" I loved this debut novel by Clare Vanderpool. I love novels with quirky characters and this one was chock full of them. The protagonist, Abilene, is a spunky girl who has had to pull herself up by the bootstraps her whole life. She gets sent to the town of Manifest (Kansas? can't remember), a tiny dying town, and thinks she's going to be bored out of her skull. But the nun, gypsy, bartender/preacher all make sure she's got plenty of excitement. The book reminded me of some of the fun Southern novels, although it's not set in the South. I wondered if the two story threads would bug me but found that I was gripped by both. Ending was satisfying, too, something I haven't always found in books lately. I recommend this one. "
— Tessa, 2/13/2014