#BookReview: Down World (Down World #1) by Rebecca Phelps

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.



Goodreads | Amazon

Rating: 2 Stars
My Review: This reminded me kind of Stranger Things, Dark Matter, and a few others. But unfortunately this one just fell really flat. I didn't care about the characters or their situation and I was just really bored for most of the story. 

From School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Marina's brother Robbie would be a senior, but three years ago he died in a train accident. Now Marina, who is of Mexican and Irish descent, is starting her sophomore year at a new school, which used to be an army base and was designed to be confusing. When she runs into dark-haired Brady she is glad for the help, and a little smitten with him. Marina starts to see cryptic references to a place called D.W. throughout the school and hears it mentioned in a conversation between Brady and a brown-haired girl named Piper. She learns that Down World is a portal into an alternate reality. Things from D.W. must stay in D.W. and people going into D.W. must not stay too long or they risk changing their home realm. Marina discovers her brother may have slipped into D.W. and cannot escape. The teens team up and try to enter various dimensions in order to save Robbie and try to fix their world. For as widespread as the rumors are about Down World, it's strange that a portal hidden in the basement of a school wouldn't be widely discovered. The adults in the story have knowledge of Down World but don't stop the kids from entering and don't share the information they have with one another, making readers question why they weren't working together. VERDICT While the premise is promising, lack of character development and general confusion make this an additional purchase.-Megan Huenemann, Norris H.S., Firth, NEα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About the Author

Rebecca Phelps started out as an actress and a screenwriter before completing her first novel, Down World. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two kids. Read more of her work on Wattpad: @geminirosey. For updates on books, writing, and more, follow her on TikTok: @RebeccaPhelpsAuthor or Instagram: @RebeccaPhelpsWriter. Keep an eye out for Everworld, coming from Wattpad Books, spring 2023!

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Posted in: 2 Stars, Edelweiss., Review, WattpadBooks, Young Adult