Review: Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans

Level 2 (The Memory Chronicles #1)

By: Lenore Appelhans

Expected Publication Date: January 15, 2013

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Hardcover, 288 pages

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. -Goodreads

2 and a Half Stars

Review

There are some writers who are perfectly capable of writing well in the present tense. These writers are incredibly gifted and are rare to come by. The vast majority of authors cannot do it and so they wisely choose not to and write in the past instead. Not the author of this book. She chose to write in the present tense anyways and as a result the novel reads like a creative writing piece written by an overly zealous high school student.

As far as the plot goes, it's not bad. Maybe the book tries too hard to be different, but the idea behind it all was pretty solid. The main character, Felicia, is stuck in a stage of the afterlife called Level 2, where she is kept in a pod and isn't allowed to do anything besides watch memories. Some are her own (she mostly watches those of her and her boyfriend, Neil) and others belong to the other girls in the same pod. Eventually, she is broken out of Level 2 by Julian, someone she knew when she was still alive and who promises her that she can see Neil again if he helps her overthrow the evil angels who are keeping them there. There were a few too many plot twists to keep track of, but the plot moved fast.

The writing was the real drawback to the book. I have no doubt that Lenore Appelhans could have made this work had she written it in the past tense and lost the laughable amount of clichés she managed to include. The writing gave the impression that the author was trying too hard, and it dragged the book along, making a potentially interesting story into a boring one.

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WinterHaven Sleigh Tour Review and Giveaway: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Today, YA Novelties is excited to join the WinterHaven Sleigh Tour hosted by WinterHaven Books. This week, we are posting our choice of a Winter Book Review. To see who else is on the sleigh, go to WinterHaven Sleigh Tour  for a list of participating blogs.

As part of the festivities, WinterHaven Books is hosting an international giveaway that will include a copy of Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (Signed by Levithan and Cohn) and a copy of Let it Snow to four lucky winners. Good luck and happy holidays!

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares
By Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Published: October 26, 2010
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Paperback, 272 pages

“I’ve left some clues for you.

If you want them, turn the page.

If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

--Goodreads

4.5 Stars

Review

It turns out there are actually a limited amount of good Christmas books, which makes absolutely no sense to me because who wants to read a bad book over Christmas? Thankfully, Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares is a thoroughly enjoyable and amusing read and goes really well with a cup of hot chocolate with exactly two large marshmallows.

The book alternates the point of view every chapter; Levithan writes Dash’s chapters and Cohn writes Lily’s. Dash is slightly pessimistic and cynical, and is most often described by other characters as “snarly”. This is mostly a result of his parents’ terrible divorce. At the beginning of the story, he is at home alone, having told his mother he was going on vacation with his dad and his dad that he would be with his mother. He is also highly intelligent, and Levithan writes a little too intellectually and philosophically for the reader to actually believe it’s being written by a fifteen year-old. It’s the worst in the first few chapters; he dumbs down to the level of a normal super-smart teenager as the story goes on.

Lily, by contrast, is incredibly optimistic about everything (she goes caroling during Christmas time) and she comes from a large, incredibly loving family. Her brother Langston and his boyfriend Benny write some dares in a red notebook which they leave in the Strand in hopes that it will help Lily get a boyfriend. The notebook is picked up by Dash and he writes his own dares and leaves it for her. Most of the book follows each of them finding the book and carrying out the dares before writing their own. Neither of them meet each other until later on in the book.

The book would not be nearly as good without Lily’s many relatives and Dash’s friend Boomer, who are all very strange but lovable people. All in all, this is a great read for Christmas break and for anytime when you just want to relax with a happy book.

Purchase this book here: Amazon/ B&N/ TBD

Giveaway Time: As part of the festivities, WinterHaven Books is hosting an international give-away that will include a copy of Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (Signed by Levithan and Cohn) and a copy of Let it Snow to four lucky winners. Good luck and happy holidays!

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Review: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus #3)

By Rick Riordan

Published: October 2, 2012

Publisher: Hyperion Book CH

Hardcover, 608 pages

Annabeth is terrified. Just when she’s about to be reunited with Percy—after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera—it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can’t blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon masthead, Leo’s fantastical creation doesn’t appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.

And that’s only one of her worries. In her pocket Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving demand: Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. Annabeth already feels down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find—and close— the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her?

Annabeth’s biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he’s now attached to Roman ways? Does he need he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader, but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side.

Narrated by four different demigods, The Mark of Athena is an unforgettable journey across land and sea to Rome, where important discoveries, surprising sacrifices, and unspeakable horrors await. Climb aboard the Argo II, if you dare. . . . --Goodreads

1.5 Stars

Review

Let’s just get it out there: Rick Riordan cannot write. It’s true. I’m not denying that he can come up with a great, exciting and ridiculously addicting plot; he just is unable to turn this plot into a good piece of writing. His choppy, cheesy style worked when he wrote in the first person because the reader was able to attribute it to the main character’s personality. When converted into the third person, his novels begin to fall apart.

The book is told from the “perspectives” of all the Greek demigods, switching characters every chapter. However, there is just about no variation whatsoever in writing style or thoughts between characters. In fact, I went through half the book before realizing the point of view was changing.

While Mark of Athena does have a central plot, it gets sidetracked by a multitude of central characters, relationships, battles and adventures. The gist of the story is that seven demigods, Percy, Annabeth, Frank, Hazel, Leo, Jason and Piper, are trying to get to Rome to stop Gaia from awakening. If you’ve read the other two books, the general plot is basically the same here. Now for the problems. There are seven main characters and all of these characters have different relationships with the remaining six. Keeping track of who’s on good terms with whom and who hates whom is confusing and annoying. Also, there are three couples and then poor Leo is cast off to the side. Rick Riordan obviously feels sorry for him and therefore casts him in an annoying love triangle with Hazel and Frank. Another thing Riordan can’t write is romance, and I pray that he will stop trying to put mushy love scenes where they really don’t belong.

There are also way too many battles and adventures crammed into the book. Imagine Harry Potter, except this time Harry gets attacked by Death Eaters every time he exits the Gryffindor common room. The book would go pretty slowly, wouldn’t it? That is essentially Mark of Athena. Every time, and I mean every time, anyone leaves the ship, they are attacked by dead spirits or gods or Gaia or a zombie army. Rick Riordan manages to take a fun and interesting idea and turn it into the longest, worst written, most boring book anyone has ever written.

And then he gives it a horrible ending just to induce to buy the sequel. This time, I don’t think I will.

Purchase this book: Amazon/ Barnes&Nobles/ The Book Depository

Review: Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

Eve and Adam (Eve and Adam #1)

By Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

Release Date: October 2, 2012

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Hardcover, 304 pages

Sixteen-year-old Evening Spiker lives an affluent life in San Francisco with her mother, EmmaRose, a successful geneticist and owner of Spiker Biotech. Sure, Evening misses her father who died mysteriously, but she’s never really questioned it. Much like how she’s never stopped to think how off it is that she’s never been sick. That is, until she’s struck by a car and is exposed to extensive injuries. Injuries that seem to be healing faster than physically possible.

While recuperating in Spiker Biotech’s lush facilities, she meets Solo Plissken, a very attractive, if off-putting boy her age who spent his life at Spiker Biotech. Like Evening, he’s never questioned anything... until now. Solo drops hints to Evening that something isn’t right, and Emma-Rose may be behind it. Evening puts this out of her mind and begins her summer internship project: To simulate the creation of the perfect boy. With the help of Solo, Evening uncovers secrets so big they could change the world completely. --Goodreads

3 Stars

Review

I picked up Eve and Adam mostly because of the first line on the back of the book was “It all started with an apple”. Of all the corny lines in all the world, that one probably takes the cake, especially when used in a novel called Eve and Adam. However, the plot of the book has almost nothing to do with the Biblical story. It could just have easily been titled Juliet and Romeo and the novel would have worked just fine.

The book starts out with Evening, or Eve for short, looking at an apple while crossing the street and then being hit by a car (There you go, ladies and gentlemen. That was the entire role of the apple). Eve loses a leg but it’s regrown at the medical company founded by her mother, Terra Spiker.

But, of course, no young adult novel is ever complete without a boy. In this case, his name is Solo (say it with a Spanish accent, it sounds so much cooler). Solo is Terra Spiker’s ward, who she took in after his parents, her colleagues, died. He wants revenge on Terra Spiker because he blames her for his parents death. Eve has never heard of this really hot teenage boy and naturally is interested. To keep her away from Solo, her mother gives her the task of creating the perfect boy, Adam, on a computer program being used at Spiker Industries and even allows her friend Aislin to help her with it. However, Eve, along with Solo and Aislin, begin to uncover some strange (and illegal) experiments going on at Spiker Industries and Eve is faced with the fact that her mother may be really evil, not just a little mean as she had previously supposed.

While the overall plot of this book was really compelling, there were definitely a lot of problems. The biggest problem for me was Solo. Of all the revenge-seeking characters I have ever read about, Solo is the least angry. His entire attitude towards Terra Striker is: “Terra is such a horrible person but I don’t hate her, I simply strongly dislike her and besides, her daughter is so preeeetyyyyyy........”. In short, he is an incredibly ineffective angry character. Another problem was Aislin. Aislin is really, really screwed up. I understand why her character had to be so out there, but I think she could have been toned down just a little. And then there is Terra (SPOILER ALERT): she isn’t actually evil. At the very end of the novel, she turns out to be perfectly not-evil. It was like the authors got to the end and then realized that Terra being in jail really wasn’t going to work for the sequel and so they suddenly shifted the blame onto dead people.

And finally, the name of the sequel is perhaps the dumbest problem of all. It’s called (drumroll please)........Adam and Eve.

Eve and Adam has an interesting and compelling plot but the characters didn’t quite work. They were either too extreme or, in the case of Solo, not extreme enough.

 Pre-order this book: Amazon/ Barnes&Nobles/ The Book Depository