Reconstructing Amelia

By: Kimberly McCreight

Narrated by: Khristine Hvam

Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

When Kate, single mother and law firm partner, gets an urgent phone call summoning her to her daughter's exclusive private school, she's shocked. Amelia has been suspended for cheating, something that would be completely out of character for her over-achieving, well-behaved daughter.

Kate rushes to Grace Hall, but what she finds when she finally arrives is beyond comprehension. Her daughter is dead.

Despondent over having been caught cheating, Amelia has jumped from the school's roof in an act of impulsive suicide. At least that's the story Grace Hall and the police tell Kate. In a state of shock and overcome by grief, Kate tries to come to grips with this life-shattering news. Then she gets an anonymous text: Amelia didn't jump.

The moment she sees that message, Kate knows in her heart it's true. Clearly Amelia had secrets, and a life Kate knew nothing about. Wracked by guilt, Kate is determined to find out what those secrets were and who could have hated her daughter enough to kill. She searches through Amelia's emails, texts, and Facebook updates, piecing together the last troubled days of her daughter's life.

Reconstructing Amelia is a stunning debut pause-resistor that brilliantly explores the secret world of teenagers, their clandestine first loves, hidden friendships, and the dangerous cruelty that can spill over into acts of terrible betrayal.

©2013 Kimberly McCreight (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

Amelia

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight was excellent. The story grabbed me from the very beginning. Khristine Hvam did an outstanding job narrating the story and brought every character to life. I will be looking for other books by both the author and the narrator.

This story centers around the death of 15 year old Amelia and alters between the past and the present. That is all I am going to say. You will need to read or listen to the book.

I enjoyed this book tremendously and would highly recommend this to teens and adults alike.

The Narrator sealed this one for me!

What did you love best about Reconstructing Amelia?

I really enjoyed this book. It was entertaining from the start, due in part to the fantastic narration by Khristine Hvam. That's not to say the story wasn't written well, it definitely was. It had enough twists and turns to keep me listening. It was just lacking something for me. Maybe it just felt very over the top, like Mean Girls meets Gossip Girl. At the same time that same meetup was what made it entertaining. Overall it was a great listen and as I asaid before, the narrator really did a fantastic job.

Really good book

If you could sum up Reconstructing Amelia in three words, what would they be?

Sad surprising enlightening

What was one of the most memorable moments of Reconstructing Amelia?

When you found out who the father was

Which character – as performed by Khristine Hvam – was your favorite?

Dillon

Any additional comments?

Would make a great lifetime movie

Great read

Kept me in suspense till the very end. Great book overall. This is a great read.

Heartbreakingly Good

This book was so good, but heartbreaking to listen to. Really makes you think about how your actions can affect other. That people are cruel, and we should strive not to be. Definitely worth a listen.

Crying

A very emotional story, and possibly cathartic for anyone who, shall we say, had a less than excellent time in high school.

Excellent mystery

I recommend this book. I didn't want to put it down. Story was great and the narrator was excellent!

Mixed feelings

Amelia plummets to the ground from the roof of her school. Was it suicide? Homicide? That's what you explore in Reconstructing Amelia as Amelia's mom, Kate, searches through emails, texts and social media to learn more about her daughter's life and how she may have ended up splayed on the ground next to her school.

The storytelling mechanism is interesting, and certainly timely for the technology age we are in. It made working your way through the book interesting and a bit more "real" for how our teens today live.

What I struggled with was where I felt the story wanted to place blame. I am a high school educator and, admittedly, am sensitive to the unreasonable expectations families, media and society in general put on schools for what we "should" control, monitor and provide consequences for, many (most?), of which are unreasonable and undoable.

Thrilling but sad – know what you're in for

Beautifully written and read. It's a wonderful story. There is no happy ending here, so be aware

Loved it even though it broke my heart...

I really enjoyed listening to this book even though it was heart wrenching at times. Both the story and narration were very well done. The mystery kept me guessing till the end. I will definitely look for more books by this very talented author.