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Hallowed: An Unearthly Novel
Hallowed: An Unearthly Novel
Hallowed: An Unearthly Novel
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Hallowed: An Unearthly Novel

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this ebook

For months Clara Gardner trained to face the fire from her visions, but she wasn't prepared for the choice she had to make that day. And in the aftermath, she discovered that nothing about being part angel is as straightforward as she thought.

Now, torn between her love for Tucker and her complicated feelings about the roles she and Christian seem destined to play in a world that is both dangerous and beautiful, Clara struggles with a shocking revelation: Someone she loves will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

In this compelling sequel to Unearthly, Cynthia Hand captures the joy of first love, the anguish of loss, and the confusion of becoming who you are.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperTeen
Release dateJan 17, 2012
ISBN9780062103475
Author

Cynthia Hand

The Lady Janies are made up of New York Times bestselling authors Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows. They first met in 2012, when their publishers sent them on a book tour together, and they hit it off so well they decided to write My Lady Jane so they could go on book tours together all the time. Between the three of them they’ve written more than twenty published novels, a bunch of novellas, a handful of short stories, and a couple of really bad poems. They’re friends. They’re writers. They’re fixing history by rewriting one sad story at a time. Learn more at ladyjanies.com. 

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Reviews for Hallowed

Rating: 4.174893012875537 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Note: This book contains a mild spoiler for book one (but NOT the big reveal), and no spoilers for this book, book twoThis is book two of the “Unearthly” series about teenagers who are part angels, and their problems they have because of this mixed status (see my review of book one, here). At the end of book one, Clara, who is now 17, defied her visions (which putatively are to direct her toward her purpose as an angel-blood) in order to rescue her boyfriend Tucker from a big fire instead of going first to rescue Christian, the boy in her visions. She worries about the repercussions, but so far, all that has happened is that she has new visions. Again, Christian is a part of them rather than Tucker. In the dream, they are going to a funeral, and Clara knows she is profoundly sad, but she doesn’t know yet whose funeral it is.Meanwhile, Clara and Christian get to be friends (much to Tucker’s chagrin), and Clara learns a lot more about angel “society.” There are some confrontations with a “black wing” (a fallen angel) and some lessons from a full-blooded (non-fallen) angel. The fact that both types of angels compete for the loyalty of the half-bloods becomes very important because of Clara’s resentful and rebellious younger brother Jeffrey. Tucker, as sweet and romantic as he can be, goes at it over Clara with Christian, who also happens to be sweet and romantic. We should all have such problems! But alas, we don’t, and Clara does, and she has to decide what is best to do to fulfill her destiny as well as satisfy her heart.Evaluation: This is a very entertaining, self-mocking series with plenty of good romance and both human and angel angst.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Originally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.Unearthly was my first review kicking off my blog, and I really enjoyed it. Cynthia Hand's intro into the paranormal YA world was a great one, a great take on angels and a romance (even love triangle, gasp!) I could truly get into. Hallowed follows up on all the things I loved about Unearthly, but it doesn't quite hit the same mark Unearthly did for me.It's still a great second book in a series, don't get me wrong. We focus on Clara and her visions of her new purpose, a vision of a funeral. Someone she loves is going to die, and that sorrow she feels in her vision permeates the entire book. For that reason alone, I had to read this slowly; I couldn't take the constant sadness that Clara has to deal with. I loved her too much to read it in one go.We do get a lot more information on the angels, which I really appreciated and enjoyed, as it picked up the book and gave it some of the energy it was missing in the first quarter. New characters were delightful, and the secret Clara and Jeffrey discover are pretty good.As for the love triangle...I'm still not sure how I feel about it in this installment. I appreciated it in the first because there were reasons why Clara would fall for Tucker or Christian, and they're both really good guys. It felt like the love triangle was amped up a little in Hallowed, but it never went too over the top. It was still balanced and kept me invested in who Clara would end up with.Hallowed does really well at what it set out to do. I might not have enjoyed it as much as I did Unearthly, but that doesn't mean it isn't a great book. I simply prefer not to cry into my pillow without trying to wake my boyfriend at one in the morning because the last 30 pages kept me in tears.Can't believe I have to wait forever for the next book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Read the full review here.The first thing that struck me about Hallowed was that it was tighter and flowed better than Unearthly. The characters develop well throughout the book and I felt, when I finished, that I understood them much better. I was hooked into the story very early on, and then found myself reading large chunks whenever I was free so I could find out all the juicy secrets within the pages.Cynthia Hand has not written a typical young adult paranormal romance, and she isn't afraid to make fun of herself. Clara stands outside Tucker's bedroom in a few scenes and at one point she admits that it is "dumb and admittedly creepy in an Edward Cullen kind of way". When confronted with the inevitable love triangle between herself, Tucker and Christian, Clara says"Before I moved here, I never got the whole love-triangle thing. You know, in movies or romance novels or whatnot, where there's one chick that all the guys are drooling over, and even though you don't see anything particularly special about her. But oh, no, they must both have her. And she's like, oh dear, however will I choose? William is so sensitive, he understands me, he swept me off my feet, oh misery, blubber, blubber, but how can I go on living without Rafe and his devil-may-care ways and his dark and only-a-little-abusive love?"The characters are not stereotypical, and cannot be pigeon-holed into typical roles. Everyone is realistic, has their motivations, vices and redeeming qualities. The author brings a freshness to the genre that I loved.This sequel has made me pine for more, and I hope the third and concluding book of the Unearthly series will be in my hands soon!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In Unearthly, Clara Gardner found out about her purpose, moved to a new town, and then tried her best to complete her purpose. In Hallowed, it's the after-effects of the first book and how Clara's purpose has perhaps been altered by the choices she made.I loved this book. Clara reminds me so much of myself and when I found myself literally screaming (yes, actually YELLING) at my Kindlebecause I was so angry (as well as crying so hard my eyes got all puffy), I knew that these characters were 100% real and very dear to me. Do I agree with everything that Clara did? UM, NO. But that aside, the message that Cynthia Hand gets across in this book is universal to every single human, angel, whatever, etc in the universe: "What is my purpose in life? What am I suppose to do? Does one single action determine if I'm good or evil? Why am I here!" These are things that everyone asks themselves.You guys, this book has it all: beautiful writing, wonderful characters, and the perfect boy (yes, singular) - Team Tucker!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Unearthly was one of my favorite reads of 2011, so I was expecting big things from Hallowed. Unfortunately, it fell right into that rut that so many YA sequels do: the heroine gets a little more emo, the love interest gets a little less sexy, and the story gets a little less exciting. Clara spends the majority of the novel kind of bummed out, both because of the price she may have to pay for angering Samjeeza, but also because of her uncertainty in terms of love. I really wasn’t expecting Cynthia Hand to bring the love triangle back (considering it wasn’t much of one in Unearthly), but she does, and it’s frustrating. Tucker is such a sweet guy that you just can’t help feeling a little disappointed with Clara’s indecision.Hallowed isn’t all disappointment, though: Clara’s humor is still there, and so is Cynthia Hand’s lovely writing. The story is slower and less action-packed than Unearthly, but it still keeps you turning pages with big reveals. Hallowed is full of surprises, especially in regards to angel mythology. Clara knew that her mother was keeping secrets from her, but it’s incredible how much Hallowed shows us she was hiding. Cynthia hand does a great job of building on the mythology she introduced in Unearthly, and its complexity is great.If you loved Unearthly as much as I did, you’ll still enjoy Hallowed. It’s a little disappointing as a sequel, but it’s still worth the read, especially considering how much the overarching story progresses. I’m definitely eager for book three! Things can only get better from here.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Review courtesy of All Things Urban FantasyCynthia Hand’s paranormal YA series stole my heart with UNEARTHLY, and with HALLOWED, it has now firmly cemented these books as my favorite angel series. Well conceived and always expanding angel mythology that doesn’t ruffle any particular religious feathers, swoon-worthy romance with a love triangle that actually works, characters you care about, and best of all, unpredictability.The love story was my favorite part of UNEARTHLY, and it’s just as captivating in HALLOWED. There are some achingly romantic lines in this book. Words that slip inside you and wrap around your heart to make it beat faster. I had expectations, and very firm desires for what I wanted to happen for Clara in regards to the previously introduced love triangle, and they didn’t happen. Not one of them. Yet, somehow, the author so subtly altered my desires along with her characters, that I’m not even disappointed (well, maybe a little, but I think things ended up just the way they needed to).I didn’t have quite the same connection with Clara this time. She was understandably more introverted and somber in HALLOWED. She has to deal with a lot of changes, and some fairly devastating ones at that. While I understood the more melancholy and occasionally cross Clara in this book, I did miss the lighter, witty version from UNEARTHLY. Keeping with the the surprising directions with the romance, HALLOWED didn’t skimp on the shocking plot developments. There were at least two jaw droppers that I was completely caught off guard by. Clara’s next story will be a HUGE departure in just about every possible way. I’m nervous about that, but based on how skillfully the author has handled the series so far, I’m extremely eager to read more. The next book in the Unearthly series is still untitled and won’t be published until 2013, but the series is being developed into a TV show for The CW network. Who else is excited about that?Sexual Content:Kissing. References to sex
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Hallowed continues Clara's journey and outlines her struggle to find her purpose as a part angel. The book started slowly for me and never really reached the pace I was hoping for but the story was well told and engrossing. The strength of this series lies in its exploration of the relationships between the characters. I found the storyline between Clara and her mother to be the most compelling and heart-wrenching of the book. It was well written kept me interest throughout. I wasn't as much of a fan of the love triangle and I'm not sure it was a necessary part of the story. I look forward to the resolution of Clara's story and hope the next installment has a faster pace.This review was based on a copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    **I shan’t spoil this.


    Oh, Cynthia Hand. You wily author, you.

    I find this book hard to review, as there’s little I can say without giving all of it away. Hallowed picks up right where Unearthly left off. You remember Unearthly. How swoon-worthy it was and how you knew throughout that everything, at least romance-wise, was right with the world? Yah, well prepare to have your Unearthly world turned upside down.

    It’s the sign of a very talented author to be able to manipulate/coerce her audience to agree with her storyline’s every whim. I know that not everyone will jump ship, but be honest – you, at least, got your feathers ruffled. If I sound vague, it’s cuz I’m not in the business of spoiling books, but everyone who has read it knows what I mean. That’s all I will say on the matter.

    Lies. I will also say this on the matter: Tucker, who? Haha. J/K!, sike, and all that. I love Tucker, but let’s be honest – he hasn’t come to terms with the fact that Clara is a frikkin ANGEL and I dunno if he ever will. He wants to be there for her, but I’m unsure if he’s capable, being a mere human and stuff.

    Hand is tricky, tricky lady, though, no? After book #1, I didn’t even LIKE Christian. He was annoying and stalkerish to me. By the end of Unearthly, I could not fathom ever coming to like him over Tucker for Clara. So, I applaud you Hand, cuz I’m officially on the fence now. Dude. When Christian sat outside her window for HOOOOURS? That shit made my heart clench. It was poignant. He gets her. He totally gets her and doesn't push her to be that which she is not. Isn’t that a building brick of a stable foundation for a healthy relationship? It doesn’t negate all the wonderful things about Tucker-n-Clara, but it’s amazing how easily we’ve been led to see new possibilities. Bravo on that curveball, I say. What now? (bites nails)

    Clara’s dad… I simultaneously like and dislike him. He’s awesome in many ways, but I don’t like how he’s just dropped into the story. He spent all those years away from the kids and trying to protect them, but then he comes back and just starts glory-ing people and introducing his glory-ful self to everyone as Clara’s dad? Nah. Too easy.

    After Hand’s master manipulation (I mean that in a really good way), I dunno where we’re all going, but the anticipation is killing me. Book #3 can’t come soon enough.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Can you say amazing? Cause that is what this book is!! I knew from the very start of this book that there was going to be so much heart wrenching action that I was actually nervous while reading this. What I like most about this book is the way Ms. Hand utterly and beautifully connected this book to the first. I LOVE it when an author can bring to light with great "aweness" of what is really going on with the story. I adore that Ms. Hand created such a drama filled plot line that I never even sought to look the way Ms. Hand did. So many things made sense that I was like," Ms. Hand you are a genius."There are a few new elements that made me want to cry. Okay, correction, Ms. Hand, you made me cry. I cried beautiful tears of a love that is lost. Try as I might to hold the tears in, it only made my throat hurt more. Definitely this author created such a wonderful story that I could only take so much in a time. At one point, I had to book the down just to catch my breath and breathe. If you haven't figured it out by now that this book is only made of pure awesomeness please go and do yourself a favor and pick up this book! As soon as you start it, you will not regret it. Your heart will long for a reading journey and this my friend is the journey you are looking for. Beautifully handcrafted and delectably told, Hallowed is the best book I've read this year!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Hallowed was a good read, I was sad throughout it because I knew someone close to Clara was going to die and when it came to that part of the story my heart broke just a tad. I love the two male love interests as they both offer Clara different things, but who is the right one for her. Well, Christian only because he is like her and will live longer than Tucker. Okay, there is more to it than that but she can really be her Angel self without worrying about the glory making Tucker sick or worship her. However, her heart belongs to Tucker, and I wonder how that is going to play out in the end. I think Tucker is a great character though, all of the characters are well developed and easy to identify with. The story flowed well and the reader gets a better understanding of who Clara is and where she comes from. Hallowed is full of surprises, and can't wait to read more of this series. This is truly a story of loss, self-discovery, family and love.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    And now I'm sad, because it's time for the long wait until book 3 comes out. This was a really good book! I love it when an author doesn't shy away from the tough journey. Things are definitely not easy for Clara in this one. It all starts out well, which of course is the first sign that things are about to get miserable. The changes are poignant, never sappy, and quite moving. I'm moving book 3 to my "eagerly anticipated" shelf, because I really want to know what happens next.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The idea of fallen angels (or angel/human relationships) has never seemed romantic to me, but rather creepy and demonic so I usually avoid angel books with very few exceptions, Cynthia Hand’s Unearthly, being one of them. I really enjoyed it and thought there was a clear delineation between good and evil in the story. The protagonists were descendants of fallen angels, part human and part angel, who had a purpose on Earth to do good and oppose the evil fallen angels, or blackwings. Hallowed, on the other hand, introduced new characters, blurred the lines a bit and romanticized full blooded angels in a way that I’m not sure that I liked.Hallowed picks up right where Unearthly left off with Clara, Tucker and Christian about to start their senior year of high school. The first portion of the book is filled with a lot of angst as Clara agonizes if by going against her vision, she has ruined her life by not completing her purpose in life. Clara’s angst is understandable. At 17, all she wants to do is to hang out with her boyfriend and not worry about destiny and the consequences of going against your given purpose. Of course, her life is more complicated than that. Clara has her moments where she throws a tantrum and contemplates changing her life to suit her boyfriend (all realistic for a girl her age), but she does get it together and her character experiences more growth and maturity than in book one. I have to talk about the love triangle in Hallowed. I don’t like love triangles but if you are a writer and you are going to include one in your book, this is the way to do it. Clara does not go annoyingly back and forth about which boy she wants to be with. She loves one of them but feels like destiny is pushing her to another and she resents it. It’s also hard to be annoyed by this triangle when both boys are fantastically written and Clara would be good with either one.My personal misgivings about human/angel relationships aside, this book is extremely well written. Hand easily side steps the second-book-in-a-series-slump by writing a book with a winning plot, adding interesting new characters while still engaging us with the old ones and throwing in relevant plot twists. Hallowed is an emotional book with rich relationships and did I say amazing writing? It would have been easy for Hand to cheapen certain situations in the book but she didn’t. I can’t get too spoilery but there is incredible love and loss and it is very well done. There is no cliffhanger at the end of Hallowed but readers will definitely be chomping at the bit to find out what happens next. The next book in the series will be out next year.Content: Kissing and violence
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    There will be spoilers for the first book in the series: Unearthly.I'm going to be very vague in my review because I don't want to spoil anyone. If I were to write what I really wanted to about this book it would probably look something like this:#$(#($(LIKE(#$(@#)@WHAT@(#(STOP IT CHRISTIAN@#(@TUCKERRRRRRR@((@#$(#NOOO JEFFREYYYYY@#*!*! and end with me riding off into the sunset with Tucker on the back of Midas in a blaze of Glory....thankfully for you, I'm going to write something else and try to make it somewhat composed.Hallowed is Cynthia Hand's middle child and I liked it even more than her first. Sure, it's got classic middle child syndrome. It doesn't really further the plot along (though there are several new developments) and it ends as a very clear set up for the next book. The story still isn't the most original or groundbreaking thing in the world. There's still a love triangle with a heroine at the middle who is just special and shiny enough to make two men fall desperately in love with her. Yet, I loved this book. I laughed. I cried. I got angry. I worried. I stayed up all night with these characters. What kind of book deserves five stars if one that can make me do all of those things does not? I'm not here to be a professional judge of literary merit. Even so, it's like Cynthia Hand said to other authors "Look, you want to include the cliche high-school experience in your story and have a heroine who is being forced to choose between an attractive supernatural being and the boy next door? You can write that story but THIS is how you do it."As stated in my review of Unearthly I was a little fearful of where book two was going to go. At the start of the book (and random moments throughout) I was worried that the story was going to be taken somewhere very cliche with the love triangle and fall in on itself. It's like I was standing at the edge of a cliff with Cynthia Hand behind me just begging me to trust her and I was saying "But Cynthia, those rocks down there look awfully sharp and I think I see Christian down there trying to give himself Edward Cullen hair..." and she was like "Shut up. I've got this all under control. And you've got to admit his wings are pretty." and guess what? Cynthia Hand never pushed me off that cliff. Although I'm pretty sure I saw her nudge Tucker a few times.I don't like love triangles. There's usually a very clear winner and the girl ends up with the slightly abusive bad boy, while both boys stand around salivating over her like she's prime rib, and it's sickening. That is not so here. Well, for the most part. Cynthia Hand develops her characters so well that even if you came away from the first book solidly on the Team Tucker side (not that I would, um, ever, ya know, be on a team or anything... cough) that you will likely come to empathize with Clara and the reasons she is drawn to Christian as well. The thing is, Clara never casts Tucker aside. She doesn't look at Christian and say "Oh, but I cannot fight his charms! Look at his dark and smoky features!" and turn into mush in his presence. Though the boys have their cave man moments, they come out of it and apologize and they treat Clara with respect. They treat her as a person who can make her own decisions and don't try to force her hand. As a result, you feel something for everyone involved in the situation. It doesn't feel like a plot device. The love triangle makes sense as part of Clara's story. Clara is a creature with a destiny but she is also a creature with free will and the love triangle was a great way to explore that and help Clara grow.It also isn't the focus of the whole book. I absolutely loved that Clara's relationship with her family is so developed. I like that the mother gets to have her own story. Too often in YA the adults aren't fleshed out at all and it's often a missed opportunity. Maggie is just as developed as Clara and I love Cynthia Hand for that. I would love to see Hand expand on Maggie's past even further. I also really enjoyed watching Jeffrey's story unfold.I mentioned in my review of Unearthly that I really appreciate Cynthia Hand's sense of humor. That continues here. Which is good, because without Clara's voice, this book would have been very dark indeed. Clara pokes fun at her life and herself and the situations she finds herself in and it adds a necessary lightness to the story.I'm glad I stood at that cliff with Cynthia Hand. Though, based on the ending I'm even more concerned for book three. I don't know why, because it's become clear that I should trust her. She has proven herself to be a great storyteller who treats her characters with respect.Recommendation: If you liked Unearthly I think you should move right on to Hallowed. The same humor and suspense can be found in this second installment. Just don't come here looking for the plot to move forward a hell of a lot. This book focuses a great deal of its time on relationships (not just romantic ones) and character development. I wish there had been a little bit more resolved (particularly with Angela - you know something is going on there!) but I don't think fans of book one will be very disappointed.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Love that this book begins a day or two after Unearthly ends - jumping right back into the action is just my cup of tea!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Slower than the first book but still very enjoyable. There's a tug of war love triangle which isn't of the eye rolling kind. Am interested in how the story will end. There is a war but they haven't expanded on that yet because the only threat seemed to be Samjeeza. About to start on Boundless in 30 seconds :)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Very thought provoking book focused on the ways our choices impact not only ourselves but all those around us. Awesome for a discussion starter with your teens. The characters in this trilogy grip you quickly and tend to stay on your mind long after you close the book. I can't wait for book three!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was an absolute stunner of a book; it is beautifully written and absolutely engaging. Very hard to put down and lots of surprising revelations that made this book even better than the first one (and I absolutely loved the first boo).Clara and her family moved to Colorado so she could fulfill her angelic purpose. Well at the end of Unearthly she made a different choice, the choice to not fulfill her purpose. That decision will have repercussions that even Clara could never had expected. Clara is trying to get on with life and enjoy time with her boyfriend Tucker. That's when the dreams start; Clara is having dreams that someone very close to her will die, she thinks it might be Tucker. Clara's worry over Tucker puts strain on their relationship and she finds herself spending more and more time with Christian, another Quatarius angel whose fate seems tied closely to Clara's.When you look at the synopsis this sounds like just another paranormal YA book. The difference is this is a really, really well written YA book with a lot of heart, and a lot of humor. The writing is beautiful. Clara is funny at points and absolutely honest. I love the relationship she has with her mom and what a loving family they are.Clara makes a wonderful heroine, the mistakes she makes are in an effort to do the right thing. She is constantly torn between following her heart and following her destiny. She also has to go through some truly heartbreaking stuff in this book. Seriously you will laugh out loud and then be in tears by the end of the book.If you were a Tucker fan in the last book, sorry to say you might be changing sides. Christian plays a huge role in this book; his respect, understanding and constant support of Clara make him a wonderful character and I was really rooting for him by the end of the story.The book is mostly drama, not a ton of action, but there is some action and mystery as Clara struggles to solve the mystery of the Black Wings and uncover the history of her mother. The plot takes some amazing twists at the end and there are some revelations that are truly jaw-dropping. There is a lot in this story I would never have been able to predict, it was all very well done.Overall this book is even better than the first one. Clara is such a likable character that she is easy to get attached to; she is forced to dealing with some heartbreaking stuff. Christian really comes into his own in this book; he is so supportive and understanding of Clara. Some truly surprising plot twists occur that really upped the ante. Highly recommended to fans of YA paranormal books; this series is so well written that it is really one of the better YA series out there.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Lost after what happened the day of the forest fire, Clara Gardner continues to struggle with the many duplicities in her life. She is part-angel, and yet her mother won’t tell her the full truth about who she is and what she’s meant to do on earth, and in the meantime she has to pretend to be a normal girl attending high school in Jackson, Wyoming…which is beginning to feel like it’s home to a few too many angel-bloods. She loves her boyfriend Tucker—wholly Wyoming hottie, wholly human—but cannot deny her connection with Christian, the angel-blood who had been appearing in her visions even before she moved to Jackson.When Clara begins having visions of someone she loves dying, she is forced to come to terms with the fact that she belongs to a complicated, and sometimes even dangerous, world that will never be as normal as she wants.By now most of you know how I feel about YA paranormal romances. We’ll just leave that at that. But there are a handful of YA paranormal books that I would be less skeptical of, less hesitant in considering reading, and Cynthia Hand’s interesting and well-written angel series is one of those few. Despite it unfortunately taking on a few more “YA paranormal cliché” characteristics, HALLOWED remains a well-written and even funny second book in the trilogy.One of my favorite parts of Unearthly was Clara and her narration. Too many paranormal YA female protagonists have no personality, no sense of humor. Clara has both. I can’t get enough of the moments when she actually pokes fun at her own fictional genre, referencing the melodramaticness of YA paranormal romances, love triangles, and stalker paranormal love interests. I love when fictional characters are, metaphorically, self-aware: it happens so rarely that I’m inclined to laugh out loud and share with everyone around me when it happens.Unfortunately—although in some ways I suppose it was inevitable—HALLOWED acquired a few more YA paranormal conventions as it continued Clara’s story. Despite its subtle jabs at Twilight, Twilight fans will like this series, and HALLOWED reminded me of that pervasive YA paranormal franchise more often than I would have liked. HALLOWED dilly-dallies: the story within probably could’ve been told in 150 pages instead of more than 400. It contains few surprises: a large portion of the book seemed to consist of Clara waffling between Tucker and Christian.Sadly, the attractive and confident Tucker of Unearthly is reduced to being stubborn and petty and just not all that appealing in HALLOWED. Methinks I spot a setup for the third book in here…? And Clara finds out something shocking about herself, thereby changing her from “(relatively) ordinary girl we can empathize with” to “character whose struggles are legitimized by her newfound understanding of herself and her role.” If Hand had wanted to blow readers away with so-called shocking revelations and twists in HALLOWED, well, let’s just say that all I felt was a tickle of a breeze.HALLOWED wasn’t as strong of a read as Unearthly was for me, but fans of Unearthly should still love this second installation in the series. Despite its at-times conventional plot development, HALLOWED is still a well-written and unique take on the angel concept—emphasis on “well-written.” A strong successor to both the deserved and not-quite-so-deserved financially successful YA paranormal series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I have stated before that while I have loved the covers of most of the angel based YA books that came out in 2011 I wasn't blown away by any of the ones I read. I enjoyed Unearthly but it did not top my reading list so while I wanted to read Hallowed I wasn't jumping out of my seat to get to it. But OMG, I stayed up late last night to finish it despite knowing I had to wake up early to start cooking for our New Year's Eve family lunch because I was so hooked! Hallowed was amazing and had me laughing, crying and cursing that I couldn't read book 3 right away.I loved Tucker in Unearthly and was so glad that he apparently was winning out over the hottie angel Christian. In this book new revelations are brought to light that cause an upheaval in Clara's relationships with Tucker, Christian, her mother and her brother. Some of the developments were a little cliche but I loved that Cynthia Hand poked some fun at herself by having Clara actually bemoaning how cliched some parts of her life have become. I still love Tucker but now am growing a bit fonder of Christian. Normally I feel like I can call which guy the main character is going to end up with but I honestly don't know for this series. Clara seems to love Tucker so much but also seems destined to end up with Christian. Hand definitely keeps her readers guessing where this relationship will end. There were also a few other surprises I didn't see coming that always brings a refreshing feeling when reading.My main reason for not rating this a solid 5 out of 5 was that I did miss seeing more of Jeffrey (besides him being constantly sullen and a jerk), Wendy and even Angela, who while she appears quite often her only purpose seems to be dropping bombshell news on Clara. Still this was an amazing follow up to Unearthly and could we please, pretty please get book 3 any sooner? :)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Now this isn't guaranteed for every series I read, but a good deal of the time I like the second book even more than the first. Unfortunately, this was not the case. But don't get me wrong, I still loved this book, just slightly less than Unearthly. And the sole reason for that will be explained in a bit. First I want to talk about what I did like.First of all, WOW. I did not expect the story to take the turns it did. I still don't know how this will affect the story going into book three. Let me just say that unless your heart is made of ice, this book will make you cry. But before that it'll tease you with what it wants you to think before saying NOPE! This is what really happens. Ah well. Because of this event new characters were introduced, one of which I really enjoyed and think will be a good presence in Clara and Jeffrey's life. I was also pleased to learn the reason behind the way Jeffrey was acting in the end of Unearthly and most of Hallowed. I very much hope to see more of him and his part of the story.Now to the part I didn't like. Lack of Tucker! He snuck his way into my heart in Unearthly, but I felt as if he was just pushed aside in Hallowed. An after thought. I'll admit it was kind of nice seeing more of Christian and getting to know him better than we did in Unearthly, but I am firmly team Tucker. I hope this is rectified in the next book. I also liked that while Samjeeza made a return, there wasn't really a lot of action in the good guys vs villain department. Some possible build-up, but besides one incident that further pushes Tucker away, there wasn't anything like the big fire and fighting the bad guy. Just a lot of research, done mostly by Angela. All in all, it was almost right up there with Unearthly, nearly even. This series is definitely my favorite angel series out there, especially since it focuses mainly on the angels themselves, and not necessarily God and religion. I know that in reality you can't have one without the other, but this is fiction so anything goes!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    “That’s the hardest part,” he says. “The absence of certainty.”Hallowed by Cynthia Hand can definitely be defined by an absence of certainty. The more Clara and her cohorts discover about angels, the more gaps they find in their knowledge. Of course, they know a lot more now than they did in the previous book, Unearthly (which I reviewed a few weeks ago). I’m happy to say that this was a worthy addition to the trilogy! If you enjoyed the first book, I guarantee you’ll love this one too!One thing: it certainly left me eager to read the next book. I want to be clear though…there is no cliffhanger ending. However, you will be left unhappy, confused and dying for the next book anyway. Sneaky Cynthia Hand, very sneaky.As much as I loved the characters and the plot of Unearthly – I have to say that I love Hallowed even more. I mean, seriously. There is a love triangle – and not only am I not going to complain about it – I’m going to admit that I actually enjoy it! Definitely a rarity, normally I despise them. Also rare is that I have no idea who Clara will ultimately end up with. At the end of the first book, I was a Tucker fan all the way. I didn’t like Christian that much, I actually thought he was shallow. Hallowed developed his character quite a bit though, and I pretty much did a 180. Now I like both guys and am dying to see how the final book will force Clara to choose.(Okay, maybe not a 180. I’m definitely still a Tucker girl…)The angel lore is also delved into a lot deeper this time around. We learn a lot - a lot – more about how the purpose works, how many angels there really are in Clara’s community, and about the bad guys. We also find out quite a bit about Clara’s parents – her mom and dad both. Her dad was basically a nonentity in Unearthly, but he is a definite presence in Hallowed. I love that. Clara having solid parentals is another tribute to how awesome this series is.But, like I already mentioned, the more they find out, the more questions they have. I, for one, can’t wait to find out more of the answers.If you haven’t picked this trilogy up – you definitely need to! Like I mentioned in my review of Unearthly, I am no fan of most angel books. In fact, most of the ones I’ve read are all on my list of the all time worst. This series is the exception, I promise. I was definitely impressed with Hallowed by Cynthia Hand.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Well, honestly, the book did started of like any other embellished teenager tv series or book series does, like... go to school, boy problem and such and honestly, I don't even LIKE these kind of stories but weirdly enough I do read through it since its such an emotional ride.

    From the first book, we get to know... errr.... ok.. here's the problem with first person novels, I ALWAYS forget the main character's name. ok.. Clara, an angel who saved her boyfriend Tuck in a forest fire and then found out that Christian is an angel like her. Then there's Angela's club and etc...

    The book made me cry nonstop half of the storyline and there's the whole Angel things, a fallen angel in love with Clara's mother, stalking and etc. Honestly, its a good story.. but kinda being whitewashed like The Vampire Diaries. I wonder if that even make sense.

    I'll rereview the book since I had bakery class after this.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Hallowed is an enchanting novel that grabs you from the first page of the prologue. The prologue is Clara's dream/vision, and in it she's in a cemetery burying someone, but who? As the novel unfolds, we find out who will die, and it will break your heart as much as it does Clara's. Hand does an excellent job of weaving reality with fantasy and heartbreak with hope. This novel will stay in your head long after you finish it.Clara, who is a stubborn brat in parts of the book, slowly learns that what's best for her isn't always what's best for everyone. She learns what the full impact is for not fulfilling her purpose, and she realizes that her actions affect others. By the end of the novel, she's a new character, and a better one. She grew up a ton in this book, and as she grows, her personality becomes more and more apparent and likable. By the end, Clara has become one of my favorite YA characters. Hand handles Clara's evolution from bratty teenager into adult very gracefully, and it happens at a believable pace. Christian really won me over in this book. I still love Tucker. He's a good guy, but Christian totally has my vote now. As I stated before, this is the first love triangle in which I actually liked both guys, but I do. Christian is in the lead now, but who's to say that won't change in the next book. In Hallowed, he's just perfect for Clara, and while Clara and Tucker are good together, Christian and Clara "belong together," to use Hand's own phrasing. It just seems obvious in this novel. I have no idea who Clara will end up choosing, though. Whoever Clara ends up with will be fantastic though because both guys are wonderful and truly care about her. Jeffery is a surprise in this book. I've decided that I really don't like him very much. He's just a jerk. He handles things like a petulant child, and I don't like it. I know guys supposedly mature at a different rate than girls, but unless angel-blood guys mature at the rate of a snail, he shouldn't be such a brat. Just a thought. Maybe I'm not supposed to like him though, or maybe it doesn't matter. I'm not sure about that yet. Angela also won me over in this novel. I no longer distrust her. I think she really wants what's best for Clara. Her purpose is becoming more and more clear, and it affects not only her but Clara as well. I've decided that Angela is a terrific edition to the story. Wendy is absent more in Hallowed than she was in Unearthly, and I'm starting to wonder if she's not just a filler character, a way for Clara to meet Tucker. I'm not sure. I guess I'll find out in the next book. We get to meet Clara's dad in this novel, and is he a surprise. I LOVE HIM! I hope he's in the next book as well. He's a great guy, and he's not half as jerky as Clara first thought. He really comes through for her when it matters, and he was a great addition to the story. Meeting him comes with many shocks, though. I did not see the surprise coming. I won't say what it is here because I don't want to spoil it for anyone. We also get to meet more of the angel-bloods in this book, and some of them are a surprise. It's nice to meet more of them, though, and I love Billy, Clara's mom's best friend. She's a fantastic addition to the story. She has sass and spunk, and since someone dies, she really lightens the mood on more than one occasion. I look forward to getting to know her better. The pacing of the story is done very well, and the plot unfolds at a quick rate without skipping over any important details. I cried a lot in reading this book, but at the end, I was left with a feeling of hope. I really love the character Clara's grown into, and I really enjoy the new character additions. While we see Samjeeza again, there are no major fight scenes. The story doesn't need them. It's captivating enough to hold your interest without having action, and that's impressive. Hand did a fantastic job with Hallowed, and I cannot wait for the next book in the series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I finally finished this book. But I am just now being able to do a review because I've been busy.

    But this book for me was between 4/5 because it was such a slow read for me and didnt pick up until a little over 100 pages in (at least for me it didnt pick up and make me want to stick with it until then)

    Of course, I didn't hate it. It was interesting enough, but just wasnt as good as the first.

    Although I like Tucker, I am and have always rooted for Clara and Christian to be together. I always thought they should be the ones that needed to be together and were meant to be together.

    I do kind of see where Jeffrey may be going in this series..And I would be surprised if he didn't get into some serious issues in Boundless. (No, I have not read it yet and I don't consider my last comment a spoiler). I am still not totally sure about Angela and I still find her utterly annoying..Along with Wendy.

    And the surprise about someone in the book was amazing to me and I loved it! I wasn't expecting that little twist she had in here.

    Its good to see that Clara and Jeffrey finally found some people who she could go to beyond Angela for advice and some actual truth about what it is to be an Angel-Blood.

    So, I am nervous about Boundless but also excited because I want to see what happens next.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    After failing to fulfill her purpose, Clara finds her world turned upside down and doesn't know what’s going to happen next. She begins having visions in the form of dreams, only to realize that someone close to her is going to die.

    This was a perfect follow up to Unearthly. You learn a lot more about the differences between White Wings and Black Wings. There is also a huge surprise. I know I wasn’t expecting it. This novel was extremely emotional, and had me in tears by the time I finished it. I haven’t had a book move me in such a long time. I even woke up the other half to tell him how great this book was, and that he should pick up reading as a hobby. To that, he said don’t think so and went back to sleep. :P I highly recommend this series. I rated it 4/5 because I think at times Clara is extremely self-centered, and that kind of annoyed me.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Whoever has the 3rd book out from the library needs to hurry up and finish it so I can get it. Looking back, not a lot actually *happens* in this book, but that's OK. I really enjoyed getting to know more of the backstory and having more character development.

    There wasn't nearly enough Tucker, though....
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Really, really enjoyed!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    After Unearthly, I was excited about the direction of the series. Hand had developed her angel mythology well and I expected book two to begin exploring the long term endgame. But throughout Hallowed, I felt directionless. The plot sputtered. Future plot points were planned, of course: 1. something dire is up with Clara’s mom 2. something is fishy with Clara’s brother 3. and there is something unexplainable to solve about Clara and Christian’s failed purposes. But instead of advancing these plots continuously throughout the book, Hand vaguely introduces them only to address them at the end.

    You know how artists are decried for stocking their albums with “filler” songs? Like they create an entire record for the sole purpose of releasing two dynamite singles and the rest is immaterial? That’s what Hallowed was for me: a filler novel. I call shenanigans on any series with only three books having a filler novel. Actually I call shenanigans on any series, no matter the length, having a filler novel. Having read the final book in the series, I wonder why it even had to be a filler novel since my complaint about the final book is that Hand crammed too much into it. Couldn’t some of that content be used in Hallowed?

    Another metaphor in an attempt to express my disappointment: you know how when you start dating someone you think that person is, like, the most awesome ever? But then, after a couple months, you become less charmed. The way he constantly tries to carry your heavy bag is chivalrous at the beginning. But you slowly begin to think, “Hey, sometimes I just want to carry my own bag!” So it was with Hallowed.

    In the first book, I found Hand’s unornamented prose authentic to teen speech, unchallenging, and soothing. Now in book two, I found the prose boring and uninspiring. In the first book, I was excited about the prospect of the angel mythology. What did the angels’ purposes mean? How is the angel hierarchy structured? After book two, I’m stuck in that vortex one is hap to fall into if she overanalyzes a piece of fiction focused on the supernatural. How do these purposes even work? Aren’t they simply self-fulfilling prophecies, not divine messages from God? Where’s the fun in a story that essentially tells you “This is going to happen because a character saw it in a vision and will consequently make it happen”?

    By the end of Hallowed, the only reasons I was compelled to read Boundless were 1. a desire to know the conclusion to the love triangle 2. I already had a copy after festering on the library’s holds list for months. Not very convincing reasons, unfortunately.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I finally finished this book. But I am just now being able to do a review because I've been busy.

    But this book for me was between 4/5 because it was such a slow read for me and didnt pick up until a little over 100 pages in (at least for me it didnt pick up and make me want to stick with it until then)

    Of course, I didn't hate it. It was interesting enough, but just wasnt as good as the first.

    Although I like Tucker, I am and have always rooted for Clara and Christian to be together. I always thought they should be the ones that needed to be together and were meant to be together.

    I do kind of see where Jeffrey may be going in this series..And I would be surprised if he didn't get into some serious issues in Boundless. (No, I have not read it yet and I don't consider my last comment a spoiler). I am still not totally sure about Angela and I still find her utterly annoying..Along with Wendy.

    And the surprise about someone in the book was amazing to me and I loved it! I wasn't expecting that little twist she had in here.

    Its good to see that Clara and Jeffrey finally found some people who she could go to beyond Angela for advice and some actual truth about what it is to be an Angel-Blood.

    So, I am nervous about Boundless but also excited because I want to see what happens next.

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I can't say this was a great book but if you liked UNEARTHLY then you will want to read this continuation. I liked some of the developments toward the end that make the stakes higher for the angel-bloods. I also like where the relationship status for the main character seems to be going. But, I didn't care for the whole story being mostly about her decision in this love triangle. I guess it'a partly rolled into her 'purpose' but it felt too love triangle-ish to me. I will give the author kudos for recognizing this book was A LOT about this triangle and all the cliches that come with it. The author has the main character do an internal monologue of all the cliches and tries to bring attention to, "Yeah, I know, I know...a love triangle." This was a good book but I'm not itching to read the next installment. I'll read it but I can wait.

Book preview

Hallowed - Cynthia Hand

Chapter 1

Looking for Midas

Bluebell’s not blue anymore. The fire has transformed Tucker’s 1978 Chevy LUV into a mix of black, gray, and rusty orange, the windows shattered by the heat, the tires missing, the interior a sickening blackened twist of metal and melted dashboard and upholstery. It’s hard to believe, looking at it now, that a few weeks ago one of my favorite things in the world was riding around in this old truck with the windows rolled down, letting my fingers trail through the air, sneaking glances over at Tucker just because I liked looking at him. This is where everything happened, pressed against Bluebell’s beat-up, musty seats. This is where I fell in love.

And now it’s all burned up.

Tucker’s staring at what’s left of Bluebell with grief in his stormy blue eyes, one hand resting on the scorched hood like he’s saying his final good-byes. I take his other hand. He hasn’t said a lot since we got here. We’ve spent the afternoon wandering through the burned part of the forest, searching for Midas, Tucker’s horse. Part of me thought this was a bad idea, coming out here again, looking, but when Tucker asked me to bring him here I said yes. I get it—he loved Midas, not only because he was a champion rodeo horse, but because Tucker had been there the night Midas was born, watched him take his first shaky steps, raised him and trained him and rode him on practically every horse trail in Teton County. He wants to know what happened to him. He wants closure.

I know the feeling.

At one point we came across the carcass of an elk, burned nearly to ash, which for an awful moment I thought was Midas until I saw the antlers, but that was all we found.

I’m sorry, Tuck, I say now. I know I couldn’t have saved Midas, no way I could have flown carrying Tucker and a full-grown horse out of the burning forest that day, but it still feels like my fault, somehow.

His hand tightens in mine. He turns and shows me a hint of dimple.

Hey, don’t be sorry, he says. I loop an arm around his neck as he pulls me closer. I’m the one who should be sorry for dragging you out here today. It’s depressing. I feel like we should be celebrating or something. You saved my life, after all. He smiles, a real smile this time, full of warmth and love and everything I could ask for. I tug his face down, finding all kinds of solace in the way his lips move over mine, the thump of his heart against my palm, the sheer steadiness and strength of this boy who stole my heart. For a minute I let myself get lost in him.

I failed at my purpose.

I try to push the thought away, but it lingers. Something twists inside me. A sharp gust of wind hits us, and the rain, which was drizzling on us before, starts to come down harder. It’s been raining for three solid days, ever since the fires. It’s cold, that kind of chilly damp that passes right through my coat. Fog rolls between the blackened trees.

Reminds me of hell, actually.

I pull away from Tucker, shivering.

God, I need therapy, I think.

Right. As if I can picture telling my story to a shrink, stretched out on a sofa talking about how I’m part angel, how all angel-bloods have this purpose we’re put on earth to fulfill, how on the day of my purpose I happened to bump into a fallen angel. Who literally took me to hell for about five minutes. Who tried to kill my mother. And how I fought him with a type of magical holy light. Then I had to fly off to save a boy from a forest fire, only I didn’t save him. I saved my boyfriend instead, but it turns out that the original boy didn’t need saving, anyway, because he’s part angel, too.

Yeah, somehow I have the feeling that my first visit to a therapist would end with me in a straitjacket getting comfy in my new padded cell.

You okay? Tucker asks quietly.

I haven’t told him about hell. Or the Black Wing. Because Mom says that when you know about Black Wings you’re more likely to draw their attention, however that works.

I haven’t told him about a lot of things.

I’m fine. I’m just . . . What? What am I? Hopelessly confused? Completely screwed up? Eternally doomed?

I go with: Cold.

He hugs me, rubs his hands up and down my arms, trying to warm me. For a second I see that worried, slightly offended look he gets when he knows I’m not telling him the entire truth, but I stretch up and give him another kiss, a soft one, at the corner of his mouth.

Let’s never break up again, okay? I tell him. I don’t think I could handle it.

His eyes soften. It’s a deal. No more breaking up. Come on, he says, taking my hand and leading me back to where my car is parked at the edge of the burned clearing. He opens my door for me, then runs around to the passenger side and gets in. He grins. Let’s get the heck out of here.

I love that he says heck.

I’ve totally had enough of hell.

It’s a different girl this year, sitting in the silver Prius in the parking lot of Jackson Hole High School on her first day of class. First off, this girl’s a blonde: long, wavy gold hair with subtle tints of red. She wears her hair in a tight ponytail at the base of her neck, and on top of that she’s crammed a gray fedora, which she hopes will come off as cool and vintage and will take some of the attention away from her hair. She looks sun-kissed—not tan exactly, but with a very definite glow. But it’s not the hair or the skin that I don’t quite recognize as my own when I peer into the rearview mirror. It’s the eyes. In those large blue-gray eyes is a brand-new knowledge of good and evil. I look older. Wiser. I hope that’s true.

I get out of the car. Overhead the sky is gray. Still raining. Still cold. I can’t help but scan the clouds, search around inside my own consciousness for any hint of sorrow that could mean there’s a bad angel lurking, even though Mom said Samjeeza’s unlikely to come after us right away. I injured him, and apparently it takes a while for Black Wings to heal, something to do with the way time works in hell. A day is a thousand years, a thousand years a day, something like that. I don’t pretend to understand it. I’m just glad we don’t have to hightail it out of Jackson and leave my entire life behind. At least for the time being.

No bad-angel vibes, so I look around the parking lot hoping to see Tucker, but he’s not here yet. Nothing left to do but head inside. I straighten the fedora one last time and start for the door.

My senior year awaits.

Clara! calls a familiar voice before I even make it three steps. Wait up.

I turn to see Christian Prescott climbing out of his brand-new pickup truck. This one is black, huge, glinting silver at the wheels, the words MAXIMUM DUTY stamped onto the back. The old truck, the silver Avalanche that used to be permanently parked on the edges of my visions, burned up in the forest too. That was not a good day to be a truck.

I wait as he jogs over to me. Just looking at him makes me feel weird, nervous, like I’m losing my balance. The last time I saw him was five nights ago when we were standing on my front porch, both of us drenched with rain and smeared with soot, trying to work up the nerve to go inside. We had so much craziness to figure out, but we never ended up doing it, which, I confess, is not Christian’s fault. He did call. A lot, those first couple days. But whenever I saw his name light up on my phone, part of me always froze, the proverbial deer in the headlights, and I wouldn’t pick up. By the time I finally did, we didn’t seem to know what to say to each other. It all boiled down to: So, you didn’t need me to save you. Nope. And you didn’t need me to save you. And we laughed awkwardly as if this whole purpose thing was some kind of a prank, and then we both fell silent, because really what is there to say? I’m sorry, I blew it, it looks like I messed up your divine purpose? My bad?

Hi, he says now, sounding out of breath.

Hi.

Nice hat, he says, but his eyes go straight to my hair, like every time he sees me with the correct hair color it confirms that I’m the girl from his visions.

Thanks, I manage. I’m going for incognito here.

He frowns. Incognito?

You know. The hair.

Oh. His hand lifts like he’s going to touch the obnoxious strand of hair that’s already sprung loose from my ponytail, but instead closes into a fist, drops. Why don’t you just dye it again?

I’ve tried. I take a step back, tuck the runaway strand behind my ear. The color won’t take anymore. Don’t ask me why.

Mysterious, he says, and the corner of his mouth quirks up into a tiny smile that would have melted my heart to butter last year. He’s hot. He knows he’s hot. I’m taken. He knows I’m taken, and yet here he goes smiling and stuff. This irritates me. I try not to think about the dream I keep having this week, the way that Christian seems to be the only thing in the entire dream that keeps me from completely losing my mind. I try not to think about the words we belong together, those words that used to come to me over and over in my vision.

I don’t want to belong to Christian Prescott.

The smile fades, his eyes going serious again. He looks like he wants to say something.

So, see you around, I say, maybe a little too brightly, and start off toward the building.

Clara— He trots along after me. Hey, wait. I was thinking that maybe we could sit together at lunch?

I stop and stare at him.

Or not, he says with that laugh/exhale thing he does. My heart kicks into high gear. I’m not interested in Christian anymore, but my heart doesn’t seem to have gotten that message. Crap. Crap. Crap.

Some things change. Some things don’t, I guess.

Everybody notices my hair. Of course. I was hoping that they’d notice in a quiet way, a few whispers, some gossip for a couple days, then it’d blow over. But I’m two minutes into first-period French when the teacher makes me take off the hat, and then it’s like a nuclear blast. So pretty, so pretty, Miss Colbert keeps saying, an eyelash away from coming right up and stroking my head. I stick with the story that Mom and I came up with earlier about Mom finding an amazing colorist in California this summer and paying some astronomical fee for her to transform me from orange nightmare to strawberry fabulous. Saying all that in high school–level French while pretending I don’t speak the language perfectly is an especially fun part of the morning. I’m ready to go home before nine a.m. Then I duck into AP Calculus, the bell rings, and it’s like the whole fiasco starts all over again. Your hair, your hair, so pretty. Then again, in third period art class, like they could all start drawing me and my amazing hair.

And fourth period, AP Government, is worse. Christian is there.

Hi again, he says as I stand in the doorway gawking at him.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. There are only around six hundred students at Jackson Hole High School, so the odds are in favor of us having a class together. Tucker’s supposed to be in this class too, last time I checked.

Where the—heck is Tucker this morning? Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Wendy either.

You going to come in? Christian asks.

I slide into the seat next to him and rummage around in my bag for my notebook and a pen. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, roll my head from one side to the other to try to release some of the tension in my neck.

Long day already? he asks.

You have no idea.

Right then, Tucker breezes in.

I’ve been looking for you all day, I say as he claims the desk on the other side of me. Did you just get to school?

Yeah. Car trouble, he says. We have this old crap car that we use around the ranch, and it wouldn’t start this morning. If you thought my truck was junk, you should see this thing.

I never thought Bluebell was junk, I tell him.

He clears his throat, smiles. How about that? We’re in a class together, you and I, and I didn’t even have to bribe anybody this year.

I laugh. You bribed somebody last year?

Not officially, Tucker admits. I asked Mrs. Lowell, the lady in the office in charge of scheduling, real nice if she could get me into Brit. History. At the last minute, too, I mean like ten minutes before class started. I’m friends with her daughter, which helped.

But why . . . ?

He laughs. You’re cute when you’re slow.

Because of me? No way. You hated me. I was that yuppie California chick who insulted your truck.

He grins. I shake my head in bewilderment.

You’re crazy, you know that.

Aw, and here I thought I was being sweet and romantic and stuff.

Right. So, you’re friends with Mrs. Lowell’s daughter? What’s her name? I ask with mock jealousy.

Allison. She’s a nice girl. She was one of the girls I took to prom last year.

Pretty?

Well, she’s got red hair. I kind of have a thing for red hair, he says. I punch him lightly on the arm. Hey. I kind of have a thing for tough girls, too.

I laugh again. That’s when I feel the surge of frustration, so strong it wipes the smile right off my face.

Christian.

This kind of thing’s been happening lately. Sometimes, usually when I least expect it, it’s as if I’m allowed access into other people’s heads. Like now, for instance, I can perceive Christian’s presence on the other side of me so keenly that it’s like he’s boring holes into me with his eyes. I don’t get what he’s thinking in words so much as what he feels—he notices how natural it is for me to fall into this easy conversation with Tucker. He wishes that I would joke around with him that way, that we could finally speak to each other, finally connect. He wants to make me laugh like that.

Knowing this, by the way, totally sucks. Mom calls it empathy, says that it’s a rare gift among angel-bloods. Rare gift, ha. I wonder if there’s a return policy.

Tucker looks over my shoulder and seems to notice Christian for the first time.

How you doing, Chris? Have a nice summer? he asks.

Yeah, fantastic, answers Christian, and his mind suddenly retreats from mine into a wave of forced indifference. How about you?

They stare at each other, one of those high-testosterone stares. Amazing, Tucker says. There’s a challenge in his voice. Best summer of my life.

I wonder if it’s too late to get out of this class.

Well, that’s the thing about summers, isn’t it? says Christian after a minute. They have to end sometime.

It’s a relief when class is over. But then I have to stand at the doorway of the cafeteria and decide what to do about lunch.

Option A: My usual. Invisibles table. Wendy. Chitchat. Maybe some awkward talk about how I’m dating her twin brother now, and maybe her asking about what exactly happened out there in the woods the day of the fire, which I don’t know how to answer. Still, she’s one of my best friends, and I don’t want to keep avoiding her.

Option B: Angela. Angela likes to eat alone, and people usually give her a lot of space. Maybe, if I sat with her, they would give me a lot of space. But then I’d have to answer Angela’s questions and listen to her theories, which she’s pretty much been bombarding me with for the past few days.

Option C (not really an option): Christian. Standing casually in the corner, deliberately not looking at me. Not expecting anything, not pressuring me, but there. Wanting me to know he’s there. Hopeful.

No way I’m going in that direction.

Then the decision kind of gets made for me. Angela looks up. She tilts her head to indicate the empty seat next to her. When I don’t hop to it, she mouths, Get over here.

Bossy.

I go over to her corner and sink into a seat. She’s reading a small, dusty book. She closes it and slides it across the table to me.

Check this out, she says.

I read the title. "The Book of Enoch?"

Yep. A really, really, ridiculously old copy, so watch the pages. They’re delicate. We’re going to need to talk about this ASAP. But first— She looks up, then calls loudly, Hey, Christian.

Oh. My. God. What is she doing?

Angela, wait a second, don’t—

She waves him over. This could be bad.

What’s up? he says, cool and composed as ever.

You’re going out to lunch, right? Angela asks. You always go out.

His eyes flicker over to mine. I was considering it.

Right, well, I don’t want to mess up your plans or anything, but I think you and me and Clara should have a meeting after school. At my mom’s theater, the Pink Garter, in town.

Christian looks confused. Um, sure. Why?

Let’s just call it a new club I’m starting, says Angela. The Angel Club.

He glances at me again, and yep, there’s betrayal in his green eyes, because obviously I’ve gone and blabbed his biggest secret to Angela. I want to explain to him that Angela is like a bloodhound when it comes to secrets, virtually impossible to get anything by her, but it doesn’t matter. She knows. He knows she knows. Damage is done. I glare at Angela.

She’s one too, I say simply, mostly because I know Angela wanted to spring it on him herself, and it makes me feel better to ruin her plans. And she’s crazy, obviously.

Christian nods, like this revelation comes as no surprise.

But you’re going to be there, at the Pink Garter, he says to me.

I guess so.

Okay. I’m in, he tells Angela, but he’s still looking at me. We need to talk, anyway.

Awesome.

Awesome, says Angela cheerfully. See you after school.

See you, he says, then wanders out of the cafeteria.

I turn to Angela. I hate you.

I know. But you need me, too. Otherwise nothing would ever get done.

I still hate you, I say, even though she’s right. Kind of. This whole Angel Club thing actually sounds like a great idea, if it can help me figure out what it means that Christian and I didn’t fulfill our purpose, since my mom still isn’t exactly forthcoming on the subject. Angela’s stellar with research. If anyone could uncover the consequences for angel-blood purpose-failure, it’s her.

Oh, you know you love me, she says. She pushes the book at me again. Now take this and go eat lunch with your boyfriend.

What?

Over there. He’s clearly pining for you. She gestures behind us, where, sure enough, over at the Invisibles table, Tucker is chatting with Wendy. They’re both staring at me with identical expectant expressions.

Shoo. You’re dismissed, says Angela.

Shut up. I take the book and tuck it into my backpack, then head to the Invisibles table. Ava, Lindsey, and Emma, my other fellow Invisibles, all smile up at me and say hello, along with Wendy’s boyfriend, Jason Lovett, who I guess is eating with us this year instead of his usual computer-games pals.

It’s weird, us having boyfriends.

What was that all about? asks Wendy, peering over at Angela with curious eyes.

Oh, just Angela being Angela. So, what’s on the Jackson High menu for today?

Sloppy Joes.

Yummy, I say without enthusiasm.

Wendy rolls her eyes and says to Tucker, Clara never likes the food here. I swear, she eats like a bird.

Huh, he says, eyes twinkling, because that’s not his experience with me at all. Around him I’ve always eaten like a horse. I slide into the seat next to his, and he scoots his chair closer to mine and puts his arm around me. Perfectly G-rated, but I can almost feel the topic of discussion shift in the cafeteria. I guess I’m going to be that girl who holds her boyfriend’s hand as they stroll down the halls, who steals kisses between classes, who makes the moony eyes across the crowded cafeteria. I never thought I’d be that girl.

Wendy snorts, and we both turn to look at her. Her eyes dart from me to Tucker and back again. She knows about us, of course, but she’s never seen us together like this before.

You guys are kind of disgusting, she says. But then she scoots her chair closer to Jason’s and slips her hand in his.

Tucker smiles in a mischievous way I know too well. I don’t have time to protest before he leans over for a kiss. I push at him, embarrassed, then melt and forget where I am for a minute. Finally he lets go. I try to catch my breath.

I am so that girl. But being that girl has its perks.

Ew, get a room, Wendy says, stifling a smile. It’s hard to read her, but I think she’s trying to be cool with this whole best-friend-dating-my-brother thing by acting completely nauseated. Which I think means that she approves.

I notice that the cafeteria has gone momentarily silent. Then suddenly everything starts up again in a flurry of conversation.

You do know we’re now officially the talk of the town, I say to Tucker. He might as well have taken a marker to my forehead and written PROPERTY OF TUCKER in big black letters.

His eyebrows lift. Do you mind?

I reach for his hand and lace his fingers with mine.

Nope.

I’m with Tucker. In spite of my failed purpose and everything, it looks like I’m actually going to get to keep him. I’m the luckiest girl in the world.

Chapter 2

First Rule of Angel Club

Mr. Phibbs, my teacher for AP English, which happens to be—thank God!—my last class of the day, immediately gets us started on our first College English assignment, a personal essay on where we see ourselves in ten years.

I take out a notebook, click my pen to the write position. And stare at the blank page. And stare. And stare.

Where do I see myself in ten years?

Try to visualize yourself, Mr. Phibbs says, like he’s spotted me back here in the corner and knows that I’m floundering. I always liked Mr. Phibbs; he’s kind of our own personal Gandalf or Dumbledore or somebody cool like that, complete with round, wire glasses and long white ponytail sticking out of the back of his collar. But right now he’s killing me.

Visualize myself, he says. I close my eyes. Slowly, a picture starts to materialize in my mind. A forest beneath an orange sky. A ridge. Christian, waiting.

I open my eyes. Suddenly I’m furious.

No, I think at no one in particular. That is not my future. That’s past. My future is with Tucker.

It’s not hard to imagine it. I close my eyes again, and with a bit of effort I can see the outline of the big red barn at the Lazy Dog, the sky overhead empty and blue. There’s a man walking a horse in a pasture. It looks like Midas, a beautiful glossy chestnut. And there’s—this is the part where the breath suddenly hitches in my throat—a small boy riding the horse, a tiny dark-haired boy giggling as Tucker—the man is definitely Tucker; I’d know that butt anywhere—leads him around the pasture. The boy sees me, waves. I wave back. Tucker walks the horse over to the fence.

Look at me, look at me, says the boy.

I see you! Hi there, handsome, I say to Tucker. He leans over the fence to kiss me, taking my face between his hands, and that’s when I see the glint of the plain gold band on his finger.

We’re married.

It’s the best daydream of all time. I know somewhere deep down that it’s only a daydream, the combination of my active imagination and wishful thinking. Not a vision. Not the future that’s been set for me. But it’s the one I want.

I open my eyes, tighten my fingers around my pen, and write: In ten years, I will be married. I will have a child. I will be happy.

I click the pen closed and stare at the words. They surprise me. I’ve never been one of those girls, either, who dreamed of getting married, never forced a boy to say vows with me on the playground or dressed up in bedsheets and pretended to walk down the aisle. When I was a kid I fashioned swords out of tree branches, and Jeffrey and I chased each other around the backyard yelling, Surrender or die! Not that I was a tomboy. I liked the color purple and nail polish and sleepovers and writing my crush’s name in the margins of my notebooks at school as much as any other girl. But I never honestly considered being married. Being Mrs. Somebody. I guess I assumed that I’d get married eventually. It just seemed like it was too far away to worry about.

But maybe I am one of those girls.

I look at the page again. I’ve got three sentences. Wendy is obviously writing an entire book on how awesome her life is going to turn out, and I’ve got three sentences. I have a feeling they’re not the kind of sentences that Mr. Phibbs is going to appreciate.

Okay, five more minutes, says Mr. Phibbs. Then we’ll share.

Panic sets in. I’m going to have to make something up. What should I want to be? Angela’s going to be a poet, Wendy’s a vet, Kay Patterson over there is head of a sorority house and marries a senator, Shawn is an Olympic-gold snowboarder, Jason’s one of those computer programmers who makes a gazillion dollars coming up with some new way to Google, and I’m—I’m—I’m a cruise ship director. I’m a famous ballerina for the New York City Ballet. I’m a heart surgeon.

I go with heart surgeon. My pen flies across the page.

Time’s up, says Mr. Phibbs. Finish your sentence and then we’ll share.

I read back over what I’ve written. It’s good stuff. Completely bogus, but something. "There’s nothing more inspiring than the complexity and beauty

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