RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA contains elements of a parent’s worst
nightmare mingled with moments of sheer bliss.Author Kimberly McCreight weaves a realistic tale of pain and laughter in the form of a mother’s joy and heartache and a daughter’s daily antics mixed with teenage woes.
Narrator Khristine Hvam does an excellent job giving each character their own distinct voice as she brings them to life. Her pleasant mannerism draws the listener in as she skillfully changes from adolescent to adult and back again.
Kate Baron is a single mom working hard to provide for her 15-year-old daughter Amelia. She and Amelia have a close bond. Amelia is a happy, healthy teenager at an exclusive Park Slope private school where she’s a model student. Kate is surprised to receive a call from the school saying Amelia has been suspended for cheating. But when Kate arrives to pick her up, she’s told Amelia, despondent over the incident, has jumped to her death from the school’s roof.
Numb from the grief and guilt that she wasn’t there for her daughter, Kate believes what the school tells her. Days later still trying to come to terms with what has happened, Kate receives an anonymous text: She didn’t jump.
The text unleashes what Kate had been feeling all along and drives her to start questioning what really happened the day Amelia died.
The story is told from the alternating viewpoints of Kate and Amelia with intermittent flashbacks to Kate’s days prior to Amelia’s birth and shortly after. RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA also incorporates Amelia’s many emails, text messages and Facebook postings that follow the activities leading up to her death.
McCreight has created characters you will adore and others you will despise. She has blended childhood friendships, secret first loves, clandestine clubs with extreme hazing rituals, and daily family life into a story that will tug on your heartstrings. McCreight explores how far a mother will go to find answers as she comes to grip with guilt for her daughter’s untimely death.
The plot moves at a steady pace filled with suspense and heart-pounding surprises along the way. It’s a story that will make you stop and think about your own child’s daily activities and circle of friends. This haunting tale will stay with you long after RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA has been completed.
Author Kimberly McCreight’s website is http://www.kimberlymccreight.com/
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight, Performed by Khristine Hvam, Harper Audio, @2013, ISBN: 978-0062237590, Unabridged, Digital Download, Listening Time: 12 Hours, 15 Minutes
FTC Full Disclosure - This audio book was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.
Thanks for stopping by today. Have you ever considered how youngsters today communicate in so many different ways than when you were growing up? For my generation, our biggest worry was someone finding your diary. Nowadays, there are so many social networks and other means youth use to capture their thoughts and share them - ways that can be fun, but harmful if misused.
Mason - This sounds like a compelling way to tell a story. Thanks for sharing this one with us. It's certainly one of those stories that any parent can identify with.
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