Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Unearthly is a beautiful story about self-discovery and destiny. The big question is do we make our own destiny or is our destiny already set for us?

Clara is an angel-blood. She is ¼ angel and has a purpose she must fulfill. She is told her purpose is the sole reason that she is on this earth. She begins to have visions about what her purpose is and her family uproots itself to move to Wyoming in order to fulfill her purpose. She knows her purpose involves Christian Prescott. However, things are a little vague in her visions. She isn’t sure if she is supposed to just save him or if they are destined to be together. To add to her burdens Tucker Avery comes into her life and complicates her feelings.

Unearthly is the first part angel story that I have read and I found that I really liked it. I felt like there was a lot of background that was put to what an angel-blood is and what they can do. This is part of what initially drew me into the story.

I loved the message that I got out of this story: to question whether your destiny is yours to make or whether you are a puppet in something already determined. I admire Clara for her strength and her decisions in the book. She has to endure a lot to get close to fulfilling her purpose and yet she never backs down. She is made fun of at school and leaves a place where she is popular to be a nobody. This brings her down to the reader’s level so they can relate to her. She is a divine being but at the same time we see how human she is.

The relationship between Tucker and Clara evolves beautifully. It is extremely realistic and the things that make them fall in love are the small moments that touch us all. I really liked the fact that there wasn’t a strange sort of magnetism between them that drew them together. It was just a natural evolution and progression. I think this also make the reader relate to the book.

The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger. I got to the last page and thought “…..” I think Cynthia Hand did an incredible job on the first book in what I believe will be a series. I have been googling a bit on the internet to confirm this suspicion and haven’t found much to corroborate the idea. I will edit this post when I find out myself because I am very excited to see what else Cynthia publishes in the future.

I give Unearthly a perfect 5/5. It was the perfect length and the story is so beautifully written. Unearthly comes out January 4, 2011 according to Amazon. Follow the link below to pre-order it today.