The Great Unexpected by Sarah Creech
Genre: Middle Grades Fiction
Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7
Pages: 240 Hardcover
Date Published: September 4, 2012
Publisher: Joanna Cotler Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s

From acclaimed Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech comes a beautiful, sweeping story that is a celebration of the great unexpected—life.

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.

Heartfelt and hilarious, this is a classic and sweeping yarn, a story of pairs—of spirited young orphans Naomi and Lizzie in Blackbird Tree, USA, and of Sybil and Nula, grown-up sisters from far away Rooks Orchard, Ireland. Beloved author Sharon Creech deftly weaves these two rich worlds together, as unraveling mysteries of identity unfold with alternating stories across the ocean. Naomi’s and Lizzie’s misfortunes turn into lives filled with hope, as old misunderstandings between Sybil and Nula give way to love and forgiveness. With captivating language and an amazing cast of characters, such as Elizabeth Scatterding, Miss Pilpenny, Witch Wiggins, Mr. Dingle, and Paddy McCoul, this is a tale about unexpected gifts—the kindness of neighbors, of strangers fostering children, and of young people helping old and old helping young. This breathtaking tale reminds us that magic is everywhere, though not necessarily where we might think.

Sharon Creech is the author of the Newbery Medal winner Walk Two Moons, the Newbery Honor winner The Wanderer, and the Carnegie Medal winner Ruby Holler. Her other works include The Unfinished Angel, Hate That Cat, The Castle Corona, Replay, Heartbeat, Granny Torrelli Makes Soup, Love That Dog, Bloomability, Absolutely Normal Chaos, Chasing Redbird, and Pleasing the Ghost, as well as three picture books, A Fine, Fine School; Fishing in the Air; and Who’s That Baby? Sharon Creech and her husband live in upstate New York. You can visit her online at www.sharoncreech.com.

Also available as an Audiobook download and eBook.