The protagonist of Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool is Abilene Tucker. In May 1936, Abilene’s father, Gideon, had sent her to live in Manifest because she was “becoming a young lady,” and following the railroad construction wasn’t a place for her. Once in Manifest, she befriends two girls (Ruthanne and Lettie). They search for the identity of the spy, Rattler, and have other adventures—many associated with learning the identity of Abilene’s father. The second thread of the novel is about Manifest in 1918 (World War I and Spanish influenza). A delightful story of small-town Kansas during World War I and the Depression.
When twelve-year-old Abilene arrived in Manifest, she abandoned the train before it reached the station. “…as anyone worth his salt knows, it’s best to get a look at a place before it gets a look at you. I’d worn my overalls just for the occasion.” She is a confident and competent young lady. “At the last car, I waited, listening the way I’d been taught—wait till the clack of the train wheels slows to the rhythm of your heartbeat. The trouble is my heart speeds up when I’m looking at the ground rushing by. Finally, I saw a grassy spot and jumped.”
Other important characters are Miss Sadie, a diviner, and Sister Redempta, a schoolteacher and midwife. These two women recount 1918 stories where Abilene learns Manifest's history and her father's origins. Another important source is Hattie Mae Macke, a reporter for the Manifest Herald who wrote a column of “all the whos, whats, whys, whens, and wheres, look at the backside of “Hogs and Cattle” every Sunday.”
In addition to the war and the flu, life in 1918 Manifest revolved around the mine which had a stranglehold on economic life, immigrants, and prohibition with the associated bootlegging. Despite the hardships, people in Manifest had a good life. I was reminded of the Little House books.
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