Was 'Gone Girl's 'Amazing Amy' A Real Book Series?

"Amazing Amy": Looks like it's not just the name of a Lil Wayne and Migos track, or just apart of an insane fictional story. Fans of the book Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn — as well as its subsequent movie adaptation starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, of course — will definitely recognize the name, however: In fact, Amazing Amy, the book series that Gone Girl's main character Amy Dunne inspired as a child in the story, is such a major part of Gone Girl's plot that fans might even be wondering about its origins. Was it a real children's line of books that Flynn used in her novel (and if so, where can I immediately go purchase the entire thing)? Surprisingly, the answer is actually just the opposite: The Amazing Amy series from Gone Girl was made into an actual book. So totally meta, right?

If you'll recall from Flynn's story, one of the major plot points from Gone Girl was Amy Dunne's childhood being an inspiration for the Amazing Amy series written by her parents: Anything Amy Dunne did, Amazing Amy did better. She was the idealized version of their little girl, and obviously, that's a pretty messed up way for a kid to grow up. Like, "Hey, you're pretty good, but if you were better, you'd be like this pretty little picture book!" I mean, I still have a hard time sympathizing with Amy Dunne since she was a trust fund baby and also a complete murderous psychopath — but I digress. The point is, Amazing Amy was created as a totally fictional book series just for Gone Girl.

So, where is the Amazing Amy series available, as inspired by the book? Simple. On January 13 when the DVD of David Fincher's film adaptation of Gone Girl was released, it came with a creepy, not-so-kid-friendly bonus: A 36-page illustrated Amazing Amy book to accompany the film. Best treat ever?

Back in October, MTV News teased the book, revealing that Amazing Amy was super excited for school but also terrified of disappointing her parents. She blames the maid for breaking "mother's favorite vase," which, to be honest, isn't really a lesson that you want to be imparting on your own little girls.

So art imitates life imitates art: You might have thought Amazing Amy, like some twisted version of Eloise, may have been a real children's series that Gillian Flynn drew upon to explain some of Amy Dunne's chilling behavior, but, turns out, it's actually Flynn's novel that inspired the real Amazing Amy book. It's more of a collector's items for adults — unless you really want to mess up your little girl and have her grow up in an illustrated girl's shadow. That, I do not recommend.

Image: 20th Century Fox