This book is just… GORGEOUS. If you grew up hiding and running away in books, escaping from trauma, living through stories that seemed to be created just for you, this book will strike many chords with you, as it did with me. 

Amelia and Jenna meet in their early teens, and are brought together by the famous Orman Chronicles, and their mutual love for books. While Amelia’s small family broke apart when her father left (right before her friendship with Jenna blossoms), Jenna comes from a stable, and loving family who takes Amelia under their wing. The girls get the chance of their lifetime to meet the young author of the Orman Chronicles, N. E. Endsley right after they graduate high school, but only Jenna ends up meeting him, leaving Amelia feeling angry and upset. Not long afterwards Jenna leaves for Ireland for the summer, and dies in a car accident. When Amelia receives a very special edition of the Orman Chronicles from a bookstore she has never heard of she believes that Jenna is trying to send her message from the great beyond, and embarks on a trip that will change everything for her.

This is a beautiful story on the topic of grief, but also on endurance, and learning about oneself and what one is capable of. The narrative has this wonderful balance of fantasy and reality, fantasy where stories are created to manage trauma and grief, reality where the protagonists live, learn, and finally move forward. I absolutely loved how the author integrates the love of reading into the story, something that resonated so much with me, a person who has loved books from the moment I could read. There literally is no better place than a bookstore for me, and my idea of a perfect date would be to browse and lounge in a bookstore for hours, talking about books and people watching. 

Amelia Unabridged is marked as YA, but it will touch the hearts of anyone, at any age. I really am looking forward to reading more of Amy Schumacher’s work after this!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.