Review: Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Publisher: Doubleday Children’s Books (4th Jun 2015)

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Blurb:

Meet Audrey: an ordinary teenage girl with not so ordinary problems.

Aside from her completely crazy and chaotic family, she suffers from an anxiety disorder which makes talking to her brother's hot new best friend a bit of a challenge.

But Audrey has a plan to help her face her fears and take on the world again. First stop: Starbucks.

If you don’t know who Sophie Kinsella is, I strongly suggest you to dig a hole and hide your head in it forever. Or, until you decide to Google who she is. Ha. Of course you do, right? She’s only one of the biggest chick lit authors today and I’ve read every single one of her books and I loved them and I was so thrilled when she announced that she would be writing a YA novel entitled Finding Audrey.

OK, Kev. Don’t panic. Just take a deep breath before you start writing this review. Well, I wish I could, but then I don’t think I can contain myself. This is Sophie Kinsella we’re talking about! And it’s a brand new YA novel which is so exciting – I expect more YA novels in the future, Ms Kinsella. Lately, I’ve started reading YA quite extensively, I’ve even read YA series and loved them. So I got really giddy with excitement when I started on Finding Audrey and I finished it in one day.

Finding Audrey follows the story of an unforgettable and extremely likeable heroine who suffers from an anxiety disorder after a horrible incident inflicted upon her. Audrey Turner is recuperating at home and juggles therapy and enduring her not-so normal, larger-than-life family’s crazy antics – such as her brother Frank’s computer game addiction and her mum’s dependency on Daily Mail.

I adored the main character, Audrey who is such a sweetheart and her blunt, dry sense of humour really packs a punch when Sophie Kinsella delivers this 14-year-old’s musings and thoughts. I really enjoyed reading about Audrey’s family as well, especially her hysterical mother who tries a wee bit too hard. The book centres on the Turner family and occasionally the spotlight focuses on Audrey and Linus’s relationship which I found really endearing. Nothing makes me go “ahh” like cute, budding young love. I ship Audrey and Linus a.k.a. Audnus. OK, that sounds weird. Maybe Lidrey?

I admit, I went ga-ga over Finding Audrey and I really do hope against hope that Sophie Kinsella will continue writing chick lit as well as young adult. A fresh voice in YA with buckets of charm, heart and warmth. Readers will fall in love with the Turners and develop a soft spot for Audrey. Sophie Kinsella's signature flair is sublime and her trademark British humour was genuinely charming.

Hailee Steinfeld as Audrey