Uneartly - Reviewed

Unearthly
Author: Cynthia Hand
Release Date: January 2011
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages: 435
Target Age: Young Adult
Source: Received from Harper Teen through NetGalley
Summary from Goodreads:

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?

After reading a few different Angel on Earth books and liking some of them, I was wondering if this book was going to be more of the same.  I'm happy to report that it is not.  After starting out a little slow (and I thought predictable) this book really picked up and even threw me for a loop now and again. For the most part I really liked the characters in Unearthly with the exception of Clara's mother.  She tells Clara as little as possible about what it means to be part Angel. This leaves Clara full of questions, and willing to find the answers anywhere she can.  I'm hoping her reasons for doing this are revealed in the next book.  What about the ever present YA love triangle?  There is one, but there isn't.  Sorry, I can't go into much more than that without giving anything away, and you know I won't do that.  Just trust me when I say this isn't your typical love triangle, it's new and different and I loved it! Really, if you like books about Angels at all, then I think you will be impressed by Cynthia Hand's original tale.