I've tried and tried... but there is still a mystery surrounding this book that I cannot solve. One of the requirements for earning the Newbery is publication within the previous year. Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool won in 2011, ergo it's publication date is 2010 - and several sources seem to agree on this point siting the date October 2010. However, other sources assert that it was published in May 1995. I'm having trouble figuring out where this earlier date came from. Was it an error that has been sited multiple times? a self-publishing run? a simple creation of copyright? If anyone knows please let me in on the secret! To be honest I fully believe that 1995 date because it reads more like a 90s children's book. It has that feel to it, so much so that when I began writing the post title I typed in 199 before heading off to check the year.
It reminds me so much both Holes and a movie called Split Infinity, both of which are favorable comparisons. Of course most of you will be familiar with Holes , but just in case here is my review of it from eons ago. If you are unfamiliar with Split Infinity it is a time-travel movie, check out the trailer...
It is really closer to Holes in that there isn't actual time travel - just super detailed segments of the story are set in the past. I found myself really enjoying this part of the story and longing to hear more. The actual main character, Abilene, isn't nearly so exciting to me as the story of Jinx - however I suspect that may have been intentional. I loved that there was an element of mystery tying both threads together, I felt like I always had to come back and unravel just a little bit more. In the end the mystery was satisfying and it kept me wondering long enough to be interesting. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys Holes or historical fiction.
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