Six Months Later

By: Natalie D. Richards

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

When Chloe falls asleep in study hall, it is the middle of May. 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 is 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 Chloe? Remembering the truth could be more dangerous than she knows.…

©2013 Natalie D. Richards (P)2014 Tantor

Loved the Whole Gosh Darn Thing!

Was the ending totally predictable? Why yes...yes it was. But it was so delicious getting to that ending that I didn't even mind!

Six Months Later starts with Chloe, a wise cracking slacker, who basically goes to sleep in class, and wakes up to find six months of her life is gone with no recollection of anything. Trying to wing it she finds her life is all sorts of upside down and sideways, and even getting things she's always wanted in life doesn't matter in the grand scheme of memory loss or going snap crazy. But everything still feels off, and she can't shake the shudder when her new boy toy touches her, nor can she shake the flashes of memories when she's near a certain bad boy. Memories that show her a different life, one she desperately wants back. In searching for answers Chloe finds more than she can chew, and realizes some memories are best left forgotten.

Again, totally transparent in the long run, but oh my word was it wonderful getting there! Total high five to the narrator for nailing the voice and characters in pure perfection. No lie. She is literally my top narrator now.

As for the characters themselves, they were so nicely developed! No stupid moves that leave you shaking your fist muttering the ever present "why, just why?" There was only one thing that Chloe was a little blind to, but I'm not giving anything away...

The plot was great, moved along pretty well, and had me listening intently. It was, as I've said, pretty easy to spot it, but I tried not to think of the who what and why so I could be "ta-dah" surprised. Didn't work out to well. I just wish the villains had been more villainous. Otherwise, top notch book, a great mystery/suspense, and I completely enjoyed it!

Knowing What I Know Now, I'd Skip This

Where does Six Months Later rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

My thoughts from Goodreads. Please ignore the above question:

This was an interesting story, to some extent, but it had some serious issues, including basic failures by the author to appropriately research and represent the world that the story is set in (high school kids getting ready to transition to top notch colleges).

Also, the MC has about the least amount of curiosity and persistence possible, for this being a thriller/mystery novel. She basically solves the mystery by everything miraculously falling in her lap at the right moment, and not through any amount of asking questions, pushing boundaries, or actual sleuth-like behaviors.

The side characters are cookie cutter versions of stereotypes and often inconsistent.

"Okay, I forgive you."
"Wait, no I don't."
"Let's be friends again."
"I'm not sure we can ever be friends again." . . . ad nauseam.

However, despite these negatives, the heart of the plot is interesting (Chloe falls asleep a mediocre student and wakes up having lost 6 months of her life to now having the perfect GPA and boyfriend ---although it's not even remotely realistic that she could improve her GPA and college standing so much in just 1 semester), so it ended up being a quick read. I think it could be a significantly better and more thrilling story, given the plot it had to work with, but it's too surface-level and constantly convenient to really sink hooks into the reader.

Fast-paced = yes. Thrilling = not so much.

No issues or concerns with the narrator, who did a good job, which probably helped the story along.

Interesting story idea, told uninterestingly.

I was intrigued by the concept of this book: a girl trying to figure out why she's missing six months of her life. But the weak and repetitive dialog (and internal monologs) wore me down. I struggled to finish this book and actually abandoned it for a few days.

The one-dimensional, male characters add little to the story. The villain appears suddenly at the end, apparently just so that he can partially explain himself. We're left to speculate on the roles and activities of his fellow plotters, following an unsatisfying end of the novel.

The narration by Emily Woo Zeller is well-done.

Good plot. Several unexpected twists.

The characters are endearing. They leave you hoping that there will be a sequel so that we can keep tabs on their futures. No graphic or uncomfortable scenes to read. Well written.

Hooked after the first page!

Natalie has a way of captivating you from the first words of her books! I have read 4 in a row and each has been a nail biting experience, but this has been my favorite!