Book Review | Golden State by Michelle Richmond

Looking back on it, I'm not entirely sure what drew me to this book in the first place. I have conflicting emotions about this book after reading it. But I digress. 

The Plot

In San Francisco, Doctor Julie Walker has just signed her divorce papers when she gets a phone call from her sister that she has gone into labor. Julie sets out to the hospital, which proves to be an adventure in and of itself as the city is in commotion. It is the day of the vote to decide if California will secede from the United States of America. Within minutes Julie will find her car broken into, injure her ankle and then begin a journey across the city to her sister's side. While on this trek she will have plenty of time to examine the previous estrangement from her sister, her romance with her husband and the shattering circumstances of her greatest heartbreak. Once at her sisters side she will find herself in the middle of a violent standoff; in which she will be forced to deal with her past.

My Thoughts

Alright, I know that plot description was a bit vague. But...I don't do spoilers. At least not yet. I will say the first chapter of this book roped me right in. You jump right into the thick of it without any backstory and then the book jumps around from there without a lot of direction. One chapter may be present day, the next will be the distant past and you don't really know where you are until a few sentences in to orient yourself. I personally don't enjoy that style of storytelling, but it wasn't a dealbreaker for me. Richmond doesn't really go into detail about the whole secession thing. I think the purpose was to just create a chaotic backdrop for the already dramatic story. I feel like they could have created that same effect with a different story but whatever. I also feel like they had a LOT of stories going on at once. I probably wouldn't recommend this book just because I know there are better ones out there. It's really choppy, busy and I'm not entirely sure what the point was supposed to be. I gave this book two stars on Goodreads.