June 16, 2013

Review: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand


Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
Published: 2011, HarperTeen
Series: Unearthly, #1
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Library book
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I decide to take the whole purpose thing more seriously. No more playing at being a normal girl. I'm not. I'm an angel-blood. I have a job to do. I need to quit whining, quit stalling, quit questioning everything. I need to do it.


Unlike what seems to be the norm among readers these days (especially young adult readers), I do not actively dislike angel stories. In fact, I think those types of stories have so much potential. Potential that, for some reason, rarely seems to be reached. I started Unearthly because it seems to be a rare YA angel book that has garnered a lot of praise. And while there are aspects that are interesting, what I ultimately discovered was a light and fun read. It's a decent book, but not a great one.

Two years ago Clara Gardner received life-altering news: she is part angel. The child of a human father and a half-angel mother (called a Dimidius), that makes Clara and her younger brother Jeffrey quarter-angels, or Quartarius. Clara knows that being part angel makes her physically superior to humans, but not much else. And then she starts seeing the same vision over and over again: a forest fire, a grey truck, a boy facing away from her. Clara discovers that this vision is related to her purpose, that God has ostensibly given each angel-blood a specific task to complete while on Earth. Clara's purpose is important enough that her mom uproots their life in California and moves the family to Wyoming, where Clara's visions take place. Although her purpose is God-given, its completion is anything but easy. Clara must struggle with a new school, unfamiliar surroundings, and strengthening angel powers as she strives to prepare herself for her purpose.

I did enjoy the angel lore that Hand created. Although Clara learned of her true heritage two years ago, her mother has only provided her with the bare basics, which enables readers to learn more about angels right alongside Clara. As the story goes on, it becomes clear that angels are much more complex than simply God's players, but creatures also caught up in personal and societal challenges. By the end of the book, however, there's still a sense that the knowledge explained about angels barely scrapes the tip of the iceberg. The same sentiment can be applied to the novel's use of religion and God. It's not easy to disassociate angels from God and the Judeo-Christian tradition, and Hand doesn't even attempt to offer an alternate explanation for the creation and presence of her angels. That's well and good, but for a book centered on some of the most powerful Biblical beings, not a lot of attention is paid to God or religion. As with the angel lore in general, some of the lack of explanation is presumably due to Clara's ignorance of her heritage and history. But it was certainly a strange reading experience to read about angels and have religion and God strangely absent. And for the most part, that absence was not even noted; it was just nonexistent. Its absence was a bit frustrating and I hope that's something that Hand expands upon in her future installments.

A large portion of the book is devoted to Clara's feelings and romantic relationships. This is normally something that completely turns me off from reading so many paranormal books (there's a good reason why they're typically called paranormal romances, after all), but I didn't mind Hand's use of romance as much as I expected I would. The romance is unconventional in the sense that the female and protagonist is the paranormal creature, while her love interests are human. The love triangle between Clara, Christian (the boy of her visions), and Tucker (a typical Wyoming boy) is heavy-handed and angst-ridden at times. But what Clara's romantic entanglements really come to represent are nothing less than the battle between free will and destiny. Because her family's decision to move to Wyoming was based entirely on her visions, because Clara's mother believes that Christian is part of her purpose, because all angel-bloods must complete their purposes given by God, does that mean Clara has no say in any other aspects of her life that just may be placed in conflict with her purpose?  It is an interesting dilemma for sure.

One disadvantage of reading a story created for teenagers is that sometimes the story feels like...it's written for teenagers. Nothing is technically wrong with Unearthly; Hand writes well, has created an interesting story, and has strong characterizations. None of this stopped the story from feeling young, however. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that; I feel that if I was the intended age range for this story (I'd say tween to early teenager) I'd have ended up really enjoying it. But now I do read stories differently and expect a little more out of them, which Unearthly does not quite deliver.

I will say, however, that Hand does deserve major props for the ending. Much of the story, if not quite predictable, is at least easily justifiable and presented in a way that the most non-observant reader could understand. In a way, the entire book serves as a buildup to the climax, where Clara is finally put face-to-face with her purpose. And it is at the ending where the book begins to shine. 

I have no problem giving Unearthly the credit I believe it's due; it was the perfect fluff read after reading a number of heavier contemporaries in a row. I enjoyed being transported to Clara's world, learning about angels and their purposes and the Wyoming setting. It is something I'd recommend to younger readers, but I would only recommend it to older readers of YA, both older teens and adults alike, if they were looking for something quick and absorbing that can easily be read at face value, with little analysis or interpretation necessary.


Rating: 3 stars
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Amanda

Amanda loves few things better than sitting down with a cup of tea and a book. She frequently stays up far too late, telling herself she just needs to finish one more page. When she's not wrapped up in the stories of others, Amanda works as a children's librarian in a public library.

16 comments:

  1. I agree entirely! I shouldn't have gone into this book expecting more than a light, fluff-filled read. That was my mistake. And that was why I was extremely disappointed. I'll eventually get to finishing this series, but I'm in no hurry. Great review! :D

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    1. Thanks, Cort! And at least you'll be able to go into the next two books having more realistic expectations, so hopefully that will help you out.

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  2. I'm a teen myself and I really enjoyed Unearthly!! The angel and mythical aspects gets even better in the sequels and as you said, having the romance as the main story plot somehow doesn't turn us readers off :) Hope you'll enjoy the sequels better, I sure did!

    Alicia @ Summer Next Top Story

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    1. I know that Unearthly definitely has an appeal to a certain audience, and that's great that you're a part of it! That's encouraging that you liked the sequels even better, and that the angel/religion aspects get better explained. Thank goodness! I'll read them for sure, probably soon.

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  3. I'm sorry you weren't able to enjoy Unearthly as much as you'd hoped Amanda, i understand completely why some aspects didn't work out for you. I think I was able to enjoy it a little more than you as I was finding it difficult to connect with any paranormal reads and Unearthly just came at the right time with me. I hope you decide to continue with the series. Lovely review!

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    1. I am probably a little biased and harsher towards paranormal reads simply because I haven't found as many to enjoy as I would have liked to. But I can totally relate to that feeling of reading the perfect book at the right time - it's wonderful, and I'm glad that Unearthly was able to provide that to you! Thanks, Jasprit!

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  4. I'm glad you enjoyed this one for the most part. For me, the romantic entanglements ruined the novel and I couldn't get into it, but I hope you have better luck with the series as a whole! :)

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    1. I remember reading about that in your review. The romance bothered me some, but I feel like I could understand what Hand was trying to do, which made it more bearable. At least, that's how I'm choosing to interpret it. And thanks, Keertana, me too!

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  5. I love this series! I'm sorry to hear it didn't work out quite as well as you hoped but it happens. I love reading what your thoughts were on the angel aspect and the love triangle. The ending definitely was part of what made the book great. :)

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    1. Agreed! I'm still hopeful the next two books may work out better, so we'll see. Thank you, Sara!

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  6. I loved this series when it came out! I agree that the angel lore was well done - though interesting point about the absence of God in it. I don't think the whole series is like that? The romance is a bit unconventional - eager to see what you think of it going forward, and I agree that the end is a good one! Great review.

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    1. I may compare most angel books I read to Sharon Shinn's Archangel...and God (and his lack of communication with his angels) was such a huge aspect of that book that I kind of expect God to either be present or be noticeably absent in most angel books. I do think it makes sense for religion to be a part of angel books, however, so I hope that there is some discussion on it going forward! Thanks, Lauren!

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  7. See, I knew there was a good reason why I kept putting this one off despite all the positive reviews for it. Because I didn't totally believe that this one could break the mould of paranormal romances and be anything but a lighter, fluffier read. Not that I really believe that paranormal romances should necessarily be deeper; I think they work well for what they are. It's just not really my thing. I'm definitely going to keep this one in mind for when I am in need of a book that I don't want to think too much about though. Thanks for this review, Amanda - very helpful!

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    1. Yeah, there certainly is a mold very much entrenched in all of these paranormal romance books. I think Unearthly does make some changes to that mold, but it doesn't really break free of it. They're not really my thing either, but okay to read every once in a while I think. And I'm glad that my review helped you with your thoughts about reading this book, Aylee! :)

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    1. Sorry botched that first comment!
      I love this review! I only recently read this series, all in one chunk btw, and while I liked Unearthly more than you, I totally appreciate some of your beefs with it. Like you, I was a never a big fan of "angel" storylines. The experience I had had with them prior to Unearthly wasn't very good. But like you I LOVED the angel lore in Hand's book(s) (and it get's even better as the series goes on.) The lack of a religious connection actually didn't bother me that much.

      But what I love most about your review is the point you made about Clara's romance being an examination of free will vs. destiny. That was hands down my favorite aspect of this series. And yes, I am Team Tucker all the way:)

      Super review! I hope you are planning to continue this series. I would definitely recommend reading the novella Radiant (meant to be read after 2 but before 3) because it really sets up bk 3 and gives more insight on some of the important secondary characters. Well worth the small amount of $ for the download and a quick read at that:)

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