Title: Finding Audrey

Author: Sophie Kinsella

Publisher: Delacorte for Young Readers

Publishing Date: June 9, 2015

Length: 288 pages

Source: library

About: An anxiety disorder disrupts fourteen-year-old Audrey’s daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she’s never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.

I’m not sure what I was expecting from this book, but gosh that was even better than what I imagined. Here’s the thing: typically with books I’ve read about social anxiety – from the stereotypical shy/introverted girl to a severe disorder like Audrey’s – that involve romance really disappoint. At least, the majority of the ones I’ve read have ended up with an exciting, out-of-the-box male character who pulls the MC out of their comfort zone (and in a lot of cases, go too far and I end up DNFing.) It’s cliche and as much as I hate to admit it, I’ve steered away from these types of books because of that. But Finding Audrey surprised me and I loved it!

This isn’t a romance. The romance is an (adorable) aspect of the book but it’s far from that. In fact, I’d call it a family book. Audrey’s family is hilarious and lovable (I mean, the first page I was just about rolling laughing: “Normal Mum-insane: Mum says ‘Let’s all do this great gluten-free diet I read about in the Daily Mail!'” MY mom (mum? ;)) had us go gluten-free at one point. It was relatable for me!) Audrey’s love interest, Linus, is sweet and swoon-able (is that a word? I’m making it a word) but it wasn’t the main focus.

Pssst. by the way, there’s the really cute book trailer thing you can watch here.

I also was beyond impressed by Sophie Kinsella’s ability to combine a serious issue like Audrey’s (her full diagnosis is “Social Anxiety Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, and Depressive Episodes”) with humor. That’s hard to do, but Kinsella did it well and amazingly. It flowed well and made me laugh. I sympathized for Audrey and was able to connect with her but I was also laughing out loud. (It’s been a while since a book has made me do that.) That was a nice combination because not every book about disorders or anxiety has to be all seriousness and sad. I think that’s a talent on Sophie Kinsella’s part.

I also loved that Audrey is fourteen. I’ve complained before about it being rare for a YA character to be so young, or an MG character being so old, so this was great. (I’m fourteen myself, and it was nice to have a character my age for once.) Although that brings me to a few of my downers, which is why I’m giving this book four instead of five.

– Audrey is, like I just said, 14. I was worried about the romance for a bit before I finally relented and decided to see what this book was all about. 14-year-old “romances” don’t usually pan out, and I didn’t want to read something that went too far with it or ended up being a flop (middle school drama’s not for me – which is really unfortunate since I’ve got to endure middle school this last semester, ha.) It wasn’t a flop but I don’t think it was very realistic. Or, I should say Audrey and Linus’ relationship seemed too mature for their age. I honestly could see Audrey between 16-18.

– Audrey’s older brother Frank swore several times throughout the book (pages listed at the bottom in case you’re sensitive to that) and it really bugged me. The book was sweet and innocent except for that and I really didn’t think it was necessary.

– I wanted to know more about the “unpleasant incident” that caused Audrey to break down into the state she is when the book starts! The book alludes to what happened (you find out shortly into the book but I won’t say because it is a small spoiler) but doesn’t go into great detail. I understand Audrey didn’t want to talk about it, but at one point Frank, her brother, is talking to a camera and Audrey isn’t around and… I just think there could have been some way to tell precisely what happened. I was disappointed I never got that.

But all in all, this book was a ton better than I expected: the adorable family dynamic, the humor, the seriousness and well-thought out development in Audrey’s condition… it was amazing!

4 stars!

 

 

 

have you read finding audrey? (or any of sophie kinsella’s other books?) thoughts? do you want to read it? can’t wait to hear from all of you!