Moon Over Manifest

I'm not sure what's going on with Isaac and I reading lately but we haven't finished a book together since October. We've read plenty-- three (partial) books, to be exact. But he tells me he's bored with the book and I'm not about to force it on him. I feel like that's how kids come to hate reading--when it's shoved down their throats. And I'll admit, it's been a concern of mine lately as he's suddenly been less and less interested in reading. So when 2/3s of the way into Clare Vanderpool's Moon Over Manifest he said he didn't want to read it anymore, I didn't push the issue and finished the book myself.
We had picked the novel because it won the Newberry Award this past year and received great reviews. It's historical fiction, which neither Isaac nor myself care much for, but that I thought we'd get past because of the quote on the cover reading, "The best book I've read in years."
Not sure what that woman has been reading, but I have to disagree.
It was a good book, but it was the ending that made me feel this way, not so much the majority of the book. It kind of dragged on, which is why it lost Isaac who was really trying to give it a chance. In my opinion it should have been edited down some. (Possibly even significantly if the audience was intended for middle-grade children.) But it's a nice story about identity, friendship, family, and belonging and Vanderpool is a strong writer. The story is layered so the reader is learning about Abilene Tucker, the main character, as well as an entire cast of characters from the town twenty years earlier. If you like slow-paced historical fiction, this is a book for you.