"Dead means something new when death has touched you."

This is a story about grief. Amelia parts with her best friend Jenna over a trip the latter takes to Ireland, only that Jenna comes back in a coffin after her car crashes on an Irish highway. What Amelia is left with is the masterplan Jenna had for both of them to achieve in their lives.

But does griefing, troubled Amelia want to go through with it?

Well...

"The dead can hold more sway than the living."

Both Jenna and Amelia were bibliophiles. They bonded over a fantasy series called the Orman chronicles. And when a mystery limited edition of the book is delivered to Amelia after Jenna's death, Amelia starts to wonder where it came from and who sent it. Amelia embarks on a trip to lake Michigan only to find a troubled boy griefing as much as she does and is in need of her help. But then Amelia has to choose between Jenna's masterplan and following her heart.

Overall, I loved the writing, the fantasy part and the moments captured in this story just about right. I love the notion of how people can bond over fiction, all sorts of people, old and young, rich and poor, can bond over all sorts of fiction. As I said I loved the partial world-building of the Orman chronicles. There were definitely more than a few five-stars chapters and five-stars passages, and even sentences that I fell in love with. Take this one for example :

"I feel old, a tattered sail on a boat that has barely weathered the storm."

Or this passage:
"Bathed in a yellow light I thought was only real in movies, I want to believe in stories again. I want to believe everything has a purpose, no matter how terrible. That the fairy tales were right, the stories were true, and at the end of all the muck and despair, light can be found."

However, for sensible, intuitive Amelia, and despite her grief, I expected more panache from her. Sometimes things got a bit too angsty for my taste, or for her character for that matter. It just did not add up and it could hardly be attributed to grief. Some situations were just added up to build conflict that wasn't there. She didn't ask the questions she came all the way to ask in the most opportune of moments. She takes roundabouts despite the road forward is just obvious. She's neither subtle nor direct and it was a bit frustrating.

Overall, I loved the story, enjoyed the ride, but I wanted to enjoy it even more.

Many thanks for NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my eGalley.

Amelia Unabridged was such an unexpected experience. I was pulled into the story right away and never wanted to put it down. The writing was beautiful and had me feeling such a range of emotions. It explored grief in such a unique and poetic way, yet it also felt completely relatable. I enjoyed the story within a story feeling and how whimsical the imagery was at times. Make no mistake though, this is not a light and easy young adult novel. There were times when I would finish a chapter and need to take a deep breath. The heaviness in my heart was simply too much to hold for too long. Through all the pain and heartbreak, however, there was also joy and hope.

I loved the connection between Amelia and Nolan. They knew just when to push and when to just be. I appreciated the journey that each of them had to take to make it to the other side of their grief. As much as I enjoyed it, I actually could have done without the romance aspect of the novel. It was certainly touching and heartwarming, but I think Amelia learning to trust in herself and finally coming into her own was the heart of the story. The themes of friendship and family by choice were very powerful. The secondary characters were wonderful and I especially loved Val and of course, Wally. The ultimate conflict and resolution were somewhat predictable, but it didn't take away from the story and helped make the epilogue feel that much more satisfying. An incredible book from start to finish. I cannot wait to read more from this author in the future.

CW: death of a loved one, anxiety, drowning, car accident, grief

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

This book wasn't for me, despite the intriguing premise and gorgeous cover. I really dislike instalove stories (except in straight-up romance novels), and here the romance element wasn't particularly believable (or conducive to the wider points the novel was making about grief and anxiety taking TIME to process and deal with). I wish the romance element had been a friendship element as well, because it seemed rather cliched and fairy-tale-esque. However, I'm not exactly the target audience for this any longer, and were I 14 years old again, I'm sure I would've eaten this up.

This was a delightful surprise. I honestly didn't know what to expect, but when I learned that the main character loved books but that she lost her best friend suddenly, I was intrigued and decided to give it a try. I loved her journey of discovery as she tries to cope with her best friend's death, but also what she discovers about her favorite author (no spoilers). If you love books, sad realistic fiction with hopeful endings, you should definitely read this book. Yes, there were a couple of devices used in the book that one might consider stereotypical YA tropes, but honestly, I loved the story and I loved the way the story worked its way to the end. I loved imagining the world of Ormon and how it was used to help Amelia (and Nolan) deal with their pain and find a way to live with it. And I loved all the characters. I've already recommended this to people I know, including my daughter because I enjoyed it so much.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Amelia and her best friend Jenna bonded over the Orman Chronicles book series and quickly became best friends, practically sisters. After attending a convention where they were eagerly expecting to get to meet the famous young author N. E. Endsley, Amelia is furious to discover that Jenna met Endsley briefly and caused him to leave the convention early without meeting anyone. But then Jenna unexpectedly dies in a car crash, and Amelia is devastated and unsure how to move on when she has always had Jenna at her side. A mysterious package delivered to Amelia containing the shouldn’t-exist 101st special edition copy of the first Orman book arrives one day, and Amelia decides to journey to the Michigan bookstore where it came from in an effort to have one last connection to her friend.

This is a story of friendship and grief and how to move on with life when the ones you love are taken from you. Amelia is lost in life after losing her best friend and is struggling with moving on in the way she wants to or in the way that would have made her friend happy. Connecting with Nolan Endsley and his friend Alex, and getting to explore the local bookstore and the small lakeside town, Amelia is able to slowly start to heal.

Amelia Unabridged is a book for book lovers. This story clearly shows the influence that books and stories can have on a person, and how connections can be formed by worlds and characters. Readers who have found themselves lost in the pages of a book will be able to relate to Amelia and her relationship to the Orman Chronicles. This book also features an angsty romance between two people who have been through horrible loss but who are able to finally open up again with one another. Readers looking for light fantasy, friend relationships, and first love will enjoy this book.

Wow. This book takes a dive into the many depths of grief that I was unprepared for. I am hard-pressed to find a fault in this book that takes a way from every moment that I loved of it. This book was breathtaking, moving, honest and hopeful.

I could live in its pages.

For Libraries: Do not skip this one!

Jenna found Amelia when her home life was crumbling. She gave her friendship and welcomed her into her family. She mapped out a future for her and Amelia. When Jenna died, Amelia lost her bedrock, her foundation, and nothing could fill the Jenna-sized hole in her life. After receiving a mysterious package, Amelia set out on a quest to uncover its origins, which may just end up changing her post-grad plans.

This book was such a pleasure to read. Everyone knows I love a good story of grief and loss, but not as much as I love a romance. Here, Schumacher deftly combined the two to produce a beautiful story, which both made my heart ache and fill with joy.

Amelia was reeling from the loss of her best friend, her sister by choice, and that profound loss was compounded by her sense of duty to carry out Jenna's plan for them, to live for both of them. When the book arrived, Amelia was struggling with her future, and this search ended up helping her work through her conflicting feelings about college, as well as her grief.

Could you imagine anywhere better to heal than a whimsical bookstore? Not only did this place sound magical, it was filled with people who welcomed Amelia with open arms. There, she met Noah, who had also suffered a great loss. Together, they found a way to properly honor those they lost, while still moving forward. The fact that Amelia had someone to share her pain with gave me peace of mind. Noah understood what she lost, and I loved the idea that they could help each other.

Because Schumacher allowed me to see parts of Jenna and Amelia's friendship via flashbacks, I really understood the weight of what she lost. They really shared something wonderful and special. They started their friendship with a night at a bookstore. How perfect! And I loved their shared love of the Orman Chronicles, which becomes such an important part of this story.

And you want to talk tears! The ending pushed me over the edge. I was actually sobbing, because it was so touching. It was a highlight reel type ending, where we got bits and pieces as we fast forwarded through Amelia's life. I have tears running down my face just thinking about it!

Overall, this was an emotionally charged story of love, loss, and healing. The incorporation of books and reading took it to the next level for me. I hope many readers will enjoy taking this voyage of self-discovery with Amelia as much as I did.

I stayed up far too late reading this book the day I started it because it sucked me in and did not let me go for one moment. So many of the descriptions were beautiful and the contemplations of loss and grief was heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time, talking about the dual nature of remembering and going forward. The writing was my favorite part of the book.

I was impressed by the way Schumacher was able to establish Jenna’s personality, Jenna and Amelia’s friendship, and make us care for Jenna in the brief time before Jenna’s death catalyzed the rest of the story. I also loved the complexity of Amelia's and Nolan's characters and how we slowly learned more about both of them, both how they were in private and the faces they showed the world.

However, I didn’t like the romance at all. It made me profoundly uncomfortable how they decided they were soulmates within three days and that this was the end-all. At first, before I learned the nature of the romance, I was head over heels in love with Amelia and Nolan’s immediate connection and how they felt like they were ‘starting in the middle’. If this had been a friendship story, I would have continued to adore it because consuming and immediate kindred-spirit friendships are one of my favorite things to read about. As it was, I simply could not understand how this romance progressed like it did in three days and how they literally decided they were soulmates and that Amelia was immediately shaping her entire life around Nolan from that point forward.

Stories that contain stories absorb the readers into their story. This one did exactly that! The imagery created between the real world and the world within the characters was gripping. I loved every minute I got to spend with Amelia.

Thank you to the publisher through Netgalley for an advanced copy.

Whoa. This book packs a punch in all the right ways. Friendship, loss, grief, finding yourself, love - it covers it all and it’s perfect. I’m placing this in my top reads for the year already. I’ve never finished a book wanting to read it again until now.

Amelia and Jenna are best friends who are inseparable - until Jenna is killed in a car accident. Amelia is left having to figure out how to do life without her friend, and to discover who she really is.

This book is filled with friendship, family, loss, grief, love and discovery. I loved every second of it and found myself laughing, crying and getting mad at the characters (and then forgiving them when they made things right).

When Amelia meets Nolan they’re both so broken, but I loved watching them both grow and mend together. I love Alex and his love and protection of his best friend. Val who always knows just what to say or do.

I feel like I can’t give this book all the praise it deserves. If you like stories that take place in the now, but still have a little fantasy and fairy tale to them, this is for you. And if that’s not enough, it’s a book about books and mostly takes place in a bookstore. I mean, does it get much better than that?

This book is hard and beautiful, expressive, passionate. It is an explosion of emotion that makes or breaks you. It will make you question your life, your journey. This is not an easy read but one that I feel most people should at some point in their life read. The story follows Amelia and her journey of healing. There is mystery, great characters, and a journey that no one expected. I would give this book to anyone that is wanting a deep story of friendship or is lost in their own grief possibly.

"Everything is a story, not just writing. You need to find the story that means something to you, a story you like telling”

Amelia Griffin is obsessed with author N.E. Endsley and the Orman Chronicles. His books have changed her life. After attending a book festival with Endsley in attendance, a tragic accident occurs and Amelia's life gets turned upside down. The only bright spot, a rare edition of the Orman Chronicles mysteriously arrives. As a way to heal and also get answers, she makes a trip to the enchanting bookstore it came from only to find herself face to face with THE N.E. Endsley,

Alright, are you ready for a long, rambling review? This is going to be one of those because I'm going to have a hard time explaining how much I loved this book. It'll be on my top books of the year, calling it right now. To help you get a better picture, I highlighted almost the entire book, I cried through the end (but in the best way), and I'm already ready to do a reread.

This story is rooted in reality, but just barely. There's a touch of something more, a little bit of whimsy, hiding behind every corner. It's magical, but mostly in the way it'll make you feel. To use Ashley Schumacher's words, it "bends genres."

There's just so much to love about this book. It's a reminder of the power of books, both for the writer and the reader. They help us heal, they help us grow, they bring us together. Among the beauty, there's so much loss in this story. Grief, but also healing and new love. And all of it appears because of the books. The books and the most enchanting bookstore you will ever meet,

If this sounds a little heavy, don't worry. There's also a crazy dog, secret rooms, and wonderful friends. I don't know how else to convince you, so just go read this book as soon as you can.

I didn’t know much about this book before I started to read it and I am so happy to say it was an absolute treat.

This book is about friendship, learning to trust yourself and living the life you want, love, and grief. This book is about so much grief and how loss changes you. It’s about how to live after a life stopping event. How to live without part of your heart. How, when a bone breaks, it is stronger for the healing.

I loved this book! Yes, it was a bit predictable but, I truly didn’t care. I have never read something that rings so true to how grief can change you, absorb you, and free you all at once. This book was beautiful and the writing was more than I could have asked for.

And I cried. I cried so much - like ugly cried.

What an exceptional debut. Beautiful, powerful, emotional, and inspirational, this novel has it all.

Jenna and Amelia are best friends. The kind of best friends who are basically sisters. Amelia has become part of Jenna's family - going on family trips with them, getting her own place at the dinner table, and discussing and planning the future together.

For graduation, Jenna's parents gift the girls a trip to a book event where they'll get to meet their favorite author, N.E. Endsley. At the event, Amelia rushes to the bathroom before they plan to get in line to meet N.E. Endsley. While she's gone, Jenna happens to make acquaintance with the elusive and mysterious author himself. When Amelia returns, an announcement is made that N.E. Endsley will no longer be attending the event and the tickets will be refunded.

Amelia is crushed about missing her opportunity to meet her favorite author and when she learns that Jenna had met him and apparently helped him decide to leave, she is devastated and hurt.

Shortly after returning home, Jenna heads off to Ireland for one last summer internship before college. The girls part ways, tension still between them.

Shockingly, Jenna is killed in a car accident while in Ireland. Emotional and grief stricken, Amelia is floored when the 101st (of 100) edition of N.E. Endsley's first book is to delivered to her. Convinced Jenna had a grander plan for Amelia and the book, even after her death, Amelia decides to visit the little bookshop where the collector's edition came from. What unfolds is a magical story of forgiveness, grief, and friendship.

This was such a powerful novel and the devastation Amelia experienced could be felt through the pages. The character development was really well done and it was easy to connect with the characters and empathize with their situations.

I felt that the characters were a bit young for their eighteen years, making this book very YA, but it worked for the storyline. This will be a great read for anyone who really enjoys young adult novels with substance, emotion, and strong characters.

Part coming of age, part book about a book, this is one that cannot be missed.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for a copy of this novel.

4.5 stars.

Thank you Wednesday Books for gifting me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

A beautiful heart wrenching book about how reading and writing fiction can help us emotionally heal from grief and loss. I pretty much highlighted every single line in this book - they all struck a cord with me. I will read everything Ashley Schumacher writes from now on.

I really wish I liked this entire book as much as I enjoyed several aspects of it, but I was mainly thrown off by what I thought was a bad case of insta-love for the main couple. I loved that Amelia Unabridged takes place in a small indie bookstore in rural Michigan - it felt super cozy and the descriptions of the store made me really want to visit it if it were real. I also enjoyed the dynamics between the the author/love interest Nolan and his best friend. The interactions between the two very different boys were realistic and was satisfying to read about.

What I didn't like about this novel was that Amelia seems like a Mary Sue-type protagonist. She's a normal high school girl and her favorite author happens to fall in love with her just from being shown a photo of her by her best friend? And she's not described as having any particularly great qualities, either. Nolan happens to be recovering from a panic attack as he sees the picture, too. If I were in his shoes, I personally would not care about being shown a picture of a random girl - I'd worry more about why this random girl decided to comfort me in the men's bathroom. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't call that a meet-cute at all.

Which takes me to the insta-love part - you don't find out until around the climax of the book that Nolan fell in love with Amelia because of that one photo of her reading his novel. You kind of just assume that he fell in love with her at first sight. It's completely true, actually, but it ends up being before you think it is. I could not get myself to care for Amelia, but Nolan was pretty interesting. I just didn't care for how their relationship started.

Amelia Unabridged is a very well-written novel, and a lot of parts were pretty cute when you don't think about how it all started. I'm just not for a love story involving an author and one of his fangirls, I guess.

I loved every thing about this story. The characters, the setting, the plot! Everything! Wally must be protected at all costs! I would love a dog with that much enthusiasm. Amelia is a strong main character and I feel so bad for her for losing her best friend. It’s a pain I never want to know. I loved how the romance aspect came into play, how even though she was hurting, this helped her to realize what she needs to do for herself while still in a way honoring Jenna’s wishes. I think this was an incredible debut. The story telling was fantastic and it’s definitely a book I want in my library to reread.

Amelia Unabridged was a story told from the heart. Amelia and Nolan are two damaged souls looking for someone who can possibly understand their grief. This story revolved around the writing and loving of books, so I easily fell into the storyline and devoured every word. My only wish was that the ending had not happened so abruptly. I will definitely be looking for more stories by Ashley Schumacher to entrance and engage me.

A decent YA contemporary focused on love and grief (as well as the power of stories). The friendship and chosen family elements were potent and interesting, the bookstore is the exact sort of magical place I’d like to visit, and the supporting characters were strongly written. Also, it’s always great to read about characters from lower income backgrounds, and those who take nontraditional paths post graduation.

On the other hand, I find that trying to get me as a reader to buy into appreciating fictional media rarely if ever works, so the time spent on excerpts and plot descriptions from the Orman books seemed a bit futile, but YMMV there. And while it’s certainly likely that there are people who adored the romance, I found it dull. I’m generally an absolute pushover when it comes to this sort of thing, believing that every other couple in a romcom or YA book or romance novel is going to be together and blissful forever, but I never managed to become invested in Amelia and Nolan. Perhaps it was because Nolan seemed a bit cookie-cutter to me, as if an angsty ghost or a life-lesson-imparting hallucination could have easily taken his place, and part of it was certainly the way that both Amelia and other characters seemed to feel that she needed to be in the relationship because it was some sort of salvation for him, which is a disappointing attitude.

Perhaps offer to younger teens who might also enjoy Kemmerer’s Letters to the Lost.

For booklovers and romantics. Amelia Unabridged tackles characters broken by loss, but the threads of friendship and romance made it very sweet and endearing.

Amelia has lost her best friend and Nolan is a young author overwhelmed by his own story. They are brought together by a bit of a mystery. They don’t click at first and I wasn’t fond of Nolan in the beginning, but he grows on you. They don’t realize that each of them holds the key to helping the other heal.

The secondary characters, including Amelia’s dead best friend, are all very present and involved in this story and I enjoyed their meddling and good intentions. It's very much a book about the struggle of how you honor those that you've loved and lost while still being true to yourself.

There are several elements in this story that will stay with me. The tragedies that shaped the characters. Wally the dog was some much-needed lightness and hilarious. Nolan reading to Amelia. I’m sure everyone will find their own favorite parts.

Thank you #netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday books for the opportunity to review this book.