Any parent or child will find it warming to see how the family depicted in Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella, a strong bond despite the turbulent challenges readily found in today’s world, including bullying.

Meet Audrey and her family, fraught with struggles but grounded in love. While Audrey is a typical teenager, her life’s been suddenly turned upside down when a traumatic bullying event pulled her from school to stay home hiding behind sunglasses.

The story begins with the typical parental concerns about Audrey’s brother Frank’s obsession with gaming. “It’s all the fault of these evil games,” laments Audrey’s mom. This obsession with fixing her children’s lives occurs when she suddenly has more time on her hands after giving up her job to stay home and support her daughter’s recovery from her emotional scars and social anxiety.

As Audrey explores her world from her protected place behind the sunglasses and from behind a video camera, she slowly begins to feel comfortable again interacting with others outside her family. As she experiments filming her “Serene and Loving Family” she sees them through a “new lens” seeing how much they are sacrificing to support her recovery.

With the help of all of them, her counselor, Dr. Sarah and a newly blossoming love with Linus, her brother’s best friend, Audrey challenges herself to fight her “Lizard Brain” and return to a more normal life. She teaches herself to say “Whatever” whenever her inner voice tells her to doubt or be afraid. And when Linus challenges her to step back into society, she discovers that she is stronger than she thought possible and has the power within to heal.