Category: Book Review

By Kimberly McCreight

Suggested by Leah Gardner

Available from audible.com and NLS BARD

 

When Kate, single mother and law firm partner, gets an urgent phone call summoning her to her daughter’s exclusive private school, she’s shocked. Amelia

has been suspended for cheating, something that would be completely out of character for her over-achieving, well-behaved daughter.

 

Kate rushes to Grace Hall, but what she finds when she finally arrives is beyond comprehension. Her daughter is dead.

 

Despondent over having been caught cheating, Amelia has jumped from the school’s roof in an act of impulsive suicide. At least that’s the story Grace Hall

and the police tell Kate. In a state of shock and overcome by grief, Kate tries to come to grips with this life-shattering news. Then she gets an anonymous

text: Amelia didn’t jump.

 

The moment she sees that message, Kate knows in her heart it’s true. Clearly Amelia had secrets, and a life Kate knew nothing about. Wracked by guilt, Kate

is determined to find out what those secrets were and who could have hated her daughter enough to kill. She searches through Amelia’s emails, texts, and

Facebook updates, piecing together the last troubled days of her daughter’s life.

 

Reconstructing Amelia is a stunning debut pause-resistor that brilliantly explores the secret world of teenagers, their clandestine first loves, hidden

friendships, and the dangerous cruelty that can spill over into acts of terrible betrayal.

 

©2013 Kimberly McCreight (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

 

Comments from Leah Gardner-

I have read many detective and suspense novels. Reconstructing Amelia is unique. I am not often surprised by the twists and turns of such books, but I was constantly caught off guard by the emotional free fall I experienced reading this novel. Amelia’s first person accounts, related through social media and texts, leading up to her death, are compelling and brutally real. This book does not flinch in exposing adolescent bullying in all its bleak detail. But this book is also a look at first love, revealing all the sweetness and pain of self-realization. This book stands out for its raw, honest and sincere look at teenagers and their secret lives in 21^st century America. It’s not just a book with lesbian themes; it’s a mystery that will linger with you once the last page is turned. It is thought provoking in its questions about how we all communicate with one another. Sometimes, a text is not so simple.

By Carol Rifka Blunt

Suggested by Donna Ellis

Available from audible.com

 

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

In this striking literary debut, Carol Rifka Brunt unfolds a moving story of love, grief, and renewal as two lonely people become the unlikeliest of friends

and find that sometimes you don’t know you’ve lost someone until you’ve found them.

 

1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at

school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies,

far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance

into June’s life – someone who will help her to heal and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.

 

At Finn’s funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful

teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together,

June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs

the most.

 

An emotionally charged coming-of-age novel, Tell the Wolves I’m Home is a tender story of love lost and found, an unforgettable portrait of the way compassion

can make us whole again.

 

©2012 Carol Silverman (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

 

Comments from Donna Ellis, BPI volunteer extraordinare and member

 

Hi. I just finished Tell the Wolves I’m Home.  I must warn you that I cried and needed a lot of tissues, even in the first chapter, but it’s a book that you won’t want > to put down. If you are looking for a tear jerker, this is definitely in that category. Even now, I have tears in my eyes. You won’t be able to put this book d down