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Thursday, July 19, 2012

Review: Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield + A Giveaway

An arresting un-coming-of-age story, from a breathtaking talent. 
Becca has always longed to break free from her small, backwater hometown. But the discovery of an unidentified dead girl on the side of a dirt road sends the town--and Becca--into a tailspin. Unable to make sense of the violence of the outside world creeping into her backyard, Becca finds herself retreating inward, paralyzed from moving forward for the first time in her life. 
Short chapters detailing the last days of Amelia Anne Richardson's life are intercut with Becca's own summer as the parallel stories of two young women struggling with self-identity and relationships on the edge twist the reader closer and closer to the truth about Amelia's death.
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I really haven't a clue where to begin with this review... I suppose I could start by saying that I love this book with surprising depth. For years I've named Melina Marchetta's Jellicoe Road as my favorite novel because no other book has ever garnered near the emotional connection or caused me to sob near as hard... until Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone

The novel is told in alternating points-of-view between Becca, a small town girl who's about to leave home for university, and Amelia Anne, the girl found dead and broken beside a road in the small town Becca yearns to leave behind. 

Part of my connection to this novel stems from my understanding of Becca. I've been the girl from a small town who couldn't wait to escape. I'd been in her position, wondering if I should leave my high school boyfriend behind, but terrified to do so. Becca and I share so many of the same fears and look at things in such similar ways. I like to think it's because Rosenfield successfully captured the mindset of someone who grew up in a small town, but always believed there was something more out there. 

While the high school me identified with Becca, the college me had a deeper understanding of Amelia Anne. This girl, who the reader glimpses through short chapters visiting moments in her life leading up to her untimely death, escaped to university like Becca longs to do. She did what was expected of her and finished her degree, but it wasn't in something she was passionate about. Amelia Anne finally decides to start living her life for herself only to have it tragically cut short... to become unknown on the side of a country road. While it might be dramatic, Amelia Anne, with her bravery to do what she loved, everyone else be damned, reminded me that I need to do the same... because you never know what tomorrow holds. 

I already feel like I've been a bit spoilery and writing more will guarantee spoilers, so I should probably stop while I'm ahead. 

Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone is a remarkably powerful novel filled with gorgeous writing, perfectly flawed characters, and a painfully real setting. Kat Rosenfield has blown me away with her debut novel. I can guarantee I'll be anxiously awaiting for her next offering.

Dutton Juvenile, July 2012, Hardcover, ISBN: 9780525423898, 304 pages.

Win my ARC of Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by filling out the form below!


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20 comments:

  1. I've been hearing nothing but good things about this book. It always helps when you can connect with a character and understand them like you seemed to. I'm glad you liked this one!

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  2. This sounds SO good! I've been seeing it on every blog :P Sweet giveaway!

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  3. I've heard this is a good book, and I really want to read it.

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  4. I absolutely love the cover, and that title!!! But seriously, I love that this one is 'painful'. I've been needing one of them.

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  5. I've heard of this book and your review really raises my interest in reading it.

    mybeachylife at gmail dot com

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  6. I really enjoyed your review, and I agree with you that you should do what you love for you never know what tomorrow holds. I have been hearing great things about this book, and I'd love to read it. Thanks for having the giveaway.
    ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

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  7. Your review is the third one I've read today raving about this book. I like that you were able to connect with both characters in the story-hopefully I'll do the same and enjoy it as much as you did.
    Thanks for the giveaway.
    tmdahle@centurytel.net

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  8. Oooh a tearjerker! I haven't had one of those in a looong time. I'm so very intrigued now.

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  9. Wow, I didn't think this would be THAT good, but I'm glad it is. Great review and thanks for the giveaway:))

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  10. Great review, it makes me want to read this book even more. Amelia Anne and Becca sound like equally powerful characters and though normally this isn't a book I'd gravitate to the reviews have just been so phenomenal that I must read it.

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  11. duuuude, I am so wanting to read Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone! It reminds me a little bit of Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma and I love that book so, so much. And I know Nova adores Amelia Anne, and with all the positive reviews it's been getting, I know I'll love this one!

    fantastic review and thank you for the giveaway!

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  12. I can't wait to read this book... it sounds really good! :D

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  13. Amelia Anne in Dead and Gone sounds like a really emotional novel that encourages introspection. Novels that do that well are few and far between so I can't wait to try this one out.

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  14. All the reviews I've read says this will be an emotional ride of the best kind.

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  15. Really looking forward to this one, your review just makes me that much more anxious!

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  16. I've been a fan of Kat Rosenfield for, oh, maybe years from her Auntie Sparknotes series. I still keep up with it, despite having drifted away from SparkLife for quite a while. So there's that. As a fan of her, I read the online teaser excerpt when she first posted about getting published it and absolutely loved it. The language is beautiful, the dynamics of the characters intriguingly established, the title just kind of wonderful, and altogether something I want to get my hands on. A smaller thing I loved about it was its positive representation of teenage sexuality and the addressing of the issue of how our society places virginity on a pedestal. Also, John Green recommended it and I trust him.

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  17. Kat Rosenfield is actually from my hometown! Really want to read her book!

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  18. I just read On The Jellicoe a few weeks ago and it is my all-time favorite book, too so now after that small comparison I've even more intrigued to start this one. This sounds emotional and heartbreaking but also, in a kind of way, beautiful. So glad to hear you loved this book and connected so well with both girls. Your review is BEAUTIFUL, I really must pop over more often!

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  19. awesome review, Sara! I've been dying to read this for ages, especially after John Green said it was amazing!

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