Review : So Close To You by Rachel Carter
Title : So Close To You (So Close To You #1)
Author : Rachel Carter
Publisher : HarperTeen
Publication Date : July 10th 2012
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Lydia Bentley has heard stories about the Montauk Project all her life: stories about the strange things that took place at the abandoned military base near her home and the people who've disappeared over the years. Stories about people like her own great-grandfather.
When Lydia stumbles into a portal that transports her to a dangerous and strange new reality, she discovers that all the stories she's ever heard about the Montauk Project are true, and that she's in the middle of one of the most dangerous experiments in history.
Alongside a darkly mysterious boy she is wary to trust, Lydia begins to unravel the secrets surrounding the Project. But the truths behind these secrets force her to question all her choices--and if Lydia chooses wrong, she might not save her family but destroy them . . . and herself.
Personal Thoughts
So Close To You was a novel I had my eyes on for some time now. I’ve never actually read a time-travel book before, so I was fascinated by the idea behind the book. Plus, it seemed to also have an element of mystery to it. Therefore, I was pretty excited to read the book. While I did enjoy the book, I felt like something was missing from it.
So Close To You tells the story of Lydia, whose grandpa is obsessed with finding out what happened to his father, who went missing while working for a mysterious project known as the Montauk Project. Out of the blue, Lydia comes across a portal that leads her to the year her great grandfather went missing. Now, she finds herself in the middle of a secretive project along with a mysterious boy. Soon, secrets that could destroy Lydia’s life are unraveled and she must make the right decision.
When Lydia stumbles into a portal that transports her to a dangerous and strange new reality, she discovers that all the stories she's ever heard about the Montauk Project are true, and that she's in the middle of one of the most dangerous experiments in history.
Alongside a darkly mysterious boy she is wary to trust, Lydia begins to unravel the secrets surrounding the Project. But the truths behind these secrets force her to question all her choices--and if Lydia chooses wrong, she might not save her family but destroy them . . . and herself.
Personal Thoughts
So Close To You was a novel I had my eyes on for some time now. I’ve never actually read a time-travel book before, so I was fascinated by the idea behind the book. Plus, it seemed to also have an element of mystery to it. Therefore, I was pretty excited to read the book. While I did enjoy the book, I felt like something was missing from it.
So Close To You tells the story of Lydia, whose grandpa is obsessed with finding out what happened to his father, who went missing while working for a mysterious project known as the Montauk Project. Out of the blue, Lydia comes across a portal that leads her to the year her great grandfather went missing. Now, she finds herself in the middle of a secretive project along with a mysterious boy. Soon, secrets that could destroy Lydia’s life are unraveled and she must make the right decision.
I think my main problem with So Close To You arose from the characters. They were likeable, but not particularly striking. To be honest, they didn’t really stick with me after I finished the book. Lydia was a strong and level-headed kind of character, who wasn’t afraid to be independent and who could make her own decisions. She was very ambitious, especially when it came to finding out the truth about her great grandpa’s sudden disappearance. I also appreciated the strong bond she seemed to have with her grandpa. Very often, family ties are overlooked in YA books, I was happy to see that it was fortified in this one. Her love for her grandfather was very significant because it was the driving force to her seeking the truth about the Montauk Project. Lydia also developed very strong bonds with her ancestors once she travelled back in time, especially with Mary. The friendship the two of them shared was very cute. The rest of the cast wasn’t as great as Lydia. For the most part, I thought they were under developed. Even the mysterious love interest fell flat as pancake for me because he was the stereotypical broody guy kind of character. So, I wasn’t very much impressed by him.
The plot itself was highly interesting, with the mystery of Montauk Project being an important element in the book, but somewhere along the way, I felt like it got bogged down for some reason. It started to move very slowly and I ended up being bored. The pace did pick up around the end though, so I was glad that kept reading. The romance in the book wasn’t my kind of romance. It felt too much like instant love. Wes and Lydia fell for each other in a matter of days and I honestly didn’t see why they liked each other so much. Plus, Wes was a stalker, which according to me is not very attractive. Still, I was happy that the romance didn’t overwhelm the plot too much. I guess I needed something more from So Close To You. I would have preferred a lot more action-packed scenes and I wished the author had been able to maintain the element of mystery all throughout the story without making it seem too dull. However, that wasn’t the case. The writing itself was not bad. It was highly engaging and I will definitely be on the look-out for more from Rachel Carter.
My review might actually sound like a rant, but even with all the flaws I saw in it, I did enjoy the book, but I honestly think it could have been a lot better than it was. This could easily have been a 4 stars or even 5 stars read for me had the characters been a little more fleshed out and the plot consistent. I do intend to read the next book because this one ended in a cliffhanger! Just when things were getting interesting, the book ended!
Rating
Cover : 4/5
Plot : 3/5
Characters : 2/5
Writing : 3/5
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