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popthebutterfly 's review for:

Down World by Rebecca Phelps
3.0

Disclaimer: I received this arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: DownWorld

Author: Rebecca Phelps

Book Series: Standalone

Diversity: Half hispanic main character

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommended For...: sci-fi readers, ya readers

Genre: YA Sci-fi

Publication Date: March 31, 2021

Publisher: Wattpad Books

Pages: 368

Recommended Age: 16+ (language, suicide mentioned, gore, child death, romance)

Synopsis: 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.

Review: For the most part this was a good book. It has an interesting premise which kept me motivated to read it and it had unique world building. I really liked the different universe theory and I'm a strong believer in parallel worlds.

However, the characters weren't strongly developed, the writing was a bit too jumbled and confusing, and the author didn't clearly distinguish the differences we were supposed to see throughout the novel of the changing world. It was a lot of telling and not showing as well. The ending was also confusing.

Verdict: It's cool but confusing.