
In a white and sterile world, there is life. This is where the story begins, and through flashbacks the author sets up a vast and foreboding set of circumstances that will gradually reveal how Felicia died and where she ended up. As the energy from her memories is being siphoned off, it’s almost like a puzzle to decipher why someone would want to do something like this and why the people around her can’t remember even the basics about themselves or how they got to where they are.
In Applehans’ world, there is a deep symbiotic relationship between the darkness and the light, the powerful and the powerless, and the agents of evil and peace. As Felicia becomes more and more aware of what’s happening around her, she suffers terrible losses and must learn to cooperate with the devil she knows versus the one she doesn’t. This is a complex tangle of science, mysticism and spirituality that seems to defy any box that you can put it into. It’s textured and layered storytelling of the best kind, the type of tale that both compels you to delve deeper into chasm it’s created and to pull away from the darkness that is engulfing everything that Felicia knows and loves.
Even as Julian is saving Felicia, one wonders what his true motives are and what he’s hiding. He seems amiable and sincere, but there’s something hiding underneath, and the group that he has allied with aren’t the nicest sort. As I read, I wondered if there was more to Julian’s saving Felicia than he had asserted, and surely it seemed as though the more I learned about him, the easier it was to distrust him. But the author has a few aces up her sleeve when it comes to the true motives of this character, and the circumstances get even more surreal by the end of the novel.
In Felicia’s heart, there’s only room for one: the one whom she left behind. But the closer she comes to the terrible beings that are holding her and innumerable others prisoner, the closer she comes to the truth about the love she left behind and her life before Level 2. In the perfectly pitched and highly tense narrative, Felicia will find out more than she ever wanted to know, and she’ll have to make a choice that will affect not only her own soul, but that of those around her who are still slumbering in their hives, dreaming of the lives that they will never be a part of again.
I enjoyed this book to the fullest and found myself speculating on character motives, wondering what was coming next, and actively engaging with the cast of very three-dimensional characters that Appelhans created. I was sucked into this white world that suddenly turned vivid and uncannily haunting, and was just as ensnared with the careful and compelling rendition of the plot. I’m eagerly looking forward to seeing what the author brings me next in her second installment, Level 3. A top notch YA novel. Highly recommended.
Would you like to win an advance galley? Look in today's Shelf Awareness email!
This book was provided as a complimentary review copy.
24 comments:
I'm so glad to see this is good since I adore Lenore! I pre-ordered a copy from Fiction Addiction months ago and can't wait to get it!
Wow this sounds like a very strange book! It sounds like something my daughter would like.
I do trust you when you say it is good :-)
I'm so jealous you got to read this already! I did ask for a galley at Shelf Awareness (along with probably eight million others!) so I am hoping. But when we get to where we are moving, one of my first things to do will be to join the library, and Heather O. assures me the library will be good there! Thanks for the intriguing review!!!
I have to tell you, the way you described the hive gave me chills. I can't imagine waking in a hive and then having to plug-in to a memory chamber. Egads! Sounds very entertaining though!
OMG, you removed CAPTCHA! Yay! Makes it so much easier to post comments now.
Lenore's great and I'm happy for her - glad to hear its a good read and you enjoyed it so much!
I'm excited to read this one! I requested an ARC, so fingers crossed it comes my way. The premise of it sounds pretty fascinating, so I can't wait to read it. I love how you shared the symbiotic relationship between the darkness and the light, the powerful and powerless; I'm intrigued!
Ooh, as soon as I saw your review title I wondered if it was THE Lenore who wrote this book, and I see now that it is! Good for her :-) So glad you found the book enjoyable.
This doesn't sound like a book you'd normally read, but it does sound compelling.
I love Lenore! I'm going to buy this one, and I'm sure it will be wonderful because she is wonderful!
I am so glad that you enjoyed this book! I like the concept and am going to try getting this book.
Interesting -- not something I'd typically pick up but now you've got me curious -- I like YA now and then!
I signed up to win a galley. I've heard great things about this book. I hope I get to read it soon. Great review!
Sounds super imaginative! Must be a great read!
I really need to read this, mostly because I've been a blog follower of Lenore's just about as long as I've been blogging, and she's great. I'm so happy for her success!
I'm in serious need of a great YA novel and this one seems to be a must read. You have definitely got me interested with this fabulous review! I've heard nothing but good things and can't wait to get my greedy little hands on a copy.
Wow, sounds so interesting!! I love Lenore :)
I'm really looking forward to this one. So glad to see you liked it. :)
So there was no Level 1?
This sounds interesting and a bit different than other books of this type in that she is actually dead (or is she???)
Thanks for reading and reviewing Heather :)
Jenners - Level 1 is where we are now, i.e. earth
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed it! I absolutely can't wait to read it! :)
I am so glad you reviewed this one, Heather, as I've been curious about it. I've only recently really been getting into YA fiction. You make Level 2 sound so good!
I hardly ever read YA anymore, but this one both sounds wonderful and it's by Lenore! I'm so looking forward to it!
What an interesting concept: I'm definitely intrigued!
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