I've considered throwing this one out of my to-read list several times. After all, it's about an angel girl meant to save a boy and let's be honest, how many good YA books about angels are there? I didn't like Fallen and I didn't see any reason for a repeat experience of that. More mushy meant-to-be stuff where the guy treats the girl terribly and yet she's so very much in love with him. Swoon. 
 What eventually convinced me, however, was the fact that there were so many positive reviews claiming this book is nothing like Fallen or any of those other angel books already out there. I decided to pick it up to see if those reviews were right, and what do you know? They were! 
 Unearthly is a YA novel, yes, and it is about a girl who is part angel. However, there is none of the instant-love-but-there-are-heavenly-obstacles-in-the-way-yet-pre-destined-love-conquers-all that I was afraid I would find. Yes, there is a purpose. As an angel-blood, Clara has a purpose that does, indeed, involve a boy. Not that she likes it much, because it forces her family to move away from the home she's always known and making friends is hard when you're in high school, even when you're part angel. Yes, she sees romance in the visions of her purpose, too, but that is much more complicated than it seems. To my relief, she actually didn't properly fall in love with anyone until she'd spent quite some time with the guy in question and got to know him, which is, if you ask me, a very important requirement for falling in love with a guy. 
 In addition, the story is not just about love, or purposes, or angels. It's also about family and friendships, about fitting in and sticking out, about the dangerous sides of being an angel-blood, and about choices; because what if you know, rationally, what the right choice is, but your gut and your heart tell you to do something else? Clara finds herself in situations that are familiar to most readers (and not just young adults, either) and her thought processes are easy to follow, making her a main character many will be able to identify themselves with. I'm glad to have finally found a good angel series and I'll definitely be reading on.