After the sudden and tragic death of her best friend Jenna, Amelia receives a special edition copy of the first book of the fantasy series that brought them together. Grappling with her grief and the looming future they had meticulously planned together, Amelia seeks to find answers about the gift in hopes that it can shed new light on some of the last days of her friend’s life. Days which they had largely spent in anger at each other after a fight at a book convention where Jenna met the famous author Amelia had been dying to see for years without her. 

An exploration of a young girl’s grief through a romantic coming-of-age story centering around a love for literature, Amelia Unabridged will be adored by book lovers, especially those looking for a love story. 

With Bridge to Terabithia vibes, the book weaves picture-perfect prose with hard-hitting topics, sprinkling a touch of magic and whimsy into a classic YA contemporary. 

This story had all the ingredients to be a spectacular and special treat but ended up making something very vanilla. Part of this was certainly preference, as the plot was much more romance-centered than hard-hitting like I had anticipated and the focus on fame and fan culture much more prominent. 

But for something that was so clearly written by a talented author who can certainly write a well-articulated and poetic passage, the characters seemed too familiar, the set-up to unbelievable, and the messages too obvious. Maybe it’s just me and my hardened heart after years of grim literature, but this novel was supposed to be truly tragic...and I just didn’t feel that sad. The characters may have felt relatable on the surface but there was a certain level of incredulity beneath about many of their circumstances. And I just couldn’t grasp the grief they felt about others, having not spent enough time getting to know those they had lost.

Meanwhile, the not-quite-magical-realism element seemed oddly placed and used too obviously as a metaphor in a way that I felt should have either been leaned into more or entirely skipped over. Not to mention that the ending tied up many loose ends while completely forgetting about answering the initial mystery. 

A beautifully adorned novel but bland within, Amelia will be a forgettable read for me despite its strengths; 3 out of 5. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the early copy in exchange for an honest review!

"Amelia Unabridged" is a treat for bibliophiles who likes a kiss at the end. This book is an homage to books, book lovers, and lovers. It's one of those books that makes you believe in fate and destiny and everything good. I'm not usually one for "sad" books so I was wary of the description, but the wonderful cover drew me in. I adored the chemistry between Alex and Nolan, Nolan and Amelia. And, honestly, quirky dogs really do make a book! I hope to be reading so much more of Schumacher's exceptional prose.

I absolutely loved this book! The characters were so dynamic and relatable. I loved watching them grow throughout the course of this book.

Amelia is devastated when her best friend Jenna is killed. They had their whole lives planned out. But things change. Amelia receives a special edition book in the mail of her favorite author's first book. Why? What? In going on a search of where the book came from, Amelia finds herself and all the things she never knew she needed.

Amelia Unabridged is a heartwarming and emotional story of the power of books, friendship, and love.

*Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital copy of this book" My first reading from this author and was heartfelt, I really enjoyed and I think you would too. I would not want to give it all, just some points.

Amelia Unabridged was a book that took me by surprise with the emotional depth it offered. I feel like the tortured writer trope has been done, but Ashley Schumacher adds nuance through her depiction of leads Amelia Griffin and Nolan Endsley.

It's a book that tackles themes of grief and recovery and creativity and finding one's place in the world. I'll definitely look to read more from this author.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing a copy of this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

Amelia and Jenna, her best friend, have both been lifelong fans of a series called the Orman Chronicles; so, it is only fitting that they attend a literary festival in California as a graduation present. When the author, N. E. Endsley, fails to make an appearance at said festival, the two girls have somewhat of a falling out about it; Amelia saw Jenna talking to Endsley before he decided to cancel, so she blames her for everything. Shortly after that Jenna dies, and Amelia is grief-stricken. When Amelia receives a rare copy of a limited edition from the series, she follows the address of the package it came in searching for answers surrounding Jenna's death, and incidentally ends up on Endsley's doorstep. The two of them end up bonding over loss and shared family trauma. Despite the fact that this book deals with death and divorce; it is an overall gentle and cozy read.

This didn't really do it for me. The cover is dull and doesn't stand out. The story feels like every other YA out there on the same topic. Nothing special sorry.

3.5 stars! I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I thought it would have been an easy 5 star read for me. The storyline had a lot of potential but the execution fell a little flat for me. I loved the characters and loved the bookish aspect of this book.

I do think there was definitely an element that was problematic where a mental illness was “magically” cured by love.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Schumacher is the story of a 18 year old girl named Amelia Griffin, who lives in many universes at a times and is a lover of books just like us. I'm sure many of us can relate with her on this level.

She is obsessed with the famous Orman Chronicles, written by the young and reclusive prodigy N. E. Endsley. These books bought her and her best friend, Jenna close and helped her in grieving the loss of her father.

Things happen and her best friend, Jenna meets with an accident. Amelia finds a rare edition of her favourite book Orman Chronicles, at her doorstep, she tracks where did the book come from and ends up in a small bookshop in Michigan.

Over there she finds nonother than, the author Endsley himself. The author is not who and how she had imagined. I just felt that the first half and the second half were written by two different people. The headspace and the rhythm completely changed.

It's just another insta-love story between the two. The things starting to get very abrupt and nothing makes sense once she meets Amelia. With a powerful start and not to quite good ending, the book is a one time okay read for me.
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Thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for the eARC

Amazing!!!!! This book sucks you in from the first chapter and you are easily immersed within the story. I cried, laughed, smiled, cheered, and every other emotion with the characters.

This book came as a bit of a surprise for me! I haven't heard many people talking about it and yet, I really enjoyed it! This book follows our main character Amelia. After getting into a fight with her best friend Jenna, she finds out that Jenna has died in a car accident while vacationing in Ireland. Lost and unsure what to do with her and Jenna's 10 year plan for after high school, she soon receives a special edition version of her and Jenna's favourite book from a random bookstore out of state. Convinced that Jenna had somehow sent it to her, she visits the bookstore to unravel the mystery of where the book came from and ends up finding out more about herself, what she wants to do in the future, and about the mysterious author of her favourite book.

This book was written in a very beautiful way. The main character is an avid reader and a lot of the descriptions in the book were almost magical, especially with the flying whales. It really helped to illustrate the grief that Amelia was going through and her journey in grieving the death of her best friend. I also really enjoyed the small town vibes and just how the setting was described throughout the story. It really helped set the atmosphere and tone of the story. I really enjoyed the plot overall and felt very immersed in the story the whole time. The only problem I had with the plot was the instalovey romance in it.

I also really enjoyed the characters. They were all dealing with pretty heavy things in their lives and the way they navigated and grew from their pasts was interesting to read. Amelia really grew throughout the story and seeing her figure out whether she should do what she thought Jenna wanted or what she truly wanted was interesting to read. I also really liked Nolan's character and how we slowly learned about him as he slowly opened up to others in the book. There were some points where the character development did seem a little fast, but overall I loved learning more about each of these characters.

Overall this was a really deep book about grief, friendship, and finding yourself that I would highly recommend people read!

When I saw Amelia Unabridged by Ashely Schumacher on NetGalley the cover immediately drew me in. Then I read the synopsis and I thought, sounds pretty good. I am sooo glad that I requested this book…

Description
Amelia and Jenna are best friends. They have been inseparable since the day Jenna saw Amelia standing outside their favorite bookstore looking lost. This not only started their sisterhood friendship but their love for the Orman Chronicles by N.E. Endsley, a boy not much older than them who is known as a recluse. Their dream finally comes true when for their graduation they get tickets to the only festival that he will be speaking at. Sadly though when they get to the festival they find out something happened to Endsley and he had to cancel his event. Amelia is devastated. To make matters worse, while traveling home, Jenna confesses that she actually met N.E. Endsley while Amelia was in the bathroom. Amelia is furious and the fight that ensues is the worst they have ever had. She decides to half-heartedly forgive Jenna since she is going to Ireland for the summer. Amelia finds out a week later that her best friend has involved in a horrible car crash and didn’t survive. Amelia is left alone and not whole. She can’t even pick up a book because the grief is so strong. Then magically one day she receives a rare edition of the Orman Chronicles. As crazy as it seems she has to find out who sent her this edition, even if she has to travel out of town to the bookstore it was sent from. She has a feeling that Jenna had something to do with it and she has to know. When Amelia gets to this mysterious bookstore she not only finds N. E. Endsley, but she ends up finding herself as well.

Thoughts
OH MY GOODNESS. I absolutely loved everything about this book. The characters, the storyline and plot, and the Orman Chronicles. I wish this was a real series, because I know I would love it. Ashely Schumacher knows how to rip your heart out and slowly mend it back up. She knows how to create characters that you can’t help but fall in love with. And she created a magical world in the Orman Chronicles.

I could seriously relate to Amelia. She is a huge reader and fangirl like myself. I couldn’t get enough of her. And the quotes!! Y’all the quotes in this book are soo good.

After reading the synopsis of Amelia Unabridged I wasn’t sure how this book would play out. When you see that a book lover gets to meet the ever so handsome favorite author, you wonder how the events will unfold. Well, they unfold magically in this book. Ugh, it has been a while since I couldn’t put a book down. Like, sorry family that the dinner is late, but I have to finish just one more chapter. Any moment of reading time I had I took it. Even if it was only 2 minutes. The minute I finished the book I ordered the physical copy. I had to have it!

Character Love
Amelia- I loved Amelia so much. She had such a hard time adjusting to what was going on with her family but because of Jenna and Orman, she got through it. She is a fantastic character and one all of us book lovers can relate to.

Jenna- Oh sweet Jenna. She was an awesome character and friend to Amelia. I just loved their friendship.

Endsley- You can’t help but love him. I liked being able to see the struggles of a young author, but also how he grew from his loss.

Alex- He reminded me of Jenna a lot. I really wish they would have had the chance to get to know one another.

Conclusion
This book is amazing and oh so magical. I honestly think all book lovers will enjoy this one. Go right now and get it!!!

Amelia's parents split in a ghastly way and she is able to lose herself in a new friendship with wonderful new friend Jenna. Together they get lost in the Orman Chronicles -a fantasy book series written by another teenager that is still in progress. Years later, after trying to meet the author N E Endsley, they get in a horrible fight and then Jenna dies in a tragic accident. All of this happens at the beginning of the book so this is not a spoiler.
After Jenna's death, Amelia is left to decide whether to follow Jenna's plan for their future or to try to make her own dreams. She is sent a collectible copy of book one of the Orman Chronicles anonymously and it sends her on a quest to find the reclusive author.
Amelia and Nolan are so beautifully written-pure of heart, full of sorrow but yet abounding in creativity. Their love story was angsty yet not overly so.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the ARC in return for my honest review.

This book deals with grief and trauma, and even with all that, it also deals with moving forward and having the strength and courage to choose life. It has emotional turns and I guess you just have to feel the plot as well as feel for the characters. This is a special one, so please add this to your TBRs.

Amelia Unabridged follows Amelia Griffin, a book-obsessed girl who loses her best friend in a car accident after they have a big fight over meeting their favorite author, N.E. Endsley. Amelia feels rudderless in her grief as she tries to make sense of her life without Jenna, a mysterious edition of Endsley's book arrives at her local bookstore with no sender to be found other than Val's Bookshop in Michigan, which denies sending the book in the first place. Amelia is convinced that this is a sign sent from Jenna beyond the grave. She travels to Michigan where she meets N.E. Endsley himself. Will Amelia discover the connection between Jenna and Endlsey, or will she find more on her adventure than she ever anticipated.
Contemporary YA is either a big hit or a big miss for me. It isn't something I care for in general, so let me preface this review that way. Amelia Unabridged is not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination. It poignantly deals with heavy issues associated with traumatic losses and how they can impact people in different ways. As someone who lost a best friend in childhood, I could relate to what Amelia was going through and how confusing the aftermath of life after loved ones pass can be. I enjoyed Amelia's developing relationship with Endsley and watching them both deal with the grief of the people they've lost. I also found it heartwarming and relatable that Endlsey and Amelia are bookworms and how the author captures how many of us bookworms are. There is a sweet tone of hope and strength in the author's writing that made reading this book worthwhile. That being said, Amelia as a main character irked me. I don't mind flaws in a character and I understand how grief can impact behavior, but even before she loses Jenna her behavior came off as bratty and self-centered, and I couldn't shake that first impression off as I read the book. I also must have missed the part about the significance of the whales because that confused me. Also, the Insta-love trope is in this book and I don't care for those kinds of things. But Amelia Unabridged is a beautiful story of friendship, grief and hope that bookworms and fans of Contemporary YA will enjoy.

I really wanted to love this. The synopsis was so my cup of tea, and the writing was beautiful. However, I couldn’t relate to the story or the characters. I finished with a sense of “what was that”?

I think the effects of grief and depression are portrayed well in this, but the romance was a big flop for me. There was also a lot of repetition and the story was drowned out by the beautiful prose. Almost like it was trying too hard to be a masterpiece of a novel and it ended up totally drowning everything else.

I hope other enjoy this more than I did. I loved the idea and the synopsis. The execution of the story line and characters did not work for me.

<I>I received an advanced copy of the novel from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. </I>

I cried soggy tears with this one.
Ugly, snotty tears that left me with a hole in my heart, a little bit broken, but still complete and put together by the sheer love and hope transported by the words in this book.
I loved every second of this story, that felt magical and was still so real, that I felt it tearing through my heart and nestling into it to never be forgotten by me. I really need to buy a physical copy now!
I loved every single character in this book. Like literally everyone. The Williamsons, Jenna (just the best!), Amelia, Nolan, Valerie, and Alex. All of them are super individual and precious and I couldn't find a single thing I didn't love about them.
The Storyline also felt super magical, even when there was no magic involved at all. I don't know how the author did that, but I could feel the magic gliding through my fingers when it was only emotions she gave us. For me, this book was extraordinarily beautiful, calm, and stormy at the same time and it made me feel EVERYTHING.
I felt the guilt pushing into me, the hope for something new, the friendship, the loss, the love for books and the desire to change, the desperation of losing someone, and the gladness when beginning to find yourself.
The language in this book felt like prose and magic the same. It was real and yet so eery and like someone just poured their own heart on the page in black ink.

This book! It spoke to my love of books and to the grief I’ve felt when I’ve lost a loved one. Amelia’s story is beautifully written and I loved her character growth through the story. I don’t really know how to describe how this book made me feel, but I just wanted to wrap Amelia, Alex, and Nolan in a hug and spend days in Val’s book store. This book had me crying at a few points and laughing at others. I loved the experience of reading this story.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

One of the most anticipated YA books of 2021, Amelia Unabridged is about friendship, finding your own way, and dealing with loss. Admittedly this was a slow one for me and I felt the romance was a bit forced in the middle(it won me over by the end). On the other hand, I am not the target audience but was invested enough in the "mystery " to keep on turning the pages.

Publication Date 16/02/21
Goodreads review published 28/03/21

Amelia Unabridged is a remarkable story and one that has the potential to hit on a deep level. If you consider yourself a booklover, have experienced loss, and/or are a fan of YA fiction, don't hesitate to pick this book up.

Amelia's father ran off with another woman and her mother barely pays attention to her. A chance encounter at a local bookstore marks the start of Amelia's friendship with Jenna. Soon they are inseparable and Amelia essentially becomes a second daughter to Jenna's parents. Both Jenna and Amelia are avid readers and after graduating high school they attend a book convention. The author of The Orman Chronicles, N. E. Endsley will be there, and to say Amelia is super excited to meet him seems like an understatement. This is a story of love, loss, and finding direction just to name a few things.

This book was SO AMAZING. You'll cry, laugh, grieve, celebrate, and yearn for summer friendships of old. #netgalley #AmeliaUnabridged