My Thoughts On Amelia Anne Is Dead & Gone by Kat Rosenfield

SHOW BOOK DETAILS

THE BOOK -

Amelia Anne Is Dead & Gone
by Kat Rosenfield
This book is not part of a series
First published in 2012 by Dutton Juvenile
Genre: YA Mystery
Avg. Rating: 3/5 stars

EDITION I PURCHASED -

Paperback, 288 pages
Published in 2013 by Speak
My Rating: 4/5 stars

THE PLOT -

Becca has always longed to break free. Free from her backwater hometown. Free from its small-town gossip and dead-end lives. But the horrifying discovery of a dead body - an outsider, Amelia Anna, battered and broken - on the morning after graduation sends Becca into an unexpected tailspin. As the violence of the real world creeps close to home, Becca retreats, paralyzed from moving forward for the first time in her life, as Becca's and Amelia's parallel stories twist closer and closer to the horrifying truth.

ADD TO GOODREADS.

Amelia Anne Is Dead & Gone is a novel that has received many mixed reviews but I, personally, believe that this is a must-read for YA mystery fans. With a story that grabs your attention from the very beginning and refuses to let go until the last page, I found myself completely absorbe in the parallel stories of Becca and Amelia, waiting for the tragic moment when their lives would inevitably collide. Who was the dead girl on the side of the road? Why was she in Bridgeton? Who killed her... and why? These are the questions that kept me turning the pages late into the night.

Recent high school graduate Becca has it all planned out - once summer is over, she's gone. Bridgeton will not keep her forever. Her determination is unparalleled until that one fateful night when her boyfriend broke her heart and a dead girl turned up a short distance away. In a small, quiet town where tragedies are few and far between, news travels fast and people start to panic. Becca's obsession with Amelia's death never seemed out of the ordinary, though I did question her sanity on multiple occasions. Her unexpected tailspin rocked her entire world, making her question everything she believed in, and I found myself longing for her to break free. Nobody deserves to be stuck - freedom is a luxury that many of us take for granted, but after tragedy hits, we find ourselves gravitating towards the familiar, the safety of knowing what the day will bring. As far as character development goes, Rosenfield nailed it with Becca. I found myself completely connected with her and utterly enthralled by her story.

When it came to her relationship with James, however, I was always a little... on edge. I didn't trust him - but I didn't know why. There was something about him that always seemed a little off to me. When lies were revealed and truths uncovered, my heart broke for both of them. Becca's world shattered with a single discovery and her guilt over various accusations thrown around could have crushed her. I didn't like their relationship - wouldn't have liked it even if it wasn't broken. There was just something about James that felt wrong.

Becca's story runs parallel with memories of Amelia's life leading up to the tragic moment that she died on a roadside exactly 9 hours from home. Catching those glimpses into Amelia's life made the story feel so much more real and I found myself craving the truth. I thought I'd cracke the case, but Becca's discovery made me realise that Rosenfiled had been leading me on a wild goose chase for 280 pages. Through astounding descriptions and beautiful writing, Rosenfield created a story that will stay with me for a long time to come. Filled with mystery and intrigue, Amelia Anne Is Dead & Gone will keep you hooked until the very last page.