A review by bluekaren
Hanna Who Fell from the Sky by Christopher Meades

4.0

The main theme of the story is fear. Hanna is the oldest in her family’s clan of 9 children. The story starts 10 days before Hanna’s 18th birthday. On Hanna’s 18th birthday a man twice Hanna’s age, with 4 other wives, will marry and deflower Hanna. Hanna meets a boy named Daniel at church who starts to change her views for her future. He opens Hanna’s eyes and makes her question her options. Hanna, her siblings, and her mother and sister mothers live in constant fear of displeasing their father and the elder of the community. Disobedience in any form means immediate punishment. Hanna must decide if she will follow her marital fate or try for something beyond the community and leave her family behind.

This whole story takes place in about a weeks time and has a magical element that I didn’t see coming at all. I liked he descriptive details this author sprinkles throughout the story. I had no problem imagining the crumbling house she grows up in or the lavish accommodations of her betrothed. It felt like I was right there next to Hanna seeing things as she saw them.I had a hard time picturing the magical element but it did help the story progress.

This is a coming of age story about a relate-able girl. Hanna has hopes for herself and her sisters, especially her handicapped sister Emily. Her bond with Emily and need to protect her is admirable. There are quite a few female relationships in this story that, while uncomfortable, make perfect sense. I liked the closeness between Hanna and Kara, her real mother, and the almost rivalry between Jessamina, her families youngest sister wife. The dynamics of these females are pretty insightful.

What I didn’t like about this story were those descriptions of the elder men in the community. I have a hard time believing these people would cast most of their sons out, or that this whole community of men could all be so evil. Other than a few choice boys, all the males in this book are pure evil. I do wish there would have been more explanation for Hanna’s gift. I feel like the author left the reader hanging as to why and that left me a little disappointed. I also didn’t like Hanna’s choices at the end for her sister Emily.

This was a pretty addictive read for me from start to finish despite my small issues with the story. There is much more I could say about Hanna and town but I don’t want to spoil anything for potential readers. I would recommend this to people who don’t mind wondering about the author’s intentions. This could be a story of coming of age, or a fantastical story about a girl with a rare gift. The author left that for the reader to decide.