Reconstructing Amelia: A Novel

Story: 3.75
Starting with the positives, this book is a page turner. Not that I couldn’t put it down, but I was definitely interested in where it was going. I sometimes thought about it when I was doing other things, trying to puzzle out what was happening. I don’t read mystery novels as a rule, but when I do, I like this style of mystery – not your typical “gum shoe” set up. The premise of this story is heartbreaking, but not that you feel that way (more on that later).

Now, on to the negatives – there are a lot of aspects of this story that are unbelievable. There are big things – like detectives letting moms go on questioning visits (never would happen) and not one student spilling anything about what went on before the incident. Given what happened (trying to not have spoilers here), there is no way – even with detective Molina’s questionable loyalties – that the things wouldn’t have been revealed. Ok, I can live with the fact that you have to suspend your skepticism for the story, but it weakens it overall. There are some other things that happen – teen behavior related and sexual orientation that also made question the accuracy.

Writing: 3.5
The book is written in a combination of Kate’s (mother) first person, Amelia’s first person, text messages, an anonymous blog, and Amelia’s facebook posts. This seems to be a popular gimmick in contemporary writing. I understand that, especially when dealing with teen characters, that social media is important to portray, but I have mixed feelings about it. It certainly moves the book along and helps keep it interesting, but I’m not sure how it will stand up in time as we all move on to different technologies. The writing is solid – it is neither Shakespeare, nor is it distractingly bad. McCreight drops plenty of hints about what is going to happen, so as things are revealed, the reader is not surprised. For such tragic circumstances, I never felt the sympathy or heartache that should have accompanied this story. I didn’t feel the closeness or love that was supposed to be between Kate and Amelia. Over and over we are told that it was there, but it wasn’t shown or felt – it was just another plot point. The overall effect was that there wasn’t any emotional attachment to the story.

Characters: 3
The main characters – Kate, Amelia, and Sylvia are fairly weak considering how much they are the focus of the book. Lots of inconsistencies – both Kate and Amelia are supposed to be smart and good girls – but both have unexplained random bad behavior streaks that lead to undesirable circumstances. Some would argue that McCreight puts forth the rational for the change in behavior, but it didn’t fly for me. Amelia, who aspires to be a writer, has to have her best friend come over and write an email for her? Speaking of Sylvia, she is the most consistent in the book – until the end when she seemingly snaps.

The other characters in the book are all props – they are one-dimensional caricatures. Sometimes certain details are thrown in – for example, a personal family issue with detective Lew is shared, but never followed up on. There are details about the lawyers with whom Kate works – Daniel and Jeremy, some are big clues to the plot, others seem meaningless.

Learning: n/a

Ending: 3
Because it’s a mystery novel, you expect that all the answers will be given and it’s all wrapped up like a tv show. This book does not disappoint on that point. When the truth of what happened comes out – there have been so many twists and turns, it is somewhat unexpected. After that, there is a wrap of the primary characters, except there is one story left hanging – that of the hip English teacher, Liv. The story hints about what she is up to, but doesn’t really say what happens to her. The remainder of the ending is just too sappy for words.

Entertainment: 3
This book is compelling – you may waiver between calling it a page turner or just wanting it to be over  I’d recommend it as a beach/vacation read.