After receiving a phone call that her daughter was suspended for plagiarizing an essay, workaholic single mom, Kate, leaves her law office to head to Grace Hall, her daughter's exclusive prep school in Brooklyn. When she arrives, she sees a bevy of emergency vehicles, all with their lights off. She discovers that her daughter, Amelia, had jumped from the roof of the school and is sent into deep disbelief and mourning. Soon after, Kate receives a text message: "Amelia didn't jump."
The elaborately-crafted, multi-layered novel that unfolds is a gripping crime story that centers on family relationships, friends, secret societies, social media, bullying, and a number of other issues that plague teenagers today. Told in chapters alternating between Kate's and Amelia's points of view and interspersed with blog posts, Facebook statuses, and text messages, the plot develops, advances, and thickens with each of Kate's discoveries and Amelia's confessions. Readers quickly become enveloped in the mother's and daughter's stories, caring deeply about each woman, hoping that Kate can eventually discover what happened in the weeks leading up to that fateful day -- and can subsequently achieve peace regarding her daughter's death.
Despite a few characters being left underdeveloped (and thus readers still asking questions), Reconstructing Amelia is a page-turner, sure to hook readers from the first page and likely to be heralded as one of this year's bests novels.
Reconstructing Amelia is available in hardcover on Amazon for $18.
Book review by Ms. B.
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