A review by chelsloukelly
Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

3.0

3/5: ‘Finding Audrey’ is a Young Adult, Mental Health Contemporary by Sophie Kinsella; Audrey Turner has a serious Anxiety Disorder which affects every part of her life: relationships, appearances, trust. Due to a traumatic bullying situation which remains a mystery, it left Audrey unable to leave the house. Kinsella delivers a message about Depression and Anxiety Disorders in a comical, light-hearted way, whilst still managing to breakdown Mental Illnesses for those unsure about them. Under the guidance of thoughtful Dr. Sarah, Audrey begins to deal with her inability to make eye contact—or even to leave the house—by crafting videos of her quirky, near-farcical family, a nifty narrative device that especially shows off her “twitchy” mom. Sections of the novel are transcripts of the videos Audrey makes. Audrey's brother Frank is determined to win an online gaming championship with his team, in spite of their mom's frenetic attempts to remake the family based on newspaper advice—which, sadly for Frank, includes giving up computers. Complicating this is the fact that Frank's team includes sensitive Linus, who delicately, tenderly navigates Audrey's vividly portrayed roadblocks. As their relationship blossoms, Audrey gains both strength and courage. The one criticism I have is that simply having a boyfriend is unlikely to cure an individual of Mental Illness and this needs to be addressed. The counterpoint, however, of absurd humour against Audrey's uncertain progress toward healing, graphically depicted in her appealing and slightly ironic first-person voice, is compelling. Since the nature of the bullying is never fully revealed, it can readily represent the experiences of other victims. It's only as of the narrative approaches its conclusion that the true source of the dysfunction in Audrey's family is revealed: all of them have become victims in myriad ways. A simplistic and sweetly styled contemporary – Tragicomedy!