Amelia Unabridged was possibly one of the finest books I have read. Period. From the beginning, this book has had me laughing and crying along with the characters. I fell in love with every single character and LOVED the world that they lived in. Even the fictional novel embedded in this story was something I wanted to get lost in. I am at a loss for words while reviewing this novel which essentially means GO READ IT! But be prepared for the emotional damage caused by the epilogue.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I just finished and I have book hangover.
This BOOK! This book gives me all the feels. It is heartbreaking and beautiful and tender. If you love reading this book is for you. It is a beautiful story about grief and surviving, love and loss, and finding yourself after loss. I loved the characters. They were all wonderfully developed. I felt like I was in Lochbrook, Michigan with Amelia. I even enjoyed the mystery of who sent the rare edition of the book to Amelia.
I will be recommending this book to my students and purchasing it for our library.

This book came highly recommended and it did. not disappoint. I look forward continuing to read more books from Ashley.

Didn't capture my attention and engagement. Interested in trying it again though and hopefully it will take.

This book was wonderful and a true insight into grief that really resonates with me.. Despite the theme of grief I also felt like itnwas a feel good story and I loved the friendship that developed between Alex and Nolan.

I dont think I can fully explain how much of an honor it was to be ale to read and listen to Amelia Unabridged.
The story of Amelia going through life after her father leaves and learning of a book series by the author N. G Endsley and making a life time friend out of it. She goes through moments of anger and has to learn how to deal with the grief in her life and being able to read about her adventure in trying to find out how she got a special copy of a book where only 100 were made and she somehow got number 101.. Her time with Endsley was none other than sweet and heartbreaking at the same time and I wish the story would have never ended. I NEEED more Amelia.

I teared up while reading this book. The setting and writing were both so beautiful. The story is very emotional and even though the synopsis wants you what’s to come it still hits your heart. I can’t wait to read ay other books Ashley write. This book was amazing.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Schumacher.

This is a story about two best friends, and their mutual obsession with a favorite author. But what should have been an exciting opportunity to meet this author, turns both of their lives completely upsidedown.

I actually read this story a while ago and have been avoiding the review on it, because I dunno. I felt for a lot of it, the fangirling, the friendship, the loss, but the actual crux of the friendship, the author, just wasn't it for me. It felt a bit too far fetched, drawn out, and I lost interest pretty quickly.

This is a lovely YA book about love, forgiveness, and finding yourself. I adored the symbolism and found it a lovely happy book that both made me cry and gave me warm feelings.

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 loved this book. I loved the descriptions of all of the locations throughout the book and was really invested in the main character. It kept me hooked the whole time!

This was a painful read, but it really successfully shows the many stages of grief, and how it affects everyone around us. At the same time, this is a love letter to book fans everywhere.

A beautiful and quirky debut novel with a protagonist it's easy to root for. Schumacher proves she's one to watch with this novel.

A sad, sweet story that deals with grief and love. The descriptions of Amelia’s family breakdown are realistic and heart breaking, and the contrast with Jenna’s stable family all the more bittersweet. A coming of age novel that centres on bookishness in a lovely way.

Amelia Unabridged

A Novel

By: Ashley Schumacher

St. Martin’s Press

Wednesday Books

Teens and YA

Publish Date 16 Feb 2021

100 Book ReviewsProfessional Reader

I would like to Thank both NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Good Reads Synopsis:

Sparks fly between two teens as they grapple with grief, love, and the future.

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.

Review:

I gave this book 3 stars. I thought it was just ok. I felt like Amelia wasn’t allowing people the right to grief like herself. She was a little selfish in my thoughts. I am glad that she had a place to go to to help her and she figured out a way to help her through her grief.

She is able to go to a small town and meet her favorite author of a series books that seems to help her. This author also has some issues he is dealing with. They meet up and and start getting along. Things happen and they are both able to deal with their problems.

I am not trying to under play grief because it is real and can be hard to deal with. I just felt that Amelia wouldn’t allow other people to help her and get her the true help she needed.

🐋 I haven’t read a YA book in a while and this book has been on my NetGalley TBR for way too long. I wish I would have read it sooner!

🐋 You know from the synopsis that Amelia loses her best friend Jenna in a car accident. Understandably that loss impacts Amelia greatly and her grief is so raw and authentic that I felt like I was experiencing it with her.

🐋 Amelia has an amazing arc in this story and it was a joy to read. She transforms herself, expands her world, and opens herself up to new experiences. She discovers herself as an individual and learns to appreciate her singular value, rather than just view herself as “Jenna’s friend”. This is a perfect example of a bildungsroman (coming of age) novel.

🐋 I really loved when Amelia meets N.E. Endsley (the author of her favorite book) in Michigan. Endsley has issues of his own to deal with! I would love to gush here about what happens, but you have to read it. I will simply say it was poignant, funny, sad, heartwarming, and satisfying all at once.

🐋 All of the characters in this book are important to the story and well-characterized. Even the dog!

🐋 This is a fantastic and innocent love story with just the right amount of profundity to make it read very honest and real. I definitely recommend it, and particularly if you enjoy YA.

Thank you to @netgalley, @stmartinspress, and the author for the eARC of this book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. I really enjoyed this book. Amelia and Jenna's characters were great friends. It features bookworms and book festivals. I highly highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. This book is in stores for $18.99 (USD). I can't wait to read more books by this author in the near future.

A heartbreaking, heartwarming, and generally emotional read all the way through! Sad, sweet, and vividly written, I truly enjoyed this novel.

A few of the scenes dealing with mental illness could have been handled a little better, and that was where I decided to take a star off of my rating. But overall, I loved the creativity in this romance and coming-of-age story, and I especially recommend it for a younger YA audience.

A tender YA novel that examines love and grief with a steady pace and engaging prose throughout. Highly recommend.

3.75 🌟

When I first requested this book, I did it because it reminded me a bit of I'll Give You The Sun and I wasn't mistaken. While Amelia Unabridged cannot rival with IGYTS, it was a lovely read all the same.
I really enjoyed the plot and the whole premise. I will admit I was a little bit hesitant to pick this up (hence, the delay in reading it), because many times books with famous main characters, whether completely fictional or the fictionalised version of someone real, tend to be unbelievable and too dramatic. Fortunately, this wasn't the case. The writer felt pretty real, and if I were to go to a bookshop and find his books there, I wouldn't be surprised. I really liked him and Amelia both, and even the secondary characters were pretty well developed for a debut. I will be definitely try more books by this author, even if I am not sure her 2022 release is for me. We shall see.
Anyways, I found the plot entertaining, the themes heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time, the characters lovable and the style was perfect for this story and had some great lines, which I underlined on my Kindle. The only thing I felt was not necessary, was the love story. I would have preferred to see a special friendship rather than a love story, but I am not too mad about it.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loved IGYTS, but be aware there are some trigger warnings such as death of a loved one, panic attacks, grief, car accidents and more. Be sure to check them out before picking up this book.