Everything about Hanna Who Fell from the Sky, by Christopher Meades, is odd. The polygamy practiced in Clearhaven isn’t that strange, given that the FLDS exist. But a girl who actually fell from the sky is definitely out of the ordinary. All her life, Hanna has been told this strange story by her mother. So while she does her best to be obedient to her father and the community’s spiritual leader and cares for her many (many) siblings, Hanna always has a sneaking suspicion that she’s different from everyone else. Maybe she really did fall from the sky. She might have gone on wondering if her sudden betrothal to a man three times her age hadn’t occurred.
Clearhaven is an isolated community located in an unknown country. Brother Paul rules with a firm hand, his dictates enforced by his two police officer sons. The older men in the community have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, because their obedience is rewarded with young wives. (The older boys are sent out into the world with just the clothes on their back, to reduce competition for wives. The FLDS have a similar practice.) The women follow along because they are not encouraged—actively dissuaded, in fact—from becoming self-sufficient.
Hanna has been raised to be just like her mother and sister-mothers. Her life is hard, but she feels useful when she cares for her younger sister, Emily, who has a twisted spine. She might have gone on like this indefinitely if Brother Paul and her father hadn’t arranged for her to marry a middle-aged man who already has four wives. She does not want to marry Edwin. She says she will, but only because she has no other options. Besides, she thinks, who will care for Emily if she leaves?
I kept waiting for Hanna to run away. As the kindle progress counter ticked upward, I kept waiting. Hanna Who Fell from the Sky is not that kind of book. Instead, it’s a story about a girl who struggles to find the strength in herself to say “No” to the men around her. It’s an uncomfortable but enlightening coming of age story where we watch our protagonist as she waffles back and forth between obedience and defiance. Meanwhile, there are hints of something that might or might not be supernatural. I’m still not sure how to interpret the ending, now that I think about it. This is a very curious book, full of all sorts of questions to think about and talk over with other readers. Some readers might be frustrated with that ending, however.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for review consideration. It will be released 26 September 2017.