Name: The Great Unexpected
ISBN: 9781849396592

Sharon Creech

In the little town of Blackbird Tree a series of curious events unfold when Naomi and Lizzie, two spirited orphan girls, meet the strangely charming new boy, Finn. Three locked trunks, the mysterious Dingle Dangle man, a pair of rooks, a crooked bridge, and that boy change their lives for ever. As the story alternates between their small town and across-the-ocean Ireland, two worlds are woven together, revealing that hearts can be mended and that there is indeed a gossamer thread that connects us all. 'One of those stories that stays with you long after you have finished reading.' Booksellers' Choice, The Bookseller

The Great Unexpected

I had big thoughts to match the big wind. I wondered if we find the people we need when we need them. I wondered if we attract our future by some sort of invisible force, or if we are drawn to it by a similar force. I felt I was turning a corner and that change was afoot. In the little town of Blackbird Tree live two orphan girls: one Naomi Deane, brimming with curiosity, and her best friend, Lizzie Scatterding, who could talk the ears off a cornfield. Naomi has a knack for being around when trouble happens. For she knows all the peculiar people in town—like Crazy Cora and Witch Wiggins and Mr. Farley. But then, one day, a boy drops out of a tree. The strangely charming Finn boy. Then the Dingle Dangle man appears, asking all kinds of questions. Curious surprises are revealed—three locked trunks, a pair of rooks, a crooked bridge, and that boy. Soon Naomi and Lizzie find themselves zooming toward a future neither could ever have imagined. Meanwhile, on a grand estate across the ocean, an old lady whose heart has been deceived concocts a plan. . . . As two very different worlds are woven together, Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech celebrates the gossamer thread that connects us all, and the great and unexpected gifts of love, friendship, and forgiveness.

Jeni Enjaian

I have said it before and I'll say it again. Sharon Creech's books are absolutely beautiful. Having just read the Spiderwick Chronicles, I was perfectly primed for the almost magic Creech wove throughout this book. I love the fact that she did not feel compelled to insert needless exposition just to explain the almost magic. Sometimes things are better left unexplained. I also love that Creech deals with the messy nature of life without making the book messy but without making the plot syrupy sweet and unrealistic. These are books made to be relished and savored.

The Great Unexpected

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