Dutton Juvenile
July 5, 2012
277 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from TBD/or on Amazon
One event was supposed to set Becca free from her tiny, lead-you-nowhere town but the other looks poised to keep her there. Instead of a summer filled with packing for college, planning her long planned for and now imminent departure, she finds herself - like the rest of the town - wrapped up in the violence they don't know quite how to handle.
Unexpected and more than unusual, the murder has them all reeling. And ready to point fingers.
As both girls' - one now dead and one maybe trying to finally live - stories unfold, the truth of what really happened may finally come to light. But will it be able to save either of them?
Honestly, I don't know what happened with me and Amelia Anne. Not only did I have incredibly high hopes for it, but a lot of other people loved it . . . it didn't quite work for me, though.
The beginning felt a bit like The Truman Show or Pleasantvile to me. I'm not sure if it was setting up the small town, gossip-y setting or something else. It didn't quite feel modern, though - more like something that I knew was set in modern day but with the charm of days gone by (or what we picture them having - hence my Pleasantville thoughts).
Aside from that, I didn't quite get into the story. It felt removed, for me. I'm all for stories where you're not right in there with the characters, it can actually be useful sometimes but with Amelia Anne, I felt like it was maybe less intentional and more the book not working for me? Like I was outside of the story, which kept me from really engaging in it.
As I said when I started this review, I really don't know what happened with this book - I don't really dislike it - but I don't really like it, either. I kind of have no terribly strong feelings either way. And that feels weird. Really, really weird.
I wish there had been more of Becca's boyfriend in the book. I wanted to connect with his character - and/or their relationship - more but he was so not present that I found myself wanting him around more.
Becca was hard for me to get a handle on. I could understand where she started - the girl who was smart and just wanted out of her tiny town - because I've lived in small towns where almost everyone just wants out. I think the change in her was a little hard for me to grasp mostly because I had trouble getting into the book so I had trouble getting into who she was, what she was thinking, how things were affecting her, etc.
Apologies if this review was incredibly unhelpful - I had a lot of trouble getting into the book . . Kat Rosenfield does seem to be a talented writer and I'll check out whatever her sophomore novel is, though.
One note, due to some language but mostly sexual content, I'd say that Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone is aimed more at older teens.
(Gabrielle Carolina did LOVE the book, here's her Goodreads review.)
Rating: 6/10
Other books you might also enjoy: Breaking Beautiful by Jessica Shaw Wolf and Shine by Lauren Myracle
thanks to LibraryThing Early Reviewers for my review
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