Reconstructing Amelia

Reconstructing Amelia

by Kimberly McCreight

Genre: Thriller, Mystery

Synopsis:  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 arrives is beyond comprehension.  Her daughter Amelia is dead. 

 Despondent over having bee 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 the 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 e-mails, texts, and Facebook updates, piecing together the last troubled days of her daughter's life.  

Reconstruction Amelia's a stunning debut page-turner that brilliantly explorers the secret world of teenagers, their clandestine first loves, hidden friendships, and the dangerous cruelty that can spill over into acts of terrible betrayal.

From the ebok

Review:  I could NOT put this book down-I read it in one day and stayed up way too late!  This book was fast paced and engaging.  I tried to figure out the whole book what happened to Amelia and who would have hated her enough to push her.  I would think one person but then the author would make me believe someone else was guilty.  More and more secrets were revealed and I had to keep reading.  This book really hits on angst of high school and the cruelty that can come along with it.  There were curse words and discussion (and some description) of intimate moments (not too graphic) that could make the book slightly uncomfortable especially knowing that we are talking about high school students as young as sophomores.  I was disgusted by what some of the high school students did but I had to view this as a book and nothing else (or else I would have been more disturbed).  Towards the end, pieces start to get put together and some of them just didn't seem to fit together well.  We figured out character motivation at the end but some of them seemed to not make too much sense to me (unless I just didn't follow because it was late by the time I finished the book!)  Some things seemed superfluous.  The end was a little anti-climactic as well. But overall it was a really good, fast enjoyable read that I would recommend when you are in the mood for a thriller.  

Rating:  4 stars