Author: Sophie Kinsella
Publication Date: June 9, 2015
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Shopaholic
series comes a terrific blend of comedy, romance, and psychological recovery in
a contemporary YA novel sure to inspire and entertain.
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.
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.
“To put you out of your misery, here’s the full diagnosis.
Social Anxiety Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder and Depressive Episodes.
Episodes. Like depression is a sitcom with a fun punchline.”
“But I think it’s time,
Audrey. I think you can do it. Call it project Starbucks.”
Starbucks? Is she kidding?
Tears have started to my
eyes. My blood is pulsing in panic. I can’t go to Starbucks. I can’t.
“Had to give you this before
I go.” For a few moments I don’t dare read it. But at last I open
it up and stare at the words inside. My head is prickling all over with
disbelief. My breath is jumpy as it read it. He wrote that. He wrote that. To
me. “It’s a kiss.”
Audrey Turner was a character that had to grow
on me. Yes, she suffers from an anxiety disorder, which readers find out early
on, but I do not feel that she is explored as well as she could have been.
However, towards the end of this story I found myself more on Audrey’s side
than I had been before. Her condition was not something that readers were
allowed to understand at first; I also found myself getting irritated with
this. However, I felt sorry for Audrey and the more than I listened and tried
to understand her story, the more I was rooting for her to conquer her awful
disorder. It is through her brother’s friend, Linus that she finally feels the
desire to confront her anxiety and venture out into the world again.
Linus was my favorite character because of his
involvement in Audrey’s life. He tried his best from the beginning to
understand Audrey’s condition and looked for different ways to challenge her
and allow her to embrace the life that she is allowing to pass so quickly
before her eyes. Now, Audrey’s mother on the other hand is a trip and I wasn’t sure
how to take her at all. She is constantly worried about her children, and while
some worry is of course natural, she goes a little overboard. No wonder Audrey
had such a hard time branching out and connecting back to the “real” world. Her
mother smothered the living crap out of her children. I had trouble with many
of the characters in this story, but still appreciated the connection to
reality that the plot served and developed.
***A free copy of this book was provided to me
by the publishers at Delacorte Books for Young Readers***
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