EXISTENCE by Abbi Glines

Pagan is a teenager, in her senior year at high school, who looks like a normal girl, but Pagan is different. Pagan sees souls. These souls have no other way to make contact as they have no voice,so  Pagan, unable to help them in any way, chooses to ignore them until they leave.  When Pagan soon notices a soul lounging on table in the school yard, she's not surprised. What does surprise her though is that he talks and not just directly but she can hear him in her head.  This soul seems taken back that Pagan has been able to see souls for as long as she remembers. For the first time a soul  is following her every move.

At lunch, when left alone by her friends, Pagan is approached by Lief, the school's star footballer. He asks for her help as a tutor.  Put off by his arrogant attitude Pagan says no.  Only to later rethink her judgemental reaction, Pagan finds Lief she accepts his plea for help.  Lief makes his move and he and Pagan start to date, even though her hearts not in it. The next conversation Pagan has with the soul is his warning for her not to leave school that day.  Pagan dismisses the warning and is in a serious accident that should have taken her life. Somehow Pagan knows that the soul is the reason she survived.  Now all the rules are broken and things begin to change.  There's a new student at school, meet Dank (that's right I said Dank!  In my head I changed to Drake, worked much better for me!), Dank Walker, who as the lead singer in the famous rock band "Cold Soul" causes quite a stir.  While both Dank and Pagan are dating others  the connection and pull between them remains. Will Pagan find out who Dank really is?  Will Dank and Pagan end up together?  Will Dank pay the price for Pagans' survival?  Is there more to Lief than meets the eye? What will it cost Pagan to make a stand and claim Dank for her own?


I find this book difficult to review, there a parts of it that make me want to rant on and on and parts that deserve a rave..  First and most important in my mind, is Pagan.  The storyline would have been much better served if Pagan was shown as a stronger more confident character.  Somehow whining and self doubt don't a heroine make.  The other problem I had with the book were the frequent repetitions in dialogue, I found it very distracting  while trying to follow the storyline, my mind kept saying didn't we just do that!.  With all that taken into consideration, I must confess that Ms. Glines still pulls it off.  So here are aspects of this book that deserve a rave.  The storyline is great and the other characters do not suffer from Pagan's shortcomings.  There are unexpected twists and turns, not to mention a cliffhanger ending perfect for making you yearn for the next book.  Abbi Glines is a young gifted writer with huge potential and under the guidance of a good editor has a very bright future.  For my money, definitely worth the read.  3.8 out of 5 Stars