Review ~ SO CLOSE TO YOU (So Close to You #1) by Rachel Carter

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. ~From GoodReads

SO CLOSE TO YOU caught me so off guard. Based on the synopsis, I thought the main character, Lydia would travel to an alternate dimension, as in another world. So as I read along, struggling to become immersed in the story, I was so happy when I learned that Lydia was not traveling to another world, but to another time. If I had known that prior to beginning, I would have been way more excited to jump into the story.

As you might have guessed, I found the opening paragraphs to be a bit slow going. Lydia was a nice enough character, but I think I just had a hard time with the setting, or the tone. It felt a bit depressing, learning about her grandfather, and it just seemed to drag. I know that makes me seem like a whiner because the story picks up not too far in, around page seventy. I've found I'm a bit into immediate gratification when it comes to books these days.

I want to talk about Lydia's journey to the past, but I don't want to spoil the story. The era involved happens to be one of my favorites. Author Rachel Carter did a wonderful job of immersing Lydia, and the reader, in the past. The culture, the thought of the people from that time... every aspect felt authentic. This was my favorite aspect of SO CLOSE TO YOU.

I never really thought about it before, but it seems I really love time travel stories. The psychological aspect, the fact that any choice can change the entire future, fascinates me. This is what Lydia faces in the story. While she wants to make things right, she must weigh that against her own existence.  While reading SO CLOSE TO YOU, I was reminded many times of other great stories involving time travel such as BACK TO THE FUTURE and FREQUENCY.

Like I said before, SO CLOSE TO YOU surprised me, in a great way. A story that I read purely by chance, even though I didn't expect to enjoy it, became a story that a really liked a lot. I didn't love everything about it, such as the dreary opening, and the very end confused me. But it also intrigued me. I will absolutely be reading the next book in the series.


Favorite Quote:

" I hope that Wes is spying on me, because right now care if we've been doomed from the start. I want, for just one night, to close the distance that always seem to separate us. (ARC, pg 233)


Expected publication: July 10th 2012 by HarperTeen

You can preorder SO CLOSE TO YOU at:
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Source: Received from publisher in exchange for an honest review.