Moon Over Manifest
Clare Vanderpool
 Moon Over Manifest tells the stories of two independent youths who find themselves living—almost by accident—in the small Kansas town of Manifest in two different eras. The two parallel storylines overlap extensively, and both discuss themes of belonging and of feeling an outsider in a community of outsiders. The primary story, a first-person account of Abilene Tucker's adventures living with an old friend of her father's in Manifest in 1936, revolves around a chance encounter with Miss Sadie, Manifest's mysterious Hungarian diviner. Spending the summer working off a debt to Miss Sadie, Abilene finds herself pulled into the story of a boy, known only as Jinx, who train-hops his way to Manifest in 1917 and assimilates into a community divided along cleavages of ethnic origin and economic class. Miss Sadie's unpredictable recounting of Jinx's story coincides with Abilene's discovery of a box of letters and mementos which play conspicuous roles in Jinx's adventures. Abilene, along with her new friends Ruthanne and Lettie, sets out on an extensive mission to unmask a spy (known by the codename "The Rattler") mentioned in one of the letters, Abilene all the while hoping that their search will uncover clues about the enigmatic character of her father and Abilene's perceived abandonment. When the present-day spy mission and Miss Sadie's narrative begin to overlap, Abilene uncovers truths about Manifest that change not only her conception of the town and its people, but of her familial history and, ultimately, her own desires for independence and security. The second storyline, Miss Sadie's third-person recounting of Jinx's arrival in Manifest in 1917, is supplemented by newspaper clippings and letters from the era found by Abilene. Jinx arrives in Manifest in October 1917 and immediately befriends young local Ned Gillen, adopted son of the Manifest hardware store owner of ambiguous ethnic origin. As their relationship develops, Ned helps Jinx feel welcome in Manifest while Jinx helps Ned learn the skills the former has garnered from a life on the road. Once Ned goes off to war, however, Jinx's relationship with the citizens of Manifest changes forever, as he is forced to prove his worth as an outsider without the assistance of an inside friend. This storyline focuses heavily on the role of immigration in mining towns such as Manifest; as the story progresses, Jinx finds himself helping the miners regain their dignity and escape the clutches of the avaricious mine-owners. Historical events mentioned in the book include Prohibition, coal mining, orphan trains, World War One, Spanish Influenza, and immigration.