ISBN: 978-0-5452-8410-3
Publisher: Point, an imprint of Scholastic
Source: Library
Summary: New from #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot, a dark, fantastical story about this world . . . and the underworld.
Review:
The reason I picked up Abandon is the exact same reason I've picked up all the other Meg Cabot books I've read, sparing the first Princess Diaries book: it was written by Meg Cabot (the first Princess Diaries book was the first Meg Cabot book I read, and I'm pretty sure I picked that one up because it was given to me as a Christmas gift at the age of ten). I figure at this point I'm just going to read everything she's written because I've read almost all of her stuff anyway and I have a strange desire to complete things like that.
Abandon is a "dark twist" on the Persephone myth that follows Pierce Oliviera, a girl who has moved to her mother's childhood home in Florida after her parents' divorce. Pierce isn't a normal girl however; she died two years prior to the book's beginning and spent a hot second in the Underworld with a sort-of gatekeeper figure named John. He chose her as his companion/love, gave her a necklace that detected evil, and subsequently received a hot tea bath when Pierce threw her cup in his face and escaped. Throughout the story, Pierce reveals exposition, fights to deal with her relationship with John, and discovers the existence of Furies, supernatural creatures devoted to torturing John.
This definitely wasn't my favorite Meg Cabot book. I like the concept, what with the new take on the Persephone myth, but I feel like Abandon spent too much time on exposition. It took a long time for Pierce to reveal to the reader the occurrences of the past and I got the feeling that the entirety of this book was an effort to prepare a backstory for the second book (this is going to be a trilogy, I believe). I don't think it had a strong enough story considering it was the first book in the series.
I did like Pierce's character. I thought she was pretty different from the rest of the Meg Cabot heroines and that she had a good amount of attitude. She still had the classic Cabot character annoyance at most popular people, but she was definitely her own person. She didn't make me think of Mia (The Princess Diaries) or Suze (The Mediator) at all. Her friend Kayla and her cousin Alex were cool as well, being unpopular but not pathetically so.
I'd like to know more about John's character. His relationship with Pierce seemed very rushed, but I suppose that is the supernatural aspect coming out in the story.
All and all, not my favorite work of Meg Cabot's due to the overwhelming amount of exposition. Even though there was an overabundance of exposition, it was well done exposition and I plan on reading the next book. I'm interested to see where Pierce's story goes from here.
Rating: 3 - fair.
Publisher: Point, an imprint of Scholastic
Source: Library
Summary: New from #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot, a dark, fantastical story about this world . . . and the underworld.
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.
The reason I picked up Abandon is the exact same reason I've picked up all the other Meg Cabot books I've read, sparing the first Princess Diaries book: it was written by Meg Cabot (the first Princess Diaries book was the first Meg Cabot book I read, and I'm pretty sure I picked that one up because it was given to me as a Christmas gift at the age of ten). I figure at this point I'm just going to read everything she's written because I've read almost all of her stuff anyway and I have a strange desire to complete things like that.
Abandon is a "dark twist" on the Persephone myth that follows Pierce Oliviera, a girl who has moved to her mother's childhood home in Florida after her parents' divorce. Pierce isn't a normal girl however; she died two years prior to the book's beginning and spent a hot second in the Underworld with a sort-of gatekeeper figure named John. He chose her as his companion/love, gave her a necklace that detected evil, and subsequently received a hot tea bath when Pierce threw her cup in his face and escaped. Throughout the story, Pierce reveals exposition, fights to deal with her relationship with John, and discovers the existence of Furies, supernatural creatures devoted to torturing John.
This definitely wasn't my favorite Meg Cabot book. I like the concept, what with the new take on the Persephone myth, but I feel like Abandon spent too much time on exposition. It took a long time for Pierce to reveal to the reader the occurrences of the past and I got the feeling that the entirety of this book was an effort to prepare a backstory for the second book (this is going to be a trilogy, I believe). I don't think it had a strong enough story considering it was the first book in the series.
I did like Pierce's character. I thought she was pretty different from the rest of the Meg Cabot heroines and that she had a good amount of attitude. She still had the classic Cabot character annoyance at most popular people, but she was definitely her own person. She didn't make me think of Mia (The Princess Diaries) or Suze (The Mediator) at all. Her friend Kayla and her cousin Alex were cool as well, being unpopular but not pathetically so.
I'd like to know more about John's character. His relationship with Pierce seemed very rushed, but I suppose that is the supernatural aspect coming out in the story.
All and all, not my favorite work of Meg Cabot's due to the overwhelming amount of exposition. Even though there was an overabundance of exposition, it was well done exposition and I plan on reading the next book. I'm interested to see where Pierce's story goes from here.
Rating: 3 - fair.
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