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The Two Levels

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When a possible outbreak leads to the quarantine of an urban shopping mall, its inhabitants quickly divide themselves into two opposing camps. One on the first level. One on the second.

As each group scrambles to gather resources to ensure its own safety and comfort, seven-year-old Jasmine finds herself trapped in an unfamiliar and terrifying place, searching for allies in a conflict she doesn’t fully understand. With her mother injured and without a safe haven to call her own, Jasmine is forced to navigate the two levels alone until outside help arrives.

The Two Levels tells the story of an ordinary girl demonstrating extraordinary courage in the face of nearly impossible odds. Touching on a range of current issues, The Two Levels is a taut thriller with a moving human component, a richly-layered tale of the often solitary struggle to carve out a place in the world.

211 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 18, 2015

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About the author

Jonathan R. Miller

11 books94 followers

"Though his books are labeled literary thrillers, Miller is most concerned with his characters, who struggle with issues of discrimination, identity, ideological rigidity, and belonging."
- Poets & Writers Magazine

"The protagonist's story feels light-years from the typical hero's journey, consistently focusing on more existential themes—and the result is something unusually unsettling and unforgettable. A strange, inventive tale that evolves into a challenging and rewarding odyssey."
- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A bold, cerebral, and unnervingly intimate exploration of what happens when the need to make the world better collides with the corruptive pull of control. Miller balances cerebral depth with raw emotion, crafting a story that lingers long after the final page."
- BookTrib.

"Miller's skillful economy of language and penchant for playing the cards close to the vest — or chest plate — works to his advantage as the tale picks up momentum/mayhem and puts an intriguing, nonstereotyped lead character through pitfalls and deadly perils of parahumanity. Ghost in the Shell fans will have a blast."
- Kirkus Reviews

"A truly layered piece of fiction"
- ABC's news magazine program, "CityLine"

"High-tech thrillers with complex characters"
- San Jose Mercury News

"A lean, well-oiled narrative"
- Kirkus Reviews

Otherwise Award nominee and Kirkus Best Indie Books of 2025 honoree Jonathan R. Miller is an author of "magical realism" literary fiction novels, as well as sci-fi thrillers featuring diverse, complex characters.

Miller was born in Illinois, lived in New Mexico for most of his childhood, and then became a California transplant after undergraduate school at Stanford University. He was an 8th-grade teacher for 7 years in the Oakland public school system, and has worked as a writer/marketer in the San Francisco Bay Area ever since.

Miller's own multiracial heritage has had a strong influence on his thought processes and writing approach. His novels deftly explore issues of identity while providing storylines that are layered, thought-provoking, and moving.

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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Profile Image for Bailey Skye ♡ .
289 reviews27 followers
November 20, 2015
I received an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When Jasmine and her her parents are heading home from their trip to South Africa, they never expect to have to make a pit stop in Sierra Leone. After the unexpected delay, they finally board their flight with some new passengers, and head home to the United States. As they wait to pass through customs chaos breaks out and the passengers head on a wild chase through the airport, across the tarmac, and to a shopping mall across the street. Separated from her father, Jasmine and her mother look for safety within the walls of the mall.

The Two Levels is an interesting story that touches on many sensitive issues, all told through the point of view of 7 year old Jasmine. Though the story itself kept me engaged, I can't decide whether writing through Jasmine's eyes felt like the right choice to me. At times I grew quite annoyed with her character in how whiny she could be, and while I suppose it worked to add in more tension to the situation, and it wasn't out of character for a seven year old, it was just hard for me to read. I also felt conflicted when their were times when she could not seemingly grasp simple concepts, yet other times she had words or ideas she voiced that seemed out of her education level. It just felt a little inconsistent at times.

"'White, light-skin, high-yellow, whatever word you use. Call yourself how you want in your mind. But when the world see you on the news screen, they see you white. And that's what we need them to see on the second level right now. White.'
'But why?'
Mr.Emmanuel shrugs. 'Because then they understand that humans are involved.'"


The Two Levels brings light to a lot of heavier issues, the biggest one being race. While Jasmine is biracial, her skin color is, for the most part, lighter toned. While the predominantly white group of people on the first floor see her as being darker skinned, the Africans on the second floor see her as being white. Not only does this get you thinking about the racial issues in our current society, but it also creates a conflict where Jasmine does not fit in anywhere in this world where her mother is encouraging to embrace her African roots.

The last thing I wanted to touch on was the ending. I'm not going to lie, I was disappointed. It felt like things were left too wide open, and there wasn't really any closure. I felt like the story could've used a couple more chapters, and actually looking at some of the other reviews I see I am not alone on this. There wasn't really a resolution or explanation for anything and I felt like I was waiting for answers through the whole story, so I was expecting them at the end.

Overall, the story isn't bad. It was certainly something that was different to me and unlike other stories I've read in the past. So that was refreshing. While I don't feel that it's something I'd ever re-read, I certainly don't feel disappointed in my choice to pick it up!
4,087 reviews116 followers
January 25, 2016
Smith Publicity and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Seven year old Jasmine is flying home from a trip to South Africa when an emergency with the plane forces the pilot to land in Sierra Leone. After a tense exchange between some unruly passengers and the flight crew, the plane continues on to its original destination. Issues during the customs declaration process forces Jasmine and her mother to be separated from her father. Trapped in a nearby shopping mall with her mom, who was injured at the airport, Jasmine has to navigate the mall in order to help her mom survive.

Written from the unique perspective of a young girl, author Jonathan R. Miller touches upon some tough social issues. As a child of mixed background, Jasmine soon finds out that others around her have preconceived notions about her because of her skin color. However, this feeling could have been accomplished without the issue of race being involved. The simple act of Jasmine going between the two factions would have been enough for her to be ostracized. Jasmine, as a narrator, was inconsistent, with her vocabulary and intellect changing erratically during the book. Her unique view of the situation was interesting, but limited the plot. As a child, Jasmine did not understand fully what was going on and the adults did not always take the time to explain. As the reader, I do not feel that I got a clear picture of all that transpired, both in the airport and the mall. Finally, the author did not explain why Jasmine's mom would have left the airport in the first place. I would think that her first instinct, as a parent, would have been to find a place of safety in the airport itself. The Two Levels had a unique premise and an interesting narrator, but too much transpired that simply could not happen given the current climate at airports around the world.
Profile Image for Kelsi H.
373 reviews17 followers
October 7, 2015
Please check out more of my reviews at http://ultraviolentlit.blogspot.ca!

It is always an ambitious choice to write a novel from a child’s point of view. In this case, parts were very successful, while others did not work. Seven year old Jasmine continually fluctuated from childlike innocence to an adult understanding of the world around her – some of this knowledge could come from the serious situation she finds herself in, but the inconsistencies took me out of the story and made Jasmine less believable.

Jasmine and her parents are returning from a trip to South Africa, in which they make an unexpected layover in Sierra Leone. Upon their return to the United States, chaos breaks out in the airport because some of the African passengers are showing signs of illness – a topical reference to the Ebola crisis. Jasmin and her African-American mother get caught up in the ensuing madness, and end up locked in the upper level of a shopping mall with the African passengers. Meanwhile, downstairs, a predominately white mall workers retreat (is this a thing?) is taking place. Jasmine, being biracial, is caught in the middle, venturing downstairs to find medical aid for her mother. Neither group truly accepts her, although they both use her to get what they want from the outside authorities.

The novel is an interesting, albeit obvious, examination of race issues, mainly illustrated by Jasmine’s being ostracized from both levels. She begins to question her own identity, as she is shut out from the African community for being too white, and kicked out of the worker’s retreat for being part of the group carrying illness. This is when a child’s voice comes in handy – to clearly show the inequality in racial relations without becoming preachy. Without an adult worldview, Jasmine cannot understand why everyone wouldn’t be treated equally when it came to medical care, etc. – the author uses her naivety to show us this unnecessary racial divide.

I really liked the concept of The Two Levels, although sometimes the allegory was pushed too hard. I also thought the setting was overly complicated – why did the passengers rush into the mall, and what are the chances there would be a group of mall workers spending the night there too? It would have been much simpler to have the whole scene take place in the airport where it began. It seemed like unnecessary drama and it didn’t ring true for me.

The ending of the novel was somewhat ambiguous, and not in a good way. Instead of leaving the reader to wonder about the endless possibilities of what could happen next, it just ended suddenly with no hints to the future. I would have loved to read more about the aftermath of the quarantine, perhaps with Jasmine reflecting back as an adult on these events. Hearing her voice at an older age would have strengthened her perspective as a child. Other than these issues, I thought it was a great concept with many current sociopolitical applications.

I received this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Judy.
108 reviews2 followers
October 18, 2015
Seven year old Jasmine is a mixed race girl returning with her parents from South Africa. After an unexpected stop in Sierra Leone some of the passengers show signs of an illness when they reach the USA. They run from the airport into a nearby mall and Jasmine and her mother are swept along with them. There is a retreat for mall workers happening and they barricade themselves into the first floor. The others remain on the second floor.

Jasmine’s mother is injured leaving her to navigate between the levels. She is not accepted by those on the second level because she is not dark enough, but on the first level she also does not fit in with the mostly white mall workers.

There are a number of current issues covered in this book. But the main focus is on race, bigotry and tolerance. As young Jasmine watches the adults on both Levels, it is plain that she is confused by the attitudes of these grownups.

I felt that the characters required a little bit more depth to overcome the fairy obvious allegory. There were a few things that didn’t quite ring true, one of them being the ending. Surely, in this day and age with this scenario would not be possible.

However, this was a fast read and I was hooked from the beginning. I was compelled to read it to the end to discover the fate of Jasmine.
Profile Image for Emily.
308 reviews
February 5, 2016
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The moment I began reading, I loved Jasmine's voice! She often gets "off topic" but I felt that it helped us get to know her better. I loved how she spelled things, like B-U-T-T, because I'm assuming she's not allowed to say that word. Because the story is told from her point of view, I was especially bothered by the frequency of the other characters using the f word and not having her mentally "edit" it out. I would have given the book 3 stars, but the excessive use of that word was so jarring to me as a reader that I can only give it two stars.

The idea of a little girl not really having a place to belong was interesting and sad. That is not something that I experience in my life so I don't understand it, but this novel helped me see the struggles that people may face with regards to race and belonging.

There were some things throughout that I felt confused about or didn't think were plausible, especially at the end of the novel. (Spoiler) I couldn't quite wrap my mind around the identity issue at the end. Is Christiana going to continue as "Mom" or just move on? Will Jasmine not have a burial place to visit and mourn her mother since her "Mom" is alive? I did love that it ended with Jasmine being asked if the woman was her mother and we don't know her answer.
Profile Image for Lectus.
1,080 reviews36 followers
December 9, 2015
Lovely, really, even if at times I was exasperated with Jasmine's rambling.

How do children manage racism? When you tell a child "you are not one of us," do they have any idea what you mean? Jasmine is half black and half white.

I enjoyed seeing the way we take sides with people of our own color through Jasmine's eyes. I could feel her hesitations and not being sure of what to do, who to trust in the situation she was.

Lovely voice and portray of a seven-year old.

As you know from the summary, Jasmine and her parents were coming back from Africa when in the airport was discovered that an African sick passenger (with what I later assumed was Ebola) made it to the US.

So all hell break lose and people start running and police shooting. Jasmine and her mom ended up sheltered in a mall. The problem was that the first floor of the mall was occupied by white people and the second floor by blacks. So the mall was quarantined because they could not let contaminated people out.

It is in this mall that Jasmine goes back and forth between the first and second floor and comes to face what it means being half white and half black.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this title.
Profile Image for Cathy.
196 reviews2 followers
November 16, 2015
I won an arc copy of this book from Goodreads.

I have to begin by saying that I was not at all enamored of the seven year old girl who narrates this story but the writing was good and the subject matter was fascinating. I was sure I would not like the book due to the bratty behavior of the child at the beginning but as the book progressed I was able to overlook the flaws and get into the tense situation of the story. I have to agree with other reviewers that the child's intelligence was questionable and it was confirmed by another child later in the story. To me that hinted that the author was aware of the inconsistent behavior so I could relax and enjoy the remainder of the book.
The story is a timely one that deals with people sneaking into the country and putting the population in danger of disease. Because of the tenseness evoked, it was difficult to put the book down. As a result, this is an easy and quick read. In reality I would give Two Levels 3 and a half stars and would recommend it to my friends to read.
Profile Image for Denise MacDonald.
535 reviews20 followers
September 29, 2015
This book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story is told from the point of view of a seven year old child. It addresses so many social issues, through the eyes of a child. Doing this really stripped down all the issues to the core- why can't we just help those in need regardless of race, religion, etc? Why can't we listen to others, really listen? Reading the thoughts of a child as she watches the way adults interact with each other and lie to her to get what they want puts things in perspective. A six year old child can see where society is going wrong, what is right, and give lessons on social justice. She does it in this book. This was one of the best books I've read in a long time, however I did not like the end. I was surprised when I reached the last word, I was expecting more.
Profile Image for Kristi Housman Confessions of a YA Reader.
1,367 reviews112 followers
August 11, 2015
I received a copy of this book from the author for review. Thank you for that Jonathan Miller.

This is the third book I've read from the author, Mr. Miller, so far. Each book has been different, but I like them all. The books aren't always what they seem. They're not just a story, but almost a study on humanity and human nature. It's not always pretty, but a good reminder that we all need to become better people and not so judgmental of others who are different than us.

It was a little weird reading a book from a young child's point of view, but the author made it work very well. I won't write a book report and give away the book, but I will say that I enjoyed it and will continue reading more of Mr. Miller's books.
Profile Image for Diane.
30 reviews3 followers
September 5, 2015
I read an ARC of this book from FirstReads on Goodreads.This is the best book I've read in some time; the characters are so well-drawn & realistic. The situations involve many current & timely topics: race relations, immigrants, fear of a pandemic disease, police brutality, and the desire to fit in somewhere. The main character is a not-quite seven year old bi-racial girl who the author totally captures; she is so endearing, you just want to hug her. The characters and situations are complex and compelling. I found myself unable to stop reading, I just couldn't stop until I knew what happened to Jasmine. This book is definitely one I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a great story, well told, with interesting characters and relevant, thought-provoking issues.
Profile Image for Kristen.
181 reviews5 followers
September 28, 2015
I received this ebook for free from netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

This book was pretty good. I feel like the author tried to write the story in a childs voice, but I didn't think it was as successful as it could have been. The story moved along pretty well but the ending was unsatisfying. I wish there were a few more chapters to tie up the loose ends.

I thought the racial parts of the book were interesting, I thought the author handled it well and brought up good points about what children learning about there race would feel.
565 reviews28 followers
August 23, 2015
I was attracted by the book's premise of different people trapped on different levels of a mall. The backstory was more complicated which added depth and tension to the plot. My only criticism is that the book is in the voice of a 7 year old girl who seems to wander from not knowing the definition or context of a simple word to thinking in an elaborate vocabulary about concepts too far advanced for a 7 year old.
357 reviews29 followers
September 26, 2015
I won this book from Goodreads and I sure am glad
I did. What a great book. Please read other people's
review as I am not very good at writing one. Read this book,
I don't think you will be disappointed.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews

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