Pages: Abandon - 304, Underworld - 322, Awaken - 343
Rating: PG-13: It's violent in places, not too graphic, but she does have sex a few times and talks a little about it but only in very vague terms, nothing specific or overly graphic at all.
Summary:
Abandon - 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.
Underworld - Seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera isn't dead. Not this time.
But she is being held against her will in the dim, twilit world between heaven and hell, where the spirits of the deceased wait before embarking upon their final journey.
Her captor, John Hayden, claims it's for her own safety. Because not all the departed are dear. Some are so unhappy with where they ended up after leaving the Underworld, they've come back as Furies, intent on vengeance . . . on the one who sent them there and on the one whom he loves.
But while Pierce might be safe from the Furies in the Underworld, far worse dangers could be lurking for her there . . . and they might have more to do with its ruler than with his enemies.
And unless Pierce is careful, this time there'll be no escape.
Awaken - Death has her in his clutches. She doesn't want him to let go. Seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera knew by accepting the love of John Hayden, she'd be forced to live forever in the one place she's always dreaded most: the Underworld. The sacrifice seemed worth it, though, because it meant she could be with the boy she loves. But now her happiness -- and safety -- are threatened, all because the Furies have discovered that John has broken one of their strictest rules: He revived a human soul. If the balance between life and death isn't fixed, both the Underworld and Pierce's home back on earth will be wiped away. But there's only one way to restore order. Someone has to die.
My Thoughts: Not gonna lie, Meg Cabot is and always will be a fantastic writer. I was completely hooked on this little trilogy. I would recommend checking them all out from the library at once since you're not going to want to wait to get the next one. I literally closed one book and immediately picked up the next! I read all three in less than 2 weeks. And I'm a pretty busy person.
The story is loosely based on the ancient Greek story of Hades and Persephone. Recap, if you don't remember, Hades kidnaps Persephone to be his consort in the world of the dead. She makes the mistake of eating 6 pomegranate seeds while she's there so even after her mother manages to free her, she is still obligated to spend 6 months of every year with Hades in the Underworld.
Pierce, our main character, has heard this story before and thinks its all a myth. Until she dies. The book is very frustrating on this point and is very vague about how she dies until you're about a third of the way in. Since there's no particular reason for this, I'll just tell you. Pierce is outside her home one day, in the winter time, trying to rescue a fallen bird. She trips on her scarf, hits her head, and falls into the frozen waters of her pool. She dies of hypothermia actually before she even drowns, and she goes to the Underworld, where she meets John. John is not Hades, per se, he just happens to rule the Underworld that is underneath the Island Pierce and her mother live on. He sorts the souls of the dead into two lines. They each get to get on a boat, which will take them to their "final destination." John knows nothing about these final destinations, only that one boat goes to a good place, and one boat definitely goes to a bad place.
When John and Pierce run into each other in the Underworld, he immediately falls in love and tries to convince her to stay with him forever. Pierce isn't too sure she's thrilled about this plan, but doesn't have to worry too much about it because the paramedics back in the real world manage to revive her. That's when everything starts to get WAY more complicated. Pierce would love to believe what all her therapists are telling her, that it was all just a hallucination. Unfortunately, while in the Underworld, John gave her a multi-million dollar diamond necklace to protect her from harm....and it managed to come back to earth with her.
Also, as it turns out, there are a bunch of people who are out to kill Pierce. Again. And they weren't too thrilled she didn't stay dead the first time. There's a lot of mystery and intrigue. John obviously has issues and baggage and secrets, and Pierce bugs him incessently about how he became who he is and why he is that way. He's only 150 years old, so he hasn't been Lord of the Underworld forever. There are also a lot of sketchy humans roaming about the island. Trust me, it's good, you'll be hooked. I loved that it was based on a Greek myth we've all heard a zillion times before. Super cool.
Like I said in the rating, there's not much language, some violence (people are trying to kill Pierce. On multiple occasions) but the main reason for the rating is that she does have sex a few times. It's not at all graphic though. No detailed descriptions or steamy writing. Very safe, in my opinion.
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