Author: Sophie Kinsella

Series: n/a

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Published: June 9th 2015 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

So I really enjoyed this book. I had picked it up at the bookstore a few times, and was pleasantly surprised when it was chosen as the Uppercase Box book for July!

I began it at the beach in northern california yesterday, and although this novel deals with some heavy stuff, it was still a perfect read for a sunny day on the coast.

I appreciated all the comic relief, and I couldn’t help but giggle out loud, multiple times. The relationship that develops between Linus and Audrey is sweet and I loved how he made her feel comfortable while pushing her to keep growing and healing.

In addition, I thought that the family dynamic in this book is utterly realisitic, and I could relate to it in a lot of little ways. It was great seeing growth in almost all the relationships in this book; Kisella does a great job at developing the characters and the family as a unit.

Ultimately, I felt that this book was great because Kinsella handled mental illness in such a fantastic way. It can be a heavy, personal, emotional issue for a lot of individuals, and it is an important part of feeling seen and heard in the world to see someone who is going through something that you, or a loved one, is experiencing in the stories that are told.

I admired how the reader never is explicitly told what traumatic event she was reacting to. I love how the author expressed that she wished for Audrey to be relateable to a wide range of people, and that she was furthering the idea that you are allowed to say no to sharing anything you aren’t comfortable telling others, that you don’t owe anything to anyone else, and that life is going to have its ups and downs and thats okay. Having known a lot of people who have experienced anxiety disorders and depression, I felt that this book captured what that experience is like.