Review: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
10:35 AM
Title: Unearthly
Author: Cynthia Hand
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication date: January 4, 2011
# Of Pages: 435 Hardcover
How I got the copy: Library
From Goodreads.com
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 Rating: 5/5 Stars
My Review:
þ Good Vs. Evil
þ Destiny (Making your own)
þ Love: is it fate?
You know those books that you read because the cover is pretty? Those books that you think will be nothing special and then they surprise you by being so extraordinary that by the end of the book you are already trying to figure out when you will have time to go buy the sequel because you need to know what happens next ASAP.
Ya, that's how this book was for me. Cynthia Hand was one of the guest authors of the Spring into the Future tour that I went to in NY. She wasn't at the NY stop, but I figured she must be good if she was in a signing with authors like Lauren Oliver, Tahereh Mafi, and Veronica Rossi. You don't just put any author with them. My assumptions were correct.
This author touches on topics like destiny and what happens if we don't fulfill our purpose in life (I know it pertains to Angels in this story, but really we all might have a destiny right?) This topic hits close to home right now. Since I was 5 I have felt teaching was my calling in life, as if it was my destiny, and now many years later I'm questioning if that's what I want to do anymore. What will happen if I chose another career path and don't fulfill what I believe was my purpose on this earth? I probably won't be damned to hell if I decide to become a pastry chef, but of course for Clara it is much worse because she is part angel so she'd be directly defying God.
Without being preachy or directly identifying what she believes in the author was able to write about a topic like angels without directly stating that there is or is not a god. Clara isn't even sure and she's supposed to have a direct line to the heavens right? There is so much that Clara doesn't know and we are taken on that journey to find out right along with her.
We also go on the journey of first love with her. To me she was discovering what love vs. lust feels like. Although I have a feeling we find out in the second book if it really was just lust or actually fate. We see her discover how amazing first love can be and how heartbreaking it can also become. She has to make the biggest decision of her life involving love and although we can never be in her particular situation I think we can all relate immensely.
If you couldn't already tell, this is one of those books that'll make you think long after you are done with it. I can't believe I almost passed on this one. It has humor, first love, friendships, mother/daughter relationship, and growing up all in one book. The main character is so relatable you won't be able to resist routing for her. Christian is swoon worthy, but Tucker is beyond that. He is everything you'd want in a guy and more...if only he were older. Can you tell I have a tiny crush? Anyways, if you don't have this on your to read list go add it now. If you already have it on there...what are you waiting for? Go buy it or get it from the library!
Ya, that's how this book was for me. Cynthia Hand was one of the guest authors of the Spring into the Future tour that I went to in NY. She wasn't at the NY stop, but I figured she must be good if she was in a signing with authors like Lauren Oliver, Tahereh Mafi, and Veronica Rossi. You don't just put any author with them. My assumptions were correct.
This author touches on topics like destiny and what happens if we don't fulfill our purpose in life (I know it pertains to Angels in this story, but really we all might have a destiny right?) This topic hits close to home right now. Since I was 5 I have felt teaching was my calling in life, as if it was my destiny, and now many years later I'm questioning if that's what I want to do anymore. What will happen if I chose another career path and don't fulfill what I believe was my purpose on this earth? I probably won't be damned to hell if I decide to become a pastry chef, but of course for Clara it is much worse because she is part angel so she'd be directly defying God.
Without being preachy or directly identifying what she believes in the author was able to write about a topic like angels without directly stating that there is or is not a god. Clara isn't even sure and she's supposed to have a direct line to the heavens right? There is so much that Clara doesn't know and we are taken on that journey to find out right along with her.
We also go on the journey of first love with her. To me she was discovering what love vs. lust feels like. Although I have a feeling we find out in the second book if it really was just lust or actually fate. We see her discover how amazing first love can be and how heartbreaking it can also become. She has to make the biggest decision of her life involving love and although we can never be in her particular situation I think we can all relate immensely.
If you couldn't already tell, this is one of those books that'll make you think long after you are done with it. I can't believe I almost passed on this one. It has humor, first love, friendships, mother/daughter relationship, and growing up all in one book. The main character is so relatable you won't be able to resist routing for her. Christian is swoon worthy, but Tucker is beyond that. He is everything you'd want in a guy and more...if only he were older. Can you tell I have a tiny crush? Anyways, if you don't have this on your to read list go add it now. If you already have it on there...what are you waiting for? Go buy it or get it from the library!
Read More Reviews of This Book
About the Author
Quotes
"I don't know what to say. This summer hasn't turned out at all the way I'd planned. I'm not supposed to be standing in the middle of a barn with a blue-eyed cowboy who's looking at me like he's about to kiss me. I shouldn't be wanting him to kiss me." - Cynthia Hand, Unearthly
“I feel like Cinderella sitting in the middle of the road with a pumpkin and a couple of mice, while Prince Charming charges off to rescue some other chick.”
― Cynthia Hand, Unearthly
“I feel like Cinderella sitting in the middle of the road with a pumpkin and a couple of mice, while Prince Charming charges off to rescue some other chick.”
― Cynthia Hand, Unearthly
Have you read Unearthly? What did you think?
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