Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Schumacher
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Special thanks to Raincoast Books for sending a copy for review.
Summary:
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 (Goodreads).
Thoughts:
Reading Amelia Unabridged is like drinking a sweet, warm cup of tea; the type that tastes bitter when you first drink it but morphs into a perfect, floral drink. The story will break your heart with grief in the beginning, and then slowly mend it with the gentlest, purest form of love. To say that I fell in love with this book is an understatement!
Plot:
After the loss of her best friend, Jenna, Amelia has to traverse the world alone without her anchor to hold on to. When a special signed edition of Amelia and Jenna’s favourite novel written by the child prodigy N. E. Endsley was sent to Amelia, she was confident it came from Jenna. To track where the special edition came from, Amelia ends up in a whirlwind of true love and acceptance.
Nolan:
Nolan, or N. E. Endsley, is my favourite character in Amelia Unabridged. It’s quite unusual for me to not devote my soul to the main character, but I have my reasons. Throughout the entire story, Nolan has been nothing but sweet and does his best to open up and let someone like Amelia, who understands his losses and accepts them in the way no one else did, into his world. He overcomes his fears, like the ocean for example, for her and never gives up on their relationship even when the path ahead seems treacherous.
Amelia felt she wasn’t honouring her promise to Jenna about their future by throwing it away to be with Nolan, but it pains both of the couple to end things. I’m not saying that Amelia is not a great main character, she is, but sometimes her way of dealing with grief is unreasonable, like when she throws away her wants to pursue something she thinks that Jenna wants. I can still appreciate that she is a determined, loyal and empathetic person, which might be why Nolan fell in love with her since Amelia could tell when he needs space and respects that.
Nolan & Amelia:
Amelia and Nolan’s love is so gorgeously pure and sweet. Similar to romance movies where there’s always one scene where time seems to stop while the couple stares lovingly and soulfully into each other’s eyes? Maybe it’s because they’re each others’ first love or because they help each other conquer their fears and build one another up, but reading about Amelia and Nolan reminds me of these cinematic scenes in a less cheesy and more innocent way. I want to cry every single time I think about their relationship because it’s something we as humans crave but some will likely never experience. It’s not unrealistic by any means; their love is achievable if a couple loves each other enough to devote everything to their relationship, but to find someone who looks at you like you’re their only salvation and vice versa is so rare that it may as well be impossible. This is also why when I read about them, I get pangs of sadness under waves of joy.
Ending:
I couldn’t have asked for a better ending! For the curious people reading my review, it does have a happy ending, thank goodness🙏🏻
Reviewed by Jenny Y.