Review : Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella
Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella
Pages : 288
Genre : YA
Stand alone
My Rating : 4/5
About the Book :
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.
My Thoughts :
I’ve been a long time fan of Sophie Kinsella. Even at her worse, she has entertained me, and at her best, she’s given me some of the best reading hours of my life. When I heard she had a YA novel in the work, I knew this was one book I couldn’t miss this summer – and I’m so happy to report the Sophie Kinsella I found here was at her best!
In the past weeks I’ve read many reviews of Finding Audrey; a lot of positive ones, and some negative ones too of course. One of the things a lot of readers seemed to criticize was how the author made fun of Audrey’s general and social anxiety disorders. Many thought the author’s humor was out of place here, disrespecting people actually suffering from these conditions.
I have to say that, while I completely respect this point of view, I was actually really surprised by it at first. As someone who has suffered from general anxiety most of her life (and still does!), I absolutely adored how Sophie Kinsella brought humor to the situation. I personally believe there’s more than one way to deal with serious subjects, and sometimes taking things with humor, even the most serious things, feels good. There are so many serious stories about anxiety and depression, it was refreshing to have a more comedic one. The story was still real and heartwarming, and I immediately liked Audrey and her sense of humor. So, yes, I get why some people would be offended or hurt by the author’s approach, and that’s something people should know before going in; but I can also say that for me, it actually worked really well!
On top of a great lead character and lots of humor, I really liked Audrey’s family. They were a colorful bunch, lively and fun, always in movement. A bit caricatural, yes, but it worked well with the comedic tone of the book. I was invested in them and it was fun to have a complete family involved in the story rather than acting as the background crew.
All in all, I really enjoyed Finding Audrey and would happily recommend it to fans of Sophie Kinsella or readers looking for a fun, quick read. I had a lovely time and was so sad it went by so quickly!
I liked the humor but didn’t love the way a boy was the one who “found” Audrey.
That’s an excellent point, and I fully agree! That’s one of the reasons why I couldn’t give it a higher rating. It’s common in novels about depression, anxiety and such, and it’s so disappointing, too. I just finished reading “My Heart and Other Black Holes” and it did a bit of the same thing…