“Finding Audrey” was Adorable and Sentimental

I was laughing hysterically within the first few pages.

I don’t know if it’s because I have a large family so I could relate to Audrey’s daily household fanatics better, but this book totally got me. It burrowed its way into my heart and had me laughing my head off at three in the morning when I should have been sound asleep (wow, that makes me sound like a lunatic), but I just couldn’t put it down because I was so excited to find out what would happen next.

Finding Audrey is about fourteen-year-old Audrey who has anxiety issues and is scared to even leave the house. She always wears dark glasses and the thought of talking to strangers paralyzes her “lizard brain.” When her therapist suggests she film a documentary and interview her family and random people, Audrey slowly begins to recover from her mental illness.

I loved how Audrey’s anxiety problems were carefully written and explained. No details were glossed over, and by the end of the novel I was much more informed about the mental trauma Audrey had to deal with. There was this lovely connection between Audrey and me and even though I have never experienced anything like an anxiety disorder, I felt like I was able to slip into her shoes while reading and understand her problems and fears for a little while.

There was some romance in this book, and I know that some people had a problem with it, but I thought it was sweet. Obviously it wasn’t a serious, complicated relationship between two fully-grown people, but I thought it was perfect for what it was. It reminded me of crushes I had on boys when I was twelve. Audrey and Linus’s romance was more like an adorable puppy love. They texted each other constantly, went on Starbucks dates, held hands, and got ice cream together.

The rest of the book was scarily relatable. I’d say more than half of it revolves around Audrey’s family, whom I quickly grew to love. There was a very strong family theme, and it was just so freaky because I saw traces of my own families’ quarrels, shared laughter, and odd habits in Audrey’s family over and over again. I loved her brothers, Frank and Felix, and the fact that they weren’t just background characters—they were always there, whether they were just being ridiculous, moody, busy playing video games, or standing by their sister’s side to support her. I loved Audrey’s hilarious parents, and Audrey herself was just so darn cute.

This was such a great, humorous, and touching read. Highly recommended.