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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
I adored this. 4.5 stars for me (.5 off because I super hated Nolan throughout like half of the book).
I loved the magic of Orman, and books, and scavenger hunts and mysterious packages. I wish Val’s was a real place because I would love to explore the bookstore and the Victorian room and the travel room, and see the weird sink in the guest bedroom.
This book was emotional and real and sweetly poignant. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it in the beginning (Jenna, in particular, gave me pause) but it definitely won me over. I loved the epilogue and I LOVED the very end of the acknowledgements. Also some (most) of the writing was just absolutely gorgeous!! So lyrical and lovely.
I loved the magic of Orman, and books, and scavenger hunts and mysterious packages. I wish Val’s was a real place because I would love to explore the bookstore and the Victorian room and the travel room, and see the weird sink in the guest bedroom.
This book was emotional and real and sweetly poignant. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it in the beginning (Jenna, in particular, gave me pause) but it definitely won me over. I loved the epilogue and I LOVED the very end of the acknowledgements. Also some (most) of the writing was just absolutely gorgeous!! So lyrical and lovely.
This book is just… GORGEOUS. If you grew up hiding and running away in books, escaping from trauma, living through stories that seemed to be created just for you, this book will strike many chords with you, as it did with me.
Amelia and Jenna meet in their early teens, and are brought together by the famous Orman Chronicles, and their mutual love for books. While Amelia’s small family broke apart when her father left (right before her friendship with Jenna blossoms), Jenna comes from a stable, and loving family who takes Amelia under their wing. The girls get the chance of their lifetime to meet the young author of the Orman Chronicles, N. E. Endsley right after they graduate high school, but only Jenna ends up meeting him, leaving Amelia feeling angry and upset. Not long afterwards Jenna leaves for Ireland for the summer, and dies in a car accident. When Amelia receives a very special edition of the Orman Chronicles from a bookstore she has never heard of she believes that Jenna is trying to send her message from the great beyond, and embarks on a trip that will change everything for her.
This is a beautiful story on the topic of grief, but also on endurance, and learning about oneself and what one is capable of. The narrative has this wonderful balance of fantasy and reality, fantasy where stories are created to manage trauma and grief, reality where the protagonists live, learn, and finally move forward. I absolutely loved how the author integrates the love of reading into the story, something that resonated so much with me, a person who has loved books from the moment I could read. There literally is no better place than a bookstore for me, and my idea of a perfect date would be to browse and lounge in a bookstore for hours, talking about books and people watching.
Amelia Unabridged is marked as YA, but it will touch the hearts of anyone, at any age. I really am looking forward to reading more of Amy Schumacher’s work after this!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Amelia and Jenna meet in their early teens, and are brought together by the famous Orman Chronicles, and their mutual love for books. While Amelia’s small family broke apart when her father left (right before her friendship with Jenna blossoms), Jenna comes from a stable, and loving family who takes Amelia under their wing. The girls get the chance of their lifetime to meet the young author of the Orman Chronicles, N. E. Endsley right after they graduate high school, but only Jenna ends up meeting him, leaving Amelia feeling angry and upset. Not long afterwards Jenna leaves for Ireland for the summer, and dies in a car accident. When Amelia receives a very special edition of the Orman Chronicles from a bookstore she has never heard of she believes that Jenna is trying to send her message from the great beyond, and embarks on a trip that will change everything for her.
This is a beautiful story on the topic of grief, but also on endurance, and learning about oneself and what one is capable of. The narrative has this wonderful balance of fantasy and reality, fantasy where stories are created to manage trauma and grief, reality where the protagonists live, learn, and finally move forward. I absolutely loved how the author integrates the love of reading into the story, something that resonated so much with me, a person who has loved books from the moment I could read. There literally is no better place than a bookstore for me, and my idea of a perfect date would be to browse and lounge in a bookstore for hours, talking about books and people watching.
Amelia Unabridged is marked as YA, but it will touch the hearts of anyone, at any age. I really am looking forward to reading more of Amy Schumacher’s work after this!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating 5
Wow. Having just finished reading "Amelia Unabridged" by Ashley Schumacher I am at a loss for words. When I started reading this book I knew I stumbled upon something beautiful but it was more than that. Once you start reading this book it is so hard to put down and return to everyday life. How Amelia feels about books is exactly how I feel about books. Your favorite book world is always on your mind and you never want it to go. I thought the author captured this love perfectly. I loved the little references to other books and how it was compared to her own. This book will make you want to re-read an old favorite just so you can capture that feeling that you once had. If you have not experienced what Amelia is experiencing with Orman then sadly you are missing out and you NEED to go searching. What Amelia went through in losing Jenna and the promise she felt she had to keep to her felt so real and relatable. She lost her better half and it left her alone and confused which is of course normal. During this time Amelia had no enjoyment from reading because she was too burdened by her grief. She was too angry, hurt, sad, and guilty to focus on the words on the page. Personally, I think all readers will go through this in their life but with help from a loved one they can find that enjoyment in reading again. I honestly loved all of the characters in this book. They were all written so well having their own emotions, personalities and likable traits. I loved how the bookstore was described and have actually visited a bookstore like this and like Amelia I never wanted to leave.
Should you read "Amelia Unabridged"?
YES!! This book shows a character struggling with grief who doesn't want to lose their friend who is already gone.They struggle with keeping old pinky promises or deciding what is better for them no matter the cost. You will want to follow Amelia as she struggles quietly cheering her on. I guarantee this book will make you feel again.
**Received an advanced copy through NetGalley in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **
Wow. Having just finished reading "Amelia Unabridged" by Ashley Schumacher I am at a loss for words. When I started reading this book I knew I stumbled upon something beautiful but it was more than that. Once you start reading this book it is so hard to put down and return to everyday life. How Amelia feels about books is exactly how I feel about books. Your favorite book world is always on your mind and you never want it to go. I thought the author captured this love perfectly. I loved the little references to other books and how it was compared to her own. This book will make you want to re-read an old favorite just so you can capture that feeling that you once had. If you have not experienced what Amelia is experiencing with Orman then sadly you are missing out and you NEED to go searching. What Amelia went through in losing Jenna and the promise she felt she had to keep to her felt so real and relatable. She lost her better half and it left her alone and confused which is of course normal. During this time Amelia had no enjoyment from reading because she was too burdened by her grief. She was too angry, hurt, sad, and guilty to focus on the words on the page. Personally, I think all readers will go through this in their life but with help from a loved one they can find that enjoyment in reading again. I honestly loved all of the characters in this book. They were all written so well having their own emotions, personalities and likable traits. I loved how the bookstore was described and have actually visited a bookstore like this and like Amelia I never wanted to leave.
Should you read "Amelia Unabridged"?
YES!! This book shows a character struggling with grief who doesn't want to lose their friend who is already gone.They struggle with keeping old pinky promises or deciding what is better for them no matter the cost. You will want to follow Amelia as she struggles quietly cheering her on. I guarantee this book will make you feel again.
**Received an advanced copy through NetGalley in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **
I am livid. The suspension of disbelief this book asks from me is just monumental, and the way it treats (insta-) love as a magical cure for trauma, anxiety and grief - all in the span of a week - makes my skin crawl. As someone who lived through all three, it feels wrong and harmful and I'm so pissed right now. Having the characters acknowledge how unbelievable it all feels doesn't make it right, because it's still there, and it's not cute. Unpopular opinion for sure, but I can't get behind this kind :
... of manufactured bullshit. I just can't. And I know most people won't get it. I know, and it's okay. They'll talk about how we can enjoy things and that it doesn't matter if it's not believable, that love does conquer all after all. But what happens when love isn't enough? Do you understand how utterly bleak and unlovable we feel when whole swathes of popular culture repeatedly shove down our throats that real love should "cure" us when we know it will never be that simple? When we know we're in love, but that doesn't mean that we're magically transformed into some neurotypical perfect fantasy? That's why I can't ever enjoy this kind of novels, and I won't apologize for that.
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"He squeezes my hand. "I'll always be okay when I'm with you, Amelia."
... of manufactured bullshit. I just can't. And I know most people won't get it. I know, and it's okay. They'll talk about how we can enjoy things and that it doesn't matter if it's not believable, that love does conquer all after all. But what happens when love isn't enough? Do you understand how utterly bleak and unlovable we feel when whole swathes of popular culture repeatedly shove down our throats that real love should "cure" us when we know it will never be that simple? When we know we're in love, but that doesn't mean that we're magically transformed into some neurotypical perfect fantasy? That's why I can't ever enjoy this kind of novels, and I won't apologize for that.
For more of my reviews, please visit:
holy shiiiiiit it was so good and also?? i think i dehydrated myself crying. this is a masterpiece debut
a book about grief, loss, acceptance, and forgiving yourself, amelia unabridged is a beautiful story. but i still felt a little underwhelmed.
- insta-love all the way: just because your characters have acknowledged the insta-love doesn't make it any less bad! along with that, this book bordered on the "the love interest heals all " trope which was also not that great. like please go to therapy and don't listen to your gen z boyfriend! i think often with two characters both with emotional scars, they rely on each other strongly in a naive way, where they think their love interest can cure all their problems, and so we got a insta-lovey relationship with no actual communication. it's a trope that is often really harmful, and made me a tad bit uncomfortable.
- otherwise; this book just lacked the spark everyone promised me? 2015-2016 gaby read a lot of mental health and trauma books, so maybe this book just slipped through the cracks for me? this book talks about mental health and grief in a thoughtful and meaningful way, but it's not really anything i haven't heard before. nothing ground breaking, nothing special, and nothing that makes me feel the need to rate it any higher than i have.
- insta-love all the way: just because your characters have acknowledged the insta-love doesn't make it any less bad! along with that, this book bordered on the "the love interest heals all " trope which was also not that great. like please go to therapy and don't listen to your gen z boyfriend! i think often with two characters both with emotional scars, they rely on each other strongly in a naive way, where they think their love interest can cure all their problems, and so we got a insta-lovey relationship with no actual communication. it's a trope that is often really harmful, and made me a tad bit uncomfortable.
- otherwise; this book just lacked the spark everyone promised me? 2015-2016 gaby read a lot of mental health and trauma books, so maybe this book just slipped through the cracks for me? this book talks about mental health and grief in a thoughtful and meaningful way, but it's not really anything i haven't heard before. nothing ground breaking, nothing special, and nothing that makes me feel the need to rate it any higher than i have.
I feel like it's hard for me to review books about grief as I myself have never actually experienced it and I don't exactly know what it's like. Obviously it's different for different people but still, it's hard for me to review this book.
The writing and the actual plot was great, it was really nice, easy to read writing and a sweet plot as well. There were some things that seemed a bit unrealistic (going to live with some people you met a for a week because you like their bookstore (okay and them too. but. bookstore.)). But it was a sweet story.
Should it have been sweet? I don't know. Again, it was about grief. And I do feel like the grief was brought up throughout the book but it seemed sort of sporadic, it was there sometimes and sometimes not at all. The romance seemed to be the main part of this book which....umm...
but yeah, if you're looking for a sweet romance, this book is for you. this book should probably not be a sweet romance, though. given that it was about grief. but then again, I've never experienced grief so maybe this book does a really good job of it. However, I'd encourage all of you to check out Alienor's review of this book for another opinion on the grief in this book.
The writing and the actual plot was great, it was really nice, easy to read writing and a sweet plot as well. There were some things that seemed a bit unrealistic (going to live with some people you met a for a week because you like their bookstore (okay and them too. but. bookstore.)). But it was a sweet story.
Should it have been sweet? I don't know. Again, it was about grief. And I do feel like the grief was brought up throughout the book but it seemed sort of sporadic, it was there sometimes and sometimes not at all. The romance seemed to be the main part of this book which....umm...
but yeah, if you're looking for a sweet romance, this book is for you. this book should probably not be a sweet romance, though. given that it was about grief. but then again, I've never experienced grief so maybe this book does a really good job of it. However, I'd encourage all of you to check out Alienor's review of this book for another opinion on the grief in this book.
After a couple of days this book has stayed with me and normally I dove into another book but I can’t. I need time to process. This is a beautiful book that gave me all the feels. It’s heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. Two broken people come together to heal and learn to keep living. I also loved that it was a book about books. I can’t stop recommending it. What an excellent debut, I cannot
Wait til her next book. I preordered this based on the description and cover. Now I will preorder because I loved this book. All the stars!
Wait til her next book. I preordered this based on the description and cover. Now I will preorder because I loved this book. All the stars!
Since you're reading a review, I assume you haven't read it yet. If not, go and read it. This book is everything sad and wonderful (and everything in between) in the world. Be warned - you will need a box of tissues while you read it (no spoilers!). This book is about Amelia who, with her best friend and basically adopted sister Jenna, goes to a book fest to see the author who wrote the Orman series - not only are these Amelia's favorite books, they hold a lot of meaning for her. After Jenna gets to meet the recluse author N. E. Endsley but Amelia does not, they have a fight and not long afterwards, Jenna tragically dies. The book follows Amelia learning to live in a post-Jenna world and finding herself. This book has so much feeling and heart - although it sometimes feels overwhelming reading it, the book gives the reader so much hope and love that you can't stop reading and have to keep going. Although this is a YA book, I would encourage everyone to read it (with a box of tissues).