The Unfinished Angel

by Sharon Creech

Puffin Books, Penguin Australia. Junior, Young Adult. Paperback rrp $14.95

Guest Reviewer – Sue Walker

The Unfinished Angel is the latest offering from Newbery and Carnegie Medal Winner, Sharon Creech. The story follows a confused angel who watches over an idyllic village in the Swiss Alps. Life has been easy for the angel for hundreds of years – a little ‘flishing’ in the minds of troubled locals here and there, and his job is done. Right? Wrong! A colourful girl named Zola enters his castle, and turns his world upside-down, inside-out.

After a shaky start, Zola and the angel unite to work magic on the sleepy Swiss village, and they find a home for a group of orphaned children. The story has a charming, naïve quality and one of the highlights is the angel’s unique voice. “Peoples are strange! The things they are doing and saying – sometimes they make no sense. Did their brains fall out of their heads?”

The Unfinished Angel is a warm-hearted story with appealing themes. It explores the power of kindness, and the idea that sometimes the solution to a problem can be right under your nose. I did feel there were a few things left unanswered in the story, but The Unfinished Angel didn’t disappoint. The angel’s innocence, and his quirky way with language make him one character that will stay with me for a very long time.

http://www.sharoncreech.com/

Sue Walker writes fiction for children of all ages. Her upcoming title Arnie Avery, is due for release mid 2010. Other books include Tilly’s Treasure, an Aussie Nibble, and Best Friends, a Children’s Book Council Notable Book.

http://www.suewalkerauthor.com/