Plot

In the synopsis, Down World is compared to Stranger Things and I can definitely see why, there are some similar vibes between the two. I was impressed to find that the storyline/plot was easy to follow and nothing seemed to "get lost" which I feel is a problem for me in a lot of books that deal with different dimensions/worlds. I always find that in building different realities, some aspects of the realities are left under-developed, this was not the case here. Each different setting was developed fully, and I was very impressed.

Characters

I liked all the characters well enough, although none of them felt particularly unique. To me, they all seemed to have pretty much the same personality.

Pacing

This book took a very long time for me to get into, and at times, I felt a little bit bored reading it because not much was going on. However, once I reached about 60%, it picked up a little more and retained my interest until the end.

Conclusion

Overall, I thought this book was okay. The idea of Down World and the general world-building was fantastic and executed in a way that was easy to follow. And although the characters felt a little bland to me and it was a little bit slow at points, it's still well worth the read.

I received an ARC ebook copy for review, my rating and review honest, unbiased, etc.,

My very first NetGalley review! 😎

Down World is the debut novel by Rebecca Phelps.

It can be described as a YA coming-of-age science-fiction thriller in the vein of Netflix series Dark with a few elements reminiscent of Stranger Things.

I enjoyed Down World from beginning to end and though it had a few moments that felt exactly like what it is - a debut novel - I've decided on a 4.

I like the characters, the setting and the mystery this first book set up, and want to read the rest of the series (-- which should say a lot because I have so many books to read already!).

Down World centers on Marina O'Connell, the new kid in town. Her new high school a former military base with rumors of experiments with space and time.
3 Doors:

Door 1: Yesterday

Door 2: Today

Door 3: Tomorrow

Door 4: The Bathroom (naw just kidding!, but maybe!? :)

So, Marina and a couple guys she might like and a gal or two and a few adult peers get caught up in a time-travel version of the chicken and the egg story with a focused narrative on plot threads and teen romance.

I like Marina and her friends. They were all just likeable and frustrating enough to really believe they are teens. Their motivations, understandings and experiences age-appropriate.

This is not a straight Horror novel. It has a dark tone and though the science-fiction aspects are pretty frightening it reads more like a paranormal YA mystery-thriller in tone than Horror or Sci-fi.

[author:Rebecca Phelps|20202044] is a writer to watch. Her passion for her characters and for telling her story are her driving strengths here. I think her storytelling future looks even more promising.


Thanks NetGalley and [author:Rebecca Phelps|20202044] for the ARC. I look forward to obtaining the paperback edition when I can. The official release date is March 30, 2021.

Should go without saying, Recommended to fans of the Dark television series as well as the more YA-audience side of Stranger Things fans of teens and adults!

I'm not sure what to make of Down World. I loved the first half of it but the second half...not so much.
I don't really read YA novels anymore but because of Down World's premise I made an exception. I'm glad I read this book because this is a subject I'm interested in. And I love the cover.

I missed the science behind the story because that would've helped to understand how everything happens in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy.

I received a free ARC from net galley in exchange for a honest review.

This book was very fast paced and very easy to follow throughout the whole story. I thought that the multiple universe aspect of this book was awesome to read and is what kept me reading this story until the end.

Marina lost her brother Robbie in a train accident and soon finds out that there may be a way to get her brother back. When she meets some new friends at her new school she starts to find out about the portals under the school. Which leads her to believe she can get her real brother back alive. As the story goes on Marina goes through hoops to find out more about he portals and how to save her brother. Her mother also leaves and goes through a portal to find her brother and vanishes.

The only real problem I had with this book and it was a big one. Was how this book ended we go on this whole journey with the main character and learn about these multiple universes and how they work, in order to find her brother. But as the story goes on it just felt like a bit of a run on sentence that amounted to nothing. The ending really didn’t give any closure and left me with more questions then answers. Also Marina sets out to save her brother and loses so much more then that so I kinda felt a bit slated by this ending in a sense that everything she did was for nothing if not to lose more people in her life then she started out with.

THIS REVIEW MAY HAVE SOME MINOR SPOILERS

Call it Multiverse, Parallel Worlds, or Alternative Realities; it's all the same! These are the topics that fascinate me the most. I have read dozens of articles and theories about it but this is the first book I read which has its main theme build around Parallel Worlds. The story of this book revolves around Marina and her family. She lost her brother, Robby, in a train accident and after many years she discovers something that gives her hope to bring her brother back. Just after a while, her mother goes missing and Marina finds herself in a situation where she has to take risks of altering relatives to bring her loved ones back home.
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I enjoyed this book as long as it concerned parallel worlds and the author used all the facts and theories very intelligently to give justice to the theme of the book. It started just too casually and with every chapter, Marina discovered some hidden truths and revelations that played a very significant part to push the story ahead. The way the portals worked, how our choices and decisions affect and create realities, and how they bring unexpected consequences, the author used all these elements and built a very good premise. For some reason, I didn't find its characters very strong or anything, and also, for the first time I detested a protagonist. Even other side characters contributed their best to the story but they missed the spark that I seek in characters.
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I enjoy reading YA as long as they are friends or until they don't get too cringy to read. Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series and its characters are one good example where I genuinely loved all the characters who will remain my favorites for a very long time. But, I didn't like it when the author tried to add a love triangle aspect, and to be honest, it wasn't necessary. Maybe it would work for other readers but if Marina were just friends with Kieren and Braddy then I might have liked it more. WHY AM I SAYING THIS? here's a practical explanation: how likely a character supposed think about her chemistry with other boys, kiss them and share her bedroom when her brother and mother is missing, and her father is in police custody for the suspicions of her mother's disappearance? At least I couldn't get the point to add this love aspect to the story.

ANOTHER REASON: This book has an intense story pace and there's all seriousness around, realities changing, characters missing and many problems that the protagonist faced; somewhere between that this love angle kind of ruined the reading experience for me. I guess the authors should consider the seriousness of the plot and try to avoid such unnecessary elements.

Do I sound like I am highly criticizing this book? I am sorry about that, I already mentioned all the best things that I loved about it but there's also something that I liked about this book. Just after disappointing me with that love triangle element, the author thrilled me the way she changed the course of the story. The most favorite part that has me the most goosebumps was when Marina discovered the train that travels in all the dimensions.

Here's why I will recommend this book:
I am impressed by the author's knowledge of the parallel universe and the way realities function in it. She thoroughly presented the ideas and put them into action very smoothly. It was gripping and very fast pace and every time the world or realities changed, it brought some kind of newness to the book. It can be a good read for someone who has interests in time travel and parallel worlds.

this read like a wattpad book. it was extremely melodramatic, especially the love story. still, I had a pretty good time reading it. the plot was quite predictable, but I actually enjoyed spending time with the characters. I also thought the setting was really unique. this is a book I would buy for a middle schooler and I think they would really enjoy it. in terms of wattpad books I've read, this one is pretty middle of the road.

I read this book in just a couple of days as was sucked into the story! Marina is a young girl whose life was turned upside down when her brother Robbie was suddenly killed on the nearby train tracks. She is sent to a new school for a new start but that doesn’t put Robbie out of her mind, or out of her life.

Her crush on Brady (an older boy from school) leads her on a path of discoveries that she cannot turn back from. She is tangled up into Down World, disappearances, 3 doorways underneath the school, and versions of reality that are far worse than her own. Worse still, the planes of these realities are out of balance.

Can Marina stop these different worlds from merging, and what does she have to sacrifice to do so?

I loved the premise of this book and enjoyed the characters. However at times found myself wanting to have further clarity on things.

.Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book! While it has a lot of the classic YA adventure style themes, the whole concept felt really clever and interesting, I was super intrigued by the possibility of how people could use the doors and Down World. I liked that the characters felt much more complicated and nuanced than the usual sort of 'heroes' of a story too. I definitely look forward to more from this author, if not more books set in this world.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Though it took a couple chapters to really reel me in and get a feel for the story, Down World is easily amongst my top books now! I could hardly put it down once the story really started, and I found myself trying to figure out what would happen next to no avail. I really loved Marina as a character, and she felt like a relatable teenager that I grew fond of as the story went on. I loved the author’s way of revealing the complex personalities and hidden secrets of all the characters, but I especially loved Kieran. Marina’s discovery of what happened to her brother, Robbie, and uncovering the existence and deeply held secrets and complexities of the Down World was so entertaining.

The world building was also so amazing! The author really created a whole new world in a way I’ve never read before, yet it felt so familiar. The Down World itself was such a complex world full of mystery that I found myself wondering what more there could possibly be, and with every chapter there was more to find.

Overall, it’s safe to say I found the dystopian feel of this book to be my thing. I loved unraveling the mystery with Marina, and I found myself wishing I could never find the end of the book. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Rebecca Phelps for giving me the opportunity to read Down World in exchange for an honest review, and I can’t wait to keep reading in this series!

I ended up DNFing this book after reading three chapters. I really don't even think it had anything to do with the author's writing. It just felt a little too contemporary and not enough sci fi, dystopian, weirdness for me. I also was really having a hard time caring about the main character. It might be a great book for someone else it definitely wasn't the right one for me.

If you like mysteries, sci-fi, and YA, Down World is a good fit. The teen protagonist Marina is trying to sort out the truth of her brother’s death and her mother’s disappearance in parallel universes and learns how these multiple dimensions are interwoven. Down World is a fast-paced read with plenty of twists; I found it hard to put down and look forward to book 2.

Imagine Stranger Things crossed with Back to the Future all tied together with teen angst and the guilt of loss and secrecy. That’s pretty much the premise of Down World.

This is the story of Marina, a girl who lost her brother to a train accident four years previously. She is starting her sophomore year at public school; having gone to private school previously.

As the story unfolds, we discover that the high school, formerly a military base, has portals to different planes deep in its bowels that people have been using for years to visit alternate realities. That’s where things start to get very interesting, and Marina’s world changes drastically.

Ms. Phelps does a great job at world building and character development in this quick read. The foibles of high school life, and the navigation of potential romance make the “normal” portions of this book seem very believable.

Where I was disappointed, however, were the leaps in trying to rush certain portions of the story along to get to the next waypoint. Concepts and situations were introduced, not really ever resolved, and that stuck with me. For me, there is a wide swath of the “Down World” story that would have benefited from a better introduction, or even just an in-story summary of the bigger situation. There were opportunities to expound on this, but it was a path just not taken.

I really loved this. I did see the likeness to Stranger Things but it was different enough to still hold it's own. The author, Phelps, must have experience with loss or she really did her research. The way Phelps described the emotions and reactions to this devastating loss the family was going through was just so on the mark. I felt a connection to Marina's character the whole book even though she is so young, I felt like she was very truthfully described, very relatable. I definitely suggest this to scifi fans and YA fans!

This was well written and quite original. I was relieved to see that a novel up-voted on a social networking writing site (Wattpad) actually avoided many of the common YA cliches (though there's a fairly undramatic love triangle). The plot is complex and suspenseful, more SF than fantasy. The premise is intriguing, even if some of it doesn't entirely make sense and there are a few inconsistencies (that I will avoid detailing for the sake of spoilers). I enjoyed it very much, but confess that I was sorry to see that it's to be a trilogy. I thought the ending was effective and _was_ an ending. Opening up possibilities for further developments actually might enhance the aforementioned inconsistencies.

I had such high hopes for this book. The synopsis made this book seem incredibly intriguing. The premise of this girl losing her brother and finding out what really happened to him, with the help of a cute boy, searching through past, present, and future, sounds like an amazing story. This book held my interest the entire time, and kept me wanting more. However, the ending of this book was very anticlimactic for me. It felt as if it just ended, and there was some, but not enough resolution. However, I still enjoyed most of the book, but the ending left me feeling frustrated.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I really enjoyed this book for so many reasons. It felt like watching Riverdale-esque on pages. I can't put it down knowing I need to know what happens next. A lot of twists and turns and I'm on the edge of my either seat or bed almost falling but kept reading until 'BAM SURPRISE'. That is how I felt and happened while reading this book. I can't wait to read the next thriller this author is going to bring. I can't wait to pre-order this book and reread it again. .

Interesting young adult read for those of us missing the Stranger Things vibe.

Marina has returned to school, where she once attended it with her brother- only, this time, she's by herself. Wandering the school, she sees a familiar face and discovers this person might know more about her brother's death and disappearance than they have let on. As she makes friends, Marina discovers old rooms with secrets to other places. Places that might hold the answers to all her questions.

Cannot say enough good things bout this book. It has it all: Mystery, Timey whimey machinations, ..can't say too much more without giving it away. If you Like Dark from Netflix , or Stranger Things, read this book. Can't wait for book 2...

Wow, this book is excellent. Terrifically imaginative, slightly sad, and wholly human.

At fifteen years old, Marina O'Connell is still learning to navigate a world overshadowed by the death of her brother, Robbie. Her entire world was shook when his best friend, Kieren, pushed him in front of a train four years ago. She had always been close to her brother's friends, but now they went to great lengths to avoid each other. Her parents even transferred her to a private school to keep her distanced from her brother's friends and their mischievous adventures. But when her father loses his job, private school tuition is suddenly an impossibility and she ends up at the local high school with Kieren. There, he and her new friend, Brady reluctantly introduce her to a new world down below where maybe, just maybe, she can see Robbie again.

Marina is sharp and caring, simultaneously childish and fiercely an adult, in the most beautiful way that teenagers truly inhabit both of those spaces. The way she navigates her feelings for others in the novel is compassionate and connection-oriented, not driven by the teenage lust that seems to permeate most YA novels. She is truly the warrior her mother makes her out to be, and an easy heroine to get behind.

The world of DW is fantastically complex and yet bound by heavy realism. It is well-considered, multi-layered, and on the whole, exceptionally consistent. Every chapter brings new developments in how the world came to be and how it operates, what it means for Marina and her friends, and what the price is to restore the world to its nostalgic baseline as you know it--if it's even possible. And the conclusion to this story is so believable and complete that the few minor plot holes and unfollowed threads that had risen up just melt away.

Truly a phenomenal story that I enjoyed thoroughly as an adult and would readily recommend to just about any teenager as well. I've already recommended it to many of my friends.

As an aside, the kindle edition does have some weird formatting issues, but nothing too distracting.

As the site of a former military base, there have always been rumors that East Township High School was the site of experiments with space and time. For years, students have whispered in the hallways of a doorway created within the school, one that can access multiple timelines and realities, a place known as the Down World.

As the new kid in school and still reeling from the unexplained death of her brother Robbie, Marina O'Connell is only interested in one thing: leaving the past behind. But a chance encounter with handsome Brady Picelli changes everything. He will lead Marina to a startling discovery. The Down World is real and the past, present, and future are falling out of balance.

Brady is determined to help Marina discover what really happened to her brother. However, what is taken from one world, must be repaid by another. And Marina is about to discover that even a realm of infinite possibilities has rules that must be obeyed.- Goodreads

I DNF this book. For starters, there is way too much inner monologue. When authors decide to stay in the MC's head for chapters at a time, it gets boring and stale. The other reason why I DNF this book is because the MC was just not likeable. You don't follow someone who is having private moments with someone else just on a wimp and because you like them and then feel some type of way when they are upset with that you saw or didn't see. Her actions made no sense and there wasn't a lot of accountability either.

I tried to read this book. I put it down and picked it up but it was not for me.