If you know me at all, or have seen my bookcases, then you know that I am a huge fan of Sophie Kinsella. I have been reading her novels for at least ten years now, and never missed one. When I found out a few months back that she would be releasing her debut Young Adult novel, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I personally am not a fan of YA novels, at least not contemporary ones. I know that it’s the biggest genre out there right now, but it’s just not for me. But, because it was Sophie, I decided to give her latest, Finding Audrey, a try.
Finding Audrey is the story of a teenage girl who has experienced a traumatic event in her life and suffers from anxiety and depression in the aftermath. Throughout the novel, we get to see Audrey deal with her panic attacks, see progress and failures, experience new relationships, and her interactions with her family.
As someone who has experienced episodes of anxiety and depression (different from normal sad days and worry) in my life, I really appreciated this book. Kinsella does a great job of describing what it feels like to experience panic attacks, trying to deal with new realities, and digging yourself out of those holes that your constant worry and irrational thoughts put you into. I also think that the way Kinsella demonstrated how mental illness is viewed in our society today was spot on. 
There is still so much stigma about what it means to have a mental illness, and I love that authors like Sophie Kinsella are adding their voice to the conversation in order to change that. This wasn’t my favourite of hers, as I feel that there was room for more development and the ending was rushed, but overall, this was a good read and I would definitely recommend this book to those who are already fans of Kinsella’s work, or those who enjoy YA fiction.
I would love to read more books about mental illness (it’s a personal passion of mine), and would love to hear your recommendations! Share them in the comments below.
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