Editorial Content for The Great Unexpected
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Naomi has been living with Nula and Joe since she was about a year old. Naomi’s parents used to live in a little cottage behind Nula and Joe before they died, leaving Naomi an orphan. Nula and Joe live in Blackbird Tree, but Nula hasn’t always been in the USA. When she was 12 years old, she was sent to live in America from Ireland, where her sister, Sybil, still lives. Sybil and Nula have been separated for decades, and Nula has not heard a word from her sister in all this time. However, Sybil has been secretly keeping track of Nula through the years.
"Award-winning author Sharon Creech tells this story from two different perspectives, that of Naomi in Blackbird Tree and Sybil in Rook’s Orchard, switching viewpoints every chapter... I’ve been a fan of Creech every since I read her book, WALK TWO MOONS. I really enjoyed her writing style, and still do."
When Naomi is 12, strange things start happening in Blackbird Tree. First, Finn falls out of the tree Naomi is sitting under and he knocks her over. Naomi thinks he’s dead, but is relieved to discover he’s alive. Finn is from Ireland, but he gives no reason or explanation for his presence in Blackbird Tree. Then, another stranger, Mr. Dingle, also from Ireland, shows up in the village and starts visiting various people and asking a lot of questions. Meanwhile, in Ireland, Sybil is enjoying “murders” and making plans for her “sweet revenge.” Just what is going on?
Award-winning author Sharon Creech tells this story from two different perspectives, that of Naomi in Blackbird Tree and Sybil in Rook’s Orchard, switching viewpoints every chapter. Even though clues are dropped throughout the narrative, the reader doesn’t really know for sure what everything is about until they learn what “sweet revenge” means. It’s not what you think --- at least it wasn’t what I thought.
I’ve been a fan of Creech every since I read her book, WALK TWO MOONS. I really enjoyed her writing style, and still do. Although I’m still uncertain about a couple of things that happened in this particular book, I’m still a fan. Perhaps you will be, too.
Teaser
In the little town of Blackbird tree live two little orphan girls: Naomi and Lizzie. Naomi has a knack for being around when trouble happens. But when one day, a boy drops out of a tree, curious suprises are revealed. Soon, the girls find themselves zooming toward a future neither could ever have imagined...
Promo
In the little town of Blackbird tree live two little orphan girls: Naomi and Lizzie. Naomi has a knack for being around when trouble happens. But when one day, a boy drops out of a tree, curious suprises are revealed. Soon, the girls find themselves zooming toward a future neither could ever have imagined...
About the Book
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.
