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School Library Journal
Reviewed on November 1, 2010
Gr 5-8 History and fiction marry beautifully in this lively debut novel. It's as if readers jump off the train in Manifest, KS, in 1936 with Abilene Tucker, 12, the feisty, likable, and perceptive narrator. She is there to live with Pastor Shady Howard, her father's friend, while her father works on the railroad back in Iowa. An equally important story set during World War I is artfully intertwined. Since her mother went off on her own 10 years earlier, Abilene and Gideon have been alone. Though their life together is uns...Log In or Sign Up to Read More
Horn Book Guide
Reviewed on January 1, 2010
It's 1936 and Abilene's father, himself looking for work, sends her to his hometown of Manifest, Kansas, to live with Pastor Shad...Log In or Sign Up to Read More
Junior Library Guild
Reviewed on January 1, 2011
A complex and suspenseful novel. The writing is excellent, with rich details and many unexpected reveals. The story alternates between the years 1917–1918 and 1936 in fictional Manifest, Kansas. The town and the people who live there feel real; Abilene and Jinx are es...Log In or Sign Up to Read More
