Lenore Appelhans
January 15th, 2013
Simon and Shuster Books for Young Readers
281 pages
Amazon/Book Depository/B&N
In this gripping exploration of a futuristic afterlife, a teen discovers that death is just the beginning.
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.
Don't let the title fool you, they're the same book, I'm unsure of why it has two titles? I read it as The Memory of the After, but it was originally Level 2, and has since changed back to Level 2. Super confusing.
This book started out with a very interesting view of the afterlife. Those in purgatory would replay their lives back in a series of interactive Youtube type clips. Other people could tap into and view any memories shared in the public database. It has a few elements of The Matrix as well, but giving specifics would give the whole story away.
Unfortunately, with the unique setup, the need to escape was inevitable. The love triangle was also inevitable. Somehow, the book managed to derail into monotony. It took it's wonderful sci-fi elements and degraded into an almost contemporary piece, forgetting the dangers lurking in the world above.
The plot's escalation and conclusion ended up detached and hurried. Pieces were brushed over for the sake of the contemporary romance details. It didn't hold as much of a wallop as I would have hoped for. It all felt rushed and I ended up not enjoying it as much as I would have liked.
All in all, having pieces of a contemporary romance mixed in with a supernatural thriller are okay, but everything needs to be fleshed out. Don't sacrifice one in order to write the other.
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