OUR TOWN
First performed on stage in 1938, Thornton Wilder’s play OUR TOWN was the original teen dead girl story. It was hailed as innovative for it’s time because it broke the fourth wall and used minimal stage sets and props. The narrator spoke directly to the audience about Emily’s life, death and the transience of our time on Earth.
OUR TOWN shares a lot of themes with LEVEL
2 – that of living life to the fullest and the value of even the smallest
moments and relationships in our life.
But I when I first inserted an OUR TOWN reference into LEVEL 2, I wasn’t
doing it deliberately. It was a very unconscious act, as drafting often is. As
I worked on the story more, I noted the parallels and more consciously
referenced it. Still, in the first draft, its inclusion was relatively minimal.
It was my editor who urged me to explore
the relationship between OUR TOWN and Felicia’s story more fully. It is thanks
to her that Neil performs George’s part in the play, something that added romantic
tension in the underground church memory and emotional weight to the very last
scene of the novel.
Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans
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 podlike 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
'I pause to look around the hive - all the podlike 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
You should definitely check out Lenore's Website!
And her amazing Book Blog. I adore it.
You must follow her on Twitter.
And her amazing Book Blog. I adore it.
You must follow her on Twitter.
Read the first 50 pages of Level 2 here.
Add it on Goodreads here.
Watch the amazing book trailer here.
Buy your own copy of Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans:
Book Depository - Amazon - Barnes and Noble
Book Depository - Amazon - Barnes and Noble
Great guest post! I loved how she took a bit of inspiration from OUR TOWN and incorporated it into Level 2. Level 2 sounds like a very interesting read!
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