I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Amelia Unabridged was beyond adorable with bits of heartbreak. I wasn't expecting to go on an emotional roller coaster like I did but heck, I enjoyed it all. In it, you will meet Jenna, Amelia, Nolan and Alex. Amelia and Jenna become best friends after a random meeting at a book store. Which, of course, occurred after a tragic family event. Amelia's father left her and her mom for a much younger woman.

After that, her mom was kind of a ghost or zombie. She was there.. but not really there for Amelia. Even though she was a bit better towards the end of the book, it was too little to late for me. Then there's Jenna. Now her family basically (sort of) adopted Amelia into their family. They knew that Amelia didn't have much of anything so they took her under her wing. I honestly loved that they made sure that she got one good meal per week due to their family meals.

I could also see how this puts a huge burden on Amelia's shoulder after Jenna's untimely death. It was a sudden and horrific accident that happens overseas and yet Amelia doesn't know what to do. At least until she gets a random book from a random store in a random ass state that she has never been to.

This leads to Amelia's adventure to meeting Nolan, Alex, and Wally. Now I loved Wally. He was absolute favorite dog and I have no idea what breed he is. Ugh, such heartbreak too. Nolan and Alex are a bit awkward but they work as best friends. Just like Amelia, Nolan knows tragedy. Through this they find a way to move on and remember the good things of the past.

In the end, it took some major back bone and true love to find happiness. I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to dive into the next one by Ashley.

Amelia Unabridged is magic. Absolute magic that will take you on a journey through ocean skies, forest mazes, crowded pathways of grief, and the swell of emotion that accompanies first love.

This is easily one of the best young adult contemporary novels I have ever read or will ever read. I will be shocked if this book doesn't win debut awards. It is so deserving. This book may be my all-time favorite Wednesday Books book (sorry Courtney Summers). I'm so thrilled that my new favorite book is being published by my favorite imprint, and this book is exactly why Wednesday Books is my favorite.

There aren't many words that could the amazing quality of this book in perspective. The writing was phenomenal. The plot was phenomenal. The character development was phenomenal. That's the main word that is sticking out in my brain: phenomenal.

My thoughts are scattered as I try to pinpoint every amazing this Schumacher did. I absolutely loved both the Prologue and Epilogue. It perfectly fits the story, and I loved the fourth wall-ness of it all.

Ashley Schumacher knows imagery. She is a master at it. I hope writing professors use passages to explain how whales swimming in the sky can symbolize hope and showcase just how perfectly Schumacher can force the picture into our heads.

Everyone, please buy this book. It is absolutely fantastic. One of the best books to hit YA in recent years.

Amelia's dad is leaving.bi liked the characters . I liked the dialogue. The tone and pace was okay. I was curious to see what would happen with Amelia.

This book is beautiful. It's a lush, melancholy story set amidst two deeply countering backdrops: Texas, full of hot sun and stifling grief, and Michigan, full of forest, lake and bookstore, and steeped in its own flavor of loss. This is a book about pain and loss and grief in all its messiness, but its also about people caught up in grief learning to find their way. Amelia is reeling from the unexpected death of her best friend and invisible strings pull her to a bookstore in Michigan of all places and in the course of her stay there, her life is profoundly changed. This book is a love letter to the people and stories that define us, and the ways we all must forge our own narratives, even when we're blown off course. The plot unrolls its mysteries and stories slowly, perfectly paced to reveal its complicated and heavy secrets. The characters are all messy and wonderful in their own ways, each carrying their own baggage, but I loved all of them, and I loved the way Amelia interacted with everyone in her world. The subplot of the Orman books was also its own wonderful piece of the narrative too (and a part of me wished that I too could have read the books!). Through my whole time reading, I truly didn't want to put this book down. I think this is a really special story and one that will certainly stay with me for a long time

I lost my best friend to a car accident as a teenager, and this book, more than many others I've read, accurately captured the chaos and the numbness of that kind of grief. This is a lovely, soft, slightly fantastical story about terribly hard things: grief, but also having a complicated relationship with something you love (reading), about letting go of what other people expect of you and finding your own path, growing up without family support, falling in love for the first time and the trust that goes with it.

Oh man, this was unexpected in so many ways. If you want to really feel a story down to your bones, this is it. I felt like this story just broke me. I remember that age, my best friend, and how devastated I would be.

Oh, this book. This book will make all book lovers remember why they're book lovers.

This is the story of Amelia who, after she has lost something precious to her, learns how to navigate what's left of her life. And the thing that helps her through her grief, and helps her find hope again? Books.

This is a quiet story, a pervasive story. It's a story you don't now is digging its way into your heart until it's already deeply rooted.

oh man i really wanted to like this book, but i did not. it was just too boring and so unfun. i like fun in my books and this did not have it. so i guess if you like unfun books, then grab this one. meh.

This book is pure magic. I feel at a loss for words because of how perfect the words in this book were.

Amelia has lost her best friend, and as she stands at the beginning of her college life, and the rest of her life, without Jenna, she gets a mystery package of her favourite book, signed, edition 101/100. She decides to chase down the mystery before she follows through on the plan her bet friend laid out for her.

This book has everything. Magic worlds, friendships, exploration of loss and grief, floating whales, beautiful beautiful love, soft words, and tear-wrenching feels. I cannot recommend this book enough, especially if you know the feeling of loss.

Amelia and Jenna are best friends. They have their entire lives planned out. After a sudden tragedy, Jenna is left to maneuver her life on her own. She battles between living her own life and continuing with the plans that her and Jenna has laid out out.

This is a story about friendship and grief. Overcoming grief and living your own life but not destroying the memory of those gone.

Beautifully written book!!

*I was given an arc of this book by Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.*
This book felt like a warm hug after a long day. Amelia is a character stricken by grief and unsure of what she really wants to do with her life and by a random twist of fate, a book shows up for her and leads her for a new adventure. The characters in this book are so well developed, feeling raw and vulnerable and real. Although the relationship does develop quickly, it still retains a depth to it and feels like a natural progression. I really enjoyed this book and its' talks about the future and letting go of the past. I also loved seeing all of Amelia's passions come to life: her reading and her photography. If you're a book lover, this book is one to read!

A book about loss, grief, and exploring identity, Amelia Unabridged will tug at your heartstrings in so many ways. Those who grew up with a love for books will especially enjoy Amelia's own love for a particular book series, and when she ends up with the opportunity to meet her favorite author, book lovers will easily relate to her own emotions. After having just graduated high school, Amelia strives to follow the plan that her best friend, Jenna, set out for her, and the book explores Amelia's own journey of self-identity as she needs to figure out her own passions outside of what her friend has determined. Struck with a sudden loss, Amelia ends up traveling to a small-town bookstore in Michigan thanks to certain events, and she bumps into her favorite author. Is it destiny that brought her to this small town, or was it Jenna's doing?

I'm not crying. You're crying. Shut up.

After suffering the loss of her best friend, Amelia is mysteriously sent a limited edition of her favourite book and is convinced Jenna has something to do with it. Avoiding the life decisions and grief that are haunting her, she finds herself on a trip to track down the origins of this book and ends up finding alot more than she expected. New friendships and bonds are formed but can Amelia find it in herself to create her own future instead of the one that's been offered to her?

This was not my usual cup of tea, I tend to stay away from sad books because I'm a total wimp and will spend my lunch break trying to cry stealthily so my colleagues don't see me weeping all over my book. However, I loved this SO MUCH! I think it is genuinely perfect, I couldn't put it down and now I'm sad that my time with Amelia and her friends is over. The mixture of heartbreak, warmth and humour is so perfectly portrayed and has such a wonderful cast of characters that I couldn't recommend it more. Read it!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I really wanted to like this book, but the main character just kind of bored me, nothing wrong with her, I just read too much, so she was just kind of annoying and bland when compared to other YA book characters.
It might have been that she was kind of whiny in the beginning, she got better, but marginally.
It was a great premise, cute plot.

Summary:
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

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.


I absolutely fell in love and in grief with Amelia. Her heartbreak became my own and our emotionality completely melded as one.
Ashley Schumacher's beautiful, enchanting, gut-twisting, and albeit scarily accurate prose surrounding grief, loss, and all matters to do with our fragile, unabridged hearts is sure to be an instant buy for fans of Jandy Nelson, Adam Silvera, and Sarah Henstra.

The Quick Cut: A teen girl tracks down the source of a limited edition book that is sent to her. She finds her favorite author and someone who understands her pain after the death of her best friend.

A Real Review:
Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pain is a part of the experience of living, but a few of us experience more than others. When it seems like life is constantly kicking you when you're down, how do you adapt? For eighteen years old Amelia, she tracks down a book.

Amelia is a superfan of the Orman Chronicles by the mysterious author, N.E. Endsley. It's the series that brought her and her best friend, Jenna, together. However, when they go to a convention and events turn, Jenna ends up meeting Endsley and Amelia does not. When the two argue over the situation, Amelia never gets a chance to resolve things before Jenna does in an accident. Then a limited edition copy of the first Orman Chronicles arrives for her in the mail. Is this a gift from Jenna? Or something else entirely?

This book in many ways is a love letter to book readers. It highlights how books can connect people together, help you get through tough situations, and imagine better worlds. That being said, the way the main plot goes down is fairly unimaginative and highly predictable.

Amelia is someone who has gone through so much that you can't help but feel for her. You root for her because you want to see her find joy and a way to move forward.

With cute but predictable writing, this story will only fascinate bibliophiles.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5

Honestly, I requested this book because I really love the cover. The premise was also intriguing, and I thought it would be an atmospheric, sweeping read. Unfortunately, that was not the case for me. Amelia Unabridged was almost difficult to read due to the purple prose and underdevelopment of characters and plot. (I do want to point out that these are my own opinions; you may like the book even if it wasn’t for me!)

Amelia and her best friend Jenna travel to a book convention to meet Amelia’s favorite author, N.E. Endsley. Unfortunately, he cancels the event while they’re in line; however, Jenna was able to speak to him by herself. This causes a fight between the two of them, and they don’t really have a chance to make up before Jenna dies in a car accident. Later, in grief, Amelia receives a rare edition of one of Endsley’s books and believes that Jenna was the one to send it to her. She tracks it down to a bookstore in Michigan and travels there, meeting Endsley himself.

That’s as much summary that’s in the blurb, and that’s honestly everything that happens in the book. I thought that the entire book was so forced: the characterizations, the dialogue, the pacing. Nothing really felt fully developed to me. For example, Amelia and Nolan fall in love in less than three days of knowing each other. I know that instalove is prevalent in YA fiction; I’ve liked books and romances that developed this quickly before! But that’s exactly the problem: there was no emotional development between them. I also found it hard to connect to any of the characters because none of them felt very fleshed out.

Honestly though, I was so distracted by the writing that I could barely pay attention to anything else. I’ve never read such intense purple prose like this in a YA book before; literally, I could flip to a random page and half of the words would be completely unnecessary, and the other half could have been substituted for ones with a less dramatic connotation. I suppose it was meant to read like a fairy tale, but the amount of adverbs and adjectives per page was bewildering and I was so annoyed by having to read it all.

I could honestly expand on other things I didn’t like, but pointing out more issues I had feels superfluous when I think it really all came down to the fact that I didn’t like the writing. In the end, this book was really not for me but again, that’s just my personal opinion! I know that many other people have enjoyed this book and you may side with them. You may enjoy Amelia Unabridged if you like flowery prose or stories about healing.

5/5 Stars

*I received an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Wednesday Books, for giving me this opportunity!

Today I’m excited to be reviewing Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Schumacher. The book follows the story of Amelia Griffin, a young woman living in Dallas, Texas, who meets her best friend, Jenna Williams, at a bookstore during a dark part of her life. The two become inseparable, doing absolutely everything together, from sharing their obsession with the famous Orman Chronicles by N.E. Endlsey, to planning every step of their college life so they wouldn’t be separated. Shortly after a freak car accident kills Jenna, Amelia is still grappling with her grief when a mysterious special edition of her favourite book is delivered to her. Convinced it’s a message from Jenna, Amelia embarks on a journey to Michigan where she winds up meeting her favourite author and learning that maybe a little bit of magic does exist outside of books.

Amelia Unabridged is a beautiful homage to all those who have spent parts of their lives in between pages. It is a story about learning how live on and re-find yourself through loss and keeping loved ones alive through stories. It also focuses a lot of taking a risk and letting the universe guide you, even for a second. It has such a wholesome and gorgeous story with strong world building and believable characters. Each place that Amelia visits on her trip is so wonderfully described that I could so vividly imagine walking through Val’s bookstore, with the quiet chatter of book clubs, stray notes from Val’s piano lessons, and the smell of the strong coffee from the café.

The book’s namesake character, Amelia, immediately stole my heart, and after so many bad things happen to Amelia at the beginning, I honestly spent most of the book worried that something worse was coming. Amelia has such a wonderful perspective, often framing different scenes and moments from a photographer’s eye. She is such a beautiful, loyal friend who more often than not puts their wishes and wellbeing over her own, even when the friend is no longer living. This loyalty is especially prevalent when she finds herself walking two separate paths during her time in Michigan. She works hard to maintain her original path, set by herself and Jenna, despite it not being something she is passionate about.

I don’t normally read contemporary books, but I think it’s time for me to change that. Especially for stories like this one! I’m on day two after finishing the book with my heart feeling warm and full, even though I spent most of the book teary-eyed and crying.

Amelia Unabridged comes out on February 16, 2021. You can pre-order it at Chapters, Amazon, or at your local independent bookstore!

I can't put into words how deeply I felt this story. I can't explain why I loved it so much, but it pulled me in and I fell hard for it.

This book feels covered in mist: it begins with tragedy, and you don't know if the mist will become a storm or if it will release you into sunshine. It is about how devastating being left behind can be and how beautiful living can be. About imagining the clouds are whales and the forest is another world. About how magic does not exist, except for in our imaginations and in the bonds we create with other people. About found families and the mistakes everyone makes in the way they treat the people they love, but how these mistakes do not mean our bonds are irreparably broken.

I rarely reread books lately, but I am already excited to reread this one when it is available in physical form.

What.....



Chapter Three..... you broke my heart.....



This effing book chewed me up and spit me out. The book was perfect for me; but wasn’t. I fell in love, I cried, I empathized. Another debut novel that blew me away in its own special way.

I love, love, love these characters. Amelia, Jenna, Nolan, Alex, Val, Wally, Jenna’s parents and all of the minor characters.

Amelia is devastated when her best friend Jenna is killed. They had their whole lives planned out. But things change, they always change.

Amelia receives a special edition book in the mail of her favorite authors first book. Why? Who? What? In going on a search of where the book came from, Amelia finds herself and all the things she never knew she needed.

This book is definitely going to have a home on my bookshelf.



Happy Reading My Lovelies. 😘

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

*Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital copy of this book.