Publish Date: January 15, 2013
Source: Library
Goodreads
Pages: 281
Series: The Memory Chronicles #1
Rating: Near Miss
Since her untimely death the day before her eighteenth birthday, Felicia Ward has been trapped in Level 2, a stark white afterlife located between our world and the next. Along with her fellow drones, Felicia passes the endless hours reliving memories of her time on Earth and mourning what she’s lost—family, friends, and Neil, the boy she loved.
Then a girl in a neighboring chamber is found dead, and nobody but Felicia recalls that she existed in the first place. When Julian—a dangerously charming guy Felicia knew in life—comes to offer Felicia a way out, Felicia learns the truth: If she joins the rebellion to overthrow the Morati, the angel guardians of Level 2, she can be with Neil again.
Suspended between Heaven and Earth, Felicia finds herself at the center of an age-old struggle between good and evil. As memories from her life come back to haunt her, and as the Morati hunt her down, Felicia will discover it’s not just her own redemption at stake… but the salvation of all mankind.
You know how sometimes you really want to like a book or just kind of expect that you will because everyone likes it and it's full of things you enjoy? That was me and Level 2. Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't hate it, but I also didn't love it.
First of all, I
didn't especially care for any of the characters. I was kind of
rooting for Felicia, but not in a way that made me feel like I was
connected to her and her story. When the climax comes and she needs
to make a decision I just kind of felt like “Eh, I'm good with
whatever you choose.”
I had this
inexplicable hate for Neil almost from the moment he was introduced.
Maybe it's because Felicia talks him up too much or that he's
strangely moody. I really don't know, I just didn't like him until
very near the end of the book. I gained some respect for him when he
said '“But you don't have to naked for that,”' though, because it
was true (yeah, I know you're wondering what that's all about, but
you'll either have to read it or have someone else spoil it for you
:P)
Then there's Julian
who just felt kind of. . .slimy to me. Yet, I didn't really hate him.
I find this amusing because when Felicia introduces him into the
story, she makes it clear she doesn't like him. He's definitely not
the best guy ever, but maybe I was just feeling like rooting for the
underdog this time around.
I found the setting
incredibly unique and interesting. I mean, a stop-off between Earth
and What Comes After isn't a new thought, but Appelhans spruces it up
and gives it a whole new feel. I especially like that there's unrest
in Level 2 and it's not just some place people go to settle
unfinished things on Earth or what have you. I'm still not completely
sure if there was some bigger reason Level 2 was modeled after
beehives and why they were in the story so much (I can be a pretty
surfacey reader,) but it doesn't unnaturally shoved into the story.
I enjoyed the
back-and-forth between memories and Level 2 Felicia for a while, but
at somewhere in the middle it just started bogging me down and I only
cared about Level 2 Felicia. When things really started to build
towards the climax and answers were coming from Felicia's memories I
was able to get back into it again.
The last 50ish
pages started getting a little strange for me. I think it started
about the time Felicia is “watching” her memory instead of living
it. The story-telling does make sense and I see where Appelhans was
going with it, but it just pulled me out of the story. Then things
start happening really fast and Felicia's not really in her body and
then BAM the climax happens and it's basically over.
I do have to say I
like how it ended and I'm curious to see how future installments will
go.
Also, I couldn't
picture the Morati as anything but glowing Weeping Angels.
The Nutshell: While I can appreciate Level 2's fresh writing and ideas, it wasn't my favorite read. I didn't hit it off with the characters, I got a little bored in the middle, and the ending felt weird. However, I found the world intriguing and liked the way Appelhans wrapped everything up. If like a good afterlife story with scifi-vibes then Level 2 is still worth a look.
I'm going to a book-signing for a few authors later this month, and Lenore Appelhans will be there so I'd like to read Level 2 before then. But now I have no idea what I'll think of it. I haven't heard that much about it, and your review makes me a little wary about picking it up, but I guess we'll see.
ReplyDelete-Rachel
Hmm, yeah, I just can't work up enthusiasm for this one, despite really liking some of the elements as well. I totally know what you mean about expecting to like something but not being able to despite that! I think not connecting to characters really drags a book down, no matter how interesting the world, and I don't like the sound of the end bit either. Meh!
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