The Book:
Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Schumacher, 2021
The Characters:
Amelia and her friend Jenna
Nolan and his friend Alex
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The Plot (from Goodreads):
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.
The Review:
Many thanks to Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listener’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Amelia’s story was beautiful and heartwarming. In the wake of her best friend’s death, Amelia goes to Michigan to track down the source of an unexpected gift from Jenna. When she meets Nolan, the two are able to lean on each other through their grief and find who they are on the other side.
I loved all of the characters in this book. I think any booklover will be able to find a bit of themself in Amelia’s character, which made her very easy to relate to. Val was the mother figure we all need in our lives, Nolan the perfect grumpy enigma, and Alex the loyal best friend. I loved Jenna and Amelia’s friendship in the beginning, too.
My favorite parts were the descriptions of Val’s bookstore, where N.E. Endsley spends his time. If there is a place like this in real life, it certainly has become a bucket list destination for me.
If you’re looking for a book to take you away from real life and make you both smile and cry, then this is the story for you!
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