On a Dark Wing by Jordan Dane

The car crash that happened 5 years ago was meant to kill Abbey. But it didn't, so her mother died instead.

Some say that when you die your life flashes before your eyes, others: a tunnel with a blazing bright light at the end. Abbey didn't see either. She saw a ghostly boy with eyes as blue as the sky reaching out for her. And that single brush with Death is enough to mark Abbey forever.

Now years later, Abbey still feels the effect of the car crash, she's bullied at school, silent at home. But when Death returns for round two, Abbey's life will be changed yet again. Because this time it's not just her life on the line.

Death never forgets...

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Yep. That's me blurbie thing.

I must say, the idea behind this story is brilliant. It's original, different, and very captivating.
The story is told from alternating views which is very clever in letting the story unfold. It's also very clear which is always a good thing, with the name of the person, or at least the location stated before each segment, eliminating any chance of confusion.

It was also very pretty :) Each chapter opens up with the same number of soaring birds as the chapter. so basically chapter 1 equals one bird and so forth, the effect was fascinating.

At first I just didn't find myself getting into the book... I honestly kept looking at the number of pages I read and comparing it to the total number of pages in the book. It was a very slow start, luckily things started picking up after about 2 thirds of the book. Thank goodness. From there, everything was all systems go. The book suddenly morphed from a "must force self to finish reading" to a "ooooooh action".

Tanner Lange is one of the first characters mentioned in the story as Abbey's best and only friend. He is also the victim of a dirt bike ride gone wrong, leaving him paralysed from the waist down. Tanner pops up every now and again throughout the book, always thinking of Abbey and doing his best to help her. All very sweet.

Nate Holden is another character of the book, he actually plays a huge role throughout the entire book. Nate is the subject of Abbey's affections. Now, I may be a little harsh, but I was honestly a little creeped out on Nate's behalf. He doesn't even know of Abbey's existence aside from a few flashes and glimpses of her from school, yet there she is fantasizing and watching his every move. **shudder**
Nate is pretty much the unknowing innocent in the book, and because of Abbey's mild *cough* obsession with him, he finds himself the victim of a body snatch. Ack. The poor boy.

Now, it probably seems like I'm ganging up on Abbey Chandler, but don't get me wrong she's a great gal. She's just a little overzealous at times. Having said that, I also want to point out that Abbey has a very hard time at school, always bullied, always excluded. People treat her cruelly and she often finds herself the punch line of their malicious jokes. She blames herself for her mother's death, as well as what happens to Nate. I have to say though that she's a little maddening at times, through her treatment of others and her actions, and she's also a tad naive.

The romance in the end I found was a little rushed, there was no build up, heck the guy she ended up with wasn't even around for more than half the book. Yes it was all very cutesy and sweet but to me it felt like it was added in as an afterthought. I just felt there should have at least been some sort of lead up instead of just instant-love.

Having said that, I'm still glad I finished this book because in the end I found it quite enjoyable.
:)