'Hallowed' by Cynthia Hand
Series: ‘Unearthly’ #2
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Supernatural, Romance
Published: January 2012
Pages: 403
My rating: 
The Blurb: For months
part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her
visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the
blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be
forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task
she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought.
Now, torn between her increasingly
complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker,
Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the
fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the
growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the
terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her 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.
So, I just finished reading this, the
tears are still on my cheeks, but I don’t want it to end. I want to read it
again, now. Always. Somehow, Cynthia Hand was able to look straight into my
heart. How is it possible she used the (almost) exact same words in her book, as
my (now dearly departed) mother told me…?
'You and
I have a connection that nothing, not on heaven or earth, or even hell, could
ever break. If you want to talk to me, talk to me. I’ll hear you…'
Yes, this book touched me in a personal
way because I have been through some of the things Clara Gardner went through.
Which wouldn’t have been possible if Clara wasn’t such a strongly written
character.
And characters are indeed one of the
many strong aspects of this book (and its predecessor). More specifically:
Clara Gardner. She’s a real teenage girl who makes mistakes,
even if she is part angel.
She thinks for herself, tries to
find the answers her mother won’t / can’t give her and she’s strong-willed (or
stubborn, depending on which way you look at it…), for she’s willing to go
against her purpose because of the love she feels for Tucker. Which may come
across as selfish –you know, going against the Grand Design and all- but the
way Cynthia Hand has written Clara, makes that choice totally understandable.
The feelings she has for Tucker are so realistic, so pure, so natural you can
actually feel them yourself. It's hard not to love a guy like Tucker, who is the perfect boyfriend, without being too good to be true. Still, Clara doubts herself, knowing it’s not
right. Knowing Tucker should have died in that forest fire. When the moment
comes that Clara realises her new vision is about the death of someone close to
her, I myself could almost feel the slap she got in her face. Later on, when
she finds out (through the ever curious Angela Zerbino) that she was wrong and
someone else’s life is at stake, it broke my heart even more. The way she felt
was painfully lifelike, the zombie-state she went in, because I have been in
that place myself, alas. (Here, the staccato-writing style works marvellous.)
‘The absence of certainty’ could be the motto of Clara’s life, she thinks, when she hears Christian say those
words. But amidst the craziness that is her life, Clara still manages to
maintain her wits:
‘I’m
having an argument with myself. And I’m losing. So not a good sign.’
Slowly, the mystery surrounding
Christian Prescott, (the part-angel boy who apparently shared Clara’s initial
vision) gets resolved. Again, naturally paced, because of Clara’s aversion of
being in his presence at first, and the awkward conversations they have.
Finally a sensible (okay, that fact is open for discussion when it comes to
many other things, but in this case…) girl who admits memorizing the facts and
physique of some boy doesn’t mean you know him.
‘Every
time I see him I’m struck by the fact that I don’t know actually know him. In
spite of all the conversations we’ve had, the time we’ve spent in Angel Club
together, the way I memorized practically every detail about him last year like
some obsessed little Mary Sue, he’s still a mystery to me. He’s still that
stranger who I only get glimpses of.’
As time goes by, Clara and Christian
do become closer, forced by circumstances, based on friendship, the chemistry
(still) existing between them and their joined purposes.
And finally Jeffrey, Clara’s younger
brother, gets a bigger part. You can feel his change throughout the book, it
makes you wonder what’s going with him and why. (Besides the obvious.) He’s been
written incredibly life-like, the way he
copes with life: his anger and his denial, the way he takes off; they’re all
things I recognize from my own brother. Once his purpose is revealed, it all
starts to make more sense.
Another surprise is the truth
concerning Clara’s dad… Which, I won’t spoil of course. But the feelings
surrounding him…
I want to mention a passage/ ‘event’
which surprised me enormously and filled me with joy, awe and warmth, it made
me feel a bit overwhelmed even, like the time when Harry Potter visited the
International Quidditch Finals. An original idea, totally fitting the story,
adding more atmosphere to it. ‘Glorious’. The angelic details are certainly present, but not overwhelming. There's room for a real story, but still room for the supernatural background. Cynthia Hand found a way to create a perfect balance between all the elements in this book: plot/story, paranormal elements, romance, humor, character depth and growth: every ingredient is mixed together in this perfect 'Hallowed' blend.
There are some fun references to
popular things happening nowadays, which will no doubt make this now-contemporary
read, a fun retro book to read many years from now. For example, there’s an
amusing comparison to Edward’s midnight gawk/stalk sleeping Bella sessions.
Also there’s a comparison of which I
kinda assume it’s an ‘ode’ to one of the best TV-shows ever, where Clara
borrows the epic words Angela Chase in ‘My
So-called Life’ once uttered as the words she would want to hear when
having sex for the first time:
‘He’s
beautiful, so crazy beautiful it almost hurts to look at him--’
The initial pace of the book is
slow-(ish). Yes, there are many things happening, but they are all easy to
follow. The writing style is mostly fluent, though sometimes a bit too staccato
to my liking. A bit childish perhaps. Not very poetic. Sometimes I’m annoyed by
the lack in sentence variation, other times I’m pleasantly surprised by lengthy
sentences.
That is, however, the only negative
thing I have to say about ‘Hallowed’. It was better and more intense than ‘Unearthly’.
It started out sweetly and slowly, but got so much deeper in an emotional way. The
story swallows and envelopes you, in a bitter sweet embrace. Much like the
moment you know you’re sharing your last painful kiss with a lover you don’t
want to leave, but have to anyway. Crushing.
Now.
(Somehow, 'Happy Reading' doesn't fit now...)
(Unfinished!)