Review: Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight

In an odd coincidence or as a sign of a new trend, this is the second book I read in a week that starts out with a teen being expelled from private school. In both cases, the girls were good students, lived in a single-parent household with their hardworking moms, and faced a problem they felt they couldn't share.

That's pretty much where the similarities between Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots (reviewed on Monday) and Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight end. The first is a sweet food-filled story of found families and building a support network; the second is much darker.

When Kate, a high-powered lawyer, gets the call telling her she must come to Grace Hall and pick up her daughter because she's been expelled, she is sure there has been some mistake. When she arrives on campus, she learns to her horror that Amelia has jumped off the roof of the building to her death. Just as Kate is trying to rebuild her life in the aftermath of the tragedy, she gets an anonymous text message telling her that Amelia didn't commit suicide.

Reconstructing Amelia is told from multiple viewpoints and via a variety of media: text messages, Facebook, phone calls, and notes as well as first- and third-person narration. The mystery is what exactly happened to Amelia, who always seemed so happy and stable. As Kate investigates her daughter's life, she learns unpleasant things about teenage girls and discovers some surprising things about herself.

Kimberly McCreight's debut novel is well-plotted and carefully builds up the tension. I liked the way we get to know Amelia through her own voice: She, unaware of her fate, tells us about her life with all the innocence and angst of a young teen; we, however, know the eventual outcome but not the events that led up to it, which can make it painful to read her tale. Alternating with Amelia's sections, the novel follows Kate and the police as they try to piece together the facts to understand just how the teen came to her death. The juxtaposition of these two storytelling techniques works very well.

On the other hand, McCreight telegraphed a few of the clues so strongly that at least some of mystery of what happened to Amelia was easy to figure out. There were still a couple of details that were not obvious, but the big reveal factor fell flat for me. I am totally in the minority here, and keep in mind that I wasn't wowed by Gone Girl either.

The good news is that the pacing of Reconstructing Amelia is nicely done, and the varied ways in which McCreight tells the story keeps the reader fully invested. Don't miss this novel, just don't expect it to blow your socks off.

I listened to the unabridged audiobook edition (Harper Audio, 12 hr, 15 min) read by Khristine Hvam. Hvam had the difficult task of portraying teens, adults, boys, and men and a broad range of emotions. She did an amazing job keeping consistent characterizations and making each voice seem believable. Although the novel may not make my top ten list, the audio production is excellent, and I highly recommend it.

Buy Reconstructing Amelia at an Indie or at bookstore near you. This link leads to an affiliate program.
HarperCollins / Harper, 2013
ISBN-13: 9780062225436
Rating: C+ (print) A- (audio)
Source: Review - audio (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy).