* I have received this book for review from NetGalley but this in no way affects my review *
Title: Finding Audrey
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Source: NetGalley
Publisher: Penguin
Rating: 4/5 stars
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 energised. 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.
Initial Reactions:
This book was sweet and was really easy to read. It had really enjoyable characters although some may say they are a bit cliché. I do think the anxiety in the novel was done well however her recovery in the last 10 percent of the book was quite rapid in contrast to her condition in the previous percent. Saying this I did enjoy it and would recommend.
Book Review Summary:
I was really looking forward to this book, my Mum is a massive fan of Sophie Kinsella so when I found out that she was writing a YA book I knew I had to read it. However, this book did not live up to the expectations although it was an enjoyable read.
Plot:
This book follows Audrey, a girl who after an issue at school, develops anxiety which makes her unable to leave the house and follows her journey as she tries to overcome the issue. This was an interesting plot for me as I try to find books that deal with mental health issues. However, I found that this plot did not meet my expectations. Yes, there were some parts of the especially the beginning that I really enjoyed, as I liked seeing the relationship between Audrey and her family develop although there were aspects that I did not like. For one, we never find out why Audrey has anxiety, although this may not be a major factor for some readers but for me, I found that this might have added to the plot, being a way that we could connect to her character. I also disliked the end of the book as I found that it was quite rushed and considering the extent of her anxiety at the beginning of the novel, it was resolved too quickly. I may be wrong about it but this is just how I felt.
Characters:
The characters were a redeeming feature of this book and there was not one character that I actively disliked. Like I previously mentioned I really loved the family dynamics in the house and how Audrey interreacted to her family members and vice versa. Audrey was also a really likeable character and I definitely felt connected to her story throughout the novel, wanting her to overcome her anxiety. Linus was also a really loveable character and I really liked his relationship with Audrey although I did find how it added to the story to be quite a cliche and almost instalovey in a way. For the most part, I really enjoyed the characters in the book.
Writing:
Sophie Kinsella's writing was another high point of the book and I found it easy to read allowing me to read this book really quickly, getting quite immersed in the plot. The writing was also well done especially with adding the scripts which linked to the recording of her life she was asked to do, added a new dimension that was something different that I had only seen in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl before this. I definitely liked the writing and it added to the overall story.
The Verdict:
Finding Audrey is an enjoyable read that deals with mental health in a good way, with likeable characters and an engaging plot which may have a rushed ending.
This book was sweet and was really easy to read. It had really enjoyable characters although some may say they are a bit cliché. I do think the anxiety in the novel was done well however her recovery in the last 10 percent of the book was quite rapid in contrast to her condition in the previous percent. Saying this I did enjoy it and would recommend.
Book Review Summary:
I was really looking forward to this book, my Mum is a massive fan of Sophie Kinsella so when I found out that she was writing a YA book I knew I had to read it. However, this book did not live up to the expectations although it was an enjoyable read.
Plot:
This book follows Audrey, a girl who after an issue at school, develops anxiety which makes her unable to leave the house and follows her journey as she tries to overcome the issue. This was an interesting plot for me as I try to find books that deal with mental health issues. However, I found that this plot did not meet my expectations. Yes, there were some parts of the especially the beginning that I really enjoyed, as I liked seeing the relationship between Audrey and her family develop although there were aspects that I did not like. For one, we never find out why Audrey has anxiety, although this may not be a major factor for some readers but for me, I found that this might have added to the plot, being a way that we could connect to her character. I also disliked the end of the book as I found that it was quite rushed and considering the extent of her anxiety at the beginning of the novel, it was resolved too quickly. I may be wrong about it but this is just how I felt.
Characters:
The characters were a redeeming feature of this book and there was not one character that I actively disliked. Like I previously mentioned I really loved the family dynamics in the house and how Audrey interreacted to her family members and vice versa. Audrey was also a really likeable character and I definitely felt connected to her story throughout the novel, wanting her to overcome her anxiety. Linus was also a really loveable character and I really liked his relationship with Audrey although I did find how it added to the story to be quite a cliche and almost instalovey in a way. For the most part, I really enjoyed the characters in the book.
Writing:
Sophie Kinsella's writing was another high point of the book and I found it easy to read allowing me to read this book really quickly, getting quite immersed in the plot. The writing was also well done especially with adding the scripts which linked to the recording of her life she was asked to do, added a new dimension that was something different that I had only seen in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl before this. I definitely liked the writing and it added to the overall story.
The Verdict:
Finding Audrey is an enjoyable read that deals with mental health in a good way, with likeable characters and an engaging plot which may have a rushed ending.
Have you read Finding Audrey? Did you like it? Leave it in the comments below.
See you soon,
Amy
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