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Six
One car. One after-party.
Six people, six points of view.
But only one outcome.
Six people, six points of view.
But only one outcome.
228 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2010
8 people are currently reading
304 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
August 18, 2012
The premise for this book sounded so awesome.
One car.
Five seatbelts.
Six people.
A late night party.
A generous splash of alchohol.
A sprinkle of bad weather.
Two P-plate signs.
And from the blurb: six people. Six points of view. But only one outcome.
And then... the book just completely failed to deliver. Did not at all live up to expectations :( We start with the car crash, and then what follows is essentially the promised "six people, six points of view"... but they're not, as expected, about that night at all. In fact we go back six months, and follow an extremely slow lead-up to what led to them all being in that car on that fateful night. I was looking forward to six different tales of how and why the car crashed, and what happened after that night! Maybe a little of why they were all in the car together... not an entire book full of nothing but rather dull backstory.
And the six points of view aren't even evenly distributed. Seems about 75% of the chapters are Sarah's, and some of the others only get a look in once or twice. I also found the three boys to be almost completely indistinguishable and I just couldn't keep track of who was dating/doing who - and there's only three! It shouldn't be hard! The girls were also quite flat and had similar voices, but they at least stood out from each other a little more, although neither Poppy nor Virginia were really given much depth compared with Sarah. None of the characters were actually all that likeable, either. If I went to their school, I wouldn't want to be any of their friends. Also, the "mystery" around the dead girl found in the woods just seemed a bit weird and unexplained. I know it all linked in at the end... but yeah. Also, there was another body found that was mentioned like once and then just forgotten about. I guess we're not meant to wonder about how those two actually died, since the story is about the six?
One car.
Five seatbelts.
Six people.
A late night party.
A generous splash of alchohol.
A sprinkle of bad weather.
Two P-plate signs.
And from the blurb: six people. Six points of view. But only one outcome.
And then... the book just completely failed to deliver. Did not at all live up to expectations :( We start with the car crash, and then what follows is essentially the promised "six people, six points of view"... but they're not, as expected, about that night at all. In fact we go back six months, and follow an extremely slow lead-up to what led to them all being in that car on that fateful night. I was looking forward to six different tales of how and why the car crashed, and what happened after that night! Maybe a little of why they were all in the car together... not an entire book full of nothing but rather dull backstory.
And the six points of view aren't even evenly distributed. Seems about 75% of the chapters are Sarah's, and some of the others only get a look in once or twice. I also found the three boys to be almost completely indistinguishable and I just couldn't keep track of who was dating/doing who - and there's only three! It shouldn't be hard! The girls were also quite flat and had similar voices, but they at least stood out from each other a little more, although neither Poppy nor Virginia were really given much depth compared with Sarah. None of the characters were actually all that likeable, either. If I went to their school, I wouldn't want to be any of their friends. Also, the "mystery" around the dead girl found in the woods just seemed a bit weird and unexplained. I know it all linked in at the end... but yeah. Also, there was another body found that was mentioned like once and then just forgotten about. I guess we're not meant to wonder about how those two actually died, since the story is about the six?
January 18, 2011
Karen Tayleur knows how to capture a readers attention from the outset and tease her way through to a twist-y climax.
6 opens with a haunting prologue:
"But the facts are simple. A recipe for disaster.
One car.
Five seatbelts.
Six people.
A late night party.
A generous splash of alcohol.
A sprinkle of bad weather.
Two P-plate signs." p.5
And no one is answering the ringing mobile phone...
6 follows the lives of 6 teenagers in their final 6 months of year 12 (the last year of school). There's the teaser that one of these 6 teenagers will die by the end of the novel. You don't know who or how it all goes down. BUT what grabbed me was, after the rocking prologue, it opens with an inciting incident that will suck you in.
On a stormy day, 6 teens stumble across something shocking, and despite misgivings, keep it a secret amongst themselves. It continues to haunt them throughout the year. There's uneasy feelings between them. The 6 teens are like a Breakfast Club assortment ~ not all are friends and they all fall on different places on the social hierarchy, one crushing one another who's crushing on another... it's complicated yet realistic.
It's like reading a coming of age novel, exploring friendships, family relationships, love, that sense of identity and being on the cusp of adulthood. It so finely portrays the stress of exams, giddy anticipation of The Formal and choosing what to do in life. All this is set against a back-drop of something truly sinister tying a group of teens together and something horrific looming unseen ahead of them.
I love how Karen Tayleur pushes the boundaries with experimentation in her novel. This is a taste of what you can expect in 6:
6 different points of view, male and female
past, present and future tense
first person, third person, omni-present
Vlog entries, diary entries, narration, flashbacks
additional extras: mini character profiles, chapters opening with nursery rhyme snippets ~ which, although familiar, were creepy and ominous in the context. The nursery rhymes were so cleverly used ~ one of my favourite aspects.
There's a lot to admire. I always love extra titbits in novels and in 6 it was pulled off to add an extra dimension. It really enhanced my reading experience. Each POV felt distinct and it was effortless to follow. It takes incredible vision and talent to produce such an energetic and layered plot. It barely hits 200 pages, and it's an incredible feat, juggling so much story.
While I was hooked from the out-set (really, who wouldn't be?) I did find a little restless lag in the middle, despite churning through the book in 48 hours. Blame it on being anxious to get to the conclusion to see how it was all going to play out...
Recommended: 6 is atmospheric, unexpected and unique. The ending is a bit of a twist and it's a book you could easily re-explore, finding clues and hints cleverly hidden amongst innocent-seeming prose. 6 is a novel that will easily engage reluctant readers ~ with characters that teens will oh-so-easily relate to.
Discussion point:
While the book is Australian, using Aussie terms for our final school exams, it didn't have a strong Australian vibe. In fact, I was initially thrown with some terms I see in imported work but I don't hear Australian actually use. Such as:
they drank soda (we call it fizzy or soft drink)
they talked about The Woods (we call it the bush)
they shopped at The Mall (simply the shops or the plaza)
And didn't seem to wear a school uniform (most US school don't have a uniform but in Australia it is the norm)
Or was it just me? These things threw me out of the story when they popped up. (I know, I am pathetic like that). Little details like that made the setting foggier for me ~ I just wasn't sure what I was imagining? An Australian town or some random universal western world setting?
6 opens with a haunting prologue:
"But the facts are simple. A recipe for disaster.
One car.
Five seatbelts.
Six people.
A late night party.
A generous splash of alcohol.
A sprinkle of bad weather.
Two P-plate signs." p.5
And no one is answering the ringing mobile phone...
6 follows the lives of 6 teenagers in their final 6 months of year 12 (the last year of school). There's the teaser that one of these 6 teenagers will die by the end of the novel. You don't know who or how it all goes down. BUT what grabbed me was, after the rocking prologue, it opens with an inciting incident that will suck you in.
On a stormy day, 6 teens stumble across something shocking, and despite misgivings, keep it a secret amongst themselves. It continues to haunt them throughout the year. There's uneasy feelings between them. The 6 teens are like a Breakfast Club assortment ~ not all are friends and they all fall on different places on the social hierarchy, one crushing one another who's crushing on another... it's complicated yet realistic.
It's like reading a coming of age novel, exploring friendships, family relationships, love, that sense of identity and being on the cusp of adulthood. It so finely portrays the stress of exams, giddy anticipation of The Formal and choosing what to do in life. All this is set against a back-drop of something truly sinister tying a group of teens together and something horrific looming unseen ahead of them.
I love how Karen Tayleur pushes the boundaries with experimentation in her novel. This is a taste of what you can expect in 6:
6 different points of view, male and female
past, present and future tense
first person, third person, omni-present
Vlog entries, diary entries, narration, flashbacks
additional extras: mini character profiles, chapters opening with nursery rhyme snippets ~ which, although familiar, were creepy and ominous in the context. The nursery rhymes were so cleverly used ~ one of my favourite aspects.
There's a lot to admire. I always love extra titbits in novels and in 6 it was pulled off to add an extra dimension. It really enhanced my reading experience. Each POV felt distinct and it was effortless to follow. It takes incredible vision and talent to produce such an energetic and layered plot. It barely hits 200 pages, and it's an incredible feat, juggling so much story.
While I was hooked from the out-set (really, who wouldn't be?) I did find a little restless lag in the middle, despite churning through the book in 48 hours. Blame it on being anxious to get to the conclusion to see how it was all going to play out...
Recommended: 6 is atmospheric, unexpected and unique. The ending is a bit of a twist and it's a book you could easily re-explore, finding clues and hints cleverly hidden amongst innocent-seeming prose. 6 is a novel that will easily engage reluctant readers ~ with characters that teens will oh-so-easily relate to.
Discussion point:
While the book is Australian, using Aussie terms for our final school exams, it didn't have a strong Australian vibe. In fact, I was initially thrown with some terms I see in imported work but I don't hear Australian actually use. Such as:
they drank soda (we call it fizzy or soft drink)
they talked about The Woods (we call it the bush)
they shopped at The Mall (simply the shops or the plaza)
And didn't seem to wear a school uniform (most US school don't have a uniform but in Australia it is the norm)
Or was it just me? These things threw me out of the story when they popped up. (I know, I am pathetic like that). Little details like that made the setting foggier for me ~ I just wasn't sure what I was imagining? An Australian town or some random universal western world setting?
November 1, 2023
3/5 stars
honestly this book was such a random pick for me and I had no expectations going in. however I was very intrigued by the premise and the blurb. six POV’s, a car accident, later on we get a murder mystery type plot.. what could go wrong?
I thought it was a little odd the way the book was structured. we got six POV’s but only sarah and poppy’s were written in first person (coopers too but his was a video diary recording so I wasn’t fussed). I assumed this was hinting at the two girls being the only survivors of the car crash but it honestly got confusing and wasn’t even the case.
it felt like the author didnt know whether to give the characters depth or leave them be so they went back and forth with it. I couldn’t tell if sarah was a main character because the first-person POV wasn’t unique to her, we had a bit of depth for a select few characters too ?? so I was unsure. the only thing indicative of her being the main character was the fact that she had the most amount of chapters dedicated to her.
sarah was insufferable honestly. majority of the time she was a hypocrite and a bad friend but it made for a good plot. cooper was the same way except he gave me the ick and made me cringe so hard. a whole creep.
poppy was basically phoebe from friends, easily the best character. virginia had zero depth. literally kept forgetting she existed honestly. nico was one of the better characters but he also barely had any depth?? give me more. let me bond with these characters. I wish either the author went into depth with all of them or just left it with sarah because it just felt weird and unbalanced.
the entirety of the story was just a 6 month set up of events that lead to this car accident. year 12 drama, love, manipulation, a whole MURDER (which was a bit glossed over) and family problems. I didn’t mind it, this was the Y/A side to the story so it was fairly entertaining.
now, the ending.
to be honest, it didn’t pay off. I fully saw the potential and I think it could’ve been great but some ends were tied horribly. what do you mean it was cooper who took the shirt and sent nico the messages ?? I understand why he was following them, that was fairly in character, but the fact that the rest of the events were justified with a ‘who knows why he decided to do that’ was crazyyyy. literally verbatim: “I never did understand cooper”.
that was literally the entire reason for nico’s on-edge behaviour, why they went out looking for him and why they ended up getting in the accident but it’s written off as ‘eh well who knows why he did that’ ???? I hated that. horrendous payoff.
the ending was genuinely really weird for me. the last chapter was great, very somber. but I didn’t quite get it. I genuinely thought it was poppy that died ?? it was so unclear. then I thought nico AND poppy died. then I realised it was sarah who died. I honestly would’ve loved it if it were more clear and just HIT you. that could’ve genuinely bumped up the book to a 4/5 stars. but it just felt muddled and unclear. I get what the author was trying to do, and honestly the end was very beautifully written. it just didn’t deliver well.
speaking of beautifully written, there were some wonderful moments and quotes within this book that I appreciated.
I might actually recommend this book depending on the context of conversation but I doubt this’ll be a book I remember years in the future. it was a fun read though.
honestly this book was such a random pick for me and I had no expectations going in. however I was very intrigued by the premise and the blurb. six POV’s, a car accident, later on we get a murder mystery type plot.. what could go wrong?
I thought it was a little odd the way the book was structured. we got six POV’s but only sarah and poppy’s were written in first person (coopers too but his was a video diary recording so I wasn’t fussed). I assumed this was hinting at the two girls being the only survivors of the car crash but it honestly got confusing and wasn’t even the case.
it felt like the author didnt know whether to give the characters depth or leave them be so they went back and forth with it. I couldn’t tell if sarah was a main character because the first-person POV wasn’t unique to her, we had a bit of depth for a select few characters too ?? so I was unsure. the only thing indicative of her being the main character was the fact that she had the most amount of chapters dedicated to her.
sarah was insufferable honestly. majority of the time she was a hypocrite and a bad friend but it made for a good plot. cooper was the same way except he gave me the ick and made me cringe so hard. a whole creep.
poppy was basically phoebe from friends, easily the best character. virginia had zero depth. literally kept forgetting she existed honestly. nico was one of the better characters but he also barely had any depth?? give me more. let me bond with these characters. I wish either the author went into depth with all of them or just left it with sarah because it just felt weird and unbalanced.
the entirety of the story was just a 6 month set up of events that lead to this car accident. year 12 drama, love, manipulation, a whole MURDER (which was a bit glossed over) and family problems. I didn’t mind it, this was the Y/A side to the story so it was fairly entertaining.
now, the ending.
to be honest, it didn’t pay off. I fully saw the potential and I think it could’ve been great but some ends were tied horribly. what do you mean it was cooper who took the shirt and sent nico the messages ?? I understand why he was following them, that was fairly in character, but the fact that the rest of the events were justified with a ‘who knows why he decided to do that’ was crazyyyy. literally verbatim: “I never did understand cooper”.
that was literally the entire reason for nico’s on-edge behaviour, why they went out looking for him and why they ended up getting in the accident but it’s written off as ‘eh well who knows why he did that’ ???? I hated that. horrendous payoff.
the ending was genuinely really weird for me. the last chapter was great, very somber. but I didn’t quite get it. I genuinely thought it was poppy that died ?? it was so unclear. then I thought nico AND poppy died. then I realised it was sarah who died. I honestly would’ve loved it if it were more clear and just HIT you. that could’ve genuinely bumped up the book to a 4/5 stars. but it just felt muddled and unclear. I get what the author was trying to do, and honestly the end was very beautifully written. it just didn’t deliver well.
speaking of beautifully written, there were some wonderful moments and quotes within this book that I appreciated.
I might actually recommend this book depending on the context of conversation but I doubt this’ll be a book I remember years in the future. it was a fun read though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 8, 2011
I still don't know what happened in the end...
April 7, 2023
Wow!! Couldn't put it down. I finished this book in just over 2 hours. Talk about being thrown into adulthood. Just wow!!!!
April 11, 2023
it wasn’t what the blurb or first few chapters makes you think it is but god the last line is absolutely incredible
July 27, 2015
I got this book in the mail the other day and since I was a big fan of Hostage and Chasing Boys, Karen Tayleur's previous YA novels, I was so absolutely excited to get into Six. Anticipating a book's awesomeness usually doesn't go well for me - if you've got really high expectations, there's a big risk of those really high expectations not being met. Then I started reading. And I was doing other stuff in between - schoolwork and writing and such - but I still managed to finish the book that day. I coudn't go and properly concentrate on something without first finding out what happened in the book. Those really, really high expectations? Met and exceeded.
Six tells the story of six teenagers, beginning in the summer before their final year of school and ending six months later. The story is primarily told in the first-person perspective of Sarah (often with diary extracts), with chapters from her best friend and possible-psychic Poppy, chapters by Cooper (in the format of a script of a YouTube video blog, which is not something I've read in YA before, but worked really well for that character, I found), plus a few third-person chapters offering the perspectives of Virginia (rich and spoilt and a little bit reminiscent of Eliza in Shirley Marr's Fury), Finn (Virginia's ex, athletic) and Nico (also athletic, but troubled). The prologue hinted at the car accident to occur at the end of the book (in a lot of cases I don't like these prologues, but here, it worked wonderfully).
I can imagine that it was a really challenging book to write. It barely hits 200 pages, but within those 200 pages, the characters are perfectly captured. I can't imagine the story being told in a better way. While I loved Sarah, Poppy and Nico, I had a strong dislike of the other three. I don't want to say a whole lot more because it really isn't the sort of novel you can describe, and you'll enjoy it a ton more if you don't know much in the way of storyline before you start it. But I strongly, strongly, strongly recommend it. It's not an entirely nice novel - some bad stuff happens, as you may have guessed - but it is enjoyable, immensely so. It's my favourite of Tayleur's books (considering my adoration of her previous two novels, this is amazingness! amazingocity! amazingtown!).
And I thought about it a lot after I finished reading. And, sure, there might be a lesson in it, but pick it up because it's wonderful and skilfully written and full of characters that you can imagine living in your town. It's one of my favourite books read this year (up there with Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley and Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan). It's six shades of brilliant and you'd be crazy not to check it out.
Six tells the story of six teenagers, beginning in the summer before their final year of school and ending six months later. The story is primarily told in the first-person perspective of Sarah (often with diary extracts), with chapters from her best friend and possible-psychic Poppy, chapters by Cooper (in the format of a script of a YouTube video blog, which is not something I've read in YA before, but worked really well for that character, I found), plus a few third-person chapters offering the perspectives of Virginia (rich and spoilt and a little bit reminiscent of Eliza in Shirley Marr's Fury), Finn (Virginia's ex, athletic) and Nico (also athletic, but troubled). The prologue hinted at the car accident to occur at the end of the book (in a lot of cases I don't like these prologues, but here, it worked wonderfully).
I can imagine that it was a really challenging book to write. It barely hits 200 pages, but within those 200 pages, the characters are perfectly captured. I can't imagine the story being told in a better way. While I loved Sarah, Poppy and Nico, I had a strong dislike of the other three. I don't want to say a whole lot more because it really isn't the sort of novel you can describe, and you'll enjoy it a ton more if you don't know much in the way of storyline before you start it. But I strongly, strongly, strongly recommend it. It's not an entirely nice novel - some bad stuff happens, as you may have guessed - but it is enjoyable, immensely so. It's my favourite of Tayleur's books (considering my adoration of her previous two novels, this is amazingness! amazingocity! amazingtown!).
And I thought about it a lot after I finished reading. And, sure, there might be a lesson in it, but pick it up because it's wonderful and skilfully written and full of characters that you can imagine living in your town. It's one of my favourite books read this year (up there with Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley and Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan). It's six shades of brilliant and you'd be crazy not to check it out.
April 14, 2016
The blurb of this book gave me such high hopes. But the rest of it did not live up to my expectations at all.
My first problem was the promise of 6 points of view. But really, Sarah was the main character, and no one else was that important. I didn't get to know any of the other characters well. The point of multiple pov's is so you can see things from different eyes. Not the same even 6 times, with the only real description coming from Sarah. Why not just write the whole thing from her point of view?
Sarah was also the only one with any real personality. The others had no depth to them. They showed tiny parts of them that could have been interesting, but were never mentioned again. There was absolutely no character development, or anything that made me want to like the other 5.
Then there was the body. I mean, who would really decide not to call the police? This book tried to be "realistic fiction". But I know a lot of stupid people, and all of them would call the police if they found a dead body in the woods. It's just common sense. The way it was explained at the end was good, and actually kind of clever, but I was annoyed with that part of the plot from the beginning. Only Nico seemed affected by it at all. It was sort of thrown in there just so we had something to focus on.
The car crash, mentioned in the very first part of the book, was actually a very minor part of the story. They kept mentioning it, like it was the main focus of the book. Then, at the end, it was skimmed over. I wanted to know what happened during, and why (in detail). I wanted to know what happened afterwards. Most importantly, I wanted to know who died, because it was incredibly hard to work out. I had to read other reviews to find out!
This book was not a lead up to a car crash, like it promised to be. It was the story of kids who found a dead body, but didn't care a bit. And not even a particularly well done one. That's not what I signed up for!
My first problem was the promise of 6 points of view. But really, Sarah was the main character, and no one else was that important. I didn't get to know any of the other characters well. The point of multiple pov's is so you can see things from different eyes. Not the same even 6 times, with the only real description coming from Sarah. Why not just write the whole thing from her point of view?
Sarah was also the only one with any real personality. The others had no depth to them. They showed tiny parts of them that could have been interesting, but were never mentioned again. There was absolutely no character development, or anything that made me want to like the other 5.
Then there was the body. I mean, who would really decide not to call the police? This book tried to be "realistic fiction". But I know a lot of stupid people, and all of them would call the police if they found a dead body in the woods. It's just common sense. The way it was explained at the end was good, and actually kind of clever, but I was annoyed with that part of the plot from the beginning. Only Nico seemed affected by it at all. It was sort of thrown in there just so we had something to focus on.
The car crash, mentioned in the very first part of the book, was actually a very minor part of the story. They kept mentioning it, like it was the main focus of the book. Then, at the end, it was skimmed over. I wanted to know what happened during, and why (in detail). I wanted to know what happened afterwards. Most importantly, I wanted to know who died, because it was incredibly hard to work out. I had to read other reviews to find out!
This book was not a lead up to a car crash, like it promised to be. It was the story of kids who found a dead body, but didn't care a bit. And not even a particularly well done one. That's not what I signed up for!
January 16, 2014
Be warned, this review is a bit spoiler-ish so please don't read this if you haven't read the book.
Okay, so I saw this book in the library, and it intrigued me. The back cover description sounded so interesting, even though it was only a short 15 word blurb.
However, I did not love this book. I had build up an expectation based on the blurb, and the book is barely based on that at all aside from a very small portion. The whole time I was reading, I felt like I was just trying to get through backstory to get to the main part, which never came til the end - I would have loved for it to have been more detailed with the actual crash.
I did like how the book ended - that part was unexpected to me and it was a good twist. I didn't consider that kind of ending throughout the book, and it also now puts a bit more perspective on why so much of the book was from one specific character.
The main thing that really ruined it for me though was the start, when they found the body and chose not to call the police. I thought that was a stupid decision, considering none of them had been involved, they had no motive, didn't have previous problems with the law... it didn't make sense to me. The area wasn't illegal to be in, just unliked by their parents. So why not call the police? It made the character's personalities seem extremely weak.
And the information that came at the end regarding who actually found the body first, still didn't make it more comprehensible that they'd not call the police.
So overall, this wasn't a book that I loved, and not one I will re-read. It was a little disappointing because that blurb on the cover is the perfect start to what could be a different, but fantastic story.
Okay, so I saw this book in the library, and it intrigued me. The back cover description sounded so interesting, even though it was only a short 15 word blurb.
However, I did not love this book. I had build up an expectation based on the blurb, and the book is barely based on that at all aside from a very small portion. The whole time I was reading, I felt like I was just trying to get through backstory to get to the main part, which never came til the end - I would have loved for it to have been more detailed with the actual crash.
I did like how the book ended - that part was unexpected to me and it was a good twist. I didn't consider that kind of ending throughout the book, and it also now puts a bit more perspective on why so much of the book was from one specific character.
The main thing that really ruined it for me though was the start, when they found the body and chose not to call the police. I thought that was a stupid decision, considering none of them had been involved, they had no motive, didn't have previous problems with the law... it didn't make sense to me. The area wasn't illegal to be in, just unliked by their parents. So why not call the police? It made the character's personalities seem extremely weak.
And the information that came at the end regarding who actually found the body first, still didn't make it more comprehensible that they'd not call the police.
So overall, this wasn't a book that I loved, and not one I will re-read. It was a little disappointing because that blurb on the cover is the perfect start to what could be a different, but fantastic story.
January 26, 2023
Ummmmm, this book is… yeah. Sooooo mid. Maybe even below mid. There’s just too many things happening I couldn’t keep up and was lowkey confused sometimes. There’s 6 characters but I couldn’t really relate or care for any of them lol. Maybe just one which was Sarah. I admired her view on school and life and how she cared so much about her education and how year 12 was going to be her year like you go girl!! The fact she had that girl boss attitude like damn bro. But anyways other then that I was just so lost. I lowkey think its because I prefer books where it focuses on one person in detail and their character throughout the book and several life changing events rather than puzzles of a story through different people. But I want to read more books like this because it’ll make me more insightful, this is the first book I’ve read that was more than 2 people’s perspectives yanno so obviously I’m gonna have a hard time understanding everything but I feel like if I read more books like this it’ll be good for my brain to get me thinking of a lot of POVs irl. I feel like that’s all I can say about it. I’m so confused about who killed the person like what and also who died at the end??? Like seriously who died at the end?? But anyways yeah that’s all.
November 4, 2012
This was a really gripping book! I loved the author's writing and the climatic build up to the anticipated explosive ending. The little nursery rhymes at the start of each chapter added a eery feel and the six POVs actually helped the story. Each character had their own personality and issues. I would have given this five stars if it wasn't for the truly disappointing ending. The ending was rushed, confusing (who died at the end?) and a let-down. I was expecting something BIG. Maybe I got my hopes up.
April 8, 2012
I LOVED this. How it was planned, how it was written, the characters ; amazing.
The bit I hated, like to the pits HATED was the sad ending.
If you want a happy ending, go somewhere else.
The bit I hated, like to the pits HATED was the sad ending.
If you want a happy ending, go somewhere else.
July 7, 2014
It was a good book, but I cannot for the life of me what happened in the end. Not a very good ending, unfortunately. It didn't make sense, however, I went out and bought the book so I could reread it again to figure out what happened, so in a way I guess the marketing aspect was spot on.
February 21, 2024
This had an interesting premise and I liked the beginning of this when they were in the woods. But as it went on I got bored. I didn't care about any of the characters and I started skimming it to get to the end.
Want to read
September 12, 2011SIX POVs? Wowza. :|
September 21, 2024
Read for school - it didn’t take me this long to read I promise. Ending surprised me; but characters were very simple. Story is great and overall a really good read.
March 4, 2025
While I believe the story definitely had the trappings of something I'd enjoy, It fell just short of that mark to me. I found the initial premise rather enticing as a fan of both the genre & multi-perspective medias, and the prologue did well to grab my attention. Yet, the more I read, the more it began to fall flat. The unbalanced distribution of 'screen time' between the cast leaves the certain characters feeling pretty undeveloped. The majority of the middle chapters felt like filler, with little mention of anything that actually drew me to read in the first place, and this middle drags on too long to give the conclusion enough time to actually have any impact.
While I can't say I disliked Six— there was plenty I did rather enjoy, like Poppy's character & her relationship with both Nico and Sarah, I can't say I found it to be too good of a read for me.
While I can't say I disliked Six— there was plenty I did rather enjoy, like Poppy's character & her relationship with both Nico and Sarah, I can't say I found it to be too good of a read for me.
May 25, 2024
Content warnings: death, car accident, drug use, cheating
I absolutely devoured this and while it wasn't at all what I was expecting it to be, it WAS strangely compelling. I did find that there was probably one too many narrators, and as a result I had to reread the last couple of chapters several times before things sank in, but that's very definitely a Me Thing and the fact that I was trying to finish the entire book in the space of a single class so I probably wasn't paying attention to some of the details quite as closely as I could have.
I absolutely devoured this and while it wasn't at all what I was expecting it to be, it WAS strangely compelling. I did find that there was probably one too many narrators, and as a result I had to reread the last couple of chapters several times before things sank in, but that's very definitely a Me Thing and the fact that I was trying to finish the entire book in the space of a single class so I probably wasn't paying attention to some of the details quite as closely as I could have.
February 16, 2018
Skimmed this one quickly for a class talk, however it was a thrilling journey the whole way. I enjoyed the premise of 6 teens on the verge of adult-hood, in the last six months of Year 12. The build up after the first disturbing event described at the beginning of the book, and then the shocking discovery by the teens in The Woods, was satisfying and made for a good page-turner. Use of different POV was interesting, and the twist at the end wrapped up this quick read well.
December 20, 2018
A little slow to begin with and I was almost ready to give up reading but it is a small book so I gave it the benefit of the doubt.
And then I realised what the ending would be..... just not to the extent of how it would be written.
I shivered reading the final paragraph
Overall an interesting idea and an easy, short read
And then I realised what the ending would be..... just not to the extent of how it would be written.
I shivered reading the final paragraph
Overall an interesting idea and an easy, short read
June 11, 2023
i was going to rate this two stars because i was so confused, and then i reread the last line and then everything clicked for me. ohmygosh. i am a sucker for sad endings. also the writing and characterisartion was great so it was an easy read. still, it wasn't really as exciting as i'd hoped which is probably because i assumed it was a murder mystery and it wasn't. i need to stop doing that.
September 3, 2023
Watch me change this to a one star after I sleep on how much I was disappointed by this book. It felt like a draft for a general plot that just got published and passed off as a completed work. It had the bones, just absolutely no execution. I only finished it because it was so short and someone recommended it to me.
January 2, 2026
This book is definitely a good and easy read, the story line is very similar to the book series of " one of us is lying " and the others, but takes its own place with new ideas and curve balls, it kept me very intrigued and I thought I couldn't read it fast enough!!!
I would read this all over again , that's when you know it's enjoyable!
I would read this all over again , that's when you know it's enjoyable!
September 4, 2022
I read this book when I was in high school and it instantly became my favourite book. Many years later, I remembered it and read it again as an adult. It was even better than I remember! Such a good read! Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a good easy to read book!
December 22, 2022
I loved this book and cannot wait to teach it next year. Great text
August 14, 2024
Um im confused also no idea what to rate this
April 9, 2025
There were 203 pages in my book; I couldn't find an edition for it. It was alright, I had to read this for school, It was pretty good but a book I won't remember.
June 15, 2025
super boring. I feel like she was just drawing the whole plot out. I dropped it
November 8, 2012
This is a great book. A book about that time in a teenager’s life when they are teetering on the precipice of adulthood, looking back over their shoulder at their childhood and knowing there is only one way to fall. It’s a book about friends, school, growing up and all the awful stuff that goes with it.
Karen Tayleur’s prologue lets us know that this story is not going to end well.
“…inside the overturned car, a mobile phone breaks into a musical ringtone. It is someone checking up on a daughter or a son or a friend. But no one will answer it.”
With this ominous beginning we enter the world of 5 friends who become linked by an unusual event – the discovery of a body in the local woods. The beginning of the story is related by Sarah, who I would call the chief protagonist. Friends Sarah, Poppy, Virginia, Finn, and Nico stumble across the corpse as they take a shortcut home. They don’t tell anyone about it. Nico places his shirt over the dead girl’s face and then, realising it may implicate him in the death (although he is innocent) seeks to retrieve it. When his girlfriend Poppy returns to get the shirt (Nico has been in trouble with the police in the past), it is gone. The book follows the ins and outs of the characters’ lives after their grisly discovery and how each of them deals with the fallout and the worrying mystery of the missing shirt.
Each of the characters tells part of the story and slowly a picture builds of the group and a sense of impending tragedy starts to gain momentum.
Sarah is studious and wants to be a doctor, Poppy believes she has psychic powers, Nico just wants to lay low, Finn has recently faked a break-up with Virginia so they can continue seeing each other after her parents forbid it. Virginia is the typical “popular” girl – caught up in the banal and superficial. Cooper is obsessed with Virginia.
In the background, they are all getting ready to attend the Senior Formal and there are relationship issues to deal with too.
Nico is struggling with guilt about the dead body and also with someone who taunts him with phone calls telling him they know about the missing shirt. Cooper, desperate to land Virginia, manages to get her as his formal date. Sarah yearns for Finn, who seems to be interested in her, despite Virginia’s protestations, Poppy worries about everyone – especially the troubled Nico and her best mate Sarah, who seems to be pulling away from her.
The night of the formal arrives and it is heavily laden with guilt, recrimination and revelations. No spoliers, but the six end up in the same car together and the novel ends as it began, with Sarah speaking to us.
I really enjoyed this story. The device of using the six characters to fill in the story works well, as does the clever use of nursery rhyme lines at the beginning of each chapter, emphasising the leaving of and longing for childish things and the inevitable push to adulthood.
An Australian coming-of-age story, but easily accessible to teenagers from anywhere, I commend you to read it.
Ages 14 and up
Karen Tayleur’s prologue lets us know that this story is not going to end well.
“…inside the overturned car, a mobile phone breaks into a musical ringtone. It is someone checking up on a daughter or a son or a friend. But no one will answer it.”
With this ominous beginning we enter the world of 5 friends who become linked by an unusual event – the discovery of a body in the local woods. The beginning of the story is related by Sarah, who I would call the chief protagonist. Friends Sarah, Poppy, Virginia, Finn, and Nico stumble across the corpse as they take a shortcut home. They don’t tell anyone about it. Nico places his shirt over the dead girl’s face and then, realising it may implicate him in the death (although he is innocent) seeks to retrieve it. When his girlfriend Poppy returns to get the shirt (Nico has been in trouble with the police in the past), it is gone. The book follows the ins and outs of the characters’ lives after their grisly discovery and how each of them deals with the fallout and the worrying mystery of the missing shirt.
Each of the characters tells part of the story and slowly a picture builds of the group and a sense of impending tragedy starts to gain momentum.
Sarah is studious and wants to be a doctor, Poppy believes she has psychic powers, Nico just wants to lay low, Finn has recently faked a break-up with Virginia so they can continue seeing each other after her parents forbid it. Virginia is the typical “popular” girl – caught up in the banal and superficial. Cooper is obsessed with Virginia.
In the background, they are all getting ready to attend the Senior Formal and there are relationship issues to deal with too.
Nico is struggling with guilt about the dead body and also with someone who taunts him with phone calls telling him they know about the missing shirt. Cooper, desperate to land Virginia, manages to get her as his formal date. Sarah yearns for Finn, who seems to be interested in her, despite Virginia’s protestations, Poppy worries about everyone – especially the troubled Nico and her best mate Sarah, who seems to be pulling away from her.
The night of the formal arrives and it is heavily laden with guilt, recrimination and revelations. No spoliers, but the six end up in the same car together and the novel ends as it began, with Sarah speaking to us.
I really enjoyed this story. The device of using the six characters to fill in the story works well, as does the clever use of nursery rhyme lines at the beginning of each chapter, emphasising the leaving of and longing for childish things and the inevitable push to adulthood.
An Australian coming-of-age story, but easily accessible to teenagers from anywhere, I commend you to read it.
Ages 14 and up
September 1, 2014
This review originally appeared in Viewpoint: On Books for Young Adults.
Six people. Five seatbelts. Six teenagers involved in a horrific car crash, but who has died? After this reader-catching prologue, Karen Tayleur’s Six jumps backwards to follow the teenagers through half of their final high school year. Sarah is organised, dutiful, but having doubts about her future career path. Sarah’s best friend, the possibly psychic Poppy, has recently added stressed-out athlete Nico to her long string of boyfriends. Sarah’s secret crush, Finn, and his long-term girlfriend Virginia have recently pretended to break up. And Cooper? Cooper’s just creepy. One summer day, a discovery in the woods and a few bad choices links five of the six teenagers firmly together. School, relationships, license tests, upcoming exams and parties dominate their everyday lives, but the memory of that day hovers in the back of all their minds. And when Nico starts to receive anonymous “I know what you did last summer”-style text messages, he realises that a sixth person shares knowledge of their secret.
Six main characters sounds like a lot to navigate, but Tayleur handles the different voices easily. There are relatively few satellite characters, so keeping tabs on the six viewpoints never becomes confusing. The writing is snappy and suspenseful – this is easily a book that can be knocked off in a sitting. Unfortunately, the resolution of the two mysteries – who dies in the car crash, and who knows what the teenagers found in the woods that day – is problematic. The motives of Nico’s mystery texter are not revealed, and their importance is essentially shrugged off. And while the funeral scene at the end of the book reveals the dead teen’s identity with a cleverly constructed twist, it negates the emotional impact the revelation should have had and the ‘safety message’ Six intended to convey.
Six people. Five seatbelts. Six teenagers involved in a horrific car crash, but who has died? After this reader-catching prologue, Karen Tayleur’s Six jumps backwards to follow the teenagers through half of their final high school year. Sarah is organised, dutiful, but having doubts about her future career path. Sarah’s best friend, the possibly psychic Poppy, has recently added stressed-out athlete Nico to her long string of boyfriends. Sarah’s secret crush, Finn, and his long-term girlfriend Virginia have recently pretended to break up. And Cooper? Cooper’s just creepy. One summer day, a discovery in the woods and a few bad choices links five of the six teenagers firmly together. School, relationships, license tests, upcoming exams and parties dominate their everyday lives, but the memory of that day hovers in the back of all their minds. And when Nico starts to receive anonymous “I know what you did last summer”-style text messages, he realises that a sixth person shares knowledge of their secret.
Six main characters sounds like a lot to navigate, but Tayleur handles the different voices easily. There are relatively few satellite characters, so keeping tabs on the six viewpoints never becomes confusing. The writing is snappy and suspenseful – this is easily a book that can be knocked off in a sitting. Unfortunately, the resolution of the two mysteries – who dies in the car crash, and who knows what the teenagers found in the woods that day – is problematic. The motives of Nico’s mystery texter are not revealed, and their importance is essentially shrugged off. And while the funeral scene at the end of the book reveals the dead teen’s identity with a cleverly constructed twist, it negates the emotional impact the revelation should have had and the ‘safety message’ Six intended to convey.
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