Abandon by Meg Cabot
April 26, 2011 by Point
Hardcover, 304 Pages
Borrowed/Library
Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.
Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away . . . especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most. But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.
Review
In this modern day retelling of the Hades/Persephone legend, Pierce a girl who has it all quietly dies in her backyard while trying to save a bird stuck in her pool. Sometimes having it all -like money- doesn't stop fate from claiming its dead and as Pierce enters the afterlife, she is unaware death has even claimed her, until she meets the Lord of the underworld and is reminded of a time long ago when she met him at her grandfathers funeral. Cold, confused and allured by the mysterious mystery man, Pierce agrees to enter his home, but when faced with the choice to stay with John (Hades) or escape, Pierce chooses the later.
Faced with her inner turmoil over her dark, romantic and twisted feelings over John and her death, Pierce deals with the aftermath of coming back from the dead. Her A+ brain doesn’t work as well as it once had, her parents have separated, her mother has moved them to a small town on an Island and she’s also starting a new school for alternative kids. All this combined with feelings that leaving death may have been a mistake leave Pierce depressed and confused. What Pierce doesn't know, is that the underworld knows all about her and they know John is in-love with her, making enemies come out of the woodwork to end Pierces existence. As John fights to keep her safe and Pierce faces danger head on, the two will have to finally work things out to bring balance back to the underworld.
I liked Abandon for what it was and really appreciated the fact that Cabot used Greek Mythology centered around her characters verses writing about actual Greek gods themselves. It gave the story freshness and a tad of originality. This was a few hours of laid back reading, even though at times it had the feel of a book-one-set-up, the characters were engrossing enough to overlook the nonevents happening. I wanted a lot more romance but got more of a friendship building into romance, so I did enjoy the tension. Im a big Meg fan so Ill be continuing on with the series. I must see if the romance will finally sizzle or if our caged bird will fly the coop.
Rating
Abandon is recommended to teen (14&up) and adult readers. Contains: Greek Mythology, death, suspense, subtle romance, kissing and mild violence.
3/5- YA-Greek Mythology
I completely agree Tina, this definitely did have a book 1 "set up" feel to it where we get a lot of information without a lot actually happening. I still loved it though, but I think I'm biased toward anything with Greek mythology:) I'm hoping we get a bit more romance in the next one too!
ReplyDeleteAbandon sounds pretty interesting. I love Greek mythology, so I'm definitely going to read this one. Great review :)
ReplyDeleteTo me, this feels like the kind of book I don't necessarily have to read because I have read so many reviews for it that I already know the story would be kind of blah for me.
ReplyDeleteSince this had a set up feel, maybe book two will offer a recap and I'll be able to jump right in. I know that it is bad that I have yet to read anything by Cabot yet so I need to get on that.
Its true, Abandon was kind of like the first act, and just sort of set the story up, yet didn't exactly have a great tale within itself. I'm excited for the second book.
ReplyDeleteFeel free to check out my review of Abandon.
Great review and I love her books too but with this one. There were so many of them, I passed this book on. I might check it out from the library.
ReplyDeleteI actually haven't read very many of Meg's books, but I am looking forward to this one since I have a copy.
ReplyDeleteGlad to know its strengths and weaknesses before getting into it - great review.