Author: Ashley Shumacher
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: Feb. 16, 2021
Order Link: Amazon
My Rating: 4 Bleeding Hearts
Many thanks to Wednesday Books for an arc of this book.
Sparks fly between two teens as they grapple with grief, love, and the future in this unforgettable debut novel sure to entice fans of Jandy Nelson and Jennifer E. Smith.
Review:
The day Amelia meets Jenna at a bookstore, her life changes for the better as the two girls grow as close as sisters. Amelia's home-life is chaotic so she welcomes frequent invitations to stay at Jenna's house. Jenna recommends a book, the Orman Chronicles to Amelia - the story of two sisters competing in a magical world. Amelia reads it and becomes obsessed with both the story and the author - recluse prodigy N.E. Endsley. Upon graduation, Jenna's parents gift both young ladies tickets to a book festival where Endsley will be a guest speaker. Amelia is over-the-moon excited. However, things fail to go as planned and only Jenna meets the author. Heartbroken, Amelia lashes out in anger and jealousy and Jenna leaves for Ireland with a rift between them. When the unthinkable happens and Jenna is lost to Amelia forever, she drowns in her grief and pain and guilt. The rosy and bright future the girls had planned together is gone. And then, a special rare edition of the Orman Chronicles arrives by mail for Amelia. Someway, somehow, Amelia knows this is heaven-sent - a gift from Jenna, and she sets out on a journey to discover the bookstore it was mailed from and the identity of the sender. Her trip eventually leads to a mystical bookstore in Michigan where Amelia meets a strange young man named Nolan. The relationship that develops is pure and innocent and soothing to both damaged souls, but it's partially based on secrets. When those secrets are revealed, Amelia's world is thrown off-kilter once again.
Amelia Unabridged is a sweet, touching, heart-felt story of a young woman thrown off her life orbit by profound loss, grief, and guilt. It's the story of a shy young man struggling to survive in a modern public world. It's the story of two bleeding hearts daring to reach out and accept hope, forgiveness, and eventually the essence of true self, strength and purpose. Amelia Unabridged is a beautiful love story that I highly recommend to fans of young adult. It almost felt like a fantasy to me. It is, without a doubt, a beautiful fairy tale.
Synopsis:
Eighteen-year-old Amelia Griffin is obsessed with the famous Orman Chronicles, written by the young and reclusive prodigy N. E. Endsley. They’re the books that brought her and her best friend Jenna together after Amelia’s father left and her family imploded. So when Amelia and Jenna get the opportunity to attend a book festival with Endsley in attendance, Amelia is ecstatic. It’s the perfect way to start off their last summer before college.
In a heartbeat, everything goes horribly wrong. When Jenna gets a chance to meet the author and Amelia doesn’t, the two have a blowout fight like they’ve never experienced. And before Amelia has a chance to mend things, Jenna is killed in a freak car accident. Grief-stricken, and without her best friend to guide her, Amelia questions everything she had planned for the future.
When a mysterious, rare edition of the Orman Chronicles arrives, Amelia is convinced that it somehow came from Jenna. Tracking the book to an obscure but enchanting bookstore in Michigan, Amelia is shocked to find herself face-to-face with the enigmatic and handsome N. E. Endsley himself, the reason for Amelia’s and Jenna’s fight and perhaps the clue to what Jenna wanted to tell her all along.
Ashley Schumacher's devastating and beautiful debut, Amelia Unabridged, is about finding hope and strength within yourself, and maybe, just maybe, falling in love while you do it.
In a heartbeat, everything goes horribly wrong. When Jenna gets a chance to meet the author and Amelia doesn’t, the two have a blowout fight like they’ve never experienced. And before Amelia has a chance to mend things, Jenna is killed in a freak car accident. Grief-stricken, and without her best friend to guide her, Amelia questions everything she had planned for the future.
When a mysterious, rare edition of the Orman Chronicles arrives, Amelia is convinced that it somehow came from Jenna. Tracking the book to an obscure but enchanting bookstore in Michigan, Amelia is shocked to find herself face-to-face with the enigmatic and handsome N. E. Endsley himself, the reason for Amelia’s and Jenna’s fight and perhaps the clue to what Jenna wanted to tell her all along.
Ashley Schumacher's devastating and beautiful debut, Amelia Unabridged, is about finding hope and strength within yourself, and maybe, just maybe, falling in love while you do it.
ASHLEY SCHUMACHER is a young adult author with a degree in creative writing from the University of North Texas. She lives in a small town with her antisocial but lovable husband and more books than is strictly necessary. When she’s not reading or writing, you can find her belting Disney or Broadway songs, protecting her snacks from her greedy golden retriever, hand embroidering, or playing Mario Kart. Amelia Unabridged is her first novel. She lives in Dallas, Texas.
https://www.ashwritesbooks.com/
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