The Great Unexpected

The Great Unexpected follows Naomi Deane, a curious orphan, and her talkative best friend, Lizzie Scatterding, in the eccentric town of Blackbird Tree. Their lives take an unexpected turn when a mysterious boy, Finn, drops out of a tree, and a 'Dingle Dangle man' starts asking questions. As peculiar clues like locked trunks and a crooked bridge emerge, Naomi and Lizzie find themselves unraveling a family mystery that spans across an ocean, connecting them to an old lady with a broken heart. This middle-grade novel explores themes of friendship, identity, belonging, and the power of curiosity, making it suitable for readers aged 8-12.

"In the little town of Blackbird Tree live two orphan girls: one Naomi Deane, brimming with curiosity, and her best friend, Lizzie Scatterding, who could talk the ears off a cornfield. Naomi has a knack for being around when trouble happens. For she knows all the peculiar people in town--like Crazy Cora and Witch Wiggins and Mr. Farley. But then, one day, a boy drops out of a tree. The strangely charming Finn boy. Then the Dingle Dangle man appears, asking all kinds of questions. Curious surprises are revealed--three locked trunks, a pair of rooks, a crooked bridge, and that boy. Soon Naomi and Lizzie find themselves zooming toward a future neither could ever have imagined. Meanwhile, on a grand estate across the ocean, an old lady whose heart has been deceived concocts a plan. . ."--Publisher.