Review: Chasing Before

Book two of the Memory Chronicles
By Lenore Appelhans
Available now from Simon & Schuster BFYR
Review copy
Read my review of The Memory of After

Note: I know Lenore Appelhans.

It's been awhile since I read THE MEMORY OF AFTER (published in hardcover as LEVEL 2), so it took several chapters before I readjusted to the mythology of the series and remembered what had happened before.  Felicia and her boyfriend Neil have both moved on to Level 3, the second level of the afterlife.  Unfortunately, the Morati (a group of rogue angels) have moved into Level 3 too. 

There were several things I liked about CHASING BEFORE and several things that frustrated me.  I liked that we got to meet Felicia's best friend Autumn, who had been murdered before the events of THE MEMORY OF AFTER.  Autumn is still working through her afterlife, and though she says she's forgiven Felicia for stealing her boyfriend, there is still an obvious friction between the girls.  They also run into Neil's older brother Nate, which felt like a bit much.  Maybe if he'd died many years after, but it sure feels like a lot of their peer group conveniently died off.  Nate, however, does provide one big revelation: Felicia and Neil didn't die in the car crash like they thought.  They're both missing months of memories.

CHASING BEFORE is full of neat twists like that, and they keep coming though the climax of the book.  The end of CHASING BEFORE can serve as a conclusion, but I'm excited to see Level 4 and find out what's next.  Unfortunately, the exciting twists and things blowing up keep getting bogged down by relationship drama.  The issues between Felicia and Neil are very realistic.  She wants to have sex; he still wants to keep to his ideal of no sex before marriage.  She's prone to jealousy and he's stubborn.  But their fights didn't endear me to Neil, who I've never found that swoonworthy.

Level 3 itself is also a mix of good and bad.  I liked the character development Felicia goes through as she learns to let go of her life on Earth, even as she's desperate to recover her lost memories and the whole of herself.  At the same time, Level 3 is apparently where you learn your afterlife career.  Thankfully we don't have to spend too much time in class.  There are less flashbacks in CHASING BEFORE than in THE MEMORY OF AFTER, if you're one of the readers that was bothered by those.  The past continues to be helpful to discovering what's happening, but it is no longer a focus.

CHASING BEFORE is a breezy read with an intriguing take on the afterlife and a heroine who is both brave and determined.  There is a love triangle, for those who hate that, but it is very much in the background.  It's probably best if you read THE MEMORY OF AFTER first, but I think CHASING BEFORE can stand on its own.

Review: Level 2/The Memory of After

Book One of The Memory Chronicles
By Lenore Appelhans
Available now from Simon & Schuster
Review copy

Disclaimer:  I know Lenore.

Felicia Ward has been dead awhile.  She's not sure how long, but it seems like forever.  Forever, simply rewatching her best memories and trading for the best memories of others.  Uninterrupted in-depth reads of books are particularly valuable.  Then Julian, a figure from her past who belongs to memories she prefers to leave unexamined, shows up.  He brings news of a rebellion against the angels who are keeping people in Level 2 instead of allowing them to confront their lives and move on.

What follows combines action, romance, and conspiracy thrillers.  See, Felicia doesn't trust Julian because of their past.  But she's willing to follow him because he knows where Neil, her boyfriend, is.  Meanwhile evil angels are chasing them down and the rebellion is proving to be fairly morally suspect itself.  I like how Lenore Appelhans handled the love triangle.  Felicia much prefers Neil to Julian, but it's actually Julian who gets the screen time.  The intensity of their relationship is shown before much is revealed about Neil and Felicia.

I also liked the way Appelhans handled religion.  I hate when a book involves angels but tries to pretend that angels have never been involved in any theology ever.  The Morati of LEVEL 2 are certainly different, but Felicia looks for clues about what's going on in her own memories of church and mythology.  And yes, Felicia met Neil through a church youth group.  LEVEL 2 is never preachy, and Felicia certainly isn't a religious character, but church groups are a big thing for many teens but the only other YA books I can think of that involve them are SMALL TOWN SINNERS and THE DARK DIVINE.

I felt the foreshadowing at the beginning of LEVEL 2 was a bit much.  Felicia references her shameful past many times and I kept hoping she would either reveal it or shut up about it.  And, well, her past mistakes seem pretty innocent at first.  Luckily, when Felicia finally faces her demons, they do turn out to be appropriately traumatic.

I'm pretty excited for the next book in The Memory Chronicles.  The ending of LEVEL 2 is just lovely, and I'm glad the characters have some happiness, but I must know what comes next.  Appelhans' version of the afterlife is well realized, from the original purpose of Level 2 to how the Morati perverted it, and I am eager to see what she'll create for Level 3.

ETA: The title LEVEL 2 will be changed to THE MEMORY OF AFTER for the paperback release on September 3, 2013. LEVEL 3 will be released as CHASING BEFORE. Lenore explains the reasoning behind this change here.

Body Image Week: Presenting Lenore!

Today I am guest blogging at The Story Siren, and Kristi is guest blogging at Lenore's blog. And of course Lenore is guesting here! She's a woman who needs no introduction to most of the blogosphere, but for those who don't know here . . . Lenore writes a grand ole blog and posts pictures of her cat Emmy. She's highly personable and always has something to add to the discussion. I couldn't be happier to be hosting her on my blog.

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When I was 17, if a genie had appeared and given me one wish, I would have used it on perfect skin. Goodbye oily t-zone with visible pores prone to clogging. Goodbye milky white skin tone that burns instead of tans. Goodbye stretch marks on my inner thighs left behind by an extreme tween growth spurt.

My imperfections were relatively minor, but they were so big in my teenage mind that they would have come before world peace or a lottery win. So I could only begin to imagine how Terra, teen protagonist of Justina Chen Headley’s novel NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL, must feel about a port wine stain that covers half her face. Her instinct is to hide, to cover up around other people, to retreat from life. Then she meets an adopted Chinese guy with a cleft palate scar who ends up being a catalyst for her journey towards self acceptance.

Reading about Terra’s struggles to feel comfortable in her own skin, it occurred to me that I don’t run across many YA novels about skin afflictions or oddities. Sure, a huge pimple erupting before a big date is a classic plot point that we are all familiar with, but what a about a novel from the POV of a burn victim or someone with severe acne?

In the last novel I read, Laura Whitcomb’s THE FETCH, two of the protagonists are affected by a supernatural phenomenon called “The Brightening” that makes their skin glow. So as to not freak others out, they dust themselves with heavy powder. And of course there is always the sparkle problem that plagues the vampires in Twilight. Julia Hoban’s WILLOW has to wear long sleeve shirts to cover up her cutting scars. And one of the twins in Jacquelyn Mitchard’s LOOK BOTH WAYS puts toothpaste on a pimple because she heard it is a miracle cure. It does dry out the pimple, but it also gives her a scaly, red rash. The only thing that helps is undertaker make-up borrowed from a funeral parlor.

I too have tried the toothpaste trick. In my quest for model-worthy skin, I’ve experimented with astringents, scrubs, cleansing pads (Oxy anyone?), masks, moisturizers, concealers, foundations and powders. Rabid fashion magazine consultation led to product overload, which just irritated my skin and made it worse. In fact, I found once I started just using a gentle skin cleanser, my skin was a lot better off.

The genie never granted my wish, but I am generally happy with my skin these days. So to sign off, I’ll leave you with some tips for fresh, glowing skin that have worked for me.

Use a facial moisturizer with sunscreen every day.
Don’t smoke.
Avoid excessive sugar.
Do an elimination diet to see what foods might be affecting your skin (I discovered my skin is sensitive to dairy).
Drink plenty of water.
Get adequate sleep (I need 7-8 hours).
Don’t stress!
Read more YA novels ;)

PS: If you know of any other novels that deal with skin issues, let me know in the comments. Thanks!

Body Image Week

Today kicks off a Body Image theme week at MyFavoriteAuthor and I am excited to be participating along with The Story Siren, Presenting Lenore and authors Deborah Lytton, Sarah Darer Littman, Sara Zarr, Megan Frazer, Laurie Halse Anderson, Sydney Salter, and Erin Dionne!

The issue of body image and loving the skin that you're in is something that affects everyone in different ways and in different degrees. And there are a lot of books recently or soon-to-be released that address various aspects of the issue. SpeedReader of MyFavoriteAuthor has organized this theme week that will include book reviews, author interviews/guest posts/videos, a couple of challenges and a great book giveaway at the end.



So check them out today to see the full schedule of the week's events and where the various posts will be showing up around the blogosphere. And don't forget to accept the Body Image Challenge! Everyone who accepts the challenge and reports back at the end of the week will be entered in the giveaway to win:

WINTERGIRLS (signed) by Laurie Halse Anderson
MY BIG NOSE AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS by Sydney Salter
THE SECRETS OF TRUTH AND BEAUTY by Megan Frazer
MODELS DON'T EAT CHOCOLATE COOKIES by Erin Dionne

For some pre-festivities, you can check out my interview with Deborah Lytton and my review of WINTERGIRLS. As for the festivites themselves, you can see the schedule in the sidebar.



At IBWB, the special stuff starts tomorrow, with a guest post and challenge from Deborah Lytton. Yes, someone will win a signed hardcover. On Saturday, the illustrious Lenore will be guesting here. Yeah, I can't believe I'm doing something like this with a big name either! Then next Wednesday, SpeedReader will be dropping by. But ya'll should by no means restrict yourself to my blog! (At the very least, you should read my guest post - about my very silly issues - at the Story Siren this Saturday.)

Let's give a big hand to SpeedReader, who put all of this together! You're going to love Body Image Week - and hopefully you'll love yourself even more once it's over.

[Note: The Love Your Body campaign was shot for Melissa Walker. The photos may not be reproduced without my permission.]