Friday, 18 January 2013
Published January 2, 2013 by Allen & Unwin
Source: the publisher
Rating: 3 paws
From the blurb: Felicia Ward is dead. Trapped in a stark white afterlife limbo, she spends endless days replaying memories, of her family, friends, boyfriend ... and of the guy who broke her heart. The guy who has just broken into Level 2 to find her.Felicia learns that a rebellion is brewing, and it seems she is the key. Suspended between heaven and earth, she must make a choice. Between two worlds, two lives and two loves.
Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans is set in the afterlife and
revolves around Felicia Ward. Felicia died a day before her eighteenth birthday
and has been in the afterlife ever since. It’s a stark white world, made of pods
where the inhabitants can access their memories, replaying them over and over
again. Their peaceful existence is disturbed by a couple of odd incidents and
then a boy she knew back on Earth, Julian, appears in their hive, and soon she
learns the truth about Level 2.
Level 2 is a really unique story in a sea full of dystopians
and paranormals. I can’t think of another book I’ve read set in the afterlife
and I was intrigued as to what this book would be about.
Felicia has spent what feels like years in Level 2. She has
made friends with two girls, Beckah and Virginia, but most drones keep to
themselves as accessing their memories is addictive. It’s clear that Felicia
regrets some of her actions while alive and so she only accesses the happy
memories, especially those involving her boyfriend, Neil. I was instantly
curious about what had happened to her, and with each memory that she accesses,
we are shown a little more about her previous life. She has travelled the world
thanks to her parents and is a smart girl, who feels she wronged her best
friend, Autumn, and it has something to do with Julian.
The setting was really easy for me to imagine; Level 2 is
all white, and the groups of pods make up hives. Felicia’s hive is all girls,
they wear white shifts and have shaved heads. They don’t need to eat or sleep
to function. They have never seen a boy in their hive until the day Julian
bursts in via a previously hidden door. If inhabitants can ditch their memory addiction, they have the power to make things happen just by thinking them. I especially liked that when Felicia had the chance to magic her nails done, she instead took the time to prepare and polish them herself – a girl after my own heart!
My curiosity lead me to wish that the book’s pacing was a
little quicker. Felicia keeps talking about her past and something bad she did
and I really wanted to know what it was. With each memory we move closer but
it’s not until the end that she accesses the final memory that reveals her
actions to us. I had thought it probably wasn't going to be as bad as she was
making out, and in my opinion it wasn't that bad. There was an explanation for
it and I don’t think she should have let it ruin her life, but I do understand
why the final memory had to be held until the end so Felicia could finally
accept what she did and attempt to move on.
Despite being quite interested in this story, I didn't feel
a lot of emotion as I read. Usually I really enjoy books written in first
person as it helps me connect with the character, but I didn't feel much for
Felicia, although the ending did give me more insight into her life. I am keen to see where
the sequel takes us as I want to know more about this world.
Level 2 is a unique story about a girl trying to accept her
past mistakes, and find a way to save her afterlife. I’d recommend it to all
fans of YA who are looking for something a little different.
Thank you to the lovely people at Allen & Unwin for my
review copy.
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35 comments:
Great review Mandee! I've been curious but unsure about this one since I first found out about it. I'm glad to see that you enjoyed it overall despite the lack of emotional connection & the pacing. From what you mentioned, I think I may give it a try :)
Great review! I had similar feelings about it, and I found it hard to connect with Felicia too.
I have to agree with you on this one, Mandee - I wanted a faster pace and definitely more emotion. I wasn't all that invested in the tale, although I did enjoy it and appreciate the twists and depth of character. I'm also confused about why there's a sequel, considering this one ended rather well. I doubt I'll pick it up, but I'm glad I sampled a bit of this author's writing. Wonderful review, dear!(:
AHAHAHA! Eeee, Mandee. I love that you love the MAGIC NAILS. I was totally dreaming about having perfectly painted nails last night. So dissapointed to wake up and find only my usual bitten ones :P
I AM excited to read this one. LOVING the sound of the premise.
BUT.
Shame it lacked that emotional connection. WONDERFUL REVIEW ♥
Great review! This is a fascinating concept for a novel, but it sounds like it might be shuffled toward the bottom of my to-read pile for now.
Everyone seems meh about this but I really loved it. I thought the idea was neat and kept my attention. I actually really felt for Felicia and Neil and loved the ending. But the action scene at the end was a bit blah. Agree with wanting a bit more action. I also wonder why there is a sequel because I thought everything wrapped up so nicely. I hate to think Felicia and Neil have a bunch more crap to go through.
It seems most readers found the concept unique and interesting (I mean, of course! It's the afterlife!) but a lot of people also found this whole 'problem' not as bad as she made it out to be, like you said. I guess I probably would find the book disappointing if I had expected some huge revelation, but it only turned out to be 'meh'. I don't think I'll be reading this anytime soon...I just can't be bothered reading another book where i probably won't be able to connect with the main character :( Thanks for the awesome review Mands<3
Ack! I really like the concept but that doesn't always mean the book will deliver in whole. Nice review. I'll have to think about it before I pick this one up...
"My curiosity lead me to wish that the book’s pacing was a little quicker."
YES! I wished it was revealed a little sooner too, considering it wasn't THAT horrid. Well, it was, but but like you said it was explained.
I have been looking forward to this for a couple years now but have heard several times that its a slower pace. That concerns me but I will definitely watch for this at the library in the future.
I started reading this, but set it aside because it just wasn't keeping my interest. Maybe I should give it another go, because despite some of your issues, it does sound like an interesting read. I struggle with lack of emotion while reading though. I need to feel SOMETHING. Fab review, Mandee!
Hmm.. I'm a little curious about this one, but I'm not sure. Based on the reviews I'm seeing, I'm not really sure this is for me. But great review as always!
Hey I have this too and started a bit of it but put it off for something else lol!
I hear mixed reviews about Level 2 - most people are saying what you say - that they didn't connect as much with the heroine and it sometimes lacked emotion.
I'm still hoping I'll like it haha
Aw, it's a shame you couldn't connect with the mc. Glad you liked the world, though. It definitely sounds unique, can't wait to read this myself. :)
Lovely review!
It's definitely a shame about the pacing, I hate slowly paced books and maybe the faster pace would have helped you to enjoy and connect more with the main character.
This book does sound like it has an interesting plot, so I think I should give this book a chance.
Great review.
This sounds very original, but quite a few of the reviews so far have been similar to yours. It sounds as thought it is missing that something to make it anything spectacular. I'm glad you liked it well enough overall though. Great review, Mandee!
Level 2 definitely has an interesting concept. I'm not sure that I would like it or not, though, based on lack of emotion. And it's always a letdown when the big secret is anti-climatic. Excellrnt review, Mandee. Thanks for sharing!
Hmm...I'm so excited to finally be seeing reviews for this one, but I'm still torn on whether or not it's for me. It does sound SO unique and interesting, but the fact that you felt you were unable to connect to the character also gives me pause. I don't mind not connecting to characters sometimes, but usually that's in a very fast paced, action driven plot, which this one doesn't appear to be. I do like that it takes place in the afterlife, but also probably has many contemporary shades since she's looking back at her life. Great review, Mandee!
I didn't really feel emotion while I read either, I was like OKAY NEXT THING. I liked the concept but I don't know if I really connected with it. It certainly was a different premise! Wonderful review.
Glad that its unique even if you couldn't always feel as much emotion as you wanted.
Happy reading,
Brandi @ Blkosiner’s Book Blog
The reviews for this book are all over this place, but you and I usually see eye to eye with books so I'm happy to see your review. It's hard to overcome when the character connection isn't there so that makes me uneasy. I put this book on hold at the library though so I'll try it out sometime.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Level 2! Great review as always.
I don't think I've read another review for this one yet...i have a copy that I hope to get to soon, though. I'm glad you liked it for the most part. That sucks about the lack of real emotions for the novel but the premise is quite interesting!
I'm very curious about this one, as it's been getting split reactions. Some people really liked it and some people didn't like it as much. Still, the book's concept is very unique and I definitely like that!
A copy of this showed up in my mail last week unsolicited so I will be checking this out. It does sound very unique. Even though it didn't blow you away I am always up for something different.
I really liked this one - I love how unique it was.
It sounds like this one had a slower pace but still was good. It reminds me a little of Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, with the memories and the addiction and all that. But I'm glad you liked it over all :D
I've been seeing this one around and it seems to be getting mixed reviews. I'm not sure the story would be for me, the plot doesn't really scream "Rachel!" to me. The fact that you found it hard to connect with the main character doesn't really make me want to pick this up. Glad to see you enjoyed it overall though, Mandee. Great review. :)
I love how you mentioned this book as being unique, because to me, so many YA dystopian books are anything but that - the same run of the mill concept and execution with love triangles, silly cliffhangers, sketchy world building, planned trilogies and whatnot. This one sounds pretty good, in spite of some of your qualms with it, too. Brilliant review, Mandee!
Im glad this book was unique, but it totally sucks that it was slow paced for you.. Not sure ill pick this up though. Great review!!
- Farah @ MajiBookshelf
Per your review and others I've seen, it seems like there's a general lack of character connection with readers and this book. Your review is actually one of the more positive ones I've read. You've given me hope that Level 2 isn't as crazy-confusing as I was being led to believe. Except for Dead Girls Detective Agency, I haven't read any afterlife books either. Fab review! You've re-ignited my interest in this one. I don't think I'll rush out to get it but I'm also not as intimidated.
I really need to read my copy soon!
Great review! I've been reading some conflicting things about this one. It does sound really good and I have a copy sitting on my shelf. I definitely plan on picking it up soon. It's good to hear you enjoyed this one because it definitely eases some of my nerves now.
I was so excited for this book and having read it I was a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed it and thought it was very unique but the religion thing annoyed me a little because I wasn't expecting it and I didn't really connect with Felicia either. But saying all that I'm still excited to see where we will be taken in future books! Great review! :)
I'm always a little nervous with new dystopian novels because so many of them are sooo similar. But I'm glad to hear this one stands out. Great review!
Sounds like an interesting read. I've read a lot of intriguing reviews for this one so I'm sure I'll get around to reading it soon :)
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