1 April 2016

Review #385: Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella



My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.”

----Elbert Hubbard



Madeleine Wickham, a.k.a, Sophie Kinsella, a bestselling British author, has penned a charming YA story, Finding Audrey, that unfolds the story of a fourteen year old girl, suffering from depression and anxiety, who fights against the illness bravely with the support and love of her weird and adorable family and siblings and an equally cute boy. This is her sweet, delightful and funny story.







Synopsis:

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.


Audrey is a 14-year old victim of constant bullying in school, resulted in social anxiety disorder that makes her nervous to communicate with people. Her ordeal and fight against depression begins with the sup[port of a kind doctor named, Dr. Sarah, but her slow progress is making things complicated in her home front. Not to mention her jittery and over-enthusiastic mom, who wants a model family life, highly inspired from Daily Mail, which makes her hyper at her son, Frank, a video games champion. Fran's gaming companion, Linus, is a sweet boy, who after befriending Audrey, helps her to heal in a positive and effective way. Read the book to watch out for Audrey's journey to sanity with love and care.

The queen of chick-lit is back and this time she presented her readers with a heart-touching and entertaining light YA contemporary romance cum friendship story. And who can depict that better than Sophie Kinsella! Well, I would like to applaud her for spinning the story of a girl facing a dark and sad illness with so much fun, lightness and charm.

The writing is excellent laced with emotions and funny anecdotes. The narrative is witty and highly captivating that kept me engaged to the heart of the story. The dialogues are hilarious and the conversations between Audrey, her parents and brothers made me laugh out loud. The pacing is moderate as the author pens the story with comprehensive details. The story is quite arresting with its funny as well as inspiring parts.

The characters are quite realistic, maybe a bit clichéd as the family of 5 consists of a daughter who has depression, a game junkie son, a cute baby boy, an over-anxious mom, and an obedient father. Yet I loved them all, they are all a pack of weirdo's and funny individuals but their down-to-earth and caring demeanor made my heart grow for them. The main character, Audrey, serves as the epitome of teenagers who unfortunately becomes a victim to bullying or for those who suffers from social anxiety disorder. The character of Linus is delightful and adorable and his response towards Audrey is highly motivating. The romance part is very less, but the importance of friendship and the importance of family support are highlighted with bold letters.

There is an underlying message in this book that the author has successfully delivered into the story about bullying, social issues and mental illness and I would urge all the young teenagers and their parents to read this inspiring and enchanting book.


Verdict: A must read for all!

Courtesy: Thanks to the author, Madeleine Wickham's publicist for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author Info:
Madeleine Wickham (born 12 December 1969) is a bestselling British author under her pseudonym, Sophie Kinsella. Educated at New College, Oxford, she worked as a financial journalist before turning to fiction. She is best known for writing a popular series of chick-lit novels. The Shopaholic novels series focuses on the misadventures of Becky Bloomwood, a financial journalist who cannot manage her own finances. The books follows her life from when her credit card debt first become overwhelming ("The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic") to the latest book on being married and having a child ("Shopaholic & Baby"). Throughout the entire series, her obsession with shopping and the complications that imparts on her life are central themes.
Visit her here


Book Purchase Links:

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for your feedback!