Ashley Schumacher

Sparks fly between two teens as they grapple with grief, love, and the future in this unforgettable debut novel sure to entice fans of Jandy Nelson and Jennifer E. Smith 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. Ashley Schumacher's devastating and beautiful debut, Amelia Unabridged, is about finding hope and strength within yourself, and maybe, just maybe, falling in love while you do it.

A Novel

Amelia Unabridged

Raven K

I have no idea what I expected from this book..but it was definitely not what I read. Chapter after chapter, page after page, it just kept on getting better. A memorable book at it's finest.

Vilde

Maegan Kennedy

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

“There’s nothing in the world a good book can’t cure.”

“I’ve lived in books. I’ve eaten and breathed book for so long that I took it for granted. I assumed that, if they saved me once, they would always be there to pick me up, even if Jenna wasn’t.”

Let’s start with this cover! It’s absolutely beautiful and I feel that it grasps the concept of the book perfectly! I honestly can’t get over how stunning it is!

The writing was very lyrical, beautiful, and had an ethereal effect on the story as we follow Amelia, who’s grieving over the death of her best friend. When a rare edition of the Orman Chronicles is mailed to Amelia, she thinks Jenna had something to do with it. Amelia travels to Michigan to figure out the truth behind the book and the mysterious bookstore is came from, but ends up with even more questions when she ends up meeting N. E. Endsley himself. 

I felt that this book moved very fast in the beginning. One chapter the girls were meeting, the next they were at the book event, and the next Jenna was dead. All of this happens within the first three chapters and I would’ve liked to see it dragged out a little bit more. It does slow down after those chapters but it would’ve been nice to see a little bit more.

I did like that Amelia retreated into fictional worlds to cope with her grief as she showed how much books meant to her and how they helped her throughout her life. Books obviously play a huge role in Amelia’s life and it’s show really well throughout the story - her dependence on them when her father leaves and when her best friend dies.

Amelia’s and Nolan’s relationship was adorable as they both struggled with getting to know each other. Two book nerds who usually choose reading books over talking to people usually make the cutest couples and they live up to that assumption. Both characters are broken and struggle with moving forward in life but with the help of each other, they are able to overcome their grief together.

I ended up enjoying this book more than I thought I would. There’s a lot of heartbreak and regret in this story but there’s also a lot hope and reflection and I loved that about it. 

I highly recommend checking this one out!

Lauren Sullivan

Content warnings: (view spoiler)[parental abandonment and neglect, death of a character in a car accident, grief, death of children (by drowning) and associated guilt (off-page, before book starts) (hide spoiler)]

I love when covers match the book’s contents, don’t you? That gorgeous cover is basically what the book is about, complete with flying whales, late nights reading in a bookstore, and a lost-looking young adult trying to figure out life. It’s heart-wrenching and lovely and I cried way more times than I want to admit.

“Do you want to talk about it?”
I would have been less surprised if the stone lion sitting outside the fancy restaurant across the street had opened its massive jaws and made the same offer, but I managed to mumble, “No, thank you.”
“Good,” Jenna said. “There are too many books and not enough time as it is.”

Amelia met her best friend Jenna the day her father left to start a new family. Her mom struggled to cope, so Amelia basically became folded in to Jenna’s family and they became as close as sisters. They bonded over their love of the Orman book series, where each girl picked one of the protagonists – sisters who are warring over who’s the rightful queen to Orman, a fairytale land somewhat like Narnia – to identify with. As their high school graduation present, they’re going to a con to meet the reclusive N. E. Endsley, the author of the Orman books. At the convention, they separate temporarily before the panel where he will be speaking. When Amelia returns, it’s to find out that the author’s cancelled his appearance. She’s devastated, and even more so when Jenna tells her that she spoke to him before he left. Amelia’s mad, but they partially reconcile before Jenna leaves for a trip to Ireland. And then, she dies in a car accident. Amelia’s left unmoored, until she receives a package from a bookstore she’s never heard of before: a mysterious special edition of the first Orman book. Convinced it’s some sort of sign from Jenna, Amelia hatches a plan to visit the bookstore. But what she finds there is even more unexpected.

“I’ve lived in books. I’ve eaten and breathed books for so long that I took it for granted. I assumed that, if they saved me once, they would always be there to pick me up, even if Jenna wasn’t.
But Jenna is gone, and the words stay on the page in their neat, orderly rows. The pages don’t rise up to meet me like old friends, and the characters are marionettes pulled by visible strings.”

I loved what we saw of Jenna, at both the beginning of the book and through Amelia’s recollections of her, and it was achingly clear how much of a loss this was for Amelia. Jenna was closer to a sister than a best friend, and Amelia was content to follow along with Jenna’s plans. Jenna always had a plan, and she even made a giant spreadsheet to figure out what college would be best for both of them to attend. But with Jenna gone, Amelia’s stuck – Jenna’s parents seem to expect that she’ll continue with the life Jenna planned out for them, but Amelia is less sure. The trip to mysterious bookstore is a chance for her to temporarily escape their expectations and try to figure out what she wants to do. As for the bookstore and the people there, it’s hard to talk too much about that without spoiling too much of the book. I loved Nolan and Alex’s friendship, I loved Wally and his insane enthusiasm, and I loved Val and her absolutely magical bookstore. They each felt like real people, by turns suspicious and then gradually accepting of Amelia’s presence.

“And, like that, the stories have come back to me. They are sitting in my throat, working their way into my bones, my blood, the tips of my hair. They are altered, like me. Parts I skimmed before now seem desperately important, and parts I thought were vital, less so.
I am different, but like the stories, I will hold up to more readings, even if those readings are drastically changed in my after.”

The writing is lyrical and at times whimsical, but it doesn’t shy away from the hard bits either. It’s an absolutely heart wrenching exploration of life-changing grief, about navigating your path as you go from the Before to the After, and reuniting your life around a missing piece. There’s a definite emphasis on good things coming from bad things: that this doesn’t make those things wrong, that how you honor those missing pieces can be different for each person. It’s also deeply passionate about how important stories are to people and how stories help us work through our own lives. I wish I’d had this book when I was a teen.

“There are a hundred thousand ways to tell a story,” he begins. “Medical students help people live longer and continue their own stories. Engineering majors tell a story of technology that goes back to cavemen with rocks and sticks. Marine biologists piece together shreds of plot until they know where whales sleep at night and where fish live in coral reefs. Everything is a story, not just writing. You need to find the story that means something to you, a story you like telling.”

As for cons, the worst I can say is that it’s a bit fantastical, in terms of some of the events and how quickly the romantic relationship progresses. But the perfection of the writing and the emotions on the page is hard to argue with, and I think any reader will be able to see themselves, at least a little, in Amelia’s love of books.

Overall, this is an easy 4.5 stars, and possibly one that I’ll bump up to 5 after a reread, because this is definitely a book I expect to reread.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Jennifer

I normally don't read romance heavy books, but I'm intrigued by the mention of books / storytelling in Amelia Unabridged so I last decided to give this a go. I think this is overall an achingly heartbreaking book about processing grief, featuring a main character who loves reading.

Personally my favourite thing about Amelia Unabridged is the subplot where Amelia reads / thinks some defining sections in the Orman Chronicles. I think the storytelling in these subplots are quite well done that not only there's a story within the subplots on their own but also on how the themes in these subplot paralleled what Amelia herself is going through. In other words, Amelia's emotional headspace is well fleshed out and felt believable.

On the flipside, I found the romance between Amelia and the author a bit abrupt and latched on a bit too quickly. Not that the author of Orman Chronicles is less well fleshed out than Amelia, but I think some of the romance heavy chapters could be shortened in favour of streamlining Amelia's character growth as she comes in terms of who she is and how she moves forward amid the grief.

Despite my concerns with the pacing and the romance, I think thematically Amelia Unabridged
explores the complexity and the messy sides of processing grief really well. If you're a book lover, you'll hopefully relate to Amelia herself and her passion in reading to gain self-understanding through relating to the stories within the books that she loves.

N.B. This book contains following content warnings: death, loss of loved ones, and grief

mary

sorry im too busy ugly crying for no reason to write a review

cossette

full review & others on my blog! 🤍 

Trigger Warnings: Neglectful parents, animal death (chapter 2), death of a friend, death of a sibling, car crash (ch 3), drowning, grief, anxiety, divorce, panic attacks, infidelity, blood(ch 11), cancer, guilt, mentions/references to Harry Potter 

Amelia Unabridged is a tale of grief, of healing, and of hope. It’s a story of loss and love, of friendship and family, and making your own path. It’s an ode to stories and books, to magical places and escapism. You know those books that resonate with you so deeply that it’s hard for you to explain why you love it so much? Amelia Unabridged was one of those books for me. Shortly after I finished reading Amelia Unabridged, I was instantly messaging everyone I know to tell them how they had to read it. 

Ashley Schumacher has crafted a wonderfully descriptive tale. Whether it was Lochbrook, Michigan, or Orman itself, I often felt like I was there in the moment. Schumacher’s writing was beautiful and I truly felt like I had been transported to Val’s bookshop with Amelia, to Nolan’s “fort”, to the Orman room, or even within the pages of the Orman Chronicles themselves. I could easily imagine Wally jumping up on me, the waves, the smell of Val’s, and most of all, how it felt to open up the Orman Chronicles and disappear into that world. 

One of the things I loved the most about Amelia Unabridged was how it truly was a love story to books, and to the places we call home. Books are often healing, comforting worlds for us to step into, and sometimes, those books also allow us to meet other people and bring them closer to us. Whenever I share a book that I love and feel extremely personally connected to with someone else, there’s always this sort of nervousness that accompanies that feeling. But when they love it too? It’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced. A popular meme in my friend group is “the mortifying ordeal of being known”, but when people read a book that I relate to and find personal and tell me which bits reminded them of me, or how they feel like they know me better now, there’s no words to describe that. Fandoms and books have the capability to invoke this special bond, and Amelia Unabridged is a homage to that. Something that Schumacher excels at was writing a book within a book, and more than once, I found myself wishing that the Orman Chronicles were a real story. 

While grief isn’t an uncommon subject in YA, and what resonates with one person might not resonate with the other, the way grief is approached in Amelia Unabridged is one that really resonated with me. The way Amelia Unabridged explores healing and coping after a tragedy, moving on & living your own life, and coming into yourself hit really close to home for me, and brought me a lot of comfort, especially after experiencing a loss in the family.

Overall, Amelia Unabridged was such a compelling read, and I can’t wait to see what Schumacher writes next. I’m certain that Amelia Unabridged is a story that will stick with me for a long time.

Jessica Williamson

4.75 Stars

This book hurt me in all of the best ways. 

I knew going in that it was going to be emotional. I mean, we're told in the blurb that it deals with grief and losing your best friend. Not only that but dealing with readers and writers and losing your best friend. Yeah... anyone who knows me knew this one was going to hit hard. 

But I wanted to read it anyway. 

And I'm so glad I did. 

I spent more of this book sobbing than I care to admit but sometimes, you just need a good cry I guess.

This is a very small group of people who all have the best magic around them. They are those people that everyone wishes they can have in their life. But having said that, some of the side characters (Alex and Val in particular) seem a little too perfect. But that may also be because I was so in love with Amelia and Nolan that I didn't pay as much attention to those who dimmed behind them.

Also, let's talk about Nolan's dog (I honestly can't even remember his name right now and it's not because they didn't say it a million times, my mind is just blanking). He reminds me SO MUCH of my giant Australian Shepherd Flash. Too big for his own good. Goofy. Doesn't realize he might as well be a miniature horse. Yeah, I love that.

The story hinges on Amelia trying to figure out how to live her life without Jenna, and Nolan figuring out how to deal with his grief (and boy did that one hit me deep), and I honestly think this book could be helpful for anyone going through a similar situation. I think they both find healthy ways to deal with their grief while also finding each other. 

 I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Cover 5; characters 4; plot 4; pace 5; writing 4; enjoyment 5; cry *

Maria 

This book is an incredible debut I felt so many different emotions while reading this book.! I can not imagine losing my best friend. The author depicts a tremendous amount of grief, in this book, and shows you how someone's death can make you question your future. .The slow-burn romance between Amelia and Nolan is both beautiful and sad. Anyone who reads this book will thoroughly enjoy this incredible book. I know I absolutely did and I believe anyone who decides to read this book will as well.

Michelle Boyea

Amazing!!!!! This book sucks you in from the first chapter and you are easily immersed within the story. I cried, laughed, smiled, cheered, and every other emotion with the characters.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Publishing Company for the advanced copy. This was amazing

Samantha Bass

Be sure to check out the full review on my blog, my link text

To start off, read this book solely for the epilogue. I loved this story, but the journey to the epilogue was a rollercoaster. The epilogue sealed the deal that this story is a five star read for me. I sobbed so hard reading it, the journey of Amelia’s whole life on display, and I would a million percent read the book of her whole life’s journey if I could.

Going back to the beginning, I loved reading about Amelia and Jenna’s friendship. One thing I wasn’t so happy about though, was the fact that Jenna basically planned out Amelia’s whole life without even asking her. Amelia is happy to go along with Jenna’s plan, but it felt super controlling when I first read about it. While I loved that Jenna took Amelia in like her own sister, it was clear that Jenna was in charge of the friendship, and Amelia was simply tagging along. The one thing they both loved and bonded over though, was books. Amelia and Jenna both love the Orman Chronicles book, written by teenage author N. E. Endsley, and their love of books is what started their friendship.

When Jenna passed, Amelia lost that love of reading. Until a 101/100 special edition of Amelia’s favorite book shows up and she knows it was a gift from Jenna before passing. Set to find out how Jenna got this present to her and what she said to the author, Amelia travels to the bookstore it was shipped from in Michigan and runs into none other than the author himself, N. E. Endsley (Nolan). Amelia is determined to find out how she received this mysterious book and what it all means, all the while trying to process her grief and learn how to live a life without Jenna.

When we first meet Nolan, he’s a shy, reserved, and socially awkward guy who is not only unsure of himself, but of other people. I was taken aback by how reserved and anti-social Nolan was at first. Most authors I met have been very friendly and happy to converse with people about their books, but Nolan is the opposite. We quickly find out there’s a good reason for that. Hearing Nolan’s story and how his books, The Orman Chronicles, came to be, was heartbreaking. When we discover the backstory to these books and how they came to be, I was almost in tears.

Once Amelia arrives in Michigan, the plot really took off. Her journey through grief, finding Endsley, falling in love, and her realization that she has to take her own life in her hands, was an intense one. I loved the fact that Amelia discovers herself and her own passions, instead of just following what Jenna wanted her to do with life. And of course her learning how to live without her friend and understanding that life simply doesn’t stop if someone you love dies, though it feels like it should.

This book took me on such a journey and I absolutely loved it. I’m so excited to read her next book, Full Flight!

Trigger warnings: (view spoiler)[grief, death of a friend/sisters, drowning, car accident, anxiety and panic attacks, parental neglect (hide spoiler)]

This book is a gorgeous depiction of grief and loss, as well as the many implications from losing a loved one.

Amelia Unabridged portrays the journey of young people coming together due to their struggles and finding strength in each other. The book is touches of a number of incredibly important elements other YA grief stories may miss, such as the expectations that come with moving on and living for the person lost. The book also deals incredibly well with anxiety depiction and panic attacks. 

Overall, this is an incredibly moving story. The writing is really well paced. The characters are written in a way that makes them feel authentic and personal to the reader. While I don't think the romance was necessary in this story it felt authentic and not forced like many YA stories.

A brand new author to keep an eye on.


  Note: Review copy (audio) received via Libro.FM. This does not impact opinions within this review.


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Happy reading! ❤

Kourtney

This book begins with how Amelia met and became best friends with Jenna, after Amelia's father walked out on his family. I didn't read the summary before I began to read, so my emotions were all over the place when we got the news that Jenna died in a car accident. To prevent the unnecessary anguish, read the summary!

WHAT I LOVED

If I had to sum up what I loved about the book in one word, it would be everything. The way Schumacher writes pulled me in immediately (when I grow up, I want to write like she does!) as I immediately became invested in her relationship with Jenna. Hence the absolute shock at her life being cut short. When Amelia set off on her adventure to Michigan, I found myself jealous at times, wishing I could pick up and have an adventure of my own. 

The chemistry between Endsley and Amelia jumped off the pages, as they navigated each others lives. I tried swiping the pages as fast as I could to find out who sent her the book, and why. Watching Amelia not only navigate meeting her favorite author, but also trying to figure out what message Jenna was trying to send her and determine what she wants to do with her life made me swipe the pages even faster! 

There was no part of this book I did not enjoy. I have read so many bookos about characters who live and breathe books. Who become lost in stories and tout how much of a bibliophile they are. I feel like this is one of the rare books that I truly felt it.

WHAT SURPRISED ME

Fantasy books are not ones I naturally gravitate to. I will dabble from time to time, but I prefer books that are more in line with women's fiction. Imagine my surprise when I am reading this book, and within the story are details of Endsley's book series The Orman Chronicles. I was even more surprised to find that after hearing what The Orman Chronicles was about, I found myself wanting to read it! I wonder if the author will make that a side series she writes (I'm thinking like how the author of Younger had a character on the TV show that wrote a book, so she wrote it). I would be one of the first in line to give it a try!

I highly recommend this young adult fiction book - out now! As the cover states - it's never too late to start a second chapter!

 I received a free digital copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Meagan

It’s been a long time since I picked up a book that I knew I would cry over on purpose. This book is absolutely breathtaking in its whimsy, prose and story. I became so invested in every single character that I wish I could have several books with them. Amelia, Alex, Jenna, Val, Nolan, Wally- I love them and want to protect them at all costs. The tone is reminiscent of The Starless Sea, Strange the Dreamer, and The Ten Thousand Doors of January. It is poetic in tone and moved me to tears in its beauty. With tones of friendship, loss, the bonds we create and the paths we choose, you will think of Orman and whales for long after this book has been finished. 

Nolan is probably my favorite grumpy cinnamon roll of ALL time and I am so grateful to have entered Orman. 

Adding to my Fave Books of All Time Shelf.

Sara 

Here's the thing about this book. 
The writing in it is really good! I loved Schumacher's prose and it was a really nostalgic and comforting read for me, as much of it takes place in a little book shop. I liked this idea, but the execution could have been better. 
First of all, this is pretty short. It's 290 pages, which I didn't realize until I was about halfway done, so you can imagine my surprise! But the length wasn't really an issue, I did have a problem with the instalove, which, while I understand the context for it in this story, I still felt like more of a buildup would have been nice. Also, I didn't think some parts of it were very realistic. Nolan, for example, is afraid of water, but when Amelia is there he just. . .kind of got over it? That part bothered me. 
Overall a very fun, sweet read! I'm excited to see what Schumacher comes out with in the future. 
3.5 stars.

Belle Ellrich

*I WAS PROVIDED A DIGITAL GALLEY VIA NETGALLEY IN RETURN FOR MY HONEST REVIEW. THIS DOES NOT AFFECT MY OPINION*

If you are looking for a Young Adult contemporary romance featuring a book lover and an author with an instant hate-to-love relationship, this book is the perfect fit for you.

Amelia is a recent high school graduate who's decided that she is going to follow her best friend Jenna's master plan on what college they'll attend and what they'll study. She thinks she has it all figured out, but upon getting into an argument with Jenna that isn't resolved before Jenna's unexpected death, she starts to wonder if the path she's on is really the one for her.

This book starts out at a book festival, and for some of us, we can only dream of being at an in-person book festival again. Amelia and Jenna are waiting for an event with Amelia's favorite author, N. E. Endsley, to begin so that she can finally meet him and have her book signed. Taking a quick bathroom break, Amelia returns to find out from her best friend and the festival announcer that Endsley's event has been canceled. It isn't until their drive home that Amelia finds out Jenna was the reason behind it.

To start, I love drama between friends in books. Perfect relationships don't exist, and they won't be believable, in my opinion, if there isn't a little bit of trouble between the characters. That said, I unexpectedly didn't like the drama the author created between Amelia and Jenna. It was like reading a badly scripted scene, but I was actually able to hear it in my head and also imagine it. I was a little put off when Amelia got seriously upset with Jenna for consoling someone with obvious mental health problems. She made it seem like, even though Endsley wasn't fit to be at the festival, it didn't matter because she was more important and should've been able to meet him. It made me type "Life isn't all about you, Amelia!" in my notes.

Moving forward, I was very excited when Amelia decided to take an unplanned trip to Michigan to figure out where a mysterious book--that had been shipped to her at her town's bookstore--came from. Upon arriving in Michigan at the bookstore that the package had stated the book was from, no one gives her the answers she's looking for. Amelia finds instead an adorable and inviting bookshop with a snappy (in a good way) owner and her skeptical son, along with a bit overbearing dog named Wally.

I liked this section a lot. I loved the "mystery" of the bookshop, the unusual 101st copy of Amelia's favorite book, and the sudden appearance of N. E. Endsley in this small Michigan town. I was really ensnared into the book at this point, and though Amelia did grind my gears at some points, I thought that Schumacher really did a great job in writing this section.

Unfortunately, past this point is when I felt that things started to go downhill again. The pacing began at a decent pace, but then it started to get slower, and slower, and slower. I'm not the biggest fan, personally, of slower-paced books and began to get bored from it. Along with this, Amelia's character became pretty annoying. At multiple points in time, I felt she was just hanging around Endsley because she wanted to know more about his books in general, as well as her 101st copy. And something that really bothered me was that she called him "troubled" when referring to his mental crisis back at the book festival. As someone who has mental disorders and lives with them every day, I hate that. It makes me feel like nothing more than someone who needs to be watched 24/7, almost like a dog. And with this, Amelia never once felt regret over how she placed the guilt on Jenna for Endsley's mental health disallowing her from originally meeting him before her death. 

Surprisingly enough, once I got to the ending of the book, I actually felt that the book got much better. Amelia became less insufferable, the romance aspect of the book didn't feel as forced as it had in the middle of the story, there was even a bit of humor, and the pacing instantly picked up. I was a little disappointed with the epilogue, but overall, it wasn't horrible. For that, I gave this book 2 stars.

Kate

A beautifully bookish, warm and heartfelt story about stories and the infinite power they hold. I loved every moment.

Amelia Unabridged A Novel

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