The Great Unexpected (review)

Naomi has been raised by Nula and her husband Joe since Naomi was three and her father died trying to defend Naomi from an attacking dog. The attack left Naomi with a damaged arm and plenty of inner scars as well, but she loves Nula and Joe and has become a part of the town of Blackbird Tree. When an unusual boy, Finn, suddenly shows up in town, Naomi feels the stirrings of first love, but she fears that Finn might be more interested in her best friend, Lizzie, a chatterbox orphan who hopes (in vain) that her foster parents will soon adopt her. Meanwhile, in Ireland, old Sybil Kavanagh concocts a plan for revenge against an unknown party with the help of her faithful companion, Pilpenny, and her solicitor, Mr. Dingle. Eventually the two stories converge, as Joe dies, leaving Nula and Naomi alone, and Sybil dies and leaves her large estate to Naomi and Lizzie as long as they allow Pilpenny, Lizzie's aunt, and Nula (Sybil's estranged sister) to live there as well. There is a certain appealing pathos to Naomi's complicated memories of her past accident, and some adolescents might be intrigued by the hazy, slightly magical aura that surrounds the character of Finn. There is a lot going on here, though, and the large cast of secondary characters, whiplash-inducing alternating storylines, and a tone that vacillates between mystical and realistic may collectively frustrate and confuse young readers. Lizzie's nonstop blathering seems meant to be charming but comes off more as annoying, and the multiple connections that pop up like mushrooms among the various characters are just too numerous to be believable. Readers searching for a small-town tale touched with magic should turn instead to Barnhill's Mostly True Story of Jack (BCCB 10/12).