Release Date: October 2011 - December 2011
Publisher: Backlit Fiction
Pages: ~50 pages per episode
Received: Review copies of episodes 1 & 2 from author
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Summary
From Goodreads:
Smart and sassy Abby Grace is a seventeen-year-old with a talent for getting out of trouble. Sent to repair the lives and loves of teenagers on the edge of disaster, Abby is the perfect girl for the job. She has everything going for her… except one thing: a body.
This fast-paced and exciting episode is the first installment in an ongoing mystery series with a supernatural twist.
Review
This review is for the first two episodes in the series.
Here's the deal
This is the first time I've read a book published in episodes, but it is very similar to reading a novel serialized in magazines. Each episode is approximately 50 pages long, so it's entirely doable to read an episode in a single sitting. For a person like myself who lately is always struggling to find time to read, I really appreciated this format.
Each episode had a self-contained mystery as well as clues to the overarching mystery of Abby's out-of-body predicament. The self-contained mysteries easily kept my interest. The situations were creatively drawn and clues were fed at a perfect pace to both keep me on my toes and let me feel engaged in solving the puzzles alongside Abby.
By the end of each episode, the central mystery has been solved and Abby is a few steps closer to figuring out why and how she ended up in the body-swapping business.
Abby's got The Voice
When Kelly Green first sent me a review pitch, I almost declined because 1) I'm not accepting e-books at this time, and 2) I'm not accepting indie books. So why did I agree to review the Borrowing Abby Grace series?
Because I fell in love with Abby's voice. The premise of the story also caught my eye (body swapping to solve mysteries? Score!), but it was Abby who cinched the deal for me. I read the first few pages and knew I had to spend more time with this girl.
Abby is that type of hilarious character who is always coming up with amusing inner commentary on her situation. That she routinely finds herself thrown into some unknown person's body (where she needs to not only convincingly act like she IS that person, but also figure out the problem they're facing AND solve that problem), makes for a lot of opportunities for Abby's humor to shine.
Other things I liked:
-The budding maybe-friendship-maybe-more relationship Abby has going on with her enigmatic guide Will.
-The enigmatic guide Will. What time period is he from? Who is he? WHAT is he? What is his connection to Abby? I love it!
-Abby's attempts at blending in. Whether it's time travel, body swapping, or some other cause, I never get tired of watching the "I've got this, I can totally blend in...even though I have NO clue what is going on here" premise in action.
-The mini-mysteries were sweet. I aawww-ed.
Is this format for me?
I'm intrigued by this format, but I'm not entirely on board as a customer. First off, I don't have an e-reader, so I'm not really an e-format purchaser. I am also an extremely impatient person who likes to sit down and read the WHOLE story at once, so this format isn't really made for people like me.
I'm not sure that I would buy individual episodes, but I would totally buy a print bind-up of the whole Borrowing Abby Grace series. In fact, I'm crossing my fingers that it comes out in a print bind-up edition someday because I want to both own it myself AND buy a copy for my library kids.
Bottom line
I'm hooked. Kelly Green has accomplished what every series author should strive for: She's hooked me with the strength of her writing instead of relying on feeding me an incompete story.
Sure I'm totally dying to find out what happened to Abby's body (is she dead? in a coma? a paranormal creature? I NEED TO KNOW!), but my main reason for wanting more is because this series is straight up fun. I enjoy it, and I know that I'm going to have a fun reading experience every time I pick up another episode.
The subject matter and situations Abby finds herself in are pretty much in the MG/YA crossover spectrum. Abby does go to a party where characters engage in underage drinking and sex is talked about and implied, but nothing is racier than what teens and (often tweens) watch on TV or in movies (think something like Gossip Girl or 10 Things I Hate About You).
Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key
Do you have any questions about Borrowing Abby Grace that I haven't addressed?
Feel free to ask in the comments!
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