I honestly could not finish this book - deals with husbands with multiple wives & children & giving their children to other men as wives.

I read this aloud to/with my wife, and we both enjoyed it. Our only real qualm was that we were constantly afraid that it would end badly. Read it and you'll find out why. To reveal the end would be the ultimate spoiler. It mainly takes place in the town of Clearhaven which is a community run by a church that follows the precepts of The Creator. Hanna begins to suspect that there is more to the world than Clearhaven, and with some help from her "mother" she learns that this is in fact true. To say any more would truly be a spoiler. I did receive a free copy of this novel, in return for an honest review. Well, I think you should read it, and hang in there to the end. You won't be sorry

The author made a wise choice telling this story from Hanna's point of view. Her frustrations and fears become the reader's as you move through the story, even as your experience and knowledge of the world give you a sense of what is coming.

Gripping, engrossing and totally absorbing. That being said, it is not a comfortable read and not for pleasure either! This subject matter, for a seventies feminist, brings too many negative thoughts on the treatment of women. This is not an historic problem but still ongoing, just read the news. However, it is a novel I would buy for any college/university library and promote strongly.
Positives!! Beautifully written, easy to read and I found myself totally lost in the story, at one time looking up with a discombobulated, where am I feeling. So, well done, a great story and maybe I should have given 5 stars but still finished the book feeling very cross.

I loved the premise of this book and was looking forward to reading the story of a sheltered girl break free from the patriarchal cult that had essentially enslaved her. However, I was disappointed in Hanna's story. It moved slow and I had to force myself to keep reading. The ending left more questions than it answered and I found myself repulsed by the story I had read.

I had mixed feelings about Hanna Who Fell from the Sky. Overall, well written. Good character development, engaging storyline, beautiful prose. By the end, though, it felt like there were missing pieces and plot choices that didn't quite make sense. Also curious about how much reality/research influenced the fictional community. The subject matter makes this a great choice for group discussion.

What a unique story. I loved the intensity of her living situation and the honor of the community in which she finds herself. The twist of her "falling from the sky" adds to the uniqueness of the YA book, and I think readers wil like its fresh premise.

Hanna Who Fell From the Sky begins like one of those women's novels about a young girl being raised in a polygamous cult. It was certainly not to my taste. I don't even watch Sister Wives or the Duggars. Then something very interesting happened. The story became a psychological study of a young girl finding the courage to break free from societal expectations. Situations that in the beginning of the book left her trembling now unleashed powerful emotions that enabled her to take control in miraculous ways. The second half of the book advanced at a gallop with dramatic conflicts in every chapter. My only criticism are some unanswered questions at the end, but all in all, I found this a good read. Don't skip the author's note at the end in which he describes how he came to write this story.

I read this book in one day. Hanna is a captivating girl and the world in which she lives in is so lovingly created that my heart broke for her over and over as she struggled between what was right for her and what was right for her family. Beautiful.

A story possessing a fantasy edge adding to entire story as well as main protagonist.

Normally a character vacillating as much as Hanna would have driven me batty. However, when you understand Hanna's capsulated life you comprehend her reservations, fear and want as well as curiosity. Hanna's decisions made sense, not only due to narrative but her personality. Meades allowed Hanna to grow, her trepidation and strength gave her a realistic feel despite her unimaginable circumstances.

I never would have fathomed a story of an angel falling from the heavens be filled with such misogyny, polygamy, and patriarchy. Once again the fantasy aspect muting the disturbing core of the story.

I really enjoyed the ending, felt an incredible fondness for Hanna.

Imaginative, solid tale of a young girl finding her empowered voice and place as she breaks free.

I loved this book. I can see how some of the other reviewers might not have enjoyed it, but it really resonated with me. Meades does an amazing job setting the scene, with the tone of the writing echoing the bleak existence into which Hanna was born/thrust. This book doesn't have a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat, but the writing is beautiful and the character development is so nuanced that I found myself yearning to go back to the book and find out what was next in Hanna's life. I also really enjoyed the element of magical realism, as well. It was unique and understated, but gave an added element of interest and moodiness. As a film director who specializes in stories that center on the young female psyche, I kept thinking how much I'd love to adapt this into a feature.

This was a quick and absorbing read. Hanna's dilemma was a compelling one and the writing is gorgeous. I didn't mind the touch of magic realism, nor the instant attraction between Hanna and Daniel. The one thing that did bother me was inconsistency in terms of Hanna's freedom. It was hard to suspend disbelief that she wasn't watched or caught during some of the antics she got up to, that such a prized bride-to-be in this polygamous society was allowed to wander on her own as much as Hanna was.

That said. I loved the shape of the story, the finely-tuned individual characters and the originality of the story line. Teens would love this.

A cliched polygamist society where the men are all arrogant, controlling and mean; and the women are submissive, abused and unkind to each other. A bit too repetitive with main characters angst.

This could have been a good short story with some edits. The story seemed to go on and on with little new information. The "Fell from the Sky"part was never explained, so the story never had any depth. The characters were just what one would expect with no growth or change. I read to the end hoping for some big surprise or twist or something. It never happened. It was just one more polygamist life story and very predictable. There are a lot of them out there. I am always in awe of authors who write a story and get it published. This just was not a story for me.

I decided in the first few pages that this book wasn't for me, but decided to at least finish the chapter before throwing in the towel. A few pages later and I was hooked. Hanna's story was riveting. I tore through the book desperate to find out what she was going to do to escape her terrible life circumstances or if she would even choose to escape. Parts of the story were odd without a lot of explanation, but overall I really enjoyed it.

To be honest I didn't intend to read this book. It's not at all the kind of book I'm usually interested in and I only read it because I accidentally requested it from Netgalley. Oops. On the plus side, it has a pretty great, spunky heroine named Hanna, a hunky love interest, a vaguely supernaturalish sub-plot and lots of bizzaro polygamous cult business . If all those things are your cup of tea, this book is for you. It didn't do much for me, but the writing is good, and it's a nice quick read and it would be good for vacation or beach reading.

I had high hopes for this book. Years ago I read The Last Hiccup, which was recommended to me by a bookseller at Bookshop Santa Cruz. It was an unexpected, and wholly original delight. I keep seeing press for Hanna Who Fell From the Sky everywhere, so I was excited to read this.

However, the story never once grabbed me. I struggled through the first few chapters. I struggled to connect with the characters. I struggled to figure out what the heck was going on. Was I reading about a time in the distant past . . . or a a time more present? A recognized religious community (I thought Amish for awhile) . . . or some crazy doomsday cult? And then there was the nutty story about Hanna (who fell from the sky). Was this metaphor? Magical realism? A huge lie? To tell the truth, I'm still not sure, and I read the whole book.

The whole story felt vague, which may be why I never got into it. It would ripple along for awhile, and I would start to feel bored, and then something completely unexpected would happen, and while I wasn't bored anymore, I was really, really confused. I would even read back over the boring parts thinking I had missed something. But I hadn't, I just ended up reading the boring parts over again. Then the story ended, and I'm not sure what to make of it. Again, is it magical realism? Is it some insane metaphor? Is it satire? I wish I could tell what the point of this book was. And there were SO MANY unanswered questions, mostly from threads that appeared very suddenly in the last third of the book.

I feel like this could have been a great story, but all the weirdness within it just left me feeling like I had fallen from the sky, and I couldn't get my bearings. I know this author can write a great, interesting, funny book, but this wasn't any of these things.

Meades writing style is crisp and he spins an interesting tale. When all was said and done, I was left with too many loose ends. Do I see a sequel or did I mess something?

Hanna’s world in Clearhaven is one of male-dominated religion with sister wives and child brides and she's meant to marry soon. But all is not what it seems. There is more to Hanna than what she knows and more of the world that she longs to see. This is a strange and intriguing modern fairy tale.