Beautiful writing with an understandable story line. I found myself relating to a lot of the thoughts the characters had about growing up, leaving home, and changing relationships. A lot of the scenes were so realistic that the emotions felt raw. I really enjoyed this book. "I have learned that knowing where you're going means remembering where you've been."

3.5? I love James. This reminds me of Where Things Come Back.

Oh, Amelia Anne. I honestly have no idea where to start with this book. I was very on the fence about it until about half way through. It was sort of a slow starter and then I kept feeling hot and cold… and don’t make me mention how put off I was by a certain Chinese food container. (Though that part totally served its purpose.) I put the novel down for a while and picked it back up later. After I got past that initial hitch I couldn’t put the book down. I almost could have sworn it was glued to my hand for how much I was reading it (while lounging in the sun on my porch, you know). The story in Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone is highly exceptional. It switched between the perspective of Rebecca, the main character, and Amelia Anne. Both pieces of the story come together to tell us how everything went to hell and Amelia eventually met her demise. There was at least one part of the story where I was like “What exactly does this have to with anything?” while simultaneously feeling like I needed to read it. Usually when I felt that way I learned later that it was, in fact, important in a way I never would have guessed, but totally fit. Kat Rosenfield’s writing is extremely colorful and poetic. Even the smallest of details are explained in a way that makes you feel like the story would have suffered had it not been included. Her prose hooks you and pulls you in, giving no mercy. I loved how honest this book was. Rosenfield wasn’t afraid to write about sex in an intimate way or examine that some people get off on the death of other people. She never shied away from explaining the things that aren’t so pretty and I loved it and absolutely appreciate it. As for the characters, they were good, well rounded, and fleshed out, but I didn’t feel an extremely strong connection to any of them. I like Rebecca well enough, but I’m rather apathetic about her. When it comes to Rebecca versus Amelia Anne, Amelia Anne wins. Amelia Anne was more enjoyable for me to read, but to be honest (in Rebecca’s defense) it could be due to the fact that Amelia was living her normal day-to-day life and Rebecca was dealing with a murder in her town and everything else. It could have put a damper on her character. (Could have? It did. Whatever.) Both leading ladies were wonderful and made the story that much better. James’s (Rebecca’s boyfriend) story broke my heart. I wasn’t swooning over him, but I liked him a lot and was hoping things would turn out well for him. I think he’s a great character and probably a good person in general too. Aside from my apathy during the beginning of this book I was extremely impressed and engrossed in the world of Rebecca and Amelia Anne. I would never want to be in their shoes, but as a book it was great and definitely recommendable.

There's no doubt that this book was captivating, but there was still just something off about it to me. I think it was that I couldn't place the time period. There are several references to it being set in the present day, but it still read and felt like it was supposed to be the 50s. As someone who grew up in a rural area, it just didn't seem accurate. But nonetheless I enjoyed the book. It's a quick, page turner. The chapters are fast paced and keep you engaged. The mystery is solvable, but still not quite what you expect.

I don't know where to start. I didn't like the characters , nor did I like the story. Omg this book was dragging and I figured out what's going to happen or what happened right from the beginning. Didn't like the writing or the authors style of writing. I gave this book a two stars and I think I was being generous.

i initially decided that i wasn’t going to finish this book, but me being me, i had to find out who the killer was. Amelia Anne Is Dead And Gone was definitely interesting, to say the least. the majority of the book was quite repetitive, it felt as if i was reading the same chapter over and over again, but the last few chapters sealed the fate of this book.