The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech

5 stars - I love it!

The Unfinished Angel is a wonderful book. It is for children or juveniles (a bit younger than I usually read), but it's really sweet.

I think what attracted me to the book is the cover... or rather, the back cover :) The front cover is a simply drawn rainbow-colored pigeon. On the back or multi-colored pigeon footprints. It's adorable. I love rainbows, and the simplicity of this cover (with its intriguing title) drew me in.

The story is told from the point of view (POV) of an angel, who readily admits he doesn't think he's all he's supposed to be. He doesn't have a mission; he doesn't know what he's supposed to do for people; nor does he have all the words he knows he needs to communicate properly. Reading from his POV is like reading a story told by someone who speaks English as a second language, but it's done well enough that you don't mind.

I really enjoyed reading his made-up words. Some of them are just so perfect. For example, "... below the mountains is a blue-green lake, and above the mountains at night is a blue-black sky all pokeled with blue-white stars." Pokeled is exactly how the sky looks at night! He describes the secondary main character, Zola, as having "crippy-croppy hair." It certainly puts a strong image in my head.

The book's plot is simple, and it doesn't end up finishing the angel or answering any of his many questions, but it's a sweet and simple story that I think would entrance younger children.

If you have a 7-10 year old, this is definitely something you can read to them or with them.