Publisher:  Sourcebooks Fire
Publish Date: October 1st, 2013
Source: ARC
Goodreads

Rating: 4/5 – The best YA thriller/mystery I’ve read in a long time.

About the book: 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?
-Goodreads

Thoughts: Where are all the YA mysteries? Seriously, with all the romances floating around, you’d think there would be a few more thrillers out there to even the odds. Six Months Later offered up a great change of pace from most of the big title YA books out there right now, so I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out to see what Natalie Richards comes out with next. Definitely recommended.

The book starts out reading as a pretty standard contemporary–and then the main character, Chloe, falls asleep. Six months later, she wakes up. Well, sort of. She goes through six months of her life, she just doesn’t remember what happened. Prepare to be pretty confused at first, as Chloe tries to figure out what’s going on. Then frustrated as her parents don’t take her seriously (but at least she tries to tell them… big plus for parental interaction).

When Chloe wakes up “six months later” everything about her life has changed. She’s popular, she’s succeeding in school, and her best friend refuses to talk to her. Plus there’s that pesky memory loss issue. There’s a lot of stuff to work through. Through most of the book, it’s really difficult to remember how past Chloe managed to become now-Chloe, but the mystery itself is really interesting, especially as more characters (therapist, parents, two different boys) start coming into the picture. So many questions! Natalie Richards does a great job of weaving various bits of information into the plot while still keeping the characters both interesting and genuine.

If any of you have recommendations for other YA mysteries, please let me know. I’ve never been a fan of the adult version of the genre, but I’d love to read more like this.

Purchase Six Months Later
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