Reconstructing Amelia: A Novel Paperback – December 3, 2013

I love how mccreight writes! So many twists and turns and thinking you know what is going to happen next and then being utterly shocked when you’re completely wrong.

Parenthood and adolescence are hard enough in of itself but when you add technology, including social media, it adds a level of difficulty that we are still trying to navigate even though smartphones, texting and social media have been in existence for years. Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight was a compelling illustration of this point, with a story that kept me engaged from the beginning to the end, and like Kate, wanting to know the truth about Amelia.McCreight’s book was well-written with an interesting mix of suspense, drama and mystery. It had an overall feel of a crime mystery with Kate investigating the truth about what happened to Amelia. There are secrets, not only on Amelia’s part, but on Kate’s also, adding another kink into the investigation. This aspect of the book kept my attention since you become invested in finding out exactly what happened. But as you read through the story, it becomes apparent that the book is really about the mother/daughter relationship between Kate and Amelia and all the inner and outer conflicts/influences/issues surrounding them. It’s a good reflection of how parenting and growing up in our current times have changed with all the added technology and current issues. It’s especially poignant in how McCreight depicts technology and social media as a tool used to bully, exclude and deceive. The fact that readers can relate on a certain level to Amelia’s or Kate’s situation in this regard heightens the emotional connection you have towards them and increases your investment in them as characters.While nothing new, McCreight’s switching POV between Amelia and Kate added to the level to the story’s drama. It provided the interesting mix of knowledge and secrecy. You are aware of certain aspects of both Amelia and Kate’s life and mindset but at the same time you are still left in the dark about certain details. It made you want to keep reading to discover that missing piece(s) that would explain everything. It was also interesting to see how information and evidence can be construed in multiple ways depending on one’s perspective and context. As the reader, you are in essence that third party that is all knowing, and so it was interesting to learn things about Amelia that would eventually explain what Kate uncovers and how Kate interprets it when all the while you are sitting there knowing exactly the ‘who, what, when and why’.While I actually enjoyed McCreight’s writing and the way the story unfolded, her use of text narrative wore on me. I wouldn’t have mind it if it was used sparingly and at certain points in the story. But to have it come up every couple chapters (actually they are ‘chapters’ as a whole), it started to wore on me and took away from the story’s momentum and pace. Maybe it’s a personal taste (it can also be said for my feelings regarding the adolescent tone of Amelia’s narrative which is appropriate considering her age and those surrounding her), but I would have preferred if those text chapters were cut down. I also had some credibility issues regarding the adults who used technology and social media to falsely represent themselves. Even when said characters explained their motive and thought process, it was just hard for me to fully buy into it. It wasn’t even about a creepiness factor or anything of that sort, it was more about the incredulity that I felt at their reasoning. While adults using the internet and modern technology to lie and misrepresent themselves to young people isn’t unheard of, they’re usually in very distressing and disgusting context instead of the reasons given from those in the story. And to have it happen with multiple adults, just adds to my incredulity of the adults that inhabit Amelia’s world. It creates a questionable quality to an otherwise pretty compelling story/plot.Regardless of that, if you are willing to overlook those points, McCreight wrote an engaging and compelling debut novel. It’s a book that touched on not only the familiar frustrations and doubts about parenting a teenager and being a teenager yourself, but also the current issues of social media/technology and bullying. All of this is wrapped by an overall feel of suspense and mystery where you, along with Kate, try to find out what happened to Amelia.

Kate, a junior partner at a law firm in Manhattan, is busy with an important client when she receives a call from her daughter's private school in Brooklyn. She is informed that her daughter has been suspended from school and Kate needs to come pick her up immediately. In shock because her daughter Amelia is a straight A student--respectful and good. By the time Kate gets to the school, she is devastated to find the school surrounded by police and to learn that her 15 year old daughter has committed suicide by jumping from the roof.Months later, Kate is just starting to emerge from the grief to return to work when she receives a cryptic text that implies that Amelia didn't jump. Desperate to get the truth about her daughter's death, Kate starts digging with the help of a police detective. What she learns about her daughter will break her heart; make her question her own ability to parent and search out the people ultimately responsible.Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight is a suspenseful, emotional read. Normally, I would have devoured this book in a matter of days in a desperate attempt to get to the ending. Because I was reading with the book club and we had a reading schedule that spread out over several weeks and I was determined to stick to the schedule, I took my time and read this novel more slowly. In some ways, it made the characters and situation more powerful as I had more time to think and dwell on the story.As a mother of children that are growing up way too fast, the topics of bullying and the choices our children make resonated with me. Kate is surprised often to find out the horrible things that Amelia was not telling her. It's easy to want to judge Kate for not being an attentive mother, yet I was reminded of my son's fourth grade year. He was being physically bullied by older boys and I did not pick up on the clues. It wasn't until I witnessed it myself in front of the school, that I realized that I had completely missed his earlier pleas for help.Reconstructing Amelia is a powerful and scary book for a parent. McCreight has written a compelling, suspenseful and very realistic book about the life of a teenager. Though it takes place in a private school in New York with very wealthy students, the situations they face are not entirely different from the teenagers going to a public school in a religious area of the west. The ending was surprising and not completely satisfying but the book is definitely worth reading.

Having downloaded a pile of books before my summer holiday, this was the one that I couldn't wait to start. With a single working mum, teenage angst and a mysterious death to investigate, Reconstructing Amelia covers quite a few genres, but in essence it is part "Gone Girl" and part "I don't know she does it".The mother, Kate, is a successful lawyer. Her efforts to balance career and family, and the resultant stress and guilt are realistically portrayed. After her daughters' death is ruled a suicide, she is unconvinced and decides to investigate.Facebook and texts replace the diaries kept by Bridget Jones or Adrian Mole, and are very well used to give you an insight into Amelia's personal life. They allow you to build a clear picture, despite never actually meeting her. They work particularly well at conveying peer pressure and the sininster nature of cyber bullying. The contrast in narrative styles also helps you transition between the perspectives of the analytical Kate and the impulsive Amelia.The main pieces of the investigation come together rather late on in the novel, and are rather rushed. A few of the final "twists" are disappointingly implausible.More frustratingly, several of the secondary plots, for instance around the handling of bullying and gangs, are not fully developed. This would have given more depth to the story.The novel was nominated for several awards and has been optioned for a film.

I found this book to be very captivating.Its a Crime type investigation story which is written in quite a different way from the norm.Amelia commits suicide, and the book is essentially following the story of her Mother Kate who is trying to understand why her daughter would have done such a thing and what happened to her. There are many plot twists throughout, and many suspects which you think may have caused Amellias death, however I honestly did not see the final plot twist coming!What is unusual about the book is that in between the chapters following Kate trying to "Reconstruct Amelia" there are chapters from Amelia's Past in a diary like style. These chapters help you understand what was happening in Amelia's life and what lead to her death - things her Mother did not know.Amelia's story is an unusual one. She goes to a posh private school which essentially has "gangs" - these gangs, however, are swept under the carpet by the school and left to their own devices. They are extremely secretive and only the members of the gangs know who are in them. Secrecy is the key. The gang that Amelia is in is called The Magpies, and they carry out increasingly risky tasks throughout the story.All in all, I would happily read this book again! I found it highly captivating and quite different from many things that I have read.

This was an excellent book and exceptionally well written. You find out right at the start that Amelia has fallen from the roof at school. She is an 'A' student destined for great things and it is ruled to be suicide. The book then follows Amelia's mother coming to terms with the death of her daughter and trying to discover what happened. She is a single parent and heavily involved with work and knows there were times when she was not there for Amelia. The book alternates from Amelia telling her story and her mother, Kate telling hers so you get both their perspectives of the same event.There are many twists and turns as Amelia's story unravels and you eventually find out what happened on that school roof on that fateful day. I really recommend this book; I read it in a couple of days and then was disappointed that I had finished it. All bookaholics know that feeling!!

I read this book after reading a review about it on a book blog. And oh my god am I pleased I did. This book follows the story of Amelia and her mother Kate in the lead up and aftermath of Amelia's apparent suicide. The story deals with the issues of social networking and the impact of groups and bullying at school and a mothers fight to find out the truth.I loved how this book flitted between Amelia and Kate's own story, giving the reader the opportunity to discover and see the story unfold from both points of view. I was hooked from the beginning and could not put the book down, it was so well written and the plot so well thought out and written. The characters were believable and I found myself being able to relate to them easily.An unexpected ending to the story but absolutely fitting and the perfect way to finish. I look forward to reading further books by this author

Reconstructing Amelia tells the story of Kate, a successful Manhattan Lawyer and single parent to teenager Amelia. Kate, whilst at work is contacted by Amelia's school to say that her daughter has been suspended for reasons that wouldn't be discussed in a telephone conversation. Kate leaves work to make her way to her daughter's school and when she arrives there to find out that her daughter is dead. She took her own life by jumping from the roof of the school building. She had been accused of cheating on a paper and we are lead to believe that this is the reason why she chose to end her own life. Her death is ruled a suicide but Kate cannot believe her daughter would so such a thing and so she starts to delve into Amelia's diary, her phone, emails and social media for clues. He daughter had a life that she had no idea existed, a life of secret societies, gossip, intrigue which are conveyed in the book by way of various flashbacks and facebook entries etc. I enjoyed this book. It did get going pretty quickly but I did feel that there were a few loose ends that could have been tied up like the outcome for some of the other characters for example. It's horrible to believe that the theme running through this novel is a huge factor of life in almost every school in the world. I did find it emotional in parts especially knowing of Amelia's fate. I would recommend this book. I do believe they are going to be making it into a movie (like all books nowadays it seems).