Blog Tour Stop : Six Months Later by Natalie Richards
The Six Months Later Blog Tour is hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club.
Hi guys!
I'm super excited to be part of the Six Months Later Blog Tour. Today, as part of my tour stop I'll be sharing with you beautiful people an interview and a review of the book.
I hope you enjoy reading them both! :)
Also, don't forget to check out the other tour stops if you're interested here.
I'm super excited to be part of the Six Months Later Blog Tour. Today, as part of my tour stop I'll be sharing with you beautiful people an interview and a review of the book.
I hope you enjoy reading them both! :)
Also, don't forget to check out the other tour stops if you're interested here.
Title : Six Months Later
Author : Natalie Richards
Publication Date : October 1st 2013
Publisher : Sourcebooks Fire
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble
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?
Personal Thoughts
Books that deal with amnesia always hold an element of mystery to them and as many of you know, mystery in books is something that I find very appealing. That was why I was so ready to jump into Six Months Later when I received the book. Genuine, exciting and mysterious, Six Months Later managed to exceed the expectations I had for it.
The protagonist, Chloe, was a character whose mind it was easy to slip into. I found myself being connected to her all throughout the book. When Chloe woke up one day without any memory of what had happened to her in the 6 months before, her life turned completely upside down and she went through a phase of turbulence. She found herself being confused as to how she became this popular girl who was dating her crush and who had broken ties with her best friend, Maggie. Chloe's feelings of disorientation and helplessness felt genuine to me. I,too, felt all those emotions of bewilderment and powerlessness in the situation she was. But Chloe was by no means a weak character. She was willing to work hard to get to the root of her issue on her own when she realized that what happened to her was not a psychological illness. I really liked how Chloe was a headstrong character despite everything that she had to endure. We also have a love interest in the form of Adam, a boy Chloe didn't look twice at 6 months ago. I was a bit wary of Adam at first, but I eventually grew to like him very much. However, he disappointed me towards the end by the secrets that he kept hidden and the lies he told Chloe. I felt betrayed by him and if I were in Chloe there was no way I would have forgiven his actions.
While Chloe was a great character, Maggie, her ex-best friend, stole the show for me. Maggie was an endearing girl who had a stutter. For years it was Chloe that helped her get through her issue. But slowly throughout the book, we begin to see that Maggie could hold her head high when she wanted to. I adored her for her supportive and caring nature. I almost wished this book was told in her point of view. As far as the villains went in this book, they left much to be desired. I wanted them to be a bit more fleshed out than they were so I could understand better why they did what they were doing. I think this is one of those books I wouldn't have minded seeing another POV in one of the villains (because I'm twisted like that). Other than that though, I didn't have much issues with the characters in Six Months Later.
The plot in Six Months Later developed neither too fast, nor too slow. The story progressed at a pace that allowed the reader to accumulate all the hints being dropped and to slowly understand what was going on with Chloe. I liked how Chloe wasn't blind to what was going on around her and actually started figuring on what was going on early on. In so many YA mystery books, the heroines are dumbed down for the sake of mystery, but not here. That was a great tactic by Natalie Richards because it made the heroine stand out in the sea of YA mystery protagonists. The plot was enjoyable from the first page itself and I never found myself being bored. It was exciting to watch Chloe pick up the clues and to figure out what had happened to her. I will admit that there were a few questions that remained unanswered, but they weren't exactly crucial to the plot, so it was easy to let go of that. There was also a romance in the book that developed between Chloe and Adam, and while I enjoyed it at first, the revelations about Adam sort of dampened my enjoyment of it. What I liked about the romance was that it progressed in the side lines.
Natalie Richards was a great story-teller and Six Months Later was a strong debut that I recommend wholeheartedly. Not only did it have a fabulous cast of characters, but it also had an interesting plot line that kept me on the edge. YA mystery fans, you don't want to miss out on Six Months Later!
Rating
Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5
Author Interview
Hi Natalie! I'm really glad to have you on the blog.
Thanks so much for hosting me, Nick! I'm really happy to be here and have loved talking to you a bit on Goodreads! :-)
1. My first question, could you please describe your book in a tweet (140 characters)?
Chloe nods off in class & wakes up 6 months later to a suddenly perfect life. So why does everything
feel wrong? Why can't she remember?
2. I'm sure you get asked this a lot, but what made you want to write a book about a girl who loses her memory?
I actually love this question because it was a complete blast to write! I admit, it's definitely the eerie factor that attracted me. Not that I'm weird and like things dark and creepy--okay, that's a lie. I'm totally weird and I love books that are a little twisted. LOL! But back to how this particular book started. The initial spark of creativity that turned into Six Months Later was a really brief nightmare about falling asleep and waking up after a long time had passed. At that point, it could have been anything -- a coma, time travel, etc. The reason I went in a memory loss direction is because I had an instance a couple of years ago where some family members talked about a wedding I couldn't remember attending as a child. I have a fairly vivid memory, but despite seeing pictures to prove it, I couldn't recall a thing. It was the eeriest feeling, staring at those pictures, so when the idea for Six Months Later hit me I knew right where to go. I think our memories are maybe our most sacred possession, the one thing we believe no one can ever take from us. Losing them is just a bit terrifying, right?
3. What was your research process like when you were writing Six Months Later?
Truthfully this is a tricky question to answer because several things I researched aren't immediately apparent in the book. So I don't want to say too much and give it away. :-) I will say it was an equal mix of internet, library, and field expert research. I'll also say it's a good chance some of my searches and library check-out records have probably landed me on some government watch list somewhere!!
4. Six Months Later is a mystery novel. What is your all-time favorite mystery novel?
I'm a big fan of mysteries that bump right against that thriller edge. Books that give you goose bumps and keep you guessing at the same time. The first one I fell for was Lightning by Dean Koontz which I think I read when I was thirteen. In the last few years there have been a load of amazing mysteries, but a couple of favorites that are enduring with me are Barry Lyga's I Hunt Killers, Kimberly Derting's The Body Finder, and Romily Bernard's Find Me.
5. If you weren't a writer, what would you have liked to be?
Probably an editor or a creative writing teacher. I'm way too in love with fiction to actually pine for a
career in anything else. :-)
6. Tell us something fun about yourself that readers might not know.
I'm one hundred percent a geek at heart. :-) I love Star Wars, Marvel movies (Tony Stark FTW), Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Veronica Mars, Falling Skies, The Walking Dead, Vikings, Vampire Diaries... This list could go on forever. And I add to it all the time.
7. My final question to you Natalie, can you give us a little insight onto your future writing projects?
I'm beyond excited about my next YA thriller project but since we're still in edits, I can't say too much yet. (Le sigh!) I can tell you that it's been amazing and a little scary to write because it feels so real. The characters have been with me for a year, and I'm not sure I've ever been this attached to one of my heroines. The new book explores a darker slice of reality, where my heroine is faced with a terrible succession of discoveries. The story then explores just how far she'll go to make them right. I'm dying to say more, and hope I can really soon! :-)
Nick, thank you so much for having me! It's been wonderful! Hope your day is fantastic!
Author Biography
WEBSITE: http://natalievawter.com OR http://www.nataliedrichards.com
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/NatDRichards
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Natalie-DRichards/398044640315789
BLOG: http://www.doomsdaisies.com
GOODREADS: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6927030.Natalie_Richards
Giveaway
Prize :
(1) Book of Six Months Later by Natalie D. Richards and some promo goodies
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I hope you guys enjoyed the interview with Natalie! She's one lovely author!
Are you guys a fan of YA mystery/thriller books?
Be sure to let me know in the comments below!
Are you guys a fan of YA mystery/thriller books?
Be sure to let me know in the comments below!
Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club for letting me be part of this tour.
Comments
Post a Comment