剋萊爾·範德普爾從小就在各種不同尋常的地方讀書：換衣間、浴室、教堂、馬路上（有時候會撞到電綫杆）、數學課上……她懷疑有的老師早就發現她把從圖書館藉來的書藏在課本下麵瞭，隻是那些好心的老師從來沒有揭發過她罷瞭。她在大學時學的是英語和初等教育，畢業之後在一個兒童寫作夏令營教書。她很樂於為小讀者們推薦上好的讀物。她深愛著這個生養她的地方。看完這本書，你就會明白她對傢是怎麼理解的，以及她對傢鄉和傢人有多麼深厚的感情瞭。

The movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby. I closed my eyes to the dusty countryside and imagined the sign I’d seen only in Gideon’s stories: Manifest—A Town with a rich past and a bright future.

Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Armed only with a few possessions and her list of universals, Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kansas, aiming to learn about the boy her father once was.

Having heard stories about Manifest, Abilene is disappointed to find that it’s just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos, including some old letters that mention a spy known as the Rattler. These mysterious letters send Abilene and her new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, on an honest-to-goodness spy hunt, even though they are warned to “Leave Well Enough Alone.”

Abilene throws all caution aside when she heads down the mysterious Path to Perdition to pay a debt to the reclusive Miss Sadie, a diviner who only tells stories from the past. It seems that Manifest’s history is full of colorful and shadowy characters—and long-held secrets. The more Abilene hears, the more determined she is to learn just what role her father played in that history. And as Manifest’s secrets are laid bare one by one, Abilene begins to weave her own story into the fabric of the town.

Powerful in its simplicity and rich in historical detail, Clare Vanderpool’s debut is a gripping story of loss and redemption.