Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

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've been in the mood for a cute contemporary book lately and this seemed to fit the bill. Also it was the 'booksplosion book of the month' so I had incentive to finish it before watching the discussion at the end of August. As random as it was to have this book cross my path I'm glad it did.

Finding Audrey is a book that will appeal to anyone willing to give it a chance. Supposedly Audrey's only 14, but that is surprisingly not an issue. She speaks and acts at least 16/17; sometimes I hear her voice as my own and I'm 22! Her family is also surprisingly very likable. Going into this I thought the fact that the setting was in England would be an issue or that her younger brothers would be annoying but it turned out that made the story better and more realistic. I did have to Google a few things to understand the references but the majority of the story circles around Audrey's family home and the local Starbucks. Who can't relate to that?

I was disappointed that the bullying part of the story was left out. The characters kept referring back to 'the incident' but all I could gather was that a group of similar-aged girls made fun of Audrey. I would have liked to explore the part of the story where she snapped, but on the flip-side, most mental illnesses don't have an explanation. One day you're fine and the next...you're not.

But anyway this book was a cute, quick read (I think I finished it in 2 sittings) and I felt fulfilled after finishing it. There aren't any loose ends left hanging and this book genuinely made me smile. It's not a book that I will continue to revisit in the future so I can't give it the full 5 stars, but it is definitely worthy of 4.5 stars in my book.