Amazing Book Alert: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

I am in love with this book.  Like, madly, swooning, thinking-up-songs-for-the-soundtrack in love.

Let me get the synopsis out of the the way and then I'll tell you why.

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?

Six pages in, there was a passage that made me laugh out loud, stop reading, and immediately run up to my computer room and stalk Cynthia Hand's blog and Twitter.  Six pages was all it took to make me a fangirl.  So what was the passage?
 
And then I almost crash into a cheerleader.
"Watch it, dorkina!" she says.
I stagger to one side to let her pass.  Breathing hard, I lean against the folded-up bleachers and try to get the vision back. But it's like trying to return to a dream after you're fully awake.  It's gone.
Crap.  No one's ever called me a dorkina before.  Derivative of dork.  Not good.
 
Not to mention that on the very next page, she's eating a pint of Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby ice cream.  So not only is Clara funny, she has excellent taste in ice cream.
 
And men.
 
Christian, the boy from her visions, is tall, dark, and handsome.  And then there's Tucker.  Siiiiiigh, Tucker. Blonde, dimpled, blue-eyed, outdoorsy Tucker, who made me fall head over heels in love with him.
 
If two hotties aren't enough, the setting for this novel is absolutely gorgeous.  It takes place amidst the mountains (and lakes and rivers and sandbars and ski resorts) of Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  I've never been there, but after reading this novel, I want to go.  The descriptions of the scenery are breathtaking.  If I could pull off "glory" like Clara and her mother, I'd be all glowy too, from the beauty of it all.
 
Or, the kissing might do it.  I won't say who Clara kisses because I don't want to give anything away, but if I'd read this book before I did my Hottest Kiss post, this one would have made the list for sure.  It was the point where "Everything" by Lifehouse blared through my head, in case you were wondering about the soundtrack.  YOU'RE ALL I WANT, YOU'RE ALL I NEED, YOU'RE EVERYTHAAANG... Ahem.  Sorry. And if I'm willing to share Clark and Lana's song with another couple, you know they're worth it.
 
If you're looking for a fun, well-told, intriguing story, go get this book.  And don't be fooled by the prologue - while it's beautiful, I read it and was afraid the book might be too "fancy" for my taste, poetic to the point of distraction.  But it's not.  It's funny, romantic, engrossing, and all-around beautiful.  I am salivating for the sequel!