From Goodreads:
An arresting un-coming-of-age story, from a breathtaking talent
Becca has always longed to break free from her small, backwater hometown. But the discovery of an unidentified dead girl on the side of a dirt road sends the town--and Becca--into a tailspin. Unable to make sense of the violence of the outside world creeping into her backyard, Becca finds herself retreating inward, paralyzed from moving forward for the first time in her life.
Short chapters detailing the last days of Amelia Anne Richardson's life are intercut with Becca's own summer as the parallel stories of two young women struggling with self-identity and relationships on the edge twist the reader closer and closer to the truth about Amelia's death.
Becca has always longed to break free from her small, backwater hometown. But the discovery of an unidentified dead girl on the side of a dirt road sends the town--and Becca--into a tailspin. Unable to make sense of the violence of the outside world creeping into her backyard, Becca finds herself retreating inward, paralyzed from moving forward for the first time in her life.
Short chapters detailing the last days of Amelia Anne Richardson's life are intercut with Becca's own summer as the parallel stories of two young women struggling with self-identity and relationships on the edge twist the reader closer and closer to the truth about Amelia's death.
Beautiful. That's the first word that comes to mind when I think of this book. The writing style is absolutely beautiful, though the story is far from it.
Becca's seemingly dull and uneventful life is cloaked in a layer of creepiness that left me unsettled the entire time I was reading this book. From the first few pages, I could tell that something didn't quite feel right, but it was hard to put my finger on what it was. Even after finishing the book, I don't really know how to explain it. But it was there. This small-town, boring life broke my heart in ways I still don't understand.
The sections from Amelia's point of view only add to the creepiness. I mean, you know from the title that she dies, so it's not exactly a comforting feeling knowing that with every page turn, she gets closer and closer to her death.
Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone is unlike anything I've ever read. The plot is not exciting or intense in any way. It's more of a subtle story that will take over your mind without you even realizing it. A mix of beautiful words and an unsettling, mysterious feeling combine to create this little book about this little town that doesn't seem to be a big deal at all. Yet when you finish reading it, you know that you've just read something amazing.
-Rachel
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