Quick Review: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

From the Back Cover:

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

My Thoughts:

I really, really, really liked this one! A couple of little things keep me from giving it a perfect rating, but I thought it was great. I could not put this down, and since it's a shorter read, coming in at 256 pages on the Nook, I finished it in a day. I was hooked from page one. I loved the rugged, natural setting of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, I loved the characters, and boy, oh boy, did I fall in love with Tucker! I found Hand's theme of angels with purposes and the story world she created to be very plausible, and Clara's dilemma to be very dramatic and emotional. As with all YA's these days, it's the first of a trilogy, but there was enough resolution at the end to satisfy me, along with a disturbing new set of possibilities that has me eager for the next installment. Definitely just scratched the surface of a deeper, more involved underlying meaning and story and I'm ready to read more!

Rating:  4.5 Stars out of 5

*Please note: This review references an advance digital copy received from the publisher, and therefore the final published copy may differ. Though I received this book from the publisher, these are my honest and unbiased thoughts, and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.