ohnoflora's review against another edition
4.0
I was so impressed by this book. Witty and light hearted, with a very sweet romance, it is also a frank and honest account of living with Anxiety. It doesn't use any of the clichés you might expect in a book like this:
1) Audrey's family are supportive and attempt to understand her
2) Audrey's therapist is neither clueless nor patronising but gives her good advice and strategies in a way that made sense for the plot and made sense for the reader (I want to give this to my pupils just so that they can learn about breathing techniques alone)
3) Love does not fix everything: Linus is a support but he is not Audrey's cure
4) There is no easy way out: getting better is a struggle and the struggle is by no means over for Audrey at the end of the book, although realistic progress has been made
5) Audrey has to work to get better - and it's hard - and sometimes she hides in her room and cries instead - and sometimes she relapses - but she works. I like this a lot: it is a positive message but it's also realistic. Not everything will always be perfect, sometimes you might feel like a failure - and that's okay.
The other book that I thought dealt with mental health really well was [b:Am I Normal Yet?|23592235|Am I Normal Yet? (The Spinster Club, #1)|Holly Bourne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1429354198s/23592235.jpg|43194852] by Holly Bourne, which I also recommend.
1) Audrey's family are supportive and attempt to understand her
2) Audrey's therapist is neither clueless nor patronising but gives her good advice and strategies in a way that made sense for the plot and made sense for the reader (I want to give this to my pupils just so that they can learn about breathing techniques alone)
3) Love does not fix everything: Linus is a support but he is not Audrey's cure
4) There is no easy way out: getting better is a struggle and the struggle is by no means over for Audrey at the end of the book, although realistic progress has been made
5) Audrey has to work to get better - and it's hard - and sometimes she hides in her room and cries instead - and sometimes she relapses - but she works. I like this a lot: it is a positive message but it's also realistic. Not everything will always be perfect, sometimes you might feel like a failure - and that's okay.
The other book that I thought dealt with mental health really well was [b:Am I Normal Yet?|23592235|Am I Normal Yet? (The Spinster Club, #1)|Holly Bourne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1429354198s/23592235.jpg|43194852] by Holly Bourne, which I also recommend.
tj_terwelle's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
ambers0511's review against another edition
3.0
*Novel provided by Doubleday Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
Finding Audrey is Kinsella's first foray into YA, and since I have been disappointed by her adult books in the past, I wasn't expecting too much of this. However, when I saw that it deals with bullying, anxiety, and depression, and I do tend to enjoy Kinsella's writing, I decided to request it on Netgalley. Luckily, this book very much exceeded by expectations and I would definitely recommend it.
I really liked Audrey! I was really able to empathize with her situation, and I felt like Kinsella did a really good job of portraying her anxiety and depression, and her feelings about it. I have seen a few reviews saying that people don't think that Audrey's depression and anxiety are realistic and I want to say that depression and anxiety can manifest themselves in many different ways and just because Audrey didn't deal with it in the way that you did or someone you know did, doesn't mean that it isn't realistic. Audrey's family has a really great dynamic that I really enjoyed reading about.
I know that some people were really upset that Kinsella never actually reveals what it was that happened to Audrey that really acted as a catalyst for her depression and anxiety. However, though I have to admit that I was curious, I really appreciated that Kinsella chose to do that, and I felt that that choice presented a really powerful message. It shows people that you don't have to tell someone anything that you don't want to, which is a theme that is very prevalent throughout the novel. I almost feel that it would have been inconsistent with the messages that this book was sending for Audrey for to reveal to the reader what caused her issues.
I would say that this book isn't as funny as Kinsella's adult book which is probably because of the darker subject matter. However, Audrey is much more likable than Kinsella's adult characters. Kinsella's adult characters tend to act very much like damsels in distress who are incredibly irresponsible, appear to be pathological liars, and act like they can't do anything on their own without a man. However, Audrey was very self-sufficient and I was able to relate to her a lot more.
Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in this book and enjoys Kinsella's other books. I found this book to be very enjoyable, and to be a very fast read.
Finding Audrey is Kinsella's first foray into YA, and since I have been disappointed by her adult books in the past, I wasn't expecting too much of this. However, when I saw that it deals with bullying, anxiety, and depression, and I do tend to enjoy Kinsella's writing, I decided to request it on Netgalley. Luckily, this book very much exceeded by expectations and I would definitely recommend it.
I really liked Audrey! I was really able to empathize with her situation, and I felt like Kinsella did a really good job of portraying her anxiety and depression, and her feelings about it. I have seen a few reviews saying that people don't think that Audrey's depression and anxiety are realistic and I want to say that depression and anxiety can manifest themselves in many different ways and just because Audrey didn't deal with it in the way that you did or someone you know did, doesn't mean that it isn't realistic. Audrey's family has a really great dynamic that I really enjoyed reading about.
I know that some people were really upset that Kinsella never actually reveals what it was that happened to Audrey that really acted as a catalyst for her depression and anxiety. However, though I have to admit that I was curious, I really appreciated that Kinsella chose to do that, and I felt that that choice presented a really powerful message. It shows people that you don't have to tell someone anything that you don't want to, which is a theme that is very prevalent throughout the novel. I almost feel that it would have been inconsistent with the messages that this book was sending for Audrey for to reveal to the reader what caused her issues.
I would say that this book isn't as funny as Kinsella's adult book which is probably because of the darker subject matter. However, Audrey is much more likable than Kinsella's adult characters. Kinsella's adult characters tend to act very much like damsels in distress who are incredibly irresponsible, appear to be pathological liars, and act like they can't do anything on their own without a man. However, Audrey was very self-sufficient and I was able to relate to her a lot more.
Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in this book and enjoys Kinsella's other books. I found this book to be very enjoyable, and to be a very fast read.
elyseah's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book so much! It made me feel so many emotions. The author did an amazing job of bringing the characters to life!
payal_reads_alot's review against another edition
4.0
Ah Kinsella! Never fails to uplift my mood! The book is about depression and bullying, but she delivers the story so well. The MC is likable and relate-able, even with her many flaws, and manages to be succinctly funny. While I understand it was a deliberate choice, I wish there was elaboration on the BIG THING that happened. Either way, I enjoyed it a lot.
kayliec735's review against another edition
3.0
Like I said, I'm just in the mood for writing reviews right now. It probably won't last long because I'm super bad at this, but it's okay because no one's reading this anyway.
This book surprised me! When I saw that this was about a fourteen-year-old, I was kind of repelled, since I doubted someone that young could have conflict that I could actually care about. Especially when it said she had anxiety. As much as I believe in the importance of mental health, I don't think reading about it in YA is quite my thing at the moment.
It goes without saying that my expectations for this book were very low.
But I was pleasantly surprised!
Don't get me wrong; this book is not good. It's kind of boring and it's hard to care about the characters sometimes. Sometimes it's hard to believe, and the narrator is annoying sometimes.
But this is such a feel-good book! At the end, it's so nice to have a happy ending!
I was so surprised at how much I empathized with the mother, even though I am nowhere near to being much like her.
This is a fun book but also a feel good, because the serious issues it deals with all have happy endings that make you warm and fuzzy on the inside. I would recommend!
This book surprised me! When I saw that this was about a fourteen-year-old, I was kind of repelled, since I doubted someone that young could have conflict that I could actually care about. Especially when it said she had anxiety. As much as I believe in the importance of mental health, I don't think reading about it in YA is quite my thing at the moment.
It goes without saying that my expectations for this book were very low.
But I was pleasantly surprised!
Don't get me wrong; this book is not good. It's kind of boring and it's hard to care about the characters sometimes. Sometimes it's hard to believe, and the narrator is annoying sometimes.
But this is such a feel-good book! At the end, it's so nice to have a happy ending!
I was so surprised at how much I empathized with the mother, even though I am nowhere near to being much like her.
This is a fun book but also a feel good, because the serious issues it deals with all have happy endings that make you warm and fuzzy on the inside. I would recommend!
bubblegumbook's review against another edition
4.0
It was super funny and very relatable because this family is crazy
alexblackreads's review against another edition
1.0
The romance was gross and the family treated each other like crap and I don't understand why everyone loves this book so much. I was so excited to read it and wound up hating it so much. The representation of anxiety was fine, but everything else sucked. I really don't understand what I'm missing here.
ellaellaellaeh's review against another edition
5.0
This whole book was basically my entire life. I could relate to almost every single situation and character in this story. It's like therapy in book form.