Being alone isn't always a bad thing. In Moon Over Manifest, it's actually good that Abilene has some time away from her dad to do some growing up, and Jinx sure as heck needed to get away from Finn, right? The people of Manifest seem to be content in their isolation, too, keeping to themselves in order to avoid feeling any more pain. But as far as we can tell, isolation causes more bad than good in this book. It's definitely okay to be on your own, but you always need someone—or many someones—to have your back.
Questions About Isolation
- Would Shady be a different person if he had a wife and kids? Is he an isolated character because he doesn't have a family?
- Would Miss Sadie have been so dedicated to finding her son if she had had a friend in America?
- Was Finn so mean because he was alone for so long? Or was there something else going on there?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Being isolated can totally corrupt a person—think about Finn.
Isolation can bring out the best in a person—think about Shady.