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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
What an exceptional debut. Beautiful, powerful, emotional, and inspirational, this novel has it all.
Jenna and Amelia are best friends. The kind of best friends who are basically sisters. Amelia has become part of Jenna's family - going on family trips with them, getting her own place at the dinner table, and discussing and planning the future together.
For graduation, Jenna's parents gift the girls a trip to a book event where they'll get to meet their favorite author, N.E. Endsley. At the event, Amelia rushes to the bathroom before they plan to get in line to meet N.E. Endsley. While she's gone, Jenna happens to make acquaintance with the elusive and mysterious author himself. When Amelia returns, an announcement is made that N.E. Endsley will no longer be attending the event and the tickets will be refunded.
Amelia is crushed about missing her opportunity to meet her favorite author and when she learns that Jenna had met him and apparently helped him decide to leave, she is devastated and hurt.
Shortly after returning home, Jenna heads off to Ireland for one last summer internship before college. The girls part ways, tension still between them.
Shockingly, Jenna is killed in a car accident while in Ireland. Emotional and grief stricken, Amelia is floored when the 101st (of 100) edition of N.E. Endsley's first book is to delivered to her. Convinced Jenna had a grander plan for Amelia and the book, even after her death, Amelia decides to visit the little bookshop where the collector's edition came from. What unfolds is a magical story of forgiveness, grief, and friendship.
This was such a powerful novel and the devastation Amelia experienced could be felt through the pages. The character development was really well done and it was easy to connect with the characters and empathize with their situations.
I felt that the characters were a bit young for their eighteen years, making this book very YA, but it worked for the storyline. This will be a great read for anyone who really enjoys young adult novels with substance, emotion, and strong characters.
Part coming of age, part book about a book, this is one that cannot be missed.
Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for a copy of this novel.
Jenna and Amelia are best friends. The kind of best friends who are basically sisters. Amelia has become part of Jenna's family - going on family trips with them, getting her own place at the dinner table, and discussing and planning the future together.
For graduation, Jenna's parents gift the girls a trip to a book event where they'll get to meet their favorite author, N.E. Endsley. At the event, Amelia rushes to the bathroom before they plan to get in line to meet N.E. Endsley. While she's gone, Jenna happens to make acquaintance with the elusive and mysterious author himself. When Amelia returns, an announcement is made that N.E. Endsley will no longer be attending the event and the tickets will be refunded.
Amelia is crushed about missing her opportunity to meet her favorite author and when she learns that Jenna had met him and apparently helped him decide to leave, she is devastated and hurt.
Shortly after returning home, Jenna heads off to Ireland for one last summer internship before college. The girls part ways, tension still between them.
Shockingly, Jenna is killed in a car accident while in Ireland. Emotional and grief stricken, Amelia is floored when the 101st (of 100) edition of N.E. Endsley's first book is to delivered to her. Convinced Jenna had a grander plan for Amelia and the book, even after her death, Amelia decides to visit the little bookshop where the collector's edition came from. What unfolds is a magical story of forgiveness, grief, and friendship.
This was such a powerful novel and the devastation Amelia experienced could be felt through the pages. The character development was really well done and it was easy to connect with the characters and empathize with their situations.
I felt that the characters were a bit young for their eighteen years, making this book very YA, but it worked for the storyline. This will be a great read for anyone who really enjoys young adult novels with substance, emotion, and strong characters.
Part coming of age, part book about a book, this is one that cannot be missed.
Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for a copy of this novel.
I just read a book that I already know will be in my top 10 for the year. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was in my top 5. Amelia Unabridged is freaking MAGICAL. I spent all day taking my time reading this book. Usually I read quickly...I savored this book. If I could give ten stars for this book I would.
If we’re lucky enough, we have that one person in our life who is truly our “person.” They know our quirks, our favorite things.
When Amelia loses her person, it sets off many feelings for her. But then she gets a mysterious package, and sets out to find out who sent it.
What happens next is the magical part. I don’t like spoilers and don’t want to give too much away. But I truly hope you read this book and love it as much as I do.
If we’re lucky enough, we have that one person in our life who is truly our “person.” They know our quirks, our favorite things.
When Amelia loses her person, it sets off many feelings for her. But then she gets a mysterious package, and sets out to find out who sent it.
What happens next is the magical part. I don’t like spoilers and don’t want to give too much away. But I truly hope you read this book and love it as much as I do.
This a story for book lovers, a story for those who have lost, a story for people who believe in a little bit of magic.
This book pulled me in right from the prologue with the friendship between Jenna and Amelia and didn’t let go until the last pages left me with tears in my eyes. The characters in this book were all wonderful people (maybe unrealistically so, but that didn’t bother me), and they all found a place in my heart. This is a book I’ll recommend to anyone.
This book pulled me in right from the prologue with the friendship between Jenna and Amelia and didn’t let go until the last pages left me with tears in my eyes. The characters in this book were all wonderful people (maybe unrealistically so, but that didn’t bother me), and they all found a place in my heart. This is a book I’ll recommend to anyone.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
This books is beautiful. The grief so palpable that I could feel it in my bones. I didn't quite cry but I felt it in my chest.
I felt the pacing was a tad off which put me off reading it for a while but the slowness of the story I think actually made the impact feel more real.
There's always an element with YA that I find unrealistic (I.e. falling in love in short periods of time , being invited to stay in a strangers spare room etc.) But I just take that with a pinch of salt. The story could be made more realistic but then I feel it would lose some of its charm.
The epilogue was perfect, it didn't go into lots of detail after the characters future but gave enough to give it the perfect ending.
Now I need someone to write the Orman Chronicles please!
This books is beautiful. The grief so palpable that I could feel it in my bones. I didn't quite cry but I felt it in my chest.
I felt the pacing was a tad off which put me off reading it for a while but the slowness of the story I think actually made the impact feel more real.
There's always an element with YA that I find unrealistic (I.e. falling in love in short periods of time , being invited to stay in a strangers spare room etc.) But I just take that with a pinch of salt. The story could be made more realistic but then I feel it would lose some of its charm.
The epilogue was perfect, it didn't go into lots of detail after the characters future but gave enough to give it the perfect ending.
Now I need someone to write the Orman Chronicles please!
First of all, thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for an e-ARC of this novel.
TW: Grief, Loss of Loved Ones, Anxiety Attacks, Drowning, Car Crashes
A wonderful debut full of voice, friendship, and truthful moments.
Amelia Griffin is obsessed with books; more specifically with a fantasy series that both pulled her out of the dreary reality of her family life and became the building block for a solid friendship with her best friend Jenna. She's easily recognizable to us bookworms for her fervor and her idealization of this book series and of its mysterious, teenage author.
While Amelia is quiet and wants to go with the flow, Jenna is a drill sergeant with many, many plans for herself and for Amelia. Of course, when Jenna is killed in an accident, Amelia is left adrift. The arrival of a special, long-gone, edition of one of the books in their favorite series sends Amelia on a hunt for a part of Jenna.
Who she meets on that chase turns out to be Nolan, the reclusive author, his best friend Alex, his crazy dog Wally, and bookstore owner Val. Amelia fits in with them in a way she doesn't feel anywhere anymore.
The character arc for Amelia is very heartfelt and well mapped out. She grows from a follower into someone who's not scared to march into the unknown at the beat of her own drum.
The secondary characters aren't quite as fleshed out, not even Nolan who should have been better rounded out since he's the love interest. His own grief makes him and Amelia a compelling pairing, but the way Ashley Schumacher glosses over the very real work that goes into processing grief and trauma by making him all better through romance is not satisfying, realistic, or healthy. Hence the one star deduction.
The setting was well developed, Val's bookstore felt like another character in the book, and the language had an elegant simplicity to it.
This is a great quiet novel with a kind heart and a very solid debut from Ashley Schumacher.
TW: Grief, Loss of Loved Ones, Anxiety Attacks, Drowning, Car Crashes
A wonderful debut full of voice, friendship, and truthful moments.
Amelia Griffin is obsessed with books; more specifically with a fantasy series that both pulled her out of the dreary reality of her family life and became the building block for a solid friendship with her best friend Jenna. She's easily recognizable to us bookworms for her fervor and her idealization of this book series and of its mysterious, teenage author.
While Amelia is quiet and wants to go with the flow, Jenna is a drill sergeant with many, many plans for herself and for Amelia. Of course, when Jenna is killed in an accident, Amelia is left adrift. The arrival of a special, long-gone, edition of one of the books in their favorite series sends Amelia on a hunt for a part of Jenna.
Who she meets on that chase turns out to be Nolan, the reclusive author, his best friend Alex, his crazy dog Wally, and bookstore owner Val. Amelia fits in with them in a way she doesn't feel anywhere anymore.
The character arc for Amelia is very heartfelt and well mapped out. She grows from a follower into someone who's not scared to march into the unknown at the beat of her own drum.
The secondary characters aren't quite as fleshed out, not even Nolan who should have been better rounded out since he's the love interest. His own grief makes him and Amelia a compelling pairing, but the way Ashley Schumacher glosses over the very real work that goes into processing grief and trauma by making him all better through romance is not satisfying, realistic, or healthy. Hence the one star deduction.
The setting was well developed, Val's bookstore felt like another character in the book, and the language had an elegant simplicity to it.
This is a great quiet novel with a kind heart and a very solid debut from Ashley Schumacher.
Amelia Unabridged // by Ashley Schumacher
I have to be honest: I was very excited to read this one and it sadly did not hold up to my expectations. But I also have to be honest in another way: I'm not sure I can still judge YA books fairly in how they represent their genre after reading so many fantasy books that are written in a much different style. So I will present the way in which I enjoyed this book and what about it I did not like and you can judge for yourself whether this is a book you want to read. I still do think that overall there is a lot of potential and the author shows some good imagination in this debut novel.
The set up was great. I was very sad at the beginning when her best friend died, but when Amelia received a mysterious first edition of their favorite book, I was immediately intrigued. Of course I wanted to find out where it came from! Who wouldn't?! But the actual figuring out of mysteries and developing various relationships with different people along the way just seemed too... easy. There was a lot of convenient coincidence that made everything move along so smoothly and predictably to the point it leaves you wondering why the main character was every even worried about anything in the first place.
This book did have some serious issues it addressed though: there was grief and conflicting loyalties, self-interest and self-doubt, love, friendship, and resentment. There are all things that young adults have to learn how to handle and including them all in one story is admirable. It adds a lot of depth to the story. What I struggled with though is that while the themes were geared towards older young adults, the writing style seemed to point to the lower end of the YA spectrum. As a frequent reader of epic fantasy, I had a hard time getting used to that writing style. I know that it isn't entirely fair of me to judge this book the same way, which is why I mention that here. It allowed you to draw your own conclusions a little more accurately. While there are some paragraphs that are very fun in their descriptive ways, in other instances it reminded me of what some would call "purple prose." It felt like filler more than anything else and tended to pull me out of the flow of the story. It also felt a little repetitive in some instances. But again as I mentioned above, this is promising for future books by this author and I am definitely open to trying her books again.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I have to be honest: I was very excited to read this one and it sadly did not hold up to my expectations. But I also have to be honest in another way: I'm not sure I can still judge YA books fairly in how they represent their genre after reading so many fantasy books that are written in a much different style. So I will present the way in which I enjoyed this book and what about it I did not like and you can judge for yourself whether this is a book you want to read. I still do think that overall there is a lot of potential and the author shows some good imagination in this debut novel.
The set up was great. I was very sad at the beginning when her best friend died, but when Amelia received a mysterious first edition of their favorite book, I was immediately intrigued. Of course I wanted to find out where it came from! Who wouldn't?! But the actual figuring out of mysteries and developing various relationships with different people along the way just seemed too... easy. There was a lot of convenient coincidence that made everything move along so smoothly and predictably to the point it leaves you wondering why the main character was every even worried about anything in the first place.
This book did have some serious issues it addressed though: there was grief and conflicting loyalties, self-interest and self-doubt, love, friendship, and resentment. There are all things that young adults have to learn how to handle and including them all in one story is admirable. It adds a lot of depth to the story. What I struggled with though is that while the themes were geared towards older young adults, the writing style seemed to point to the lower end of the YA spectrum. As a frequent reader of epic fantasy, I had a hard time getting used to that writing style. I know that it isn't entirely fair of me to judge this book the same way, which is why I mention that here. It allowed you to draw your own conclusions a little more accurately. While there are some paragraphs that are very fun in their descriptive ways, in other instances it reminded me of what some would call "purple prose." It felt like filler more than anything else and tended to pull me out of the flow of the story. It also felt a little repetitive in some instances. But again as I mentioned above, this is promising for future books by this author and I am definitely open to trying her books again.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Grief and death is universal experience that will at least happen once in everyone's life. Yet it is too often glossed over or made into a blurred experience when it comes to how youth experience it. Amelia Unabridged brings the authentic rareness of the experience to the forefront. Amelia's emotions are heavy and thick which at some moments can be suffocating but mirror grief. Her only saving grace is the tie she has to a series of books and a preset plan for the future. Schumacher does an amazing style of writing where the reader will think it's poetry that is being read. The descriptions and emotions are tied to beautiful lyrical sentences. Emotion is carried on the backs of whales and slobbery tounges. Because Amelia is struggling through her own grief, she is able to help others with their own grief. Yet, I had hoped the romance would have been a secondary plot to the real important one of grief. In moments it seemed to be sunshine and rainbows and them without a smooth transition moved back to black. But I have to admit as well that transitions of grieving are often felt in a similar manner. In the last third of the book, the lyrical prose and sentence structure can be a little overwhelming and overdone. Taking away from the strong universal emotions the characters are going through.
I haven’t cried this much in awhile, holy shit. I swear I was crying on the first chapter and I was sobbing by the last three. I feel like the book hit home for me. It doesn’t hit you over the head by being too serious- it’s perfectly silly and a normal meet-cute at times too- but at the same time it’s a great story about sinking in grief, coming to terms with it, and struggling with who you’ve become from the “before” to the “after”. Grief and struggling to figure out who you want to be are so raw, and Schumacher writes it perfectly into a girl (who I could totally see as myself) and a boy that found each other just when they needed to. I love found family stories and this is another one that’ll pull at your heartstrings. The epilogue was, well mean is what I thought at first, but perfect in that it kept the character of the story while tying it up with realness.
I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway and I am SO incredibly glad I did- it was fate! I absolutely loved this story and cried many times from the beautiful relationships and harsh realities of becoming an adult and losing people you love. Love this and can't wait to read more from this author.
Holy cow did I love this book. Schumacher creates an achingly beautiful story, with vibrant characters of such depth it took my breath away. This book gave me all the feels, and I can't tell you how many times I cried. It shows us grief and heartache and loss and healing and love so, so well. But as much as I cried, I know I smiled more.
Amelia's home life is falling apart when she meets Jenna at the local bookstore. The two become inseparable best friends quickly. They have everything planned out after graduation – go to a book festival to meet their favorite author N.E. Endsley and then go off to college together as roommates. That all changes in an instant when Jenna dies while away on a trip. Amelia is unmoored, and alone. She decides to travel to Michigan to track down the mysterious sender of a special edition of one of Endsley's books. There, she comes face to face to Ednsley himself. Will she be able to come back to herself and learn to risk her heart again?
Amelia Unabridged moved me from its first pages. It's lyrical and lovely. I read it in about two sittings. Ashley Schumacher does an outstanding job of showing us the magic of words and how books really are magic.
I don't know how any bibliophile would be able to resist this one. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. It's a gorgeous contemporary with a sweet romance.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Amelia's home life is falling apart when she meets Jenna at the local bookstore. The two become inseparable best friends quickly. They have everything planned out after graduation – go to a book festival to meet their favorite author N.E. Endsley and then go off to college together as roommates. That all changes in an instant when Jenna dies while away on a trip. Amelia is unmoored, and alone. She decides to travel to Michigan to track down the mysterious sender of a special edition of one of Endsley's books. There, she comes face to face to Ednsley himself. Will she be able to come back to herself and learn to risk her heart again?
Amelia Unabridged moved me from its first pages. It's lyrical and lovely. I read it in about two sittings. Ashley Schumacher does an outstanding job of showing us the magic of words and how books really are magic.
I don't know how any bibliophile would be able to resist this one. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. It's a gorgeous contemporary with a sweet romance.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.