Reconstructing Amelia audiobook

This book. This. Fucking. Book. You see all those other reviews talking about how it was unputdownable, and how they never believed something so cliche before this book? You know how you’re rolling your eyes right now at those comments? Stop it. They are all true. This book handily usurped Gone Girl as the best book I have read in the past year. Make no mistake, however, this book is absolutely heartwrenching in so many ways I cannot describe absent spoilers.This book is many things, which makes it incredibly difficult to genre classify. It is a poignant story about a single mother and successful career woman (Kate) doing the best she can to raise daughter, but following Amelia’s death, she cannot escape her own regrets and guilt over what happened, feeling like had she been a better parent, she could have prevented it.It is also a beautiful coming of age tale for 15 year old Amelia, as well as several of the tertiary teenage characters, and explores first love and heartbreak, and the bonds of friendship anbd loyalty, in a delicate and beautiful, yet highly realistic, way. Perhaps most important, this is a book about secrets. Secrets abound in this book. Everyone has a secret, and by the end, you will know their secrets too. Portions of the book have a very Gossip Girl feel, and I mean that in the best way possible. The reader is provided juicy tidbits of gossip as the story unfolds, and these developments are made in such a way that you can’t help but want to hear more, because it gives true insight into the world Amelia lived in, and the person she was. The pacing was absolutely excellent.The story vacillates between events unfolding in the present and events that occurred in the past. Each chapter is narrated by either Kate or Amelia, except those in an epistolary format, constructed through texts, and facebook and blog posts. I found this a brilliant formatting choice, as the story unfolded for the reader practically simultaneously as it did for Kate. Oh god, the characters in this book. So real, so multi-faceted. So relatable. Even the more ”cliched” characters had dimensions and layers. I don’t have kids, but I truly felt for Kate. My heart broke for her. Perhaps it is because for a portion of my life I was raised every day by a single mom, working a full time job, who often had to leave me with babysitters until early evening. I can understand that a mother may feel guilty about that, even if many people, her children included, do not believe that she should. Likewise, I strongly identified with Amelia, who fully understood why her mom was so absentee. This book really drilled home the point that the quality of the time they spent together mattered so much more than the quantity. The emotions in this book. Oh, they run the gamut - jealousy, betrayal, hatred, admiration, and love. There is so much love in this book. The love Kate and Amelia feel for each other oozes off the pages. I won’t say much more about the nuanced emotions and relationships present in the book, lest I spoil.Also, it appears that high school girls are still bitches. I graduated before household internet was mainstream; before AOL’s seemingly self-replicating floppies provided millions of households with free coasters. High school tormenting was much more covert in those days, rumors spread through whispers and giggles in the hallway, and you just hoped that the rumors died before proliferating throughout the school. This book makes deft use of the ways in which the digital age have changed the rumor mill, and thus, changed the ways in which high schoolers can torment each other in perpetuity. Nothing dies on the internet. The digital footprint is always there. Makes it much harder to forget and move onto the next rumor.Ultimately, I cannot recommend this book enough. I was only about 80 or 100 pages in last night when I curled up in bed with my Nook, as I do every night, planning to read a couple chapters as I fell asleep. Next thing I knew, I was 150 pages in, it was pretty late, but I could read “just one more chapter.” Then 200...then 300...by the time I finished, it was far later than I should ever be awake during the week, but I regret not one moment of it.

“The eyes of others our prisons; their thoughts our cages.” - Virginia WoolfThis book made me cry. And I really wasn't expecting that.I think the comparisons between Reconstructing Amelia and Gone Girl have done this book a disservice. I know that every mystery/thriller with some unconventional female antics is now compared to Gone Girl - inevitable, really, in a world so focused on the marketing and selling aspect. But Gone Girl (and the books that deserve to be grouped with it) left me shocked and intrigued at the dark psychological exploration of what people are capable of. I finish them thinking they are clever, twisted and totally disturbing. They do not make me cry. They do not break my heart like this book did.I can see why the marketing department at HarperCollins read Reconstructing Amelia and saw an opportunity to market it as the dark, twisty thriller of the Gone Girl variety. It is about the secrets we all keep and hide from those closest to us. It's about discovering that the people we love most aren't all we believed them to be. And it looks closely at some of the most evil, depressed and fucked up creatures in the world: teenage girls.BUT. There is one reason this book is so good and it's not some huge, mind-boggling, never-saw-that-coming twist... it's the relationship between Kate and Amelia. Kate is a lawyer from a "serious" family that never showed her any affection. After discovering her ability to fall for and/or sleep with all the wrong guys, she became pregnant with Amelia. Though her mother wanted her to have an abortion, Kate finally saw an opportunity to shower another human being with all the love and affection that lay unused inside her.Despite having to work the long hours of a lawyer, Kate adored her daughter and dedicated every spare minute to her. She was open with her, encouraged Amelia to talk to her about anything, and loved her so unconditionally. And the reader knows that. I could feel Kate's love for Amelia. I mourned Amelia too because Kate did. How do you deal with the death of your child? How do you deal with the death of the person your entire life revolved around?And, more than that, Kate cannot come to terms with Amelia's supposed suicide. It's hard enough that her daughter is dead, but she has to also accept that Amelia did it to herself. Because... Kate wasn't there enough? She didn't see the signs? She wasn't a good enough mother? So when an anonymous text informs Kate that Amelia didn't jump, she desperately grasps at this possibility. Finding new information that reopens the case, Kate sparks an investigation deep into the world of private school teenage girls and all the dark horrors that lie inside their minds. Told in alternating perspectives - of Kate in the present and Amelia in the weeks leading up to her death - the mystery unravels to reveal ever more mysteries.It shouldn't be grouped with Gone Girl, though, because it is not that kind of book. It's about a mother, a daughter, the love between them, and the mistakes we all make - teenagers and adults alike.Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr

O-M-G! I'm so glad that I was a teenage girl way before the arrival of the internet. These girlies take bullying to a whole new level!

3.5 stars / Recommend / fast, easy read / enjoyed the characters and the story / suspected what actually happened to Amelia and a few other mysteries / was happy with the ending / no real wow factor for me but all in all it was a very good read

Did high school sophomore Amelia jump off of the school's roof? Or was she pushed? Told through the viewpoints of Amelia, her Mom Kate, Facebook posts, text messages and a hurtful high school blog, this book had many twists and turns that I never saw coming..

Reconstructing Amelia is a debut novel by Kimberly McCreight, and, my gosh, is it good. In the beginning of the novel readers meet Kate, a single mother and successful lawyer who struggles daily with determining which role is more important. Her daughter, Amelia, is a bright, creative, thoughtful and focused high school student. Despite Kate’s “crushing work hours, she knew her daughter. Really knew her,” she assures herself. But the closeness of their bond is called to question when Kate receives a phone call... Amelia has been suspended for cheating. Upon reaching the school, Kate discovers that the severity of the situation has escalated: Amelia has jumped to her death from the school’s roof. Blinded by grief, Kate accepts Amelia’s apparent suicide as truth until one afternoon when she receives a chilling, anonymous text message: “She didn’t jump…”.Intrigued? I was too. And from the first chapter on until the final chapter, I could not put this book down. The gripping storyline follows Kate as she tries to uncover the truth behind her daughter’s death, leading the reader through the lives (and lies) of students, parents, teachers and employees. No one knows the truth, and everyone has something to hide.Read Kaitlyn's full review on The Savvy Reader, here: http://thesavvyreader.ca/2013/reconst...

I quite enjoyed this book. The ending was a little bit of a letdown. There was this build-up to the ending and Kate finding out what really happened to Amelia but then it ended up being something very predictable.I did like how the mystery unravelled, going back and forth between Amelia's and Kate's point of view while everything still remained this huge mystery, and the build-up towards the end. It was only the conclusion of the book that ended up ruining the story for me. I think McCreight did an amazing job with this novel, making sure all the details match up and leaving no unanswered questions.

Good first novel. Captured the world really well. Could've used a tad more suspense. I'll read her next.

Kate Baron, a stressed, overworked lawyer and single mother, receives a call from Grace Hall - the exclusive private school in Brooklyn's suburbs which her only daughter, Amelia, attends - to say Amelia has been caught plagiarising an English paper. This is odd in the first place, since Amelia is a straight-A student whose favourite subject is English. But when Kate arrives at the school, she is greeted by a phalanx of police and the devastating news that her daughter has died jumping from the building's roof, apparently in a case of 'impulsive suicide'. A month or so down the line, when Kate is beginning to work through her grief, she starts to question her acceptance of this theory. Why would a happy, intelligent girl like Amelia suddenly decide to kill herself? Kate sets out to discover the truth, and to do so she must immerse herself in her daughter's world - secret societies, forbidden crushes, dubious internet friends, the lot.The narrative is composed of various elements: Kate's narrative (third person); Amelia's narrative (first person, in flashbacks); posts from a bitchy, Gossip Girl-style blog about the school's students called gRaCeFULLY; snippets from Kate's old journals; and Amelia's emails, texts and Facebook status updates. As is often the case with these 'patchwork' narratives, the story moves quickly and it's easy to stay engaged because each section is relatively short. However, the author manages to avoid the accompanying pitfalls of this format: there is no problem with how naturally the story flows, it doesn't feel patchy, and the characters are still well-rounded. I liked Kate straight away, and in Amelia, McCreight has done an excellent job of writing a precocious teenager who's actually, properly likeable rather than being unbearably annoying or unbelievable.I actually guessed quite a lot of the twists before they were revealed: they're not difficult to figure out and, since there isn't much of a big reveal moment for the majority of them, I'm guessing the author realised (slash intended) this. However, I a) still found the story incredibly compelling nevertheless, and b) still had absolutely no idea what had happened to Amelia until the very end, no matter how many of her secrets I worked out. I was absolutely glued to my Kindle while I was reading this book and just never wanted to stop reading it: the climactic revelation wasn't that exciting, and I suppose I could have seen it as little disappointing, but I've always said it's the journey that matters with this type of plot, not the destination, so to speak - and this was one hell of a ride. Cheesy, but true.This is a popcorn thriller, not a literary novel, and of course there are problems. Some of the dialogue is a bit artificial, particularly when Kate and Jeremy are discussing the reinvestigation of Amelia's case. There's a British character who uses completely unrealistic slang in every sentence in order to hammer home the fact that he's British (as if a kid whose parents had sent him to private school in New York would be calling people 'luv'!) The idea of (view spoiler)[Liv being the one who writes the blog (hide spoiler)] doesn't ring true, and nor does the (irritatingly brief and, really, a bit lame) explanation for this. But these are just small things I noticed, not significant issues; and like I've said before about other books, when a story is this compelling and readable, it's easy to get carried along and not really care about the little annoyances. It was for me, anyway.I don't have any particular expertise at (or, to be honest, interest in) predicting the 'next big thing', but I really think that if it gets enough exposure and a wide enough readership, this could be the next Gone Girl. Not in the sense that the stories are similar - the people in Reconstructing Amelia are a lot more likeable, for one thing - but in the sense that this is a smart, well-plotted, well-paced thriller with intriguing characters, nail-biting tension and a lot of good twists, which is incredibly readable and has the potential for mass appeal. (Some elements - secret society at a private school in the US, a narrative that switches between adult and teenage characters - reminded me of Jennifer Miller's enjoyable The Year of the Gadfly, too.) Very highly recommended - it might be a guilty pleasure, but guilty pleasures don't get much better than this.

Kate Baron is a single mother and a very busy lawyer. Her fifteen year old daughter Amelia attends an exclusive private school. Amelia is a bright, creative and a very thoughtful student so when her mother receives a call from her school to come and pick her up because she's been suspended she is has no idea as to what her daughter could've done.Once Kate arrives at the school she is shocked to to find that Amelia has fallen to her death from the school roof. Not only is Kate extremely upset she is also very confused as to how this could happen. The police are saying it's suicide but Kate can't and won't believe this is true.Months later after Amelia's death Kate receives a text message saying "Amelia didn't jump."Kate then sets out to find out the truth. But Kate can't believe what she discovers through text messages, emails, journals and Facebook entries. She discovers not only things about Amelia but also things about Amelia's best friend, class mates and teachers.I really enjoyed this book and toward the end I just needed to know how it was going to end. I highly recommend it.

I always snort with cynicism when people rave that a book was 'so good I couldn't put it down." But THIS book is just that compelling, so it truly warrants that sort of phrase. Within 36 hours of starting this book about a private-school teenager's apparent suicide, I'd come to the end, and I nearly felt out of breath, was deeply moved and had become totally absorbed by both the exciting, heart-wrenching plot and the well-drawn characters. Some books are beautifully rendered but sort of boring. Some are all about action and plot, but thin on character detail and realistic development. McCreight has managed to skillfully do BOTH. I can imagine that fans of Gillian Flynn's GONE GIRL will love this book because like that one, this is full of dark corners, insidious secrets and tons of surprises. I love that she made wise use of the various forms of technology that can be woven into a modern-day plot -- without it seeming forced or cheesy. A very satisfying read, easy to recommend to friends, and I CANT wait to see what McCreight writes next!

4.25 stars! So far I've read two of McCreight's books and have really enjoyed them both. from what I have read, she's the type of author that you can rely on and auto-buy, or loan immediately without even needing to read the synopsis, as she's proven to me she's consistently great! Her previous novel that I read, Where They Found Her, touched a sensitive topic and this novel was definitely no exception. Losing a child is probably every parent's worst nightmare, let alone to suicide....or potentially even murder. This story gives us Kate's perspective when her daughter Amelia commits suicide after being accused of cheating on a test, and enduring the all-too-common adolescent bullying that most of us have unfortunately gone through. This novel was full of heart and was written at a great pace, leaving absolutely not a single dull moment, which made this hard to put down! This book was genre defying, but if I had to categorize this I'd put it down as a drama, not necessarily a thriller. While this is not a light, breezy, summer read, (quite the opposite) I'd still recommend this to anyone looking for a memorable , touching, experience! I don't think anyone that reads this will regret it!