2011 Newbery winner

And the winner is...Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. It's 1936, and Abilene is twelve years old.  For reasons she doesn't understand, her father has sent her to Manifest, Kansas, to live with his friend Shady - once a bootlegger and now a pastor. Through stories told by Miss Sadie (a diviner) and old newspaper clippings, Abilene starts to put together the pieces of Manifest's past, but she can't figure out why it's so hard to learn about her father's life there.  The imagery, characters, and dialogue seem very authentic for the time period, and they pull the reader along while Abilene uncovers many of the community's secrets.  I was a bit disappointed, though. I figured a Newbery winner would really impress me, and I was just left with an "okay" impression.  But if you like historical fiction and/or strong female characters, give the book a try!