Book 12/30.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Audrey wears dark glasses all the time, even in the house. She almost never goes out, doesn’t talk to new people, and finds making eye contact to be nearly impossible. But then one day she meets Linus. Linus is her brother’s friend and a sensitive spirit with whom she can talk through her fears. He makes her laugh and doesn’t leave her feeling like she’s being judged. As their friendship deepens, Audrey’s recovery gains momentum, and she and Linus begin to develop feelings for each other. But how can they have a future together when Audrey hasn’t dealt with her past? And how could anyone ever love her once they’ve seen her at her worst?
I liked that this book managed to be lighthearted and deal with a serious topic like mental illness in a respectful way. I also liked that the romance was not central to the story, or even to Audrey’s recovery, as a “love cures all” message would be damaging and untrue. In fact, by the end of the book Audrey has not been miraculously cured as she is still struggling despite her improvements.
The incident that triggered Audrey’s Social Anxiety was never really addressed as it was merely hinted at throughout the novel that it has to do with bullying by her past classmates. It is built up to be this huge issue that the school failed to take control of, yet we are never exposed to what it actually is. I understand some authors choose not to include information like this as “the actual event doesn’t matter”, but for me it made the book a bit anti-climatic.
Finding Audrey was a 3 star read and I was quite happy to have enjoyed it as Sophie Kinsella and I got off to a rocky AF start thanks to Confessions of a Shopaholic and Twenties Girl, which were annoying AF 2 star reads with the most irritating FMCs.
** A guide to ratings **
1 star – did not like it
2 stars – it was okay
3 stars – liked it
4 stars – really liked it
5 stars – it was amazing
Lwile the Leo 