Unearthly

By: Cynthia Hand

Narrated by: Samantha Quan

Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

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.

©2011 Cynthia Hand (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

Engaging and Warm-hearted!

I found this story well-written, with a fresh, novel voice for this genre. Not all the dialogue and characters are "what you might expect". (Examples: I really enjoyed the way Clara's inner life, her thoughts and sense of humor are written, and the love-story aspect of it is not drowned in cliche'). The characters become very real because they are warm-hearted, engaging and compelling. The heroine and other main characters are quite believable. To me the narration was pretty much perfectly suited to Clara and the other characters throughout. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what makes the difference between a story that does draw you in and feels truly heartfelt and one that does not, but this story definitely has it, and I highly recommend it. My only minor complaint is that, after a lot of anticipation, I found the very end just a bit lackluster. Evidently, that was how the author felt she wanted to segue to a sequel at the time, but after the two most dramatic scenes toward the end, I felt it lacked the punch it could have had. Having said that, the characters have won me over and I will definitely be on board for the next installment!

Fantastic story, horrible narrator.

GREAT story, the ending is compelling! It's hard to stop reading/listening. However, I must say the narrator is NOT my favorite. She confuses character voices frequently. She even confused male/female voices a couple times!! Ugh. And, she also had a hard time pulling out of the character voice back to the narrator tone. I found it all very distracting and annoying! So I gave it 4 stars. Story deserves 5 stars, but narrator flaws lowered it.

Beautifully written love & rite of passage story

What did you love best about Unearthly?

I loved how the whole story caught and held my attention. And the only part of the plot that's comparable to other novels is the love triangle! But that just made the story even greater!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Definitely Clara! She was such a "special" girl but evenstill she stayed humble and never let all the power she had go to her head. How many teens can u say that about these days?

What about Samantha Quan’s performance did you like?

I like how she had each character's voice differentiated so skillfully. Not too many narrators hv mastered that particular skill.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not particularly bc the entire story was AMAZING in my opinion!

Any additional comments?

Yes. I know some ppl aren't too into YA novels, but this one is SO worth the time and credit/$. But dnt tk my word for it-LISTEN FOR YOURSELF!

Exciting, edge of seat conclusion!

My daughter and I listened to this book, which was narrated by Samantha Quan and we really enjoyed it.

Although the synopsis says that Clara recently learned she’s part angel, I think it should have been Clara, who is part angel, just recently started having visions about her purpose. Every Angelblood has a purpose on earth, a task they must do, but they aren’t told exactly what the task is or what they are supposed to do about it. They are given little bits and pieces through visions and they have to figure it out themselves.

As the time for her purpose gets closer and closer, Clara’s angel powers will begin to grow and she should become more focused on her purpose. But that is what she should be doing, not what she is doing. What could distract this little angel from her purpose? Real life and love. How can she choose what might be for what is? What happens if she falls in love and doesn’t complete her purpose?

My daughter and I were right on the edge of our seats at the end of this book! So many things all coming together as the big day finally approaches. So many twists and turns. If the second book was already out, we would have downloaded it immediately!

The narrator Samantha Quan did an excellent job with this book. Her voice was age appropriate and easy to listen to. I hope she narrates the second book also.

Very Slow Start

Could have been a great story, and don't get me wrong it wasn't bad, just slow. It isn't until the beginning of it's climax that the story starts pulling you in. As long as book 2 has a more upbeat tempo, I would recommend this set of books...however, if it starts as slow as this, I will likely not finish it and move on to the next book in my library.

Girl teen Angels don't have it easy either...

What made the experience of listening to Unearthly the most enjoyable?

Great plot and sensitive writing, particularly the internal dialog of teen angel and the smooth transition into ambiguous ending. Excellent reader, with minimal lapses of designated character Voices.

What did you like best about this story?

The layers of excellence: innovative plot, mother-daughter relationship details, character development, fullness of the Angel blood culture/history that unfolds as the plot does.

What does Samantha Quan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The Voice she gives Clara. A wonderful example is when Clara is bringing forth Glory @ her mother's request, and she recalls the fish joke: Samantha Quan's inflection of "Damn!" has such an emotional punch.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Oh yes!

Any additional comments?

High school proms didn't begin to be in "full swing" within the first hour of starting. At least, not when I was in high school. Nor even when my 20-year old daughter was! In fact, the prom scene was the most discordant to my experience.

Took me a minute...but I liked it!

What did you love best about Unearthly?

Those two boys. Who wouldn't love to have two studs fighting for your attention!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Unearthly?

Not as much memorable, as SO SAD! The part where Tucker has to make a choice between himself and his horse. I sobbed. I own horses and they are my everything. Hit home and made me a mess.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

What's your purpose?

Any additional comments?

I had a hard time getting into it at first, but I did enjoy it.

Really Enjoyed this book

Plot - believable, not at all far-fetch and refreshingly different.
Character development - satisfactory. The main characters are multidimensional and likeable and have you supporting them.
Pace - also satisfactory. This is not a story that have your adrenaline going crazy but advances at a pace that is just right to allow for character development without having the story dragging.
Boring factor - none really. This book kept me engaged the entire time.
Narrator - Her voice was pleasing and appropriate.
Any weak area - maybe the ending. I felt like it was a slight bit of a let down until I realize that there is a follow-up book, which I will also get.

Español

Me encanta este libro pero desearía que tuviera una versión en español por favor me en encanta la saga

4 stars

good story and looking forward to listening to the next. narrated well but wish for more variation to the characters.