Book Reviews - Flawed & Finding Audrey

After my recent trips to local charity shops and the supermarket resulted in a decent-sized book haul for the library, I figured it was probably a good idea to have a sneaky read of one or two of them before adding them to the catalogue ;) 

Here is the latest book haul - seriously, I'm not safe to be left alone near book shelves!

I decided to try Flawed by Cecelia Ahern first.

Here’s the blurb.
Celestine North lives a perfect life. She’s a model daughter and sister, she’s well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she’s dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan. But then Celestine encounters a situation in which she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule and now faces life-changing repercussions. She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be FLAWED.         

Now, I have a confession to make. I have never read a Cecelia Ahern book before. I know, I know…this is a terrible admission. However, I spotted the ‘Heart-stopping Young Adult debut’ sticker on the cover of Flawed     and figured it might be a good time to start. Turns out, I was right. Whilst Flawed isn’t perfect it is an engaging and pacy read. I was quickly drawn into the dystopian world that Ahern creates and, whilst the central character Celestine can be a little cloying at times I did find myself swept along by the plot which hinges upon a decision of conscience that she makes. The story gives a nod to many issues pertinent today including:
* media ownership – the implications of a single company (or family in the case of Flawed) owning/controlling most of a country’s communications,
* the role of the media in controlling/managing society,

* discrimination and prejudice faced by marginalised groups,
* checks and balances – what do you do when power over the many is held in the hands of the few?
* at what point does fear compromise a human’s nature to be compassionate/to aide another person who is suffering?

* at what point does state and society draw a line between what is legal and what is acceptable behaviour? How and who should ‘police’ this? (The plot is littered with examples - there’s even a not-so-veiled reference to the Ashya King case)

The sequel to Flawed, Perfect, will be published in Spring 2017. I will definitely be picking up a copy.

The second book I chose to read from my haul was Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella. 

Here’s the blurb.
Audrey can’t leave the house. She can’t even take off her dark glasses inside the house. Then her brother’s friend Linus stumbles into her life. With his smile and his funny notes, he starts to entice Audrey out again – well, Starbucks is a start. Laugh, dream and hope with Audrey as she learns that even when you feel like you have lost yourself, love can still find you.

 I was drawn to this book primarily because of the subject matter – one girl’s experience of anxiety disorder. Now, this is not a subject to be taken lightly and I wondered how Kinsella, well known for her humorous Shopaholic series, would approach it.

Audrey makes for an engaging narrator: she gives us a hilarious introduction to her family during the first chapter (I won’t spoil anything except to say that it involves her Daily Mail reading mother and her concerns about Audrey’s suspected video-game addicted brother) and her day-to-day struggles with what she refers to as her ‘lizard brain’ which makes even simple interactions with unfamiliar people/situations are very touching. The relationship that Audrey’s family has with each other and with her is both comic and genuinely moving. Audrey’s growing relationship with her brother’s friend, Linus, is touchingly sweet.

I really enjoyed this book and it even made me chuckle out loud in places.