Author: Rebecca Phelps
Publication Date: March 30, 2021
Publisher: Wattpad Books
Pages: 368
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me access to this title in exchange for honest review
Introduction (Goodreads Synopsis)
Stranger Things meets the Netflix series Dark in this paranormal thriller where three mysterious doors in a highschool basement hold the key to unlocking the mystery of what really happened the night Marina's brother died.
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.
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.
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.
