The Unfinished Angel Review

 

Yes, another Sharon Creech book!

The Unfinished Angel is different than the rest of the books I've read from Sharon Creech so far. For one, it is a lot shorter. It's more like a novella. Secondly, it is magical realism! The story is narrated by an unnamed angel who guards a small village in Switzerland. They are confused why humans (or "peoples" as they call them) are the way they are, but they want to learn. The angel usually narrates in their unique voice what daily life looks like with what they often see, usually commenting on the same few people. The only one who can see and interact with the angel is an American girl named Zola, who came to live in the village with her father, whom the angel calls Mr. Pomodoro. He is planning on building an international school in the area (not the same one Dinnie from Bloomability goes to). The biggest event that happens in the story is a couple of runaway orphans are found in a chicken shed on a farm not far from the village. So Zola, her father, their somewhat cranky neighbor Signora Divino, and the rest of the citizens of the village all pitch in to help out the orphans so they have a safe place to live. The angel learns that while humans can be selfish, they can also be kind and helpful when you least expect it. 

Wanna know something interesting? I am not usually a fan of magical realism, but this book actually worked for me! I didn't know it was magical realism until a few chapters in. I thought the angel character was a statue at first (maybe a sentient statue? Still kind of magical). Sharon Creech actually made magical realism work for me. I guess it worked with this book because the story was really straight-forward. It's not like other magical realism stories I've read where they are really complicated and confusing. 

I gave it 4 stars. 

Do you like any magical realism stories? How about novellas in general?