Moon Over Manifest by Clara Vanderpool 🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊

The year is 1936 and Abilene Tucker’s father has decided to send her to the town of Manifest, where he spent some time in his youth. Abilene and her father have been riding the rails but after an accident that put Abilene’s life in danger her father knows that this way of life is too dangerous for a 12-year-old girl. When she arrives in Manifest, she finds a run-down town not the idyllic place her father told her about in his stories.

Abilene makes it a quest to find out more about her father and his life in Manifest. She never finds out much about him till the end of the book but does discover a town with a lot of secrets. “Moon Over Manifest” is not an easy read. There are a multitude of characters and lots of threads to follow. It is a good mystery, and the author keeps you guessing on which character is Abilene father. This is a book for the serious reader, there is not much humor, and its themes are more adult in nature than kid friendly.

Relevant Information	Content Review
Published In: 2010	Profanity: None
Publisher: Delacorte Press	Violence: Murder
Age Level: 10-14 years	Sexual: None
AR Level: 5.3	Mature Themes:Betrayal, War, Alcohol
Pages: 351
Stars: 4 Award: 2011Newbery Medal

 

Ophie's Ghosts by Justina Ireland 🟌🟌🟌🟌🟌

“Ophie’s Ghosts” is precisely the type of book I would have loved as a middle-schooler. It is a historical novel that has suspense, ghosts, a haunted mansion, and murder. It is beautifully written and keeps the reader engaged page after page.

The novel takes place in 1922 and living in the deep south was a hard and dangerous place for an African American family. Opie’s father is brutally attacked and beaten to death. After his death Ophie realizes she can see ghosts. Succeeding her father funeral Ophie and her mother move to Pittsburg to live with relatives. In the north Ophie and her mother find jobs working for a wealthy Pittsburg family in an old manor house filled with ghosts. Ophie struggles with her gift but eventually figures out how to help the sprits move on to the next level. Ophie befriends one of the spirts that has had one of the most atrocious crimes committed against her and this puts Ophie’s own life in danger.

The author does a wonderful job of putting the reader into 1920’s Pittsburg. The injustices of the times were real against the blacks and the books teaches some of the history of racism. Ophie never gives up and is always trying to do the right thing even when the advice she receives is contrary. This is a must read for any middle-schooler who appreciates this genre of novels.

Published In: 2021
Publisher: Blazer + Bray
Age Level: 9 -11 Years
AR Level: 6.3
Pages: 325
Stars: 5
Awards: 2021 Scott O’Dell Award