Hallowed (Unearthly, #2)

by Cynthia Hand

[ladygrey]

This is one of those rare books that is both fantastic and unimpressive.

I don't like prosaic, blunt language. Reading it is boring and far too simple and straightforward for my taste. But its also hard to avoid in anything written in young-adult first person. So I accept it and not-so-secretly wish for a little bit of something poetic.

But what Hallowed lacks in linguistic form it more then makes up for in significance and emotion. There are some deep emotions coursing through this book and they're complicated and mournful and conflicted and exciting in a really sad way. And I love a book that isn't filled with shallow emotions. What I liked even more was that there was a distinctive maturity to some of the emotional turmoil, the kind of sadness and loss that is inevitable in life and that you learn to accept and bear as you grow up. It was really interesting.

I also liked the weight of the narrative, the substance of what was happening and the way things unfolded. It really resonates kind of spectacularly.

I also liked that the characters were more human this time around. Tucker and Christian both, in particular, were flawed and interesting and had more depth because there were more facets in their character. I still don't love Clara, maybe I don't relate to her particularly but she's a decent enough medium for this story.

And I really like this story. I'd like the next one now, please.