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A review by bronski
Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella
4.0
Well, someone finally did it and I'm glad it was Kinsella. If you can overlook the teenage narrative and the timeline being a matter of weeks rather than years, it's a fantastic description of what life is like with an anxiety disorder. In the last decade this state of mind seems to be spreading like wildfire and not necessarily attached to a traumatizing experience or event (which sounds more like PTSD). The vague references to Audrey's experience with bullying I found distracting and possibly detrimental to the story as the anxiety disorder doesn't always have a "trigger event." Rarely are the reasons so straight forward and the subject could easily be a book in itself. I'm glad she chose not to describe the trauma. For the sake of exposure, it's a detail I'm happy to overlook. Kinsella nailed the feelings of what often looks and feels like unreasonable panic and the lack of understanding from the sufferer as well as those who desperately try to understand. You can't unless you've been there as well. My only other minor critique is how casually the aftermath of going off her medication went. Although it might have made the story darker, it's a serious medication and the character wouldn't likely have been able to get away with it with only minor withdrawal symptoms. That said, the character goes from agoraphobic to "almost better" in a matter of weeks so it might be explained away in that sense.
The role of Linus is rather perfect as he doesn't act as a cure, simply a strong support and an example of the good it does to unwaveringly stand by someone with anxiety even if they don't understand why you can't just go hang out or take a phone call or other mundane, every day tasks. Linus grasps the concept of challenging Audrey without overstepping and learns with her.
Targeted towards middle school aged teenagers, perhaps through Kinsella's voice this topic will be more understood and accepted among youth. It's a book I wish were around when I was experiencing it for the first time in high school. It's a desperately lonely and seemingly never ending journey (some of us work for years to overcome the hurdles Audrey did) and this book offered a comforting message that those with anxiety are not alone and there is hope, no matter how "crazy" one may feel.
The role of Linus is rather perfect as he doesn't act as a cure, simply a strong support and an example of the good it does to unwaveringly stand by someone with anxiety even if they don't understand why you can't just go hang out or take a phone call or other mundane, every day tasks. Linus grasps the concept of challenging Audrey without overstepping and learns with her.
Targeted towards middle school aged teenagers, perhaps through Kinsella's voice this topic will be more understood and accepted among youth. It's a book I wish were around when I was experiencing it for the first time in high school. It's a desperately lonely and seemingly never ending journey (some of us work for years to overcome the hurdles Audrey did) and this book offered a comforting message that those with anxiety are not alone and there is hope, no matter how "crazy" one may feel.