Finding Audrey

April 13, 2015
In her first book for teens, Kinsella (the Shopaholic series) offers pathos and humor in equal measure. The story has two cinematic threads: the candid narration of 14-year-old Audrey, who is coping with depression and anxiety disorders, and the transcript of a documentary she is recording at her therapist’s suggestion. Since being hospitalized after an unspecified incident at school, Audrey refuses to leave the house or interact with anyone outside her family, wearing dark glasses to avoid eye contact. The title of her documentary, “My Serene and Loving Family,” is only half ironic: her parents are loving and supportive, but her mother’s unpredictability sometimes overshadows her good intentions and shatters any semblance of serenity in the household. Mum is determined to cure Audrey’s brother’s “addiction” to online gaming and their bickering builds to hilarious mutual exasperation. Yet at its heart, this is Audrey’s story of healing and reemergence, facilitated by her friendship—and first love—with an insightful, patient boy. Kinsella’s knack for humor and sensitivity shine in a story that should easily expand her already substantial fan base. Ages 12–up. Agent: Kim Witherspoon, InkWell Management.

Starred review from April 15, 2015
Audrey, 14, is on a long, slow upswing from disabling anxiety disorders that resulted from the vicious abuse of bullies at school. Under the guidance of thoughtful Dr. Sarah, Audrey begins to deal with her inability to make eye contact-or even to leave the house-by crafting videos of her quirky, near-farcical family, a nifty narrative device that especially shows off her "twitchy" mom. Audrey's brother Frank is determined to win an online gaming championship with his team, in spite of their mom's frenetic attempts to remake the family based on newspaper advice-which, sadly for Frank, includes giving up computers. Complicating this is the fact that Frank's team includes sensitive Linus, who delicately, tenderly navigates Audrey's vividly portrayed roadblocks. As their relationship blossoms, Audrey gains both strength and courage. The counterpoint of absurd humor against Audrey's uncertain progress toward healing, graphically depicted in her appealing and slightly ironic first-person voice, is compelling. Since the nature of the bullying is never fully revealed, it can readily represent the experiences of other victims. It's only as the narrative approaches its conclusion that the true source of the dysfunction in Audrey's family is revealed: all of them have become victims in myriad ways. An outstanding tragicomedy that gently explores mental illness, the lasting effects of bullying, and the power of friends and loving family to help in the healing. (Fiction. 12-18)

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 1, 2015

Gr 7 Up-The author of the wildly popular "Shopaholic" series (Dial) for adults, has a surefire winner in her YA debut. Audrey doesn't go to school, wears dark glasses all the time, and rarely leaves her house. Mum and Dad are gently encouraging and helpful and try to assist Audrey in recovering from her debilitating anxiety disorder, for which she has recently been released from hospital care. Brother Frank is a computer gaming fanatic, and four-year-old brother Felix is a cute foil for the drama going on in the rest of the household. Readers are left pondering why is Audrey so anxious-what happened? Kinsella never explicitly reveals what triggered the protagonist's anxiety. The expert and sympathetic depiction of the teen's symptoms and emotions is the strongest part of the novel. Unfortunately, Audrey's rapid recovery once she meets a cute guy rings a bit false, or at least, a too conveniently cliched, but tweens and teens may enjoy the portrayal of the hasty romance. Sparkling dialogue, carefully developed characters, great parent-child interaction, and a bit of rom-com all join to demonstrate the author's expertise in developing a compelling story. VERDICT A deep and sensitive portrayal of a British teen's recovery from a traumatic experience. Expect requests!-Susan Riley, Mamaroneck Public Library, NY

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2015
Grades 8-11 In Kinsella's hotly anticipated YA debut, 14-year-old Audrey is secreting herself from the world. She hides from friends at school and from the prying stares of her neighbors, who jokingly dub her the celebrity, thanks to her reclusive behavior and ever-present dark glasses, which serve as a literal and figurative barrier between Audrey and her surroundings. But she has an intense social-anxiety disorder and can't just turn it off: All the bad stuff happened. And I kind of slid off a cliff. And here I am. Stuck in my own stupid brain. First there was inpatient treatment, and now she meets regularly with Dr. Sarah, who tries to help Audrey work through her inability to literally face the world. But between Dr. Sarah's assignments (like making a family documentary or venturing into Starbucks), the support of her comically dysfunctional parents and brothers, and the affections of darling Linus, Audrey begins to reevaluate her ability to heal. With her trademark wit and sass, Kinsella sensitively broaches the complexities of young adult mental health.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Kinsella's Shopaholic series has long been popular with teens, and her YA debut will likely be just as happening, maybe even among Kinsella's adult readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

August 31, 2015
After suffering horrendous long-term harassment from bullies at school, Audrey suffered an emotional breakdown and is now at home with severe social anxiety, afraid to leave the house, terrified of speaking to anyone outside her family, and wearing dark glasses all the time to avoid looking anyone in the eye. Meanwhile, her well-meaning but shrill mother is constantly getting into screaming matches with Audrey’s brother Frank over his excessive video game playing. But therapy and an unexpected relationship with Linus, a kind, funny friend of Frank’s who visits the house, help Audrey begin to heal and come out of her shell. Reading as Audrey, Whelan sounds exactly like an adolescent girl. She perfectly conveys the protagonist’s conflicting emotions—anxiety, exasperation, hope—and often sounds like she is struggling to put her feelings into words. She also creates distinctive, memorable voices for the other characters: reasonable Dad, overexcitable Mum, sarcastic Frank, adorable four-year-old Felix. With many moments of Kinsella’s signature humor to lighten the subject matter, this audiobook will be appreciated by teens, as well anyone suffering from anxiety and the Shopaholic author’s many fans. Ages 12–up. A Delacorte hardcover.

July 1, 2015
Audrey wears dark glasses all of the time, even in the house. But it's not out of excessive devotion to her movie-star namesake; it's because she's afraid. Of everyone. We learn, incompletely, that some stuff happened to her at school, that three classmates were expelled as a result, and that Audrey herself will be attending a new school come fall. While Kinsella never details the bullying Audrey experienced (which makes its power all the more terrifying), she persuasively charts Audrey's gradual healing with the help of an understanding therapist and a boy who, over the course of the story, becomes more than a friend. For those who know Kinsella only from her popular Shopaholic series for adults, this book will seem surprisingly layered and serious. That said, there is plenty of leavening social comedy, mainly delivered via Audrey's mother, a loving and scattered parent obsessed with how much time Audrey's older brother spends playing video games, who perhaps takes her Daily Mail tabloid reading more to heart than is really good for her: It's all the fault of these evil screens. Some children your age can't even get up off the couch! roger sutton

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)