Saturday, September 28, 2013

Review: SIX MONTHS LATER by Natalie D. Richards

Author: Natalie D. Richards
Publication date: October 1, 2013
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Source: an ARC provided by the author for an honest review

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Chloe didn't think about it much when she nodded off in study hall on that sleepy summer day. But when she wakes up, snow is on the ground and she can't remember the last six months of her life. Before, she'd been a mediocre student. Now, she's on track for valedictorian and being recruited by Ivy League schools. Before, she never had a chance with super jock Blake. Now he's her boyfriend. Before, she and Maggie were inseparable. Now her best friend won't speak to her.

What happened to her? 

And why can't she remember?

Review: 

First line: I'm sitting next to the fire alarm, and my best friend is going down in flames. 


Apparently, I've been on a twisted book kick, gravitating more towards books that have a "figure me out" synopsis. I still started this one with trepidation, but there was no need, I didn't suddenly grow immune to twisting plots or mysteries. 

Imagine it's late May, junior year is ending, and you decide to take a quick nap in the library. What's the harm? Of course, you can see the harm when you wake up and it's snowing outside. Additionally, when you wake up, you suddenly realize that there's a lot that's happened in those six months. Oh, like, your best friend hates you, your parents think you're an amazing student, you're dating the guy you've had a crush on for forever, and you have this mysterious relationship with the "bad boy" in school. Bye, bye, sanity. 

The Good: 
  • The writing. Natalie Richards does a great job of conveying Chloe's panic without being over the top or annoying. I didn't feel as if the plot started veering off to a subplot, like romance, but I felt like Richards made Chloe realistic with her reactions.
  • The mystery. There were a few things I guessed at in the beginning, but for the majority of my questions, I was mainly left in the dark until the end. We're given a few answers to satisfy us, but enough mystery is left to keep us coming back for more. 
  • The flashbacks. When they're not overdone, I personally love flashbacks. As she's regaining her memory, and spending more time with Adam, she has flashbacks, showing her a little peek into the forgotten six months. They didn't overwhelm the story nor were they useless, making it exciting when she had another flash. 
  • Chloe. While I didn't fall in love with all the characters, I do have to give props to Chloe. She wasn't a whiny, annoying girl who makes your head throb, which can be the possibility in these kind of stories. She was resourceful and determined to uncover the truth, not being naive in who to trust as so many YA main characters typically do. I easily could imagine myself doing the same things to find out what happened to me in the last six months. 
The Meh: 
  • The romance. Right off the bat, I had a bad feeling about Blake, a feeling I think everyone who has read this book had. However, while I wanted to like and cheer for Adam, I couldn't. He was okay and definitely the better choice between the two, but did I like him? No. Did I hate him? No. He was meh. Personally, their whole romance was meh. While I really can't say anything more about either "love" interest, I do have to give at least one point in favor for Adam being the "bad boy" because that alone gives the possibility of swooning. Note: Anyone else think of the "I'd like it if he could be wicked, but wouldn't" Anne Shirley quote? 
  • Maggie. Another character I really wanted to like, but she fell too short for me to do so. Unfortunately, it's hard for me to explain why because that would involve me revealing spoilers. But I felt Maggie was unjustified in her actions and was too unforgiving considering the circumstances. 
Verdict: A suspenseful, keeps-you-guessing debut that didn't disappoint and it had a really amazing concept. 


Note: Blogger keeps messing up my fonts/spacing. Please excuse this. Does anyone know how to change the line spacing?

16 comments:

  1. This book sounds really intriguing and really make me curious! Love to hear that you like it and it was not predictable. But it's sad that the boy is kinda meh and the romance was not really amazing, though.

    But great review!

    Neysa @ [B.O.O.K.L.I.F.E]

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    1. It was very intriguing even while reading :) Yeah. I seem to be the lone wolf in that regard though.

      Thank you!

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  2. This sounds interesting-- kind of like a YA Rip Van Winkle...but with memories? That sounds awesome! I love that you liked the writing and the mystery-- but a meh romance? Ouch. I feel for you. O.O Overall, this sounds like a pretty good book, though! Awesome review, girly! :D

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  3. Ooh this book wasn't on my radar at all! What an intriguing concept. I'll definitely keep this one in mind.

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  4. I haven't really heard of this book before, it sounds interesting! I need to look into reading it! :)

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  5. I love how nice Natalie was to give you an ARC, and it's great that her kindness was met with enjoyment on your part. Flashbacks are something to be wary of because they sometimes seem unnecessary and annoying, but they can add a lot to a book when done well. (Side note: do you ever feel like you say that a lot? X trope is getting too common/can be bothersome or gratuitous but WHEN DONE WELL it is great? I know I do.)

    Sometimes it seems like blogger is out to get us. The other day it messed up my header, making all the white space an ugly off-white, and I haven't figured out how to fix it. It has always helped me to put text into a Word document and then copy and paste as plain text into the post. I'm not sure exactly what it's doing to you and I don't know if that will help, but it mainly messes up for me when I try to paste directly from elsewhere on the Internet. Good luck with solving the formatting problem!

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    1. I agree, I'm so thankful! (Yes! I was just thinking about that. I think it all depends on how it's done to be considered a real trope)

      I do believe Blogger will someday turn against us. But I still use it of course. Thank you!

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  6. Whoa ... I was not expecting this kind of book when I saw the cover. This is definitely a book I want to read, but honestly would've probably missed it. Great review! Gonna add this one.

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    1. I'm happy that I was able to show you this terrific book! Great :) Hope you like it!

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  7. Sunny, thanks so much for the review -- it's been awesome getting to know you and it was really fun to send a book your way, on your birthday no less!! :-) And thanks to everyone who's interested in reading Six Months Later! I sure hope you enjoy it!

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  8. This sounds really interesting, and the mystery and flashbacks sound well done! I hate when you can't root for the romance, but the book does sound really intriguing. :) I'll have to check this one out! Great review!

    Alice @ Alice in Readerland

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  9. Oh, if the mystery is good I'm willing to look past the flaws in the romance! I feel like we don't get a ton of great YA thrillers, so I'm glad to hear you liked this. Definitely have to pick it up sometime.

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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  10. This sounds like an exciting read. I do love mysteries. Too bad the romance is just "meh" though. That's such a huge part to me. Wonderful review, Sunny! :)

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