Helpful Score: 1
Becca is on the brink of leaving her suffocatingly small townjust one summer to go before collegewhen the appearance of a dead girls body shocks everyone. As the claustrophobic community of Bridgeton attempts to figure out the meaning of this death and its impact on them, Becca finds herself clinging to her old lifeher old job, her high school boyfriendscared to see herself in Amelia Annes fate.
AMELIA ANNE IS DEAD AND GONE is not really a book that wants you to like it. From the uncomfortable opening sex scene to the way Beccas plotline ends up intersecting with that of Amelia Annes death, its like youre forcibly pressed close to the story and its ugliness, so that every blemish is magnified. If youre the kind of reader who likes this no-gloss dissection of flawed characters and setting, then great! It wasnt my type of read, but I can see why other will find this winning.
Say goodbye to your romantic conception of the American small town. Bridgeton is vicious and claustrophobic, its bright spotssuch as stars at night and a swimming holemarred by the harsh reality of tensions between locals and summer residents, peoples desperate desire to escape its black hole gravity. As someone who definitely has a romantic conception of the American small town, AMELIA ANNEs depiction nearly made me cry, it was so unforgiving. Its the same with the characters. They gossip and slander and take sides and make poor decisions and say terrible things to one another. But Kat Rosenfield does not apologize for realityand nor should she. Even I have to respect her for that.
That being said, if youre the kind of reader who likes a certain amount of happiness in your books, AMELIA ANNE might not deliver. Becca, the protagonist, is not particularly likable: she denies the harshness of reality by retreating within herself, and forgives her boyfriend for his really very heartless act. While in theory I can understand her reactionsshes on the brink of leaving Bridgeton, exciting but also terrified, when Amelia Annes shocking death sends her reeling and petrifies herI dont think they were explained as well as they could have been in the book.
In addition, I found the prose too pretty in an unoriginal sort of way. Unfortunately I dont have the book on hand to find examples, but passages that I could tell were supposed to be insightful or beautiful instead left me unmoved. I like turns of phrase that surprise me, a la Beth Kephart or Cath Crowley, but if youve read your fair share of lit-er-uh-chur, youre going to realize that youve seen all the similes and metaphors here before.
I wanted AMELIA ANNE IS DEAD AND GONE to be emotionally and literarily earth-shattering, but it wasnt for me. However, I can bet theres an avid audience for this book. For those who prefer their YA lit darker and without supernatural delusions of luv, check this out.
AMELIA ANNE IS DEAD AND GONE is not really a book that wants you to like it. From the uncomfortable opening sex scene to the way Beccas plotline ends up intersecting with that of Amelia Annes death, its like youre forcibly pressed close to the story and its ugliness, so that every blemish is magnified. If youre the kind of reader who likes this no-gloss dissection of flawed characters and setting, then great! It wasnt my type of read, but I can see why other will find this winning.
Say goodbye to your romantic conception of the American small town. Bridgeton is vicious and claustrophobic, its bright spotssuch as stars at night and a swimming holemarred by the harsh reality of tensions between locals and summer residents, peoples desperate desire to escape its black hole gravity. As someone who definitely has a romantic conception of the American small town, AMELIA ANNEs depiction nearly made me cry, it was so unforgiving. Its the same with the characters. They gossip and slander and take sides and make poor decisions and say terrible things to one another. But Kat Rosenfield does not apologize for realityand nor should she. Even I have to respect her for that.
That being said, if youre the kind of reader who likes a certain amount of happiness in your books, AMELIA ANNE might not deliver. Becca, the protagonist, is not particularly likable: she denies the harshness of reality by retreating within herself, and forgives her boyfriend for his really very heartless act. While in theory I can understand her reactionsshes on the brink of leaving Bridgeton, exciting but also terrified, when Amelia Annes shocking death sends her reeling and petrifies herI dont think they were explained as well as they could have been in the book.
In addition, I found the prose too pretty in an unoriginal sort of way. Unfortunately I dont have the book on hand to find examples, but passages that I could tell were supposed to be insightful or beautiful instead left me unmoved. I like turns of phrase that surprise me, a la Beth Kephart or Cath Crowley, but if youve read your fair share of lit-er-uh-chur, youre going to realize that youve seen all the similes and metaphors here before.
I wanted AMELIA ANNE IS DEAD AND GONE to be emotionally and literarily earth-shattering, but it wasnt for me. However, I can bet theres an avid audience for this book. For those who prefer their YA lit darker and without supernatural delusions of luv, check this out.
