Level 2 (The Memory of After) by Lenore Appelhans

Level 2 (The Memory of After)

The Memory Chronicles 1

Author: Lenore Appelhans
Pages: 281 pgs
Genre: YA, Sci-Fi,
Release Date: January 15th 2013
Review Source: Purchase, Publisher

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.

I love the original cover for this, but it's been changed along with the title, which I'll put at the end for anyone who's interested.

It took a little bit of time for me to get into this particular book, but once I did I couldn't put it down. Lenore did a phenomenal job of intervening the present time with Felicia's past memories. We got to experience what her life had been right along with her, including the memories that were a bit more difficult for her to deal with.

This probably isn't too spoilery, but if you don't want to chance it then feel free to skip this part. I loved how Lenore used the bees that Felicia would see in her memories, and created a hive like structure for the after-life that she was in. It was brilliant and showed just how different that place was to what she had know before.

 Waiting for the next book has felt like forever, but I have a feeling that it will definitely be worth it. There's a such a great build up as you near the end of this first book, a fast pace setting if you will. And though you aren't left dangling, I can't wait to find out what is in store for these character's next. August 2014 can't come fast enough!

And, here's the new cover and title: