I finished this book on Boxing Day and I got it for Christmas. I loved this book so muuuuuuuch! It had the perfect combination of humour and charm and a sweet little romance packed it all together nicely with a bow on top.
Finding Audrey focuses on the relatable and dry humoured Audrey, a fourteen year old teen who thinks she has quite a mediocre life. She lives with her chaotic mother, woman who believes everything her favourite newspaper tells her to do, which leads her to sometimes frantic moments; her father, who is described as "tall and handsome in a car advert way" and is the most sensible of the bunch; her older brother Frank, who's obsession with video games gets way too serious to be healthy; and her younger brother Felix, the silly, happy one of the bunch, who is the only person Audrey can find who will listen to her. He is four years old (from what I can remember).
Audrey has an anxiety disorder, caused by a very serious incident involving a couple of girls she went to school with. Audrey doesn't explain exactly what happened, which I think is good and is honest. I think some authors may have written it differently- explaining what happened briefly and then moving on, but I think the whole mystery shrouded over the subject is a good touch and is what Audrey would actually feel like inside.
Audrey wears dark glasses and avoids eye contact with everyone she sees except for her younger brother Felix. She takes medicine and is not outgoing, adventurous and has low confidence and low self esteem. She hasn't been to even simple places like a cafe or the supermarket in months. She sees a friendly doctor, Dr. Sarah, who suggests that Audrey make a home movie of her life.
This is one aspect of the book that I really liked. Most of the book is in chapters. Some parts between chunks or chapters are like a script. It is really good to see the script rather than have in the actual chapters "And here's Mum". It is basically what Audrey is saying while filming.
Can I just say- the start of this book was absolutely hilarious. Audrey's mum is threatening to throw Frank's computer out of the window because he has an 'addiction' to computer games. It is chaotic and so funny. The Dad is trying to move the car and persuade his wife that she shouldn't throw out the computer, Frank is down on the grass below the window yelling at his mum to stop, Audrey is just watching it all unfold, the neighbours in the streets are coming out of their houses and are spectators, a boy who Frank plays games with is yelling stuff like "GET A BLANKET! CATCH IT!" and the mother is threatening and it was really funny.
Anyway-
Frank has a friend called Linus, and he comes over sometimes to play League of Conquerors (a video game). Audrey begins to feel comfortable around Linus. He approaches her in a way no one else has before. He doesn't try to reassure her or try to talk about her disorder. He just sees her as HER. As Audrey.
Gradually, their friendship blossoms into a small romance. It was very cute and I loved how the romance wasn't the main point of the book, even though it is made out to be by the blurb. I adored their chats. It was a nice feeling, being able to read about Audrey's thoughts during her time with Linus.
This book dealt with a very serious topic about mental illness and blending it with humour so it wasn't harsh or disrespectful was very good.
Overall, I think you can tell I love this book very much!
Zobo!
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