Review: Abandon by Meg Cabot

Title: Abandon
Author: Meg Cabot
Series: --
Release Date: 2011
Page #: 304

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.


Abandon was definitely a unique read. It was a mixture of mystery, romance, action, and adventure. I love the Greek myth of Persephone and the dark, twisted love from Hades, and Abandon portrays a fantastic modernized version of the old tale, which more people will be able to relate to.



When Pierce was fifteen, she died. She drowned in her own pool, and instead of waking up in hospital, she woke up in a dark and damp cave. She was greeted  by a man who she had met before, when she was alive. The mysterious man took Pierce to his home and tried to trap her there forever. Pierce panicked when she realized she was dead, not dreaming, and escaped, leaving her alive and haunted for the rest of her life. Haunted by the same mysterious boy who now appeared to her when she was in trouble.

As a teenage girl, I could relate to Pierce and her inner struggles with friends and trying to fit in. This made it easier to relate to Pierce when things suddenly turned truly strange...when the mysterious boy appeared.

He might make the list. My affiliate, Amber Skye and I have a running list of top boys from books. The list includes Jace Wayland from The Mortal Instruments and Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games. The characters must have certain qualities that make them "list-worthy". My vision of the boy is list-worthy. I see him as a tall, handsome, brooding teenager, struck in the in-between for eternity. The thing I really enjoyed about his character was that he hid his feelings and sensitivity behind a mask.

I gave this novel four and a half masks because of that wow factor (the one that comes with nearly every Meg Cabot book), the wonderful tale and love story, which bound together in a whirlwind of heart-pounding pages that left me slightly breathless. My only negatives would be that the beginning was quite confusing and the end felt rushed. Other than that, it was an incredible read.

Although it was strange and unexpected, Abandon was a refreshing portrayal of a Greek myth. Meg Cabot is a genius, who has made a myth believable.