Clare Vanderpool is the first author to come along in thirtyyears to win the Newberry Medal (2011) for a debut novel with Moon Over Manifest. The Newberry is aliterary award given to the author of the most distinguished contribution toAmerican literature for children. Before Random House’s Delacorte Press pickedup her book, Vanderpool collected quite a string of rejections, both fromagents and publishing houses. But “any dream is worth doing,” she says. “Youjust have to have the right balance.” And a cheerleader. Of her husband shesays, “No way I could have written any book without him.” He was “on duty”(with their four kids) “and he was an encouragement. Years and years passed,”she says, “But he said to keep at it.”

Moon Over Manifest isthe story of Abilene Tucker, whose  father sends her to live with an old friend inManifest, Kansas, while he works a railroad job. In Manifest she discovers anold box full of mementos, and with the help of Miss Sadie, a woman who tellsonly stories from the past, Abilene learns more about the town and its secrets.In doing so she figures out where her own story fits in the grand scheme.

Vanderpool’s YA novel is a work of historical fiction set inboth 1936 and 1918, and in it she weaves the two narratives together into oneseamless fabric. She says she didn’t worry about the two time periods confusingyoung readers, but her editors did. “I knew the book was for kids, but I didn’tmake story decisions with the audience in mind,” she said. “I just wrote astory. I had faith in the reader.”  

Abilene Tucker, the protagonist, is a rough but vulnerablecharacter whom readers love. When I asked Ms. Vanderpool at the Calvin Festivallast week how an author makes a character lovable, she said, “It’s my job tofind out more about the character. The more I know, the more lovable she is. IfI set out to make a lovable character, she would come off as cute. I didn’t setout to make [Abilene] lovable. I set out to know her.” From the beginningreaders know what Abilene wants, and we want her to get it.

Like Adichie, Vanderpool cites Willa Cather among thewriters who have mentored her through their work. She points to Cather’s use ofplace and description, and the way “place affects characters” in Cather’s workas influencing her own writing. She also admires the characters of Richard Peck(2001 Newberry, A Year Down Yonder)…“In one paragraph [you] can set up a character you totally believe. You don’thave to spend pages. Just find out the important thing.”

Moon Over Manifestfeatures many characters who are immigrants, with Ellis Island even making acameo appearance. “‘Immigrant’ used to mean a different thing,” Vanderpool says. “Peopledon’t normally choose to leave their homeland unless something awful is goingon, whether persecution, famine, or poverty. They have dreams for a betterlife.”

This is the story about a young adult who discovers what itmeans to arrive as an outsider. And it’s a story of loss and redemption, ofcomplexity and simplicity, and a grand testament to the power of story itself.Vanderpool sprinkles it with quotable lines such as “It’s best to get a look ata place before it gets a look at you,” and literary references from such works as Moby-Dick (“It is not down in anymap; true places never are”) and the Bible. As to the latter, Vanderpool didnot set out to weave faith topics into her narrative. She says, “Faith is likeskin—not like something I put on and take off on occasion. This is my story, myworld, the way I would say it. That’s how it comes out.”