Everything is connected it seems. This is especially true in
Creech’s new novel, The Great Unexpected.
Orphans, Naomi and Lizzie usually have trouble finding things to occupy their
time in the town of Blackbird Tree. These
days are long gone, though, when they come across the body of a dead boy.
Shortly after discovering the boy, things take a turn for the unexpected when
he sits up and talks to them. After the two girls chase down their breath they
find out that his name is Finn and he is staying with a family up the
road. The three part ways, but Naomi can’t part with the questions she
has for Finn and the fact that she instantly smitten with him, dead or not.
Through a series of unbelievable and fantastical events,
including run-ins with the Dingle-Dangle man, a winding bridge, and a couple of
rooks (blackbirds), the two girls discover the history of the family they lost
at such a young age and a connection to a town in the faraway land of Ireland
that they never would have imagined.
This story is so unexpected in some parts that it is hard to
follow, as if additional elements were added as glue to a disjointed storyline,
but they didn’t stick. While I will always adore Creech’s free-feel writing
style, I felt that this story could have used some fine-tuning.
