Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

Audrey, Wait!

by Robin Benway
Published in April 2nd, 2008 by Razorbill
320 pg
Young Adult/Contemporary/Music/Romance
Stand-alone

***

California high school student Audrey Cuttler dumps self-involved Evan, the lead singer of a little band called The Do-Gooders. Evan writes, “Audrey, Wait!” a break-up song that’s so good it rockets up the billboard charts. And Audrey is suddenly famous!

Now rabid fans are invading her school. People is running articles about her arm-warmers. The lead singer of the Lolitas wants her as his muse. (And the Internet is documenting her every move!) Audrey can't hang out with her best friend or get with her new crush without being mobbed by fans and paparazzi.

Take a wild ride with Audrey as she makes headlines, has outrageous amounts of fun, confronts her ex on MTV, and gets the chance to show the world who she really is.

You said your piece and now I've got to say mine

I had you and you strung me on the liiiiinnnneeee!

We said we loved and it was a lie

I touched your hair and watched you die

You crucified my heart, took every part, and hung them out drrrrrryyyyy!

'It's all good', you always say

But save it for another day,

'Cause now I'm watching you walk awaaaaayyyy!

So, I read Audrey's story on my way back home from Palembang (or Prabumulih, to be exact) and finished it at the exact moment my car finally touched the ground of my house's garage after a week. Okay, that's such unnecessary things to say, but believe me when I tell you that I was smiling and giggling like a mad girl all the way!

Audrey, Wait! has a very simple premise. You know, just a boy (who happens to be in a band) break ups with his girlfriend, writes a song about it, then suddenly the song gets ALL people's attention, gets famous, and now Audrey has to deal with all the crazyness, newfound fame as the impact of it, because she's the girl in the song. Who thought people will put so much attention to a girl mentioned in a song, right? It kinda made me wonder whether Drew got his life 'changed' after Taylor Swift wrote a song dedicated to him (Remember? Drew look at me, I fake a smile so he won't see etc etc. Or the Dear John one but since we know John Mayer's already famous he doesn't count...)

But Robin Benway's strength in this book happens to be her snarky, fun, witty, sarcastic but fresh writing. And dear god Audrey, Wait! is SO FUNNY! Like, sarcastic-funny. Like, awesome-funny! I swear I caught my mom sneaking a glance weirdly at me numerous times because I was goofy-smiling and trying to hold my giggles in the car. The romance was fluffy and cute, too, it made me happy reading about it.

Audrey, wait! Audrey, wait!

You walked out the door and I want you to see me slam it shut!

Audrey, wait! Audrey, wait!

You can say all you want, but I want you to know that this is the cruelest cut!

I love Audrey, oh such a fun character to read. She's sassy and crazy, but she's the kind of girl you'd want to be your bestfriend. The focus of Audrey, Wait! is how Audrey trying to handle all her 15-minutes-of-fame time because well, let's face it, it's not that fun to suddenly gets called as a heartbreaker, having your ex-boyfriend's fans cursing at you on the internet, being isolated to study at the school's office because you can't even walk in the hall without gaining attention or be a distraction (some girls from another school actually came up at Audrey's school just to meet and ask for her sign!). Audrey just wants to be a normal, average 16 year old teenager. But she can't do that because now everyone, everywhere will be humming that famous song and chanting her name ("Audrey, Wait! Audrey, Wait!") every now and then. Radios played that song every ten minutes. She can't have a date with James, her new boyfriend without being surrounded by papparazzis, can't go into concerts with Victoria anymore because one of the band's member will come to her and try to use her as a new inspiration for their song, even more upsetting because the medias always trying to make her the bad girl in this situation.

A much better cover of Audrey, Wait!

I also love Audrey's relationship with her closest ones. Her parents are cool (curfew is 2 AM!), her friendship with Victoria (and Jonah, Victoria's boyfriend) is kinda enviable, her new relationship with James is just so, so, sooo cute! Eventhough it's hard imagining him as a redhead. They met at Scooper Dooper, an ice cream shop where both Audrey and James work together at. James isn't intimidated by (nor liking her just because) Audrey's new fame, which is important. I was afraid I'll be reading teenage angst with the whole 'You're bigger than me/You're famous/I don't deserve you/This is too much/It's not you, it's me' blah blah blah. Glad that isn't the case. They both love music, and their relationship troughout the book is okay, not-too-much, but still adorable. Audrey, Wait! also featured another awesome animal character: Bendomolena the cat! Such a lovely, unusual name.

Music is a big part of Audrey, Wait! and I love how Robin Benway started every chapter with a line from a song that matched up the chapter's situation. By all means, if you're looking for a book which has depth and big issues, Audrey, Wait! is not the book for you. The whole book is made only for the sake of entertaining you with a good laugh and a lil sneak peak at fame's other ugly side, filled with funny, sassy, natural conversations. The problems dealt in the book were resolved easily, and you know at the end it'll be a perfect happy ending party. But I will still recommend it for you! Some people have said that if you're a fan of Meg Cabot and Megan McCafferty's writing (Jessica Darling series?), you'll enjoy this one. It's such a nice read to complete your holiday time. ;)

About the Author

Robin Benway is an author from Orange County, USA. She attended college at both New York University and the University of California at Los Angeles. At NYU, she won the Seth Barkas Prize for fiction. She has worked at Ballantine, Knopf, Borders, and Book Soup in West Hollywood. Robin lives in Santa Monica, California. Audrey, Wait! (2008) is her debut novel, followed by The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, June (2010) and Also Known As (2013).

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Read other reviews of Audrey, Wait! by:
Tamara Webber (author of Easy)
Morgan F on Goodreads
Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner