Book Review: So Close to You by Rachel Carter

So Close to You
So Close to You #1
Author: Rachel Carter
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Science Fiction/Time Travel
Release Date: July 10th 2012
Review Source: HarperTeen
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) 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.

So Close to You wasn’t really what I expected – it was BETTER than what I expected actually. I love the cover with Lydia on it. Her bright Auburn hair definitely stands out against the background.

Lydia is a senior in High School and is eager to leave her small town life behind. Montauk is a small town full of mysteries. Back during WWI there was a military base named Camp Hero, in Montauk where it is rumored to have been a secret laboratory where they did top secret experiments. Lydia's grandfather swears that the rumors are true and that "The Montauk Project" was the reason that his father disappeared when he was just a little boy. Lydia doesn’t believe in any of this stuff, but has always stood by her grandfather and goes with him to Camp Hero regularly to seek out the "truth". Then one day, while at Camp Hero, Lydia and her grandfather go to one of the old bunks to look for clues, like they have done a dozen times and just like before, nothing has changed. The steel door is still shut and there is no way in getting inside. As Lydia and her grandfather start walking back to the car, Lydia remembers she left her sweater back at the bunk. When she gets there, to her surprise the metal door is wide open. Pushed by curiosity and a will to unravel the mystery of her great-grandfather's disappearance, she decides to go inside. Next thing she knows, she walk into a time machine and is taken back to 1944. Her whole world is flipped upside down. She has a chance to save her family, and find out what really happened to her great-grandfather. Changing the past can cause chaos in the present, but its a risk that Lydia will have to take.

So Close to You was a great read. The mystery definitely kept me going. There were a few parts where it dragged a little but overall the story was great. I really hope there is a second book coming because the ending had me making up all sorts of questions as to what happened and what will happen next. Great read for the summer.