Title: Abandon
Author: Meg Cabot
Release Date: April 26th, 20111
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
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.
Summary from Goodreads.com
My Review: I am a big fan of Greek mythology, so when I saw Meg Cabot was writing a story that centered around one I was really excited! I have read a couple of her books and enjoyed them and hoped this book would not disappoint me.
When I started reading the beginning left me spinning a little, the timeline was jumping around and I had to really focus to keep up. I was not expecting this so I would recommend anyone getting ready to read this book pay attention to the first couple of chapters because the information comes at you fast and it is not in chronological order. Once I got used to the flow of the book it was much easier to follow along, but I have not read a book that was set up this way before so I did needed time to adjust.
As for the story, I really enjoyed the beginning because there was a lot going on and the idea of a new spin on the Hades/Persephone thing was really interesting. Peirce does not know exactly what to believe has happened in her life and getting to decode the clues with her was fun. The middle of the book did drag on a little. Peirce hardly ever saw John and was just getting to know the new town she lived in without a whole lot of excitement brewing. I liked John, from the little that I saw of him, but I am not so sure about Peirce. She was confused for much of the book and that leaves my feelings for her a little muddy. I think she had a good heart and was lovable, I just did not completely click with her.
Overall, I thought the book okay, but it is not particularly memorable. I think the concept is great, but the story fell flat. The plot was building towards the end and I thought it was gearing up for something big, but nothing really happened. It felt as though you are climbing up the mountain to get to the top and never really get there. I was intrigued by the concept of this book, but I do not think I will be reading the next book in the series. The story was just too choppy and it going out of chronological order was confusing.
I am going to leave you with the book trailer for this book and tell you about Meg’s YouTube channel here where she has a couple of videos talking about how she came up with the idea for Abandon and other fun information.
So have you read Abandon? What did you think?
Great Review!
Heres mine:
This book is best described as a dark love story. It is quite complex on a lot of the issues it covers, following the main characters near death experience, when she meets the mysterious John in the underworld.
The story is a very clever re-telling of the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone and the underworld.
I really liked the character Peirce and was intrigued by the dark character of John.
I liked the setting of the book and the island and its strange weather and raised coffins in the grave yard sounded intriguing. The other characters in this book were not so well defined. But what would become of Pierce and the dangers she faced and whether or not her and John would finally get together did keep me reading right to the end.