Unearthly (Unearthly #1)

Finally an angel book that I really really enjoyed! It wasn’t cheesy, and the religious aspect wasn’t overdone, in fact it was barely mentioned, like angels are just another supernatural entity. Clara, our main character, is a quarter angel and she’s just received her purpose…kind of. She gets visions of who she’s suppose to be protecting, but no other details. Of course her purpose involves a beyond gorgeous teenage boy, but too bad he and Clara are in two completely different social circles. I actually really liked that despite being an angel, Clara isn’t completely irresistible to humans. She has to struggle for his attention just like any other girl, except maybe his bitchy girlfriend.

Another thing I really liked about Unearthly is that Clara’s mom is actually involved. There’s no “wait, and where are the parents?” moments during this book. Clara’s mom is present and involved with Clara’s life and is trying to help her as much as possible in her own secretive way. They have a great relationship and are completely hilarious together in the beginning. Especially when they’re trying to come up with worse names the mean kids can call her other than “Bozo.” Their relationship isn’t all sunshine and rainbows though; they have their fights, but Clara’s mom is always there. I am very curious about what she’s hiding though.

Now, back to the beyond gorgeous teenage boy. He’s suppose to be all business for Clara, but of course she tries to mix in a little bit of pleasure. Is that such a good idea? I didn’t think so, especially when there’s a perfectly nice boy who’s obviously genuinely interested in her. And she’s obviously genuinely interested in him. Gotta love love triangles! Although we don’t get to see much of her relationship developing with Christian (beyond gorgeous teenage boy), but it is there. We do get a whole lot of Clara and Tucker though. I loved how they did normal things, and just hung out, no pressure. It felt like they had a real connection, rather than the one with Christian, which is something else entirely.

I love Clara’s friends! This doesn’t seem to happen to often for me. I always tend to find at least one friend utterly irritating or flat, but not here. Wendy is a sweetheart and befriends Clara right away. Clara might not be able to be 100% honest with her, but I think they have a solid friendship. Plus she’s party responsible for pushing Clara and Tucker together, so yay Wendy! Then there’s Angela, whom I adore. She’s quirky and smart, and a little mysterious. I definitely need to learn more about her! Clara has a brother who I felt was just kind of…there, until about 3/4 through the book when I went “huh, I wonder what’s up with that?” Looking forward to finding out the answer to that, too.

The last 40ish pages, wow. Intense. I have no clue where this story is going, but I need to find out ASAP!

Paranormal romance has never been my genre. I don’t care for vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters, ghosts, demons or mythological figures. However, I’ve decided that 2012 is the year I step out of my comfort zone, so I decided to give an angel book a try. Plus, Unearthly was a 99 cent ebook.

Surprisingly, Unearthly was actually a very good book.The first thing that stood out to me was Hand’s writing; it was crisp and clean and effective. I was honestly expecting something less mature, less precise.

The main characters were excellent. Hand obviously worked hard to make the people in this book realistic, even though Clara isn’t a “normal” girl. Clara’s family was interesting and supportive, her friends Wendy and Angela were neither perfect nor terrible. One of the love interests was a likeable, down-to-earth guy, while the other I’m still a bit iffy on.
I also thought the actual “angel” aspect was handled well. It’s a tough topic, because angels, by necessity, bring a Christian element into a story intended for secular audiences. In order to “secularize” the Biblical concept of angels and angel-bloods, Hand somewhat had to tone things down. Granted, my views of Christianity and religion are different than most of Unearthly’s intended audience, so I imagine that Hand wished to avoid offending her readers. As it was, I was impressed by the way this author approached the subject.

From what I’ve read, some readers didn’t like the way this book wasn’t very action-intesive. Mostly, it was a build-up to the major conflict that’s going to take center stage in the second book. I didn’t actually mind that this book was mostly exposition, as it gave Hand a lot of time to develop characters, setting, and motivation, something that is greatly under-done in YA fiction.

From what I’ve read on the back of book covers, paranormal romance generally takes place in a high school setting. Now, I haven’t read many high school books, but if the high schools in those books are represented in the same way that Hand represented Jackson Hole High, we’re going to have an issue.To begin with, I did some research on Jackson Hole High—that’s the nice thing about picking a real school; I can fact-check you. While there is a class in aerodynamics, there is no British History class (which was a center-point of the story). Pictures of the exterior and interior show the school to be like a “typical” high school, not at all the ski resort/art museum Hand describes. Obviously, more research would have been good.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say this again: high school is not like Mean Girls. I’m not saying it’s rainbows and unicorns—everyone’s experience is different. But there’s not one “head popular girl” who rules the roost, and there’s not a “popular clique,” at least, not to the extent that media would have us believe. Popular people do talk to the “Invisibles,” and they do get along on occasion (revolutionary thought, right?)

That was my big complaint with this book. Sometimes when I read these books, I wonder if these authors actually remember what high school was like. Maybe they’ve been watching too much Glee?

I’m not saying high school isn’t a bad, unfair world. I’m just saying that you don’t need to blow things way out of proportion in order to portray that.

(Also: this has turned into quite a rant, and I’m sorry. But it’s aggravating when an otherwise good book fails where only a simple fix is needed.)

For my first foray into the world of “angel romance,” I was pleasantly surprised by Unearthly. The story is captivating and the characters well-rounded. Will I go out and actively seek more angel romance? No, not necessarily. But I’m glad I tried it.

If Halo was a hit and a miss for you, I strongly suggest you check out this angel book before you completely give up. Where did Halo go wrong? It didn’t make sense. Unearthly gives the main character a clear purpose of what she is supposed to be doing. Clara is a strong heroine. She makes bright decisions, but she is not so perfect to the point where the reader feels no connection. She constantly makes mistakes. There is a sort of love triangle going on, and it is not completely resolved in the book, but the reader can tell that Clara has a strong connection to both Christian and Tucker. The book does say that it is a trilogy, so we must all be on the lookout for the next in the series, because I feel that more things will be wrapped up. Questions the reader might be wondering: Black Wings, Angela, Christian and Clara’s purpose, and their new Purposes. Bravo Cynthia Hand

I have been wary of the angel genre of YA fiction for a variety of reasons. For one, I find many interpretations of angels to be rather lame. Weak, pretty, feathery... not much else. It's sort of noxious. UNEARTHLY was an excellent antidote to my hesitations. The first in an unfinished trilogy, it stands enough alone as a story to have you leaning in for more in book two. There are so many characters with so much potential, I feel like the series could be written by multiple points of view.

Clara tells this story, though. A quarter angel, her mother uproots her and her brother from their home in California to move to the mountains of Wyoming all because Clara's visions have indicated that that's where her purpose lies. Each angel is born into a purpose, and they must do everything in their power to complete it to the best of their abilities.

What follows is a familiar new-girl-in-a-small-high-school story with the addition of some angel wings, visions of a fast approaching if slightly vague destiny, and a perfectly perfect love triangle. Not an annoying love triangle, which is how many of them seem, but perfectly perfect. In every way.

Reader reviewed by EGZ

Praise: 
Unearthly is very well written, the charter, Clara is very
understandable for young girls. The plot is followable and a good summer
read.



Critique:
The book only really had one plot, there were no major barriers or
extra problems added for the character to overcome before the main goal.

Reader reviewed by Lia

Clara has recently just found out about her angelic heritage, and is forced to cope with sudden, unpredictable visions of a boy standing in the middle of a raging fire. Clara and her family move to Wyoming for Clara's purpose, to save the boy from the fire. Clara struggles to put all the pieces together before her purpose arrives, while trying to keep her angelic side hidden.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked Unearthly. It was different from the other supernatural books. There is a love triangle in the plot, but it's not as predictable as you would think. Clara was sometimes an annoying character, but it was understandable since she was supposed to carry out her purpose without having any clue. Overall unearthly was a satisfying read, and I look forward to the next installments.