Reconstructing Amelia

Written by Kimberly McCreight

Narrated by Kate Harper, Jane Collingwood, Harper Marshall and Jamie Parker

Do you really want to know what’s going on inside your daughter’s head? Single mother Kate Baron is in the meeting of her career when she is interrupted by a telephone call. Her daughter Amelia has just been suspended from her exclusive school. When Kate eventually arrives an hour later, she hears the news that no mother ever wants to hear. A grieving Kate can't accept that her daughter would kill herself. But she soon discovers she didn't know Amelia quite as well as she thought. Then Kate receives an anonymous text saying simply: AMELIA DIDN'T JUMP. And so begins an investigation which takes her deep into Amelia's private world, into her journals, her email account and into the mind of a troubled young girl.

• Language: English
• Publisher: W. F. Howes Audio
• Release date: Jan 9, 2013
• ISBN: 9781471242779

Kimberly McCreight

Kimberly McCreight is the New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia, which was nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, and Alex Awards; Where They Found Her; and The Outliers young adult trilogy. She attended Vassar College and graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters.

Reviews for Reconstructing Amelia

[a_reader_of_fictions · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

For more reviews, gifs, Cover Snark and more, visit A Reader of Fictions.Going in, I knew that Reconstructing Amelia probably wouldn’t be a Christina book. Mysteries are just not my genre of choice. They’re very plot-based and I’m a character-based reader. It’s hard to care about the resolution if I don’t care about the characters, and mystery readers care about the mystery more than the people, as a general rule. Still, I like to try new things occasionally and I’d heard good buzz about this particular mystery. Objectively, I think it’s a really good mystery, but I was left with pretty mild feelings for it, because, though more character-based than most, it still didn’t bring me the feels.The first half of the book was a bit slow, but really picked up once Kate began seriously investigating her daughter’s death. The book alternates between Kate and Amelia’s third person perspectives, as well as including Amelia’s texts and Facebook statuses. Kate’s timeline runs from the day of the accident until the mystery has been solved. Amelia’s runs from what started everything through her death, where obviously it has to stop. The inclusion of the texts and statuses was a nice touch, a different view into Amelia’s relationships.Personally, I found Amelia’s sections more interesting, because they read like a contemporary YA novel, meaning they were more character-focused. Kate’s sections were the mystery part, and will no doubt be interesting to readers who enjoy that aspect more than I do. The mystery itself is interesting, don’t get me wrong. I definitely wanted to know what had happened, and the book became a real page-turner at about the halfway point.Amelia attends a pompous private school,Grace Hall in New York City. The drama at the school is very Gossip Girl, only more so. There’s actually even a Gossip-Girl style blog called gRaCeFULLY, which discusses the various scandals in the school. That’s not all though; the school has secret societies with hazing and pranks. That was all a bit melodramatic for my tastes at first, but my favorite aspect was the way the book dealt very tastefully with sexuality.The resolution leaves me with a handful of qualms however. First, the actually reason she died really didn’t work for me. Jealous best friend? Really? And if Amelia hadn’t lied to her best friend the whole fucking time that wouldn’t have happened either. Then there’s the gossip blog, which, actually, seems to have been entirely unnecessary to the plot. Nothing ever happens with the person who was writing it. We find out and it’s just dropped. Um, excuse me, but I would like to know about that. View Spoiler » In general, I’d just like a sense about where Kate was left. Did she keep working at her law firm? Will she try to reconnect with that old flame? If not, why were the emails included in the book. If not, why do I care about that?Despite my few hesitations, this is one that I’ll recommend to mystery readers. They mystery itself is compelling, the candidates for murderer many, and the narrative style engaging.

[mhanover10 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book shows another side of bullying and the craziness it is to be a teenager with the technology we have. I have a daughter and thank God she never went through anything like this and she went to a public school instead of a private one. I'm sure stuff like this does happen, maybe not as often as we think or maybe more often. Kids can be cruel and they now have Facebook, Twitter, Texting and the internet to get away with it sometimes anonymously. I would not wish this on any parent. Very well written and I liked how the text messaging was mixed in with the story while Kate tried to find out what really happened to Amelia. It has a nice flow to the story as things are revealed. Just a very sad story.

[startwithgivens · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book reminds us of so many things- among them I think the most important is that everybody, or mostly everybody, makes decisions with the best of intentions. Throughout the book we find out secrets about most major characters in the novel, and even a couple of minor characters by proxy. The one thing that remains constant is that every secret they tried to keep was because they thought it was for the best. It is important to remember that whatever happens, no matter how big or small, it happened for a reason and somebody was doing what they thought was right.

Second, with the alternating voices of Kate and Amelia, we get the sense that people are evil in high school and people are evil in adulthood. Grudges are often held for quite some time, for whatever reason. People have a very hard time of letting go, and the way they handle those feelings may differ with age, but at the end of the day, everybody is watching out for themselves.

I loved the way the book was written from so many different perspectives, most notably I believe the choice to incorporate Virginia Woolf references was carefully calculated, and perhaps even a motivation for the novel. It was no mistake that Amelia loved Virginia Woolf and used Virginia Woolf to convey her own feelings. These references were carefully chosen, and were written in in such a way that made them realistic for a high school student. This was an excellent book and I am so glad that I took the time to read it.

[stephlaymon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I hate it when a publisher is foolish enough to compare a book with another popular title in order to boost sales. Reconstructing Amelia was compared to Gone Girl and I think that was a huge mistake, since Reconstructing Amelia is a fabulous book on its own merit, but it is no Gone Girl.
First of all, the target audience is very much different. Even with the alternating stories of mother/ daughter, it really does appeal more to the crowd who likes YA or young adult. Kate, Amelia's mother, should make the book more attractive to some older readers, but I don't see it. It still is a teen, school, mean girls drama, with a good dose of mystery.
That being said, I liked the book very much. There were plot twists throughout and I was surprised more often than not. Maybe that is where the claim of similarity to Gone Girl came from, but still...
The only issues that I had is that the pacing was off and there were some unrealistic pieces when it came to the investigation. The pacing never dragged, so please don't be scared off by that, it was just that Amelia's story was incredibly fast paced, making Kate's story seem slower than it was, especially when it came to details about her career.
I am glad that I read Reconstruction Amelia, right through the end, but I am sure that it is NOT for everyone. If you like a storyline about adults, can't accept a few unrealistic details in the name of a good story, or you don't care to relate to the struggles of a teen trying to fit in, this is not for you. If you read YA there is little doubt that you will love Amelia's story as much as I did.

[judithrs · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reconstructing Amelia. Kimberly McCreight. 2013. Kate, a single mother who works for a highly competitive law firm, gets a call from her daughter’s school requesting that she come pick up Amelia immediately. Amelia has been accused of plagiarism; it makes no sense as Amelia is an honor student. By the time Kate reaches the school, Amelia is no more; she jumped from the roof of the school. A few weeks later Kate received a text stating that Amelia did not kill herself. Kate is determined to find out the truth. This is quite a suspenseful story. It is told in flashback, text message, emails, and blogs. The book is peopled with some of the most repulsive teenagers in any book I have read, and some of the adults are worse. This would make a fascinating movie. The bullying is the worst part and the most frightening.

[askelmore · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I bought this book at noon today, and finished it tonight at 7PM. Admittedly, I bought it at the airport as I was FOUR HOURS early for my flight and really looking for something that might be a quick and compelling read. Woo, did I choose wisely.

The book is told in alternating chapters from the perspective (in the third person) of Kate, a single mother to 15-year-old Amelia, and in the first person from the perspective of Amelia herself. The Kate chapters start with Amelia’s death (ostensibly by suicide); Amelia’s chapters cover her life starting two months earlier, at the beginning of her sophomore year.

The main question we’re trying to figure out is whether Amelia has actually killed herself, or if someone else may have helped her off the roof of her school. There are multiple mysteries within this book – who really is Amelia’s father? Who is Ben? Why the fuck does Zadie hate her so much?

It’s possible I had a little more love for this book because it is set in my old neighborhood in Brooklyn, and the author (who lives there) calls out actual shops and restaurants that I used to visit. I could very vividly picture the scenes in the book because I’d actually been to those places. But mostly I think I enjoyed it because it was a well-told story. It was interesting, it wasn’t totally predictable (at least not to me), and the high-school students weren’t all silly or making utterly inexplicable decisions.

I think it’s worth a read. If you’re travelling over the holidays and find yourself looking for a book that will make the wait and the flight go by, this is a good choice.

[begivens · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book reminds us of so many things- among them I think the most important is that everybody, or mostly everybody, makes decisions with the best of intentions. Throughout the book we find out secrets about most major characters in the novel, and even a couple of minor characters by proxy. The one thing that remains constant is that every secret they tried to keep was because they thought it was for the best. It is important to remember that whatever happens, no matter how big or small, it happened for a reason and somebody was doing what they thought was right.

Second, with the alternating voices of Kate and Amelia, we get the sense that people are evil in high school and people are evil in adulthood. Grudges are often held for quite some time, for whatever reason. People have a very hard time of letting go, and the way they handle those feelings may differ with age, but at the end of the day, everybody is watching out for themselves.

I loved the way the book was written from so many different perspectives, most notably I believe the choice to incorporate Virginia Woolf references was carefully calculated, and perhaps even a motivation for the novel. It was no mistake that Amelia loved Virginia Woolf and used Virginia Woolf to convey her own feelings. These references were carefully chosen, and were written in in such a way that made them realistic for a high school student. This was an excellent book and I am so glad that I took the time to read it.

[tiffy_reads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

No. No. No. Did not see that coming at all

If I had to describe this book in 1 word it would definitely be SCANDALOUS. Every single time I thought I had this book figured out some new scandal appeared. This book had me on the edge of my seat wanting to know what had really happened and who was responsible.

[annhepburn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Oh, this is a good one. Devoured it over a weekend, unable to stop thinking about it and obsessing over what happened. A great blend of suspenseful murder mystery and mother/daughter drama. Very timely with its exploration of girl bullying, slut shaming, sexting etc. Kinda like Gossip Girl with deadlier repurcussions.

[john_warner-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Kate Baron, single mother and attorney with an aggressive schedule, receives a telephone call from her daughter's private school requesting that she pick her up since she has been suspended for plagiarism. Fifteen year old Amelia was the result of an unplanned pregnancy when her mother was attending law school. When she arrives at the school, she is told that her daughter has jumped from the top of the school building and committed suicide. After a period of grieving, Kate receives an anonymous text, "She didn't jump." With the assistance of Detective Lew Thompson, Kate begins to investigate and discovers secret clubs, hazing rituals, bullying and school administration reluctant to answer questions.

This debut novel was an emotional roller coaster. The story of Amelia's death is told through the alternating voices of Kate and Amelia. Amelia recounting of events leading up to the incident effectively built suspense. This novel was the first of hopefully many I will read from Ms. McCreight.

[jenn88-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Kate Baron is a single mother to fifteen-year-old Amelia. As a litigation lawyer Kate works long hours and doesn't have as much time to spend with her daughter as she would like. When a phone call from her daughter's private school disrupts the meeting Kate is in with the news that Amelia has been caught cheating, Kate can't believe it. Amelia has been suspended and Kate has to leave work to pick her up. Her daughter is an intelligent, ambitious teenager who has never been in trouble a day in her life. But Kate will never get the chance to ask her daughter what's going on because by the time she arrives at the school Amelia is dead. The police and the school tell Kate that Amelia jumped in an act of spontaneous suicide, unable to cope with what she'd done. Kate accepts what they're telling her but doesn't truly believe that's what happened. When Kate receives an anonymous text saying that Amelia didn't jump, she is forced to sift through Amelia's texts, emails and facebook page to piece together the final days of her daughter's life in an effort to reveal the truth of what happened on the rooftop that day.

The book is told from Amelia's point of view and Kate's point of view as well as texts, facebook posts and a blog run by someone in the school who doesn't mind spreading vicious rumours. High school life is tough but add in secret clubs with members who want to ruin your life, unrequited love and no one to really talk to you have Amelia's story. I felt so bad for both Amelia and Kate. They did the best they thought they could do. Some things did seem a little convenient at times, but overall the book was good. I didn't believe Amelia jumped but as I read on I went back and forth between maybe she did, maybe she didn't. So I definitely couldn't wait to find out what happened and I wasn't disappointed.

[highlander6022 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The book has an interesting story line, and the methodology of slowly peeling back the layers to reveal the "surprise" ending was fairly well done. However, to be honest, I guessed the true culprit very early in the book. Although the author's reasoning for writing the book might be laudable (bring attention to bullying), I don't know if it really would serve to do that, and I'm not sure who the intended audience really is. On the one hand, if parents read it, I'm not sure if it would provide them with any good techniques to uncover bullying occurring with their child. If meant for middle and high-schoolers, I wonder if it might not turn out to be a nice thriller for them but perhaps a bit advanced for middle-schoolers, a bit boring for high-schoolers. I guess if it raises their awareness to be alert for bullying, then it may have accomplished its purpose.

[dawnlovesbooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

thought this should be a teen book since it's major focus was teenagers. it was a good read and kept me interested until the end

[bingereader87 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book. What is there to say. I loved it. When you read a book and it makes you feel so much emotion and varying emotions, you know it's a good book. Throughout this book, I felt so much anger towards some of the characters, I really did. I also felt so sad and angry for Kate, Amelia's mom. It was maddening what she had to put up with through the course of this story. Anyways........on to the summary.

This book is about Amelia, a model sophomore at a private school in Brooklyn. She is never late, always friendly, and always gets good grades. One day, she is suspended and her mother, Kate, is called down to pick her up. Upon arriving at the school, Kate learns that her daughter jumped off the roof. Amelia was dead.

This story takes shape when it starts to show you Kate's obsession with wanting to find the truth surrounding her daughter's death and what could have caused it. Through her investigation with a detective's help, she begins to unravel the events that led to that fateful day and the secrets her daughter kept.

Don't get me wrong, this is very much a mystery, but after reading it I realized something. It is so much more than that. It really got to me and it made me love Kimberly McCreight that much more.

Not even going to recommend this book. I'm demanding you read it if you haven't yet. Drop what you are doing and get to the library, to the bookstore, or get online. You must read this book.

[Andrea · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked it. It was kinda slow at the beginning, but it ended up being pretty good

[huntersun9 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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.

[purple_pisces22 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[Ronel Stapelberg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good book. The scary truth of school bullying combined with the lost potential of Amelia is so sad. I felt so bad for Kate. The characters are convincing and the end sad but realistic.

[melrailey-412132 · Rating: 5 out of 5 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.

[lorikboyd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[ajarn7086-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is a rather fast paced read, partially due to its innovative presentation style using Facebook and text message outtakes as some of its chapters. My usual approach to a book is to jump right into the content without examining the cover, copyright page, or content page. I did the same with this book and quickly became lost. Readers should look at the content page and note that 1) each chapter has a character or source name and 2) each chapter has a date. I got to the second Amelia posting, entry six, before admitting to myself that I was losing the timeline big picture. I then went back to the content pages to establish a base understanding of relationship.

Amelia was never a “normal” schoolgirl. She was happy not to join any cliques, happy to hang out exclusively with her best friend Sylvia. The two establish their own self perception of superiority to the reigning school popularity class system, until Amelia is seduced into joining a rather toxic social group that seems to delight in humiliating others. Sylvia remains unaware of Amelia’s initiation activities.

So does Amelia’s mom, Kate. A highly educated single career mom fast tracked for a partner position in a law firm, she is determined to remain a good mother to Amelia. While Kate is preoccupied with secrets in her past, Amelia is racing to keep up with changes that will affect her future. Amelia wants to have a close relationship with Kate, but there is never enough time. So Amelia must confide everything in Sylvia, except for the group named Magpies that wants to initiate Amelia into some humiliating hazing activities. Unable to confide in Kate or Sylvia, Amelia turns to Ben, a person she knows only through text messages. Left alone a lot, Sylvia turns to sex with Ian as an outlet. Unknown to her, Ian is involved with the secret group Magpies, as is Amelia.

There are lots of supporting characters: teachers, administrators, legal colleagues, PTA members, the 22 members of the Magpies. There are lots of backstories, a lot of flashbacks (that is why the reader should pay attention to the content pages). The clever use of Facebook and text messages can make some of the entries, or chapters go very fast. I read this in four hours on a Sunday afternoon in one reading session. I did not want to put it down because it was very absorbing and I also felt I might get lost if I did so; then I would have to review what I had read before proceeding further.

Of course, I will not reveal the ending, but will note that there are many surprises and, for me, very emotional. I think it inevitable that many will compare this author to Gillian Flynn or Liane Moriarty.

[majesdane-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

McCreight doesn't really do anything new here, but this reads like an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent (which is really the only reason I gave it such high of a rating), so it's interesting enough to hold your attention for long enough to get through it. Outside of that, it's not very memorable.

[zelmerwilson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a great novel. Its plot and characters were outstanding. I especially loved how it was told. At the beginning, Kate Barton is informed her fifteen year old daughter has been suspended from the private school where she is a student because she cheated. By the time Kate arrives at the private school, her daughter, Amelia, is dead. The cause of death is suicide, or so Kate believes until she gets a text from a blocked number. Amelia didn't jump.
The story gets interesting after that. It is told through two view points, through Kate (third person), trying to figure out what happened to her daughter and through Amelia (first person), in the days leading up to her death.
In a way, it is two different novels told in one. I enjoyed it and it was a page turner.

[jjaylynny · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting premise and not badly written at all; but too many stories! There were so many technology-as-dubious-communication-tool cautionary tales going on that I can't believe that kid's phone didnt just blow up. Not bad, just not tight enough.

[jadedog13 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It isn't a spoiler to say that Amelia commits suicide in the beginning of this novel. At least according to Grace Hall, her exclusive private school. Her mom, Kate doesn't want to believe that her daughter committed suicide but the school and the detective on the case convince her that it's the truth.

Until... Kate gets a text that says "Amelia didn't jump." From there, Kate is motivated to find out the truth for sure. She digs through Amelia's electronic life to try to find out more information and is surprised to find out how little she knew about her daughter's life.
The story is told through Kate in the present and through Amelia in flashbacks from the days leading up to her death. From this and Facebook posts and various texts, we are able to piece together the truth about what happened to Amelia.

Memorable Quotes:
"...being a parent is awful ninety-five percent of the time... As far as I can tell, it's that last five percent that keeps the human race from dying out. Four parts blinding terror, one part perfection. It's like mainlining heroin. One taste of life on that edge and you're hooked."

"...some things you can't outrun, no matter how fast you move your legs."

"Sometimes it's hard to tell how fast the current's moving until you're headed over a waterfall."

My Opinion:
Okay, so I really liked this book. I liked trying to figure out the mystery of how Amelia died and who was sending the texts. I liked the way the story was told from both Amelia's point of view (in flashbacks) and her mom's (in the present). I get why Amelia's mom was so down on herself about not knowing the details of her daughter's life. But, none of us know more than our daughters (or sons) tell us really. Even if we monitor all their electronic activity, there will still be things we don't know. I wanted to tell Kate that, to reassure her that it wasn't her fault.

I thought this novel would make me very emotional, but most of it didn't. At the end, I found myself feeling sad, but during most of the book I was so caught up in the details, that I kind of forgot about the sadness of what happened. So hard to do now that I have a teenage girl. It is way too easy to imagine how I would feel in such a situation.

Recommended to:
This book is for adults. I think anyone who likes mysteries or books about teenage issues would enjoy it.

Similar books:
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

[tinkerbellkk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was an easy read about a disturbing topic - teen pressure and bullying. I enjoyed the switching of POV from the daughter in the past to the mother in the present. Some of the ensuing investigation wasn't completely believable however I felt the feelings addressed by both the main characters seemed genuine and authentic. Having two teenagers in my home, this story hits home about the fact that you can't possibly know everything that is happening with kid's use of social media and private technology.

[chrisway · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Entertaining. Slightly predictable, but a good easy read.

[mtlkch-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Hard to put down, but too many unanswered questions.

[jcambridge_4 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I would not recommend this novel. It was particularly disturbing to have read this book at the same time a 13-year-old girl was kidnapped in Virginia and killed by a 19-year-old male college engineering student with whom she had an on-line relationship. This true story also involved another female 18-year-old engineering student who helped plan the abduction and murder and bury the body. With these types of real events happening all too often, I felt this novel, which is likely to be picked up and read more by teens and young adults than by their parents, can do more harm than offer anything of value.

[amanaceerdh · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

thought this should be a teen book since it's major focus was teenagers. it was a good read and kept me interested until the end