Uclaimed by Laurie Wetzel

Wetzel has created such a fun world here!  We have angels and demons and protectors and all sorts of people.  Amid the humans, we have Maddy.  Maddy doesn't exist in anyone's books, so no one seems to know which side she belongs to.  That's what makes her a target.  She has powers but she's unclaimed.  Everyone wants her on their side.  Though we find this out pretty quickly, Maddy has no idea.  She's left with believing that everyone is against her and in complete denial about who she is.

I have to admit, I'm really impressed with Wetzel's storytelling.  The book was fast-paced and kept me ensconced, even when I didn't want to be reading.  I was a prisoner to her story!  There's absolutely nothing to bog it down.  You just hop in and go go go.  As an outsider, we have more of an idea what's going on than any of the characters, but that just makes you the crazy person at the theater shouting 'Don't go upstairs, you dimwit!'  You can't help it.  You see what the characters are doing and you know what's coming but you can't make them listen to you!  And that, my dear readers, is what makes this book so fascinating.

I'm also thankful that I have Ignited, the second book in the series, sitting right here on my computer so I can rush right into it.  Right now, I feel like I've eaten part of my entree but I'm still really hungry.  My veggies and starches are all gone, but now I can move on to the steak!  I hope it's as great as this one was!

I found myself, along the way, comparing this with Gena Showalter's Alice series.  The storytelling is about the same pace and the characters are about the same ages.  There are lots of differences, but I really felt like those who enjoyed Gena's Alice series will have a blast with Wetzel's series.  It has the same amount of romance and action, with the same amount of suspense.  These two very different stories deliver equally well on all of the things I want from a young adult book.