Audiobook Review: Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans

Posted on February 21, 2013 · 5 Comments

level2Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans
Publication Date: January 22, 2013
Format: Audio CD
Rating: 3 stars
Genre: YA Dystopian
Source: Review copy from the publisher

Amazon Synopsis

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.

My Thoughts

The audio narration by Jenna Lamia is outstanding. She is the perfect choice to read this novel. Her voice and inflections are on point; the character voices distinct. She made listening to the book an enjoyable experience.

However, I had a very difficult time staying focused on the story itself. And, honestly, it might just be me. This is not the typical genre of book that I read. I wanted to read it only because the author is a fellow book blogger. The storyline is not one that I would normally gravitate toward, so I may have brought some preconceived biases into my reading experience that are not fair.

With that said, there were parts of it that intrigued me … but I was left wanting more. There were other parts that went on and on … that I just wanted to skip over. Felicia Ward is a seventeen-year old girl who finds herself in Level 2, the stage between life on earth and Heaven. Felicia is dead yet she is stuck in this in-between world where she relives her life through countless memories. This is how the reader is introduced to Felicia’s back story – her life on Earth, so to speak. I was intrigued by some of her memories; others did not seem to move the plot forward in any meaningful way but instead showed a part of her character or an aspect of a relationship that helps us get to know her character a little better. Her relationship with her boyfriend, Neil, was adorable – how they met, their first date, etc.

The dystopian-esque elements of the book (the Level 2 parts) were just plain confusing to me. The Morati who oversee Level 2 are in the process of rebelling because they want to go to Level 3, but are forever stuck on Level 2. Then Julian, Felicia’s maybe-but-maybe-not love interest breaks in to free her and tries to get her to join the fight against the Morati. Julian was part of Felicia’s real life and they engaged in a relationship, but as far as Felicia in Level 2, it is all about Neil. Neil is her one true love. So, the premise of there being a love triangle was a bit flawed. The Neil/Felicia relationship seemed more real and emotional than the Julian/Felicia relationship.

The ending felt a bit rushed and contained some surprises that I am not sure make sense, but I am ultimately happy about.

Overall, a mixed read for me. Enjoyed some parts; other parts were confusing, but this could be because this is not the typical genre of book that I read.

Audio clip

My audiobook review copy was provided by Random House Audio. All thoughts are my own.

 

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Audiobook Review: The Daughter’s Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick

Posted on July 13, 2012 · 4 Comments

The Daughter’s Walk
by Jane Kirkpatrick
Publication Date: April 5, 2011
Publisher: Waterbrook Press
Source: I received an ARC of this book from Amazon Vine for review last year, but I ended up listening to the book on audio which I got from my library.

*****

Taken from an actual historical event, author Jane Kirkpatrick tells the story of suffragette Helga Estby who, in 1896, accepts an almost impossible task. Starting in her home state of Washington, she must walk across America to New York City within seven months. If she succeeds she will receive $10,000, which will save the family farm from foreclosure. Along the way, she will be promoting a new dress style and showing that women are strong and independent. Taking along her 18-year-old daughter, Clara, the women set out on their journey. They are met with numerous obstacles, threatening situations, and illnesses that hamper their progress. When they return home over a year later, they are met with severe hostility from the rest of their family and are forced to never speak of “The Walk” again. Clara, unable to accept these new restraints put on her, chooses to leave the family and make her way on her own, attempting to achieve financial independence of her own doing.

The book starts off fantastic. A mother and daughter embark on a journey together to help save their family’s livelihood. They must earn money to support themselves by taking odd jobs, selling their portrait, or speaking at events. They must battle the elements, people, and most of all, each other, if they are to make it. During their walk, secrets are revealed, memories are shared, and the women form a close bond. Since so few historical details remain from the actual walk, the author did use the historical premise to create a fictionalized version of the walk as it could have happened back in 1896.

However, “The Walk” only encompasses a small part of the book, which is disappointing. Much of it recounts the details of Clara’s life after the walk when she left her family to make her own way in the world. I feel that this is when the book lost some of its luster. Clara meets and begins to work for two women, Olea and Louise, who become like family to her. These women are not fictionalized. They were actual people who were part of the real Clara’s life (in fact, the author uses the real life names for nearly all of the characters in the book). Since these women are involved in the fashion industry, Clara becomes interested in it as well. The book takes an odd turn and seemed to meander endlessly about the fur industry and animal-trapping, which is not what I was expecting. Clara seemed to be trying to find her way in the world through any means necessary that would bring her financial gain.

This book is classified as Christian Fiction and there is an overarching theme of God’s provision throughout the book, but it does so in an unassuming way. Clara does seem to struggle with her faith, but the end of the novel did not bring any full resolution to that issue.

The narrator is fantastic. Each character’s voice is distinguishable and well-accented. I really enjoyed listening to this book mainly because of the narrator. The story bored me at times, but I liked hearing each character’s voice come to life.

Overall, this is a good book. It was not quite what I was expecting after reading the synopsis. I thought there would be more of the walk, so I was disappointed by that piece of the novel. I was also expecting more of a resolution to Clara’s faith journey considering the book is in the Christian fiction classification. It’s a nice story spanning many years, but it did not quite live up to what I expected.


*****

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