Medal: MOON OVER MANIFEST
Honor: DARK EMPEROR
Honor: HEART OF A SAMURAI
Honor: ONE CRAZY SUMMER
Honor: TURTLE IN PARADISE
For myself, I haven't even heard of the book before the announcement. Of all the winners, the only one I read was One Crazy Summer , which I loved and included on my list of preferred Newbery candidates. My son also read Heart of a Samurai and like that pretty well, although it wasn't one of his favorites. The other two I've heard good things about, but no one in our household has read them.
Having read over 20 different Mock Newbery predictions from across the country, I have not found ONE that had Moon Over Manifest, the first novel by Clare Vanderpool, on their list of finalists. I don't know that anyone in my son's Mock Newbery Club read it; it certainly was never on any of their list of top contenders. (Note: He says that only one person from his club read that book.) I think the same thing might be true for the other area library, because there are no comments on this book on their Mock Newbery blog (and the book itself is categorized as "Not Mock Newbery"). So at least I don't feel too alone about having missed the boat in regards to this book.
Apparently Moon Over Manifest is a historical fiction, which much more seasoned Newbery followers than I claim is a favorite category for the Newbery Committee. It is set in the 1930's, but also goes back to the 1910's as the protagonist, Abilene, goes back to her father's old hometown and stumbles into a mystery involving ancient letters, a spy, a map, and a recluse who tells tales of the area's long-held secrets.
So it sounds interesting. I'm just amazed that nobody in all these clubs seems to have read it, or at least liked it enough to consider it to be a contender. But, then, this is my first year of Mock Newbery...perhaps I will understand the selection process better if I have a few more years of Newbery predictions under my belt.
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