Book Raid with Giveaway: Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans

Welcome to Book Raid, where I will be interrogating authors who will be releasing their debut or their latest books this year. This is a way to highlight debut or latest books that you may want to read after reading this recorded interrogation of what to expect of the book.

Happy 2013 everyone! Opening the Book Raid feature for this new year is a debut author who is well-known for her book blog, Presenting Lenore. She’s no other than Lenore Appelhans! She was happily—and courageously—willing to be interrogated about Level 2 despite the fact that I look dauntless in my Book Raid uniform.

Miss Lenore Appelhans, you have been suspected of hiding some details of the book, Level 2, from the citizens. If you are not guilty of the suspicions, then I will interrogate you with some questions about the book.

How different is Level 2 from other books out there?

Many of the early reviews for Level 2 have called it weird, strange and highly original. It’s part dystopian afterlife thriller and part contemporary romance (via the memories), so I’d say that’s pretty different. I’ve read hundreds of YA novels over the past few years, so I’m aware of the overused tropes and tried my best to avoid them.

How much adventure, action, mystery, or romance do we have to expect in Level 2?

There is quite a bit of action/adventure in the afterlife realm of Level 2 and there are mysteries in both the present and the memories. As far as romance, Felicia does have some tingly feelings for Julian (in her very past memories) and is intensely loyal to her boyfriend Neil (who we see in her memories via a lens of nostalgia), but this is not a love triangle—I promise!

What did you like writing the most: the beginning, the middle, or the ending?

The beginning was the easiest to write, for sure. The middle was incredibly challenging, but it was also rewarding to free write and see the story develop. The ending was the part that probably changed the most during revisions.

What was your favorite chapter or part to write?

I really enjoyed all the scenes having to do with travel. My favorite section is the trip that Felicia takes to Turkey with her father. I have a soft spot for those prancing goats.

Give us a short quote from Level 2.

One of my favorite quotes from Level 2 comes in chapter 10, in a memory where Felicia and Neil go to check on her uncle’s bees.

“He pulls me into a spontaneous hug, and at first it doesn’t faze me. After all, hugs and handshakes and welcoming smiles are like hyperinflationary currency to church people—produced so freely that they’re not worth much.”

I like this one because it’s a great example of Felicia’s voice and her way of seeing the world.

Thank you for your time Miss Lenore! It is advised that you are free of all the suspicion of hiding Level 2 from the citizens!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans

RELEASE DATE. January 15, 2013

PUBLISHER. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

PURCHASE. AMAZON | KINDLE | THE BOOK DEPOSITORY

SYNOPSIS. Three levels. Two loves. One choice. Debut novelist, Lenore Appelhans has written a thrilling otherworldly young adult novel about a place that exists between our world (Level 1) and what comes after life (Level 2).

‘I pause to look around the hive - all the pod-like chambers are lit up as the drones shoot up on memories…I’ve wanted to get out of here before, but now the tight quarters start to choke me. There has to be more to death than this.’

Felicia Ward is dead. Trapped in a stark white afterlife limbo, she spends endless days replaying memories, of her family, friends, boyfriend…and of the guy who broke her heart. The guy who has just broken into Level 2 to find her.

Felicia learns that a rebellion is brewing, and it seems she is the key. Suspended between heaven and earth, she must make a choice. Between two worlds, two lives and two loves.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR. Lenore Appelhans has been blogging about books at Presenting Lenore (PresentingLenore.blogspot.com) since 2008. She is the author of the MEMORY CHRONICLES, which includes LEVEL 2 and the forthcoming LEVEL3. She lives with her illustrator husband Daniel, and their first picture book together, CHICK-O-SAURUS REX, is being published in 2013 by Simon & Schuster. She splits her time between Frankfurt, Germany, and Benton, Kansas.

GIVEAWAY

A LEVEL 2 TOTE BAG