Book Review: Abandon by Meg Cabot

Title: Abandon

Author: Meg Cabot
Series: Abandon Trilogy #1
Pages: 292
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Date of Publication: 1st September 2011
Source: Publisher
Synopsis from Goodreads: 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.

My Thoughts:
I've not really read anything by Meg Cabot before, apart from the first Mediator book (which I can't remember much at all) and a short story, but I'd heard so much about her all over Twitter, blogs, Goodreads and Facebook. Everywhere, Meg Cabot's name pops up. So I thought, I'll read something by her, and see what all the fuss is about. Now I know :)

Abandon is based around Greek mythology, and this was awesome because I love books based on Greek mythology (Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini and The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter, to name a few). Even though this was based on the Persephone myth, I felt that it was done in a unique way, and I know the myth but I didn't guess what would happen during the story. I thought that the book was well paced and there was a nice balance between action packed scenes and 'calmer' scenes. The characters were awesome and believable and I read the whole book in a few hours.

It started off being quite vague, and over the course of the book, things that were mentioned or hinted at at the beginning slowly got explained. Sometimes this was annoying, for example, Pierce would think about a certain event, and then that event wouldn't get explained until say, 50 pages later. It wasn't so bad though, because I'd read so quickly that it didn't take me long to find out.

I really liked Pierce. At first she seemed a little full of herself, going on all the time about how she died, and that she didn't want people asking questions about her experience, but how often do people get to meet someone who DIED? Anyway, after about 50 pages, I grew to like her, so it was fine. She was so nice and caring, and once I found out what she tried to do for Hannah (who was her EX-best-friend), I think that was when I realised that she was awesome. And then later on in the book when anything bad happened, she blamed it on herself and tried to help in anyway she could, even though there wasn't really anything she could do.

On the other hand, I really didn't like John that much. I don't think I was meant to like him... I'm not sure, but he came across as an arrogant, annoying, and just a plain old jerk. And when something really bad happened near the end, all he did was start kissing Pierce, as if that would make everything better. I hope that in the next book, Underworld, I'll like him better...

Apart from my dislike of John, the only other thing about the book that perhaps let me down a little was that Pierce gets let off from the consequences of her actions too easily, and in an unrealistic way. Like if someone died, she'd get let off by the police even though her bike was at the scene, small things like that. And sure, I've never been in her situation, but I don't think you'd get let off for like that with only a few questions...

Anyway, Abandon was a great book, and I'd really recommend it to anyone who loves YA fiction. It has an element of everything - there's a small paranormal element, there's a little bit of romance, and there's action too. It's a great one to start with if you've not read any Meg Cabot books (like me), or if you haven't read any Greek mythology books either! So go out, and buy yourself a copy, because it's awesome :) And can I just say how BEAUTIFUL the new UK cover is?

*Thank you to MacMillan for sending me this in exchange for an honest review. In no way has this affected my opinion of the book.

My Rating:

I give it 4 Feet!

Challenges:
2011 Paranormal YA Reading Challenge #40
2011 100+ Reading Challenge #71