Horn Book

A strange boy falls out of a tree in Blackbird Tree, USA. Meanwhile, in Ireland, an old woman and her companion talk of murder and revenge. Connections and coincidences pile up; Creech keeps control of her material through her enormously sympathetic narrator, Naomi, painfully honest as she experiences the all-consuming-ness of first love. Though the lessons are overt, they're well worth learning.

ALA Booklist

"Did a delicate cobweb link us all, silky lines trailing through the air?" Call it coincidence, fate, or just good old-fashioned magic, but the characters in Creech's latest novel are all connected to one another. Readers are first introduced to two orphan girls irited Naomi and truth-teller Lizzie o live in the small town of Blackbird Tree. Over the course of the novel, they discover a number of mysterious objects and people, namely "Finn boy," who falls out of a tree into their lives, and a stranger named the Dingle Dangle Man. Alternating with these events are the cryptic goings-on across the ocean in Ireland's Rooks Orchard, where a woman named Sybil lives with her companion, Miss Pilpenny, and two foxhounds. Although several connections feel too convenient and may strain credulity with some readers, the way that the two plot threads weave together is ultimately a joyous testament to the surprising nature of life and the smallness of our world. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Creech, who has both a Newbery Medal winner and a Newbery Honor Book under her belt, has numerous, devoted fans waiting to see what she has in store. An author tour should generate even more anticipation.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

When Finn falls out of a tree and into the life of Naomi, he brings more than a touch of Ireland's magic. Naomi and her friend, Lizzie Scatterding, are both foster children living in the quiet town of Blackbird Tree. Life takes on a mysterious air when Finn boy and the Dangle Doodle man show up in a town that's already inhabited by such characters as Witch Wiggins and Crazy Cora. Naomi carries the terrible scars, internal and on her arm, of her father's death and a dog's attack. Her guardian parents each share their hearts; Nula remembers privation and her estranged family in Ireland, and Joe teaches Naomi to dream and fly high into the clouds for inner peace. In a parallel story across the sea in Ireland, two women talk of times past, lost families and setting things right. Creech, a Newbery Award–winning author, deftly weaves a multi-layered story in which past and present thread their way around Naomi the romantic and Lizzie the singer. With a Finn boy for each generation, there's joy in the air and in the reading. An enchanting tale to treasure in which ordinary folk find fairies' gold, run across crooked bridges and mend their broken hearts. (Fiction. 8-12)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In a story that is part folktale, part mystery, and part comedy, Newbery Medalist Creech (Walk Two Moons) traces a series of strange events, beginning with a boy-s fall from a tree, which is witnessed by an orphan named Naomi and her friend Lizzie. The boy, Finn, might be part of the Dimmens clan, who live up on Black Dog Night Hill, or his appearance might be more ethereal in nature. In alternating chapters, readers are whisked between two evocative locations: Naomi-s town of Blackbird Tree and an impressive Irish estate owned by an ailing mystery novel buff. Neighbors, strangers, and a collection of odd artifacts are all part of a puzzle Naomi tries to solve-and readers will be working just as hard to do so. The fun that drives the book forward derives from Naomi-s plainspoken narration (her barely concealed jealousy over Lizzie-s interactions with Finn is especially well-done), along with uncovering the surprising connections between characters and wondering whether magic is at the root of the baffling occurrences. Ages 8-12. Agent: Amy Berkower, Writers House. (Sept.)

Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

When Finn falls out of a tree and into the life of Naomi, he brings more than a touch of Ireland's magic. Naomi and her friend, Lizzie Scatterding, are both foster children living in the quiet town of Blackbird Tree. Life takes on a mysterious air when Finn boy and the Dangle Doodle man show up in a town that's already inhabited by such characters as Witch Wiggins and Crazy Cora. Naomi carries the terrible scars, internal and on her arm, of her father's death and a dog's attack. Her guardian parents each share their hearts; Nula remembers privation and her estranged family in Ireland, and Joe teaches Naomi to dream and fly high into the clouds for inner peace. In a parallel story across the sea in Ireland, two women talk of times past, lost families and setting things right. Creech, a Newbery Award–winning author, deftly weaves a multi-layered story in which past and present thread their way around Naomi the romantic and Lizzie the singer. With a Finn boy for each generation, there's joy in the air and in the reading. An enchanting tale to treasure in which ordinary folk find fairies' gold, run across crooked bridges and mend their broken hearts. (Fiction. 8-12)

School Library Journal

Gr 5-7 After an epigraph, prologue, and first chapter that increasingly pull readers in deeper and deeper, The Great Unexpected -part realistic fiction, part mystery, and part ghost story-disappoints. In the small, probably Southern town of Blackbird Tree, orphaned 12-year-old Naomi Deane receives a whack on the head as an inert boy tumbles down from a tree. Joined by her motormouth friend, Lizzie Scatterding, she pronounces the boy "dead," but he soon sits up and starts asking questions in a strange accent-clearly, he's not from around there. Naomi Deane's narration constitutes the bulk of the story, but every third or fourth chapter takes place "Across the Ocean" in a grand Irish estate, where readers follow the antics of elderly companions Mrs. Kavanagh and Miss Pilpenny. Creech gradually reveals the connections between the two story lines; clues appear in appropriately small doses that will appeal to young detectives. But a confusing narrative style makes the book hard to follow. Instead of consistently using a progressive or episodic structure for either plotline, Creech alternates between the two, which places readers in an uncomfortably disorienting position upon beginning each chapter: Does this start where we left off, or have several weeks passed? Overuse of quirky and alliterative names such as "the dapper Dingle Dangle man," the "dim Dimmenses," "Crazy Cora," and "Witch Wiggins" distracts from the story. For better-told small-town adventures and rich language, try Richard Peck's A Long Way from Chicago (Dial, 1998) or Susan Patron's The Higher Power of Lucky (S &; S, 2006). Allison Bruce, The Berkeley Carrol School, Brooklyn, NY