Review #18 Abandon - Meg Cabot

Goodreads summary:

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.


Release Date: April 26 2011
Pages: 307 (Hardcover)
Genre: Mythology (retelling)
Series? yes, #1


LONG STORY SHORT:

The important advantage this book has is that you fly through it in no time. I felt like I didn't even notice I was turning the pages until I reached the end. Then again, the story itself was actually not that gripping or funny or anything. I think Meg Cabot's writing is great in this book and that - combined with the complex characters and great setting -  definitely makes up for the rather predictable and not very original ( it's a retelling-duh!) plot.

REVIEW:
I actually thought my Meg Cabot phase was pretty much over. Like that game you loved to play as a kid but avoid when you're older because you know you wouldn't be into it as much as you used to and it would only destroy memories. Well, with Meg it's not quite like that.

As I mentioned above I found this book - like most stuff Meg writes - to be a very quick read. You just open it during your lunch period and then wonder where it's gone by the time you arrive home at night. The setting of Abandon was very cool, as well. That island with its creepy cemetrey and the school Pierce goes to? I could totally picture it in my head! The main characers were so well figured out this time. Pierce but also Alex and the rest of their family had very interesting - and sometimes troubled - pasts which also gave Abandon a mucn  darker touch I didn't really expect to find.
The side characters definitely lacked some depth for me, though. I felt like some of them only had one or two appearances in the book while there should have been way more and especially Pierce's uncle and grandmother - who are such big influences on the plot and Pierce's life came too short for my taste.
Then there's John. Oh well. To me, he's a bit pale, too. I have that feeling that I don't really know him although he was such a big part of the novel,as well.

What I found really confusing was the beginning of the novel. Cabot jumped back and forth in time a lot which sometimes made it difficult for me to keep track. Also, I think she put a bit too much information into this first book of the trilogy and not enough action. I will, of course, continue to read the trilogy, but I don't know if someone who doesn't see Cabot as their childhood heroine would feel blown away enough to pick up the next two books.

Abandon is not an epic fantasy read that will keep you glued to the pages and on the edge of your seet. It's that Cabot - like mix of contemporary and completely unrealistic (Princess Diaries), supernatural (The Mediator) or - like in this case - mythological elements.

All in all, the darker background and Meg's to-the-point writing style make Abandon a book that older Cabot fans (I am seventeen) will probaly enjoy, too. You just shouldn't expect a whole lot of action, although I liked the surprise at the end.

RATING: 2 out of 3 Smarties