I found this book incredibly annoying. The story of an overly perfect child mixed up with overly dramatic mean girls and a guilty mother with an overly complicated backstory.

There could have been something good here with the story of bullying getting out of hand and leading to tragedy but the way it all happened was ridiculous and so many of the characters were more like caricatures to me.

Once again, I think I am too old to be reading this book. When will I learn my lesson and stay away from YA? (I'm reading now that maybe this isn't a YA title? If that's the case I find it all even more ridiculous!) ( )

Really enjoyed this book ( )

Kate, a single mom, is called at work and told to come pick up her daughter because she's been caught plagiarizing an English paper. She is completely stunned because Amelia is an aspiring writer and has never been in trouble before. By the time she makes it down to the school, she finds it sealed off by police officers. She is then told that her daughter jumped from the roof of the school, committing suicide.

Kate retreats in a world of grief and half-heartedly accepts that maybe her daughter did commit suicide... after all that's what the police and the school are in a hurry for her to believe. Then she gets an anonymous text telling her: She didn't jump. Something Kate has known all along.

With a new investigation opened, Kate begins finding out more and more about Amelia that she never knew. Secret clubs, secret friends, things about her sexuality, and darker things than she ever would have guessed. Through all the texts, emails, and facebook posts, she's trying to decipher the tangled web that led to Amelia's death. And even the identity of Amelia's father may have played a role.

My Thoughts:
This is one of those rare books that while I was reading it, I didn't ever want it to end. I just loved the mystery and all the different twists, that I wanted it to go on and on. And now that it's over, I miss it!! I miss running to my bed and grabbing this book and reading about Amelia and how her life got complicated in a hurry. I just LOVED this book!

I think technically that this book is classified as Adult, but it could easily be put under YA too. It's about teenagers and 1/2 the time it is narrated by a teenager. It is also about the mother, but it's more about her coming to terms with the secret life that Amelia had going on the last month of her life.

This book is told in alternating views from Kate during the investigation and Amelia in the days leading up to her death. It's also told in text messages, emails, journal entries, and blog and facebook posts, which really added to the book and made me feel almost involved in the investigation. The mystery in this story took so many twists and turns and had so many reveals, that it just entertained the shit out of me. I loved reading about Amelia's involvement in a secret society-type club, all the drama with her best friend, and her falling in love for the first time. It was like ANYONE could have been involved in her death. There were SO many people involved in so many areas of her life, that I was dying to know, but since I didn't want the book to end, I also didn't want to know. If that makes any sense. I also really got to like Amelia, which since I knew she had died, I found myself wanting to save her somehow. Even though I knew that was sort of pointless.

This is not a simple book. It's complicated and definitely had to take an amazing writing process to tie everything together the way it was. It's definitely one of the most in-depth books I've read in a while. There's so many themes going on, so many lessons to be learned. Oh and there's mean girls!!! I love mean girls!!

The one thing that I didn't really LOVE love was that there seemed to be a blaming of Kate throughout the book for her being a single working mom. That somehow she would have known more about her daughter if she wasn't a partner in a law firm. To me she was trying the best she could. She made a point to make the most out of the time she did have with her daughter and tried on multiple occasions to get Amelia to confide in her, but the reality is: teenagers don't tell their parents stuff. They just don't. Especially if it's about their love life (because that's awkward) or things they think their parents will disapprove of. All teenagers (okay maybe not all, but most) not just the ones of single working moms. Bottom line: Kate was doing her best, and I didn't like the bias coming at her from all angles for having a successful career. Oh and Sylvia (The BFF) definitely got on my nerves... but I still liked having her in the book. At first I wanted Amelia to punch her in the face, and then I just ended up feeling bad for her. Her bitchiness was really a result of her insecurity, so I ended up just pitying her. But that's how this book was!! It made me feel so many different things about all the characters!

OVERALL: I freaking LOVED this book!! It's Adult, it's YA, it has epistolary elements... it's just awesome. I found it Unputdownable and the mystery was complicated and will keep you guessing. I can't recommend this one enough!! I'm actually sad that it's over :(

My Blog:
( )

I'd go 3.5 for this one. I enjoyed the beginning and progressively liked it less as it went. There we're a lot of far-fetched connections that pushed the limit of my ability to suspend disbelief.

The best part of the book for me was Amelia's POV. That kept me hanging on through all the stuff I didn't care for.

I still recommend it if you know you're going to spend some time eye rolling and sighing. I'm still happy I read it.

OH! I highly recommend going either ebook or print for this one. The audio left a lot to be desired. The narrator nearly killed it for me the longer I had to listen to her voices for most of the characters. ( )

“Sometimes its hard to tell how fast the current's moving until you're headed over a waterfall”

Kimberly McCreight-Reconstructing Amelia

Haha. I looked at some of my Goodreads friends reviews and most rated this book highly. I myself was crazy about it . And why not? This is a GREAT READ!

When I first read this I wrote I think this maybe the best book on bullying I have ever read. I still think it is up there, along with Weightless and Love Heather. The author really gets inside the head of high school kids. I was blown away.

Reading books on bullying can be tragic because many of them do not end well and this book is as tragic as any book you will read on the subject.

It is also a mystery and jumps back and forth in time. The actual bullying itself is not light reading and maybe triggering to those that have a difficult time with the subject matter.

For me, the only book on bullying I have read that is at this level is "Love, Heather". Weightless is a great read as well. I read "Weightless" after I read Reconstructing Amelia and though I rated both a five and think both are exceptional, I liked this book a bit better. It reached my inner core and touched me to the point I was in tears and when a book can do that..it gets a five.

Amelia narrates for some of the book and it is so heartbreaking because the reader forms an attachment to her. Amelia is someone anybody on GR would want to know. She is smart and curious and just a wonderful character. But it is heartbreaking because you are reading about this beautiful and bright girl with so much potential but you already know how it is going to end. So it's visceral and tragic.

I have discussed this book at length with many people I know and have not yet one person who did not like it. I do not know if this is a film or not but it should be. I had heard whispers that it was being made into a movie but do not know if that ever happened.

And with all the real life cases of bullying going on maybe this should be required reading in school.I have no idea if it would change anything but books like this..they teach some important life lessons.

Highly recommended. Excellent. ( )

Great use of timelines & plot twists to keep guessing to the end. ( )

This was kind of a convoluted mess. I've realized that I don't like stories based around teens and I don't want to be unfair, but the plot seemed far-fetched to me. The mom searching for answers to her prep-school daughter's death was way too involved in the investigation to be realistic. And almost every adult in this story was a jerk, a lousy parent, an unscrupulous teacher or school official. There was just too much going on at once. ( )

Great book. Quotes by Virginia Woolf are inspired ( )

I really enjoyed this book, finished it in one day. It was a nice, quick read ( )

Maybe for the first time I understand those who complain about not being able to give "halves" as a rating, because this one really deserves 3.5 stars. It is not as great as [b: A fine balance|5211|A Fine Balance|Rohinton Mistry|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1386925449s/5211.jpg|865827] to which I gave 4 stars, but it's much much better than [b: One good turn|501124|One Good Turn (Jackson Brodie, #2)|Kate Atkinson|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1442945693s/501124.jpg|1176198] with three. ( )

adult fiction; mystery/high school secret clubs/bullying. ( )

This is a very intense and thrilling mystery, but prepare to be devastated. ( )

A grieving mother seeks the reason behind her daughter's supposed suicide. I found this book to be very disturbing on very many levels. While not familiar personally with private schools, my husband taught at one for years, and the scandals there were nothing like this. The actions of the girls in this little club are nothing less than evil, a level of evil that is surprising on many levels. More disturbing is the cover-up within the school administration. I was so bothered by all of this that the story itself was secondary. I realize that I am probably not part of the target audience for this book (I'm 60), so perhaps a younger reader would appreciate this more. ( )

2.75*
This book was so slow! The reveals were much too drawn out and it was slightly unbelievable that a cop would bring a mother to interviews with possible suspects as well as tell her information about where text messages and emails came from, and then tell her to wait for him before going to the residence that he just gave her. But I could probably have gotten over that... the constant flipping between two different perspectives and 3 different timelines wasn't entirely necessary either - and I'm usually okay with changing timelines. It was nice when they finally lined up and offered some clarity as I was constantly having to think about where everything fit in the timeline. I shouldn't have to think this hard for a murder mystery. I overall enjoyed the big reveal at the end and didn't see it coming which I appreciate, but because this was so long, I found myself not caring by the end. I would recommend this, but I am interested to see if Kimberly McCreight's future books are better (I think this was her debut). ( )

This is the second book I’ve read from Kimberly McCreight, and I’m finding the review just as hard to review. This book was just so horribly sad. The tragedy was just so pointless, yet I suppose this kind of pointless tragedy occurs daily. It’s just one of those stories that really make you think about how quickly life can end. ( )

Teenage Amelia is smart, athletic and pretty. Her shocking death, initially called a suicide, comes into question giving Kate, her mother, an opportunity to look deep into her daughter's life as well as her own. Amelia, more brainy than popular, is invited to join a secret society at Grace Hall, her snooty high school in Park Slope. Against her better judgement, Amelia endures hazing and keeps her invitation to the Magpies a secret from her best friend, Sylvia. Along the way Amelia engages in a platonic friendship via text with "Ben, " someone she's never met in person but who claims to be gay. Kate is a hard working single parent who has not told Amelia who her father is. Ultimately, Kate doesn't know who the father is very present in Amelia's life in the end. After being humiliated with half clothed pictures and a private message confessing her love for a fellow Magpie being broadcast to the entire school, Amelia opts out of the Magpies. The cause of death is an accidental fall from the roof of the school which her best friend Sylvia witnesses. The book keeps the reader (or in my case, the listener) on edge throughout! ( )

I ended up liking this a lot more than I even thought I would. It definitely held my interest and kept me guessing. The one thing keeping me from giving this 5 stars is that too many things seemed just implausible. Too many people were plotting against this girl all at the same time. An overabundance of surprises and plot twists takes a story from exciting to far-fetched. However - I still enjoyed the story with all of it's twists, turns, and sketchy characters, and mean-girl secret societies, and baby daddy drama. ( )

I ended up liking this a lot more than I even thought I would. It definitely held my interest and kept me guessing. The one thing keeping me from giving this 5 stars is that too many things seemed just implausible. Too many people were plotting against this girl all at the same time. An overabundance of surprises and plot twists takes a story from exciting to far-fetched. However - I still enjoyed the story with all of it's twists, turns, and sketchy characters, and mean-girl secret societies, and baby daddy drama. ( )

I did not like this book. I thought the writing was stiff and clichéd. The dialogue and the personas of the characters were unbelievable (as in validity, not incredibility). None of the characters elicited any sympathy and the conclusion was just too predictable. It took powerful and emotional topics (suicide, death of an only child, school bullying) and turned them into shallow, cheap, and consumable mush. If it wasn't for the long plane ride on which I read this book, I doubt that I would have finished it. The best thing I can say is that it's a simple read that moves quickly and is distracting enough for a plane ride, but almost anything else would have done just as well. ( )

Quick, entertaining and suspenseful read. Although it was hard to put down its not a book that will stay with me long, hence the 3 stars. ( )

Completely implausible in so many ways. I mean, a homicide detective taking the mother of the deceased on interviews? Having her help with going through evidence? At first I thought maybe I was misunderstanding. Then I hoped maybe it was a little thing and the detective would come to his senses. Nope. It's practically the entire book. And that's not even the only thing; it's just the only thing I can mention without giving away spoilers. ( )

I thought this was a wonderful novel. Kudos to the author, it kept me coming back for more. 4 stars. ( )

Everywhere I look, this book is compared to Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl and I'd say those comparisons are valid. It's emotional and swings back and forth between the relationship and the mystery. At the end, the twists keep coming with each one being more shocking than the next. And I did not guess the ending. Looking back I guess I should have but I missed it. And I so felt for Kate and wanted her to get answers. I highly recommend this book to EVERYONE that loves a mystery with heart. ( )

Everywhere I look, this book is compared to Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl and I'd say those comparisons are valid. It's emotional and swings back and forth between the relationship and the mystery. At the end, the twists keep coming with each one being more shocking than the next. And I did not guess the ending. Looking back I guess I should have but I missed it. And I so felt for Kate and wanted her to get answers. I highly recommend this book to EVERYONE that loves a mystery with heart. ( )

Story of Amelia, who gets caught up in being a teenager with all the drama of High School. Could be any school, and any child, unfortunately. This was an easy read, kept moving. As a parent it was heartbreaking to read. ( )