early only existed in Jack's imagination or was some kind of ghost. It's like Early wasn't just a mathematical genius but a psychic, too. For example, Early says that Pi meets an old woman who mistakes him for her son. Shortly thereafter, the boys meet an old woman who mistakes Jack for her son. That is indeed a miraculous coincidence (and that's only one example; there are lots more). If only stuff happened to the boys and then Early incorporated it into Pi's story. Then I wouldn't worry about how the coincidences were piling up too high.

Confession time: I never finished [b:Moon Over Manifest|8293938|Moon Over Manifest|Clare Vanderpool|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320541883s/8293938.jpg|13142485]. Is it full of hyper-real coincidences, too?

Let me close with a piece of writing that encapsulates what I liked and didn't like about this book. It's really beautiful and evocative, but who talks like this? Early Auden does.

"They're not just numbers. And I'm not making up a story. The story is in the numbers. Look at them! The numbers have colors--blues of the ocean and sky, green grass, a bright-yellow sun. The numbers have texture and landscape--mountains and waves and sand and storms. And words--about Pi and about his journey. The numbers tell a story. And you don't deserve to hear it."

I bet Early Auden would tell me I don't deserve to hear his story either. I loved parts of this, but I couldn't swallow the thing whole. Too big a whopper. I will still recommend it to serious young readers who want a big, challenging book. And then I'll be interested to see if they, too, were bothered by the way the boy's adventure mirrored the Pi story.
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LibrarianDest | 52 other reviews | Jan 3, 2024 |

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Works
3
Members
3,524
Popularity
#7,206
Rating
4.0
Reviews
186
ISBNs
57
Languages
3

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