Publishers Weekly
The wildly rich and beautiful Pierce Oliviera died and came back to life—"I was flatline for over an hour." Ever since, her life has been exceedingly complicated. Two years after Pierce's near-death experience, the 17-year-old has been expelled from her posh Connecticut girls' school; her mother has moved them to the South Florida island of Isla Huesos; and Pierce must cope both with being the new girl and with a dark, handsome guy, who she met while she was dead and who won't leave her alone. While the fun premise and Pierce's irreverent voice are trademark Cabot, this novel has trouble getting off the ground. Cabot loosely hangs her story on the myth of Hades and Persephone, but the plot is hampered by confusing digressions and frequent jumps in time that make it difficult to pinpoint what's in the present and what's in the past. However, Cabot's avid fans—including devotees of her earlier forays into paranormal romance, as in the Mediator series—are likely to forgive the bumpy start to this planned trilogy. Ages 12–up. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Meg Cabot:
“Cabot shows the dark side behind the bling-blingy superficial worlds.” —Teenreads.com
"[The] strong, amusing voice, the plot twists, and the possibility of romance will draw mystery and chick-lit readers alike." —ALA Booklist
“Bag the tiara and get out the gun ... Cabot delivers.” —Publishers Weekly
Children's Literature - BriAnne Baxley MLIS
Life as a teenager can be hard but for Pierce Oliveria it is even more difficult because she was dead once. After a freak accident Pierce finds herself amidst the dearly departed waiting for her fate to be decided upon. When John Haden reappears in her life Pierce finds herself in a position where she can escape death. Fleeing, however, causes her to struggle with school, friends, and love much more than most teenage girls face during their high school days. As she tries to find her place in the world, Pierce struggles to figure out what she wants from her life and finds a few realizations about where her heart is leading her. Like many of Cabot's novels readers find themselves relating to the young heroine as the mystery unravels. This page turning adventure is one Meg Cabot novel that is a must have. Reviewer: BriAnne Baxley, MLIS
School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up—Pierce Oliviera, 17, knows what it is like to die—and she also knows what it is like to come back from the dead. After two years, she's still trying to recover from her near death experience after she almost drowned. While she was in the hereafter she met John, who gave her a necklace to keep her safe from evil. When the teen and her mother move back to Isla Huesos (The Island of Bones), Florida, where her mother grew up, Pierce thinks she can put her life back together and maybe be free of John, who shows up when she is in trouble. John is not the only problem Pierce faces, and she may not be able to protect those she holds dear. Meg Cabot's (Scholastic, 2011) dark, suspenseful twist on the Persephone and Hades myth ends as a cliffhanger and will leave listeners eagerly awaiting the next installment. Natalia Payne captures Pierce's innocent yet tough demeanor and her haunting tone draws listeners in until the very end. For those who enjoy fantasy, Greek myth, light romance, and a little edge to their characters.—Sarah Flood, Breckinridge County Public Library, Hardinsburg, KY
Kirkus Reviews
In the current game of one-upsmanship that is the teen paranormal romance market, how does one top vampires, faeries, angels (fallen and otherwise) and the like? Why, make your dark and brooding male lead the Lord of Death, of course. Seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera and her mother have just moved to Isla Huesos (an alternative Key West) to start over after her near-death experience two years earlier (she drowned in the backyard swimming pool) and her parents' subsequent breakup. But Isla Huesos just happens to be a portal to the Underworld, making it very easy for tall, dark and handsome John to monitor the girl who ran away from him at 15. She wants to live, darn it, and bad things always happen when he shows up, so why is she so unhappy when he takes back the magical necklace he gave her when she was dead? Cabot's a pro; Pierce is a perfectly likable if almost preternaturally good protagonist; her relationships with her ex-con uncle, underachieving cousin and new buddy Kayla are genuinely endearing, and her interactions with John have the right mix of humor and sexual chemistry. A refreshingly offhandedly gay cemetery sexton rather testily helps Pierce along the way. Ultimately, though, the conventions of the form leach real suspense from the plot, making it feel more like a progress to the inevitable sequel (Underworld, coming in the indefinable soon) than any real reboot of the genre. (Paranormal romance. 14 & up)
