Not at all a bad read! Great description and imagery to fill the senses. Strong metaphors and alluring plot line kept the pages flying by. Unique twist on YA love.

It was a cute story overall with likable characters. So,e things felt unrealistic to me, but I did get into the story. Full review on Goodreads.

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐔𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐝
By Ashley Schumacher
Release Date 2.16.21.
Publisher Wednesday Books
.
Thank you to the author @ashwritesbooks
@stmartinspress and @wednesdaybooks for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It’s never too late to start a new chapter.”

This was an emotionally immersive book, that follows Amelia Griffin a young lady who has been dealt some seriously devastating blows.

Amelia Griffin, a teen living in Dallas, Texas, life takes a drastic change when her father has decided to leave her mother for a much younger woman. In her mother’s depression she detaches from the real world, and her daughter suffers the consequences. A chance meeting Amelia strikes a friendship with young girl Jenna, at a local bookstore. Together they bond over a book series Orman Chronicles. Their friendship grows and it’s important to Amelia. Jenna’s family takes her under their wing at a time when Amelia needs them the most. After graduation Jenna acquires so,e wonderful book festival tickets where N.E.Endsley, young author of Orman Chronicles will be attending as speaker. Sadly the author doesn’t make the festival, and Amelia deflated by this turn events. An argument between the two girls that causes Amelia and Jenna’s friendship to be broken. Jenna leaves for trip to Ireland, leaving Amelia behind in the states. When adevastating loss brings Amelia world to a crashing halt. She will need all strength to overcome this gut wrenching loss.

When out of no where a special addition of Orman Chronicles arrives in the post.
to her name. Seeking to uncover who sent the book to her, Amelia journey will lead her to Michigan. There she learn to overcome her grief and allow herself to heal with new friendships and even a young budding romance.
This was a delightful book experience, that centers on loss and overcoming regret and letting go. Beautifully developed characters and a propulsive storyline, and just the right amount of romance adds to this thought provoking book.
A must read for the upcoming year. A book I highly recommend this book adding to your list for Young Adult fiction. It’s one of the reads that stays with you long after you close the book .

#ameliaunabridged #ashleyschumacher
#Wednesdaysbooks #youngadultfiction #yafiction #booklover #booknerd #booktography #ctbookstagram #ctbookstagrammers #readingismymedicine #booksconnectus #bookishladiesclub #anxiety #metafiction #bibliophile #books #booksofinstagram #igreads #whattoreadnext #bookclubvip #dramafreenerdigans

Amelia Unabridged is the story of a high-school graduate who adores a fantasy series of books, and shares that love with her best friend Jenna. The girls travel together to an event to meet the author, who mysteriously never shows up. Afterwards, the girls have a big argument. Things are still tense when Jenna leaves for a study abroad opportunity. Then there is an accident, and Jenna dies. Amelia struggles with discovering who she is without her best friend, and how she can recapture her love of reading when books remind her painfully of Jenna.

This novel hit me hard. I identified so much with Amelia, as most bookworms will, and the emotions she went through were so true to life and real. I ended up crying through about half of the book. The author is very skilled at creating characters and describing their inner feelings. Amelia’s journey of grief is heart wrenching and beautiful. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA. I loved it!

It's been a long time since a book has tugged at my heartstrings in such a way that it had twined itself with them, becoming a piece of me. Amelia Unabridged is raw, addressing those relationships we have that feel almost as if they are two souls combined into one. Amelia and Jenna share such a friendship. From the moment they meet, they are essentially sisters, Amelia glad she has a new family that cherishes her and makes her feel as if she belongs, not that she's a hindrance. They grow and bond over a series Amelia has fallen deeply in love with: the Orman Chronicles. In it, they read about two sisters who also grow and bond as they go through the trials of life and of the kingdom they are a part of.

When the unthinkable happens, Amelia realizes she needs to learn to be by herself, to navigate the world without her trusted friend and sister. Jenna does one more remarkable and caring thing (because, Amelia wonders, who else could it have been?), sending Amelia the 101st signed copy of their beloved book. It's a rare thing, something the world hasn't heard of and Amelia takes it as a sign of fate, deciding to ask the hard questions at the bookstore it was sent from. It's there, in the heart of Michigan, that Amelia realizes the future Jenna unknowingly has thrust into her hands. But is she breaking Jenna's heart by not following through with the plans they shared before the unthinkable happened?

A poignant novel about grief and the various forms it can take, Amelia Unabridged spoke to me more than any other book has. Also having a best friend like a sister, Amelia's journey to overcoming her grief and helping someone else through their own grief resonated with me, if only because I know I would have just as rough of a time as Amelia. The extended metaphor is brilliant, the conversations and grieving methods are moving and relatable, and the book as a whole is something that will mean a lot to a lot of people.

And I'd be remised if I didn't address how it mentioned my favorite fast food place of all time, Whataburger.

So, take a chance on this book that's permanently tattooed on my heart and is being published on my birthday. It's freaking fantastic.

Since starting the book I found it would achieve quite the high rating, and it did. I think this book was to me what all other books about young authors and young people dealing with grief and their own array of mental illness was to a lot of people. The whales hit a soft spot throughout the whole entirety of the book and filled the prose with even more magic and wonder. The scenery in it was outstanding, making me cry a total of two times whilst I was reading, and I gotta say I would've also fallen for Nolan that quickly if given the chance. I only now hope that these characters have found peace now that their story had ended, and that in their own fictional world, that Orman helps even more readers

I have to state that I was surprised how much I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. Death was not something I wanted to read close to Christmas but this was done so well. I highly recommend this book!!!
This beautiful story was about love, friendship, grief and self discovery. It also had some magic within it that I loved. Amelia and Jenna were best friends that went to a book festival to see Amelia’s favorite author, N.E. Endsley, who wrote the Orman chronicles. At the festival he canceled the appearance, Amelia found out afterwards that Jenna met him and she didn’t. They had a huge argument about it, Jenna died within the week without the argument ever being resolved. Days afterwards Amelia received a rare edition of the first book from a bookstore in Michigan. She needed to know how and if it was a gift from Jenna. So she traveled to the picturesque town in Michigan to found out. At the bookstore she would met Nolan, Alex, and Val who were all wonderful to her. Through her grief and new friends she would learn so much about herself and others. Nolan was amazing, and I loved how they helped each other heal. The romance between them was sweet and perfect.
I didn’t like Jenna or her parents at times. They were too controlling, especially using money and guilt to control Amelia. I also didn’t like how Jenna had Amelia’s future all planned out without Amelia’s opinion.
The ending was beautiful, lovely and emotional. I didn’t want the book to end. I’m hoping for a story with Alex in it. Wishful thinking on my part.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow I loved this book. It was a good blend of young adult, fantasy, and romance. It is a coming of age read. The main character, Amelia is dealing with loss, big changes, life altering decisions, and love. I could relate so much to Amelia's obsession with her favorite author and his fantasy series. I mean, is it even a good fantasy novel if you don't want to give up your real life to move to the fantasy world? I enjoyed the humor and the little nods to other great reads! Can't wait to read future work from this author. I would love to read a fantasy novel by Ashley! She did such a good job writing about the fake novels within this book that I just know they would be wonderful!

Amelia Unabridged completely blew me away. Schumacher had me riveted from the start and I felt so many emotions as the story progressed. Seriously such a phenomenal debut

I flew through this book. It was sweet, emotional, sad, and all of the other emotions you could dream of wrapped into this book of a girl and a boy who are both lost in their own right. I really appreciated Noah in this book. He was the most outstanding character for me as he had so much depth. Amelia was great but I almost found her to be a supporting character because I really just appreciated Noah so much. I can't wait to see everyone else's journey with this book.

Amelia Unabridged is a tale of grief, of healing and of hope. It's a story of loss and love, of friendship and family, and making your own path, and it's an ode to stories and books, to magical places and found family. I'm certain that Amelia Unabridged is a story that will stick with me for a long time.

My heart broke for Amelia, and Nolan (as well as the other cast of characters; Jenna, Val, Alex) over and over again, and I found myself getting teary-eyed on multiple occasions. What do you do after facing a tragedy like that? How do you heal, how do you cope, when you're the one left behind? How do you grapple with grief, and how do you move on and live your own life?

Following Amelia's journey felt a little like following the string of fate. Ashley Schumacher had everything laid out so neatly, with each scene easily flowing into the next, and clues and details always serving a purpose. Although I found Amelia Unabridged a little predictable, I didn't find myself minding all that much, if not at all. That being said, there were still a few mysteries that I wasn't able to piece together, and solved alongside Amelia.

While Amelia and Nolan fell for each other quickly, I loved how they were able to find comfort and solace in one another, and how they were able to help each other heal. While Amelia was only there for a short while, I didn't feel annoyed by their romance, and didn't perceive it as "Instalust/love" either. They felt like a properly developed relationship, and their shared grief and trauma made their bond realistic to me.

One of the things I loved the most about Amelia Unabridged was how it truly was a love story to books, and to the places we call home. Schumacher's writing was beautiful and I truly felt like I had been transported to Val's bookshop with Amelia, to Nolan's "fort", to the Orman room, or even within the pages of the Orman Chronicles themselves. Something that Schumacher excels at was writing a book within a book, and I found myself wishing that the Orman Chronicles were a real story.

Overall, Amelia Unabridged was such a compelling read, and I can't wait to see what Schumacher writes next.

Major thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this ARC! Review will be cross posted onto Goodreads within two weeks of publication.

This book is an incredible debut I felt so many different emotions while reading this book.! I can not imagine losing my best friend. The author depicts a tremendous amount of grief, in this book, and shows you how someone's death can make you question your future. .The slow-burn romance between Amelia and Nolan is both beautiful and sad. Anyone who reads this book will thoroughly enjoy this incredible book. I know I absolutely did and I believe anyone who decides to read this book will as well.

I am still shocked that this a debut novel. The author nailed it! The writing is beautiful, the characters are well-developed and raw, and coming of age story is just done very well. Would recommend!

I finished Amelia Unabridged in one day I am that obsessed. A stunning debut, this book is for all the book worms out there. It's also an emotional story about grief, about not letting the ghosts of our loved ones control us, about finding our own path amidst the noise of expectations. I fell heads over heels in love with Amelia instantly. The way she loves fiercely and with her entire heart. Amelia Unabridged is a captivating story about when we have people in our lives, like guiding stars, and what do we do without them?

On the brink between college and high school, Amelia Unabridged tackles grief and the mystery of people united by one person, by books, and by a love of reading. Celebrating the joy of bookstores, of books as lifelines, and reading as a force of nature, Amelia Unabridged will entrance you. What does our trauma, our loss, change in us? What could it produce or obscure? Full of memories of Amelia's friendship with Jenna, Amelia Unabridged examines grief and moving forwards. Of not letting our past stop us from choosing our future.

This is a nice example of a coming-of-age story. Books have always been a huge part of my life, so I loved that angle in the story (turning to books in your time of need). This is not a light, fluff read, as it tackles some difficult themes. Grief, love, healing, and friendship are key. It's an emotional read, and it's easy to connect with and root for Amelia. I love how the author reminds that reader that we impact others and that people are often placed in our path when we most need them, as is shown by Amelia's character. Overall, this is a solid debut from Schumacher.

Amelia Unabridged was a beautiful coming of age type story. There is a streak of tragedy to it, but that makes it all the more compelling. Amelia has pretty much lost everything in her life by age 18. She hasn't had the opportunity to really think for herself what she wants to do with her life, but finds herself on a trip to a bookstore in a different state that leads her pretty much to all of the answers she had within herself that she had just yet to discover. This was a beautifully written story and aside from a blip in the middle of the book where I lost intrest in what felt like filler, I absolutely was back on bored after a couple of chapters and loved the book overall.

A beautifully written story. I loved Amelia and I could feel grief for her when she lost Jenna. I don’t know why, but I can’t put my emotions into words other than I loved this. One of my new favorites. I would definitely buy a copy and read again- no, scratch that. Multiple times.

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.

Well this little book here just grabbed me and gutted me. Basically finished in one sitting. It’s melancholic, romantic, and in a wild way darkly whimsical. I can’t say that I adored Amelia, because there were many unlikeable things about her. But I love her journey. I love her relationships. I relate to her guilt at doing what she’s “supposed” to do. I probably didn’t adore Amelia because I see so much of myself in her. I am in awe of this book. A favorite for sure.

While I do love a good YA contemporary, I am not the target audience for this book — which should be kept in mind!

I loved the start of the book, Amelia and Jenna’s friendship was heartwarming to read about. Things started to get weird early on while at the book festival, the events felt rushed and the fight that catapults the inciting incident was wholly unrealistic to me. Amelia, who watched her mother struggle with her own mental health, should have been more than understanding about the situation Jenna found herself in with N.E. Endsley.

I enjoyed the search for the sender of the book and the writing is absolutely gorgeous, but I don’t know if I’m too old for this book in particular or if the themes weren’t explored deeply enough for me to connect to them.

I look forward to what this author puts out in the future, though!