Underworld

Author: Meg Cabot
Publisher: Point (Simon & Schuster)
Released: May 8, 2012
Genre: YA Paranormal
Series: The Myth of Persephone Darkly Re-imagined (#2)
Source: Library

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.

Amazing how all of the events in this book happen almost entirely in one day! Everything happens so quickly, moving from the Underworld to the cemetery, to Pierce's home, to the streets of Isla Huesos, and back to the Underworld... And on and on. The pace of Underworld is lightning-quick, with the wit and sass to match. The interactions between all the characters are so real, so vivid.

Pierce doesn't seem to be in danger as much in this book, except that she's being kept against her will and mistakes the Persephone legend to mean that she could eat anything besides pomegranates and won't be bound to the Underworld. That, of course, makes for a lot of tension between her and John as they try to figure out what eating the food in the Underworld actually means. But it's mostly Pierce's cousin who's in danger this time, and it's an added dimension that we see Pierce focused almost exclusively on saving her cousin.

Side point: Look at the progression of the covers. In Abandon, Pierce is lying by herself. In Underworld, she's grasping John's hand. And in Awaken, she's stroking John's hair as he lies in her lap. Nice touch!