Anxiety Girl: The must-read book for anxiety sufferers and chick-lit lovers alike. The first book in the critically acclaimed, much-loved series. (Anxiety GirlBook 1) by Lacey London

Anxiety Girl: The must-read book for anxiety sufferers and chick-lit lovers alike. The first book in the critically acclaimed, much-loved series. (Anxiety GirlBook 1) Reviews

• 
  Cheryl

  Sooooo ..... after being locked out of my Kindle app I've decided to have a bit of a clean up in my various "Books Read" lists. First cabs off the rank are my DNF pile. If I DNF'd it and have absolutely NO intention of reading it again, I'm changing my rating to 1 🌟 and deleting it off my Kindle. Life is too short at my age for crappy books!!
  
  
  Original Review:
  
  This is a DNF at 10%.
  
  Nopety ..... nope ..... nup ..... nooooo. This is SO not for me. 5% in and I wanted to slap her but gave it a go for another 5%. Zilch interest in reading on.
• 
  Surabhi Sharma

  Lacey London is a bestselling author of Clara Andrew Series. Her newest release is ‘Anxiety Girl’ is about a girl Sadie Valentine who is like any other girl and suffers from anxiety, depression, and panic. The life when do not turn out the way we want or turn into a wrong direction, we experience an anxiety. It is not a problem, a certain limit of anxiety is very normal in daily life and one cannot ignore it but when anxiety over power your mind and takes a toll on your life then it needs to be taken care of and that is what Sadie experiences in her life.
  
  Sadie Valentine is an artist. She paints. She sells her paintings and that is her only income. A series of events lands her into a state of anxiety and one day she experiences a panic attack. Over months her life takes every wrong turn and she bottled them is like digging her own grave. With her best friend Aldo by her side on every step will she able to fight the three devils ‘panic, depression, and anxiety’?
  
  The story deals with serious issues which often swept under the carpet or ignored. The one who suffers felt ashamed to voice his/her illness. The issue is handled carefully and comprehendingly. The story voices many who are going through the same period. The story also accounts friendship of Aldo and Sadie. A painstaking story of Sadie Valentine by Lacey London.
  
  
  https://thereviewauthor.wordpress.com/
• 
  Jodie (jodie.loves.books)

  Everybody needs to read this book! I randomly stumbled across this story on Amazon and I’m so glad I did. I’ve struggled with anxiety all my life and depression for the last 6/7 years. The way this book portrays mental illness is incredible! Sadie is such a relatable character to me and I could empathise with almost all of her experiences. Mental health is so important and I genuinely think that this book will be eye opening for so many people. Just fantastic - 5 stars🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
• 
  Coco.V

  🎁 FREE on Amazon today (1/4/2019)! 🎁
  
  Blurb:
  One in four people will be affected by mental health issues at some point in their lives, but it couldn’t happen to you, could it?
  
  Sadie Valentine is just like you and I, or so she was…
  
  After a series of unfortunate events in her life, Sadie finds herself in a dark hole that seems impossible to crawl out of.
  
  Once a normal-ish woman, mental illness wasn’t something that she really thought about, but when the three evils, anxiety, panic and depression creep into her life, Sadie wonders if she will ever see the light again.
  
  Set in the glitzy and glamorous Cheshire village of Alderley Edge, Anxiety Girl is a story surrounding the struggles of a beautiful young woman who thought she had it all.
  
  Lacey London has spoken publicly about her own struggles with anxiety and hopes that Sadie will help other sufferers realise that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
• 
  Fate's Lady

  Sadie is "not like those other girls" who just care about looking hot and landing a rich husband. No, she looks hot because she's Secretly Sporty and likes to hike on the weekends. She's also rich because her mom won the lottery and basically helps support her, but it's somehow also a Starving Artist who just lives to paint and for the view from her glitzy million dollar apartment with her walking stereotype of a gay friend. I cannot stand her or the way she thinks about the women around her, and I'm not a fan of the writing style, either. The author is in love with gerunds and simultaneous actions. "Flipping my hair, I check my phone." Doing x I do y. over. and. over.
• 
  Elizabeth Dewfall

  Read this cause my daughter has anxiety felt it didn't really take a long term problem seriously enough and am not sure she would cope reading it herself
• 
  Idoru

  Much of this book reads like a not-very-good bonkbuster without the sex - all rich, beautiful women on the lookout for rich, old husbands. The main character is, of course, the outsider, the girl who doesn’t quite belong. In the bonkbuster narrative, though, she would discover that she does indeed belong and find her one true love, while having lots of outrageous sex along the way. That doesn’t happen here.
  
  Instead Sadie Valentine’s life goes distinctly off kilter and she ends up having a breakdown. The sections describing her anxiety and depression are very well written; the author has clearly been through it herself, and this will surely resonate with anyone who has similarly suffered. But the ending is a little too convenient.
  
  Overall, this book reads like a therapeutic exercise, like the author’s therapist has suggested that one way of working through her mental health issues is to write it all down, and this is the result. At times it’s hard to know where Sadie ends and Lacey begins.
  
  This is a worthwhile book, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good one.
• 
  Kristen Hall

  I really wanted to like this book but I returned it after the 2nd chapter.
  The main character, Sadie, is shallow and two-dimensional. For example, in the first 7 pages of chapter one, we are told 3 times about her long, blonde hair. This is followed by a 3 page conversation about it. She also refers to her guys as “playthings” and to her best friend as a “beautiful, homosexual package” which makes me cringe.
  As said, I wanted to like this book. As someone with anxiety and depression myself, I see the potential the book could’ve had to spark change and allow readers to see themselves represented. However, due to how Sadie was portrayed, that did not happen for me.
• 
  M.M. Schreier

  Good & Bad
  
  I struggled giving this a rating before settling for a middle of the road, 3 star. While I think that this was a raw and painfully honest depiction, for me it failed in a really important aspect. it seemed in an effort to prove that anxiety can effect anyone the author gave us a character that was difficult to connect to. The young, beautiful, and incredibly privileged socialite was too removed from the average person for me to build enough empathy, thus lessened what could have been a really profound emotional impact.
• 
  Ivan

  Very informative
  
  I really liked this book. It comes to show you that anxiety can and will affect anyone, no matter if you're rich, poor, man, woman, or what race you are. It also had some great advice on how anxiety could be dealt with.
• 
  North C.M.

  Anxiety Girl tells the story of a twenty-something woman in England, struggling with a recent breakup, who falls into a pit of depression, despair and panic attacks. Sadie is well-to-do, has a circle of friends and a prominent social life, but when anxiety creeps up behind her, her life is shattered and she’s left trying to make ends meet and cope with the sudden onslaught of mental illness.
  
  London has a fairly natural narrative voice, told in the first-person in present tense (I think past tense would have worked better for a first-person tale), and this makes for a quick and easy read. In some ways, the storytelling feels like it would be well-suited to feel-good romance, but the subject matter detracts from this. The ending supports this view, with its slightly saccharine conclusion and positive message.
  
  But the subject matter - depression and anxiety - at times calls for a darker, more serious tone. While there are references to some of the deeper aspects of these mental disorders, such as suicide ideation, I wasn’t certain that the writing style matched the seriousness of the affairs that were being described. I certainly was able to feel for the main character, and London was able to get me to feel a twinge of the gut-churning that I associate with anxiety, but that was about it.
  
  The story arc and development, also, felt too neat and perfect. Sadie is rich, doesn’t need to work, and has the unfailing support of a gay friend to get her through her difficulties. In fact, the support of this secondary character is almost too convenient; he never gives up, never abandons her, never leaves her side. I would have liked to see a darker moment of true despair, where the main character feels that everyone in the world has left her, that there truly was nothing left to live for.
  
  Ultimately, I would probably say that this is a good book for people looking to either gain a superficial understanding of anxiety and depression, or for those looking for a light read about a heavy topic. I very much enjoyed the story and its telling, but I don’t feel that it dealt with some of the truly horrific consequences of these mental illnesses (losing jobs, homes, family, etc.). Since the story is allegedly based on the writer’s own experience with anxiety and depression, I can’t fault London for the storytelling choices she made; it’s entirely possible that many of the events in the book were drawn from her own life.
  
  A lightweight and enjoyable taste of mental illness in fiction.
• 
  Tabitha Tomala

  This review is also featured on
  Behind the Pages: Anxiety Girl
  
  Sadie feels like she has everything she could want in life. A great apartment, a group of friends, and the chance to make a living being an artist. But all of that changes as first one thing, then another begins to fall apart. As she tries to recover from a bad break up, instead of confronting her emotions she begins to bottle them up. And as more and more begins to gather on her shoulders, eventually the pressure becomes too much. Sadie begins a downward spiral into anxiety and depression. It will take all she has to battle her way free.
  
  Unlike most novels I have read about anxiety, this novel shows Sadie’s slow descent into anxiety and depression. Most of the time characters already have anxiety and are learning how to cope, instead, Anxiety Girl gives readers the whole picture. The search for answers, the concerns over mental health, and the stigma that goes along with it. As someone who suffers from anxiety, I found myself understanding Sadie on so many levels. Don’t mistake this for a story about a privileged girl. While Sadie may have a posh apartment, she is down to earth and a character many can connect with.
  
  The problems Sadie faces aren’t unheard of for people in all walks of life. A dysfunctional family, finding out your friends are fake, and losing a job are only a few of the things Sadie must learn to deal with. This is an emotional piece that will show how hard it is for some people to remain stronger for so long. And despite everything that Sadie goes through, Anxiety Girl shows readers that there is hope. There is always hope.
  
  I highly recommend this book to those who struggle with anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. This would also be a great read if you are interested in knowing more about mental illness. While this is a work of fiction, so much of it is based on what actually happens. A stunning novel, and an author I will make sure to keep my eye out for.
• 
  Angela *Whiskey Angel Life Blog*

  I was first drawn to Anxiety Girl by both its title and cover. After reading the blurb I knew this was a book that I wanted to read. I was in no way disappointed.
  
  Lacey London tackles the world of mental health through the eyes of Sadie Valentine. She writes truthfully and genuinely portrays the world of anxiety and depression. The dark lows, the stigma from others, and the helplessness that Sadie feels as she wades her way through this bleak time. Miss Landon writes this so accurately that you experience the hopeless, drowning feeling that Sadie has. And at the same time, you can see that light at the end of the tunnel. The hope that this too shall pass.
  
  Speaking from personal experience with anxiety, having had small bouts of it myself, but also having lived the last 40 years with one person or another that has a chronic anxiety, this book is a must read. Whether you experience it yourself, are the caregiver of someone that does or just want to better understand anxiety and depression, Anxiety Girl most definitely needs to be added to you TBR list!
• 
  Frances Joyce

  It's About Time...
  
  I wasn't sure what to expect from this new series from Lacey London. I enjoyed her Clara series, so I knew I'd like her characters. What I wasn't expecting was how spot on her descriptions of anxiety and depression were going to be. It's a rare treat when an author tackles serious subjects without sounding preachy or glossing over the issue. Sadie Valentine seems to have it all, friends, looks, a fabulous apartment and a career as an artist. We aren't too concerned to learn Sadie is trying to bounce back after a failed relationship by playing the field. When her life proceeds to unravel, Sadie learns who her friends are and she has to confront her issues with her mother. I love that Mr. Right never swoops in to save Sadie from herself. She gets support from her best friend who actually takes the time to learn about anxiety and depression and encourages her to take charge of her own recovery. Recovery not cure - this vital for Sadie to understand and important for anyone suffering from anxiety. I can't wait to see where recovery takes Sadie next.
• 
  Julie (Bookish.Intoxication)

  This novel is a great depiction into anxiety and depression, and shows us that there is light at the end of that tunnel. It takes a bit to really get into this novel, but once you have gotten used to the honest and frank writing style, it is easy to enjoy.
  The protagonist is inspiring, she is honest, a reliable character and she is real. She could be you or me, which really draws you in to the books world.
  If I had one bone of contention against this novel, it is that everything ended up too neat at the end, 'Shirley' ended up having the perfect life, with everything going on the right track for her. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, considering the context and line of the story, it shows that overcoming your demons is a step in the direction to get your life on-track, but it does leave the reader a little dis-satisfied.
  A great read, short, honest and sweet.
• 
  A. Powers

  I was first diagnosed with depression and anxiety at AGE 11. Yes, as a child. So here I am, 20+ years later, super excited to read a book that will be so easy to relate to.... except that wasn't what happened at all. It was impossible to relate to this main character or anyone else in the story. The parts dealing with depression/anxiety were flat-out BORING, and this is coming from a woman who has read hundreds of self-help books over the years. Not even kidding; I've read science textbooks that contained better narration about such a serious topic. I can imagine how hard it must be to include such serous subject matter in a fiction story, but this is not a good example of how to do it.
• 
  Maria Riegger

  I think I would characterize this genre as chick lit. It's fiction, with some self-help elements included. It's a great read, and many people will sympathize with the protagonist and her struggle to deal with her anxiety. This novel reflects that anxiety is not always easily managed, since it's rooted in the human body's physiological fight-or-flight response. However, with help and patience, and learning self-soothing techniques, one can definitely deal with it.
  
  All in all, a great and enlightening read.
• 
  E.J. Dawson

  For such an important issue from a talented writer I was all set to get into this book... and didn't. While I did finish it I found the main character Sadie to have quite the life, and still find something to complain about - which is the problem with anxiety. Even having the world at your feet doesn't mean you are okay with the world and having things others don't doesn't devalue that depression or anxiety, or that its a serious mental issue. Even with this I still had trouble reconciling myself with Sadie, but when she does experience those things its very real.
• 
  Lucy Mitchell

  A good book! I thought the author was really brave in taking on the subject of anxiety and taking her character through a sort of break down. It's not the easiest subject to deal with. I thought it was an uplifting story with Sadie overcoming her anxiety. I loved her friendship with Aldo and it was refreshing to have a male character, with no romantic connection, acting as an emotional rock and a good friend.
• 
  Marianne Reese

  Don’t judge a book by it’s cover? This one you can! I love the cover! It’s one of the reasons I chose to read this book, and I’m glad I did.
  This is a great read for everyone, especially anyone who has or is suffering from anxiety, or anyone who knows someone that suffers from anxiety. Even though this book is a work of fiction, if seeking help is hard for the affected, this book is a good substitute to let you know you are not alone, and offers great advice.
• 
  Taylor

  I felt like this book did a good job of describing anxiety and what it's like. But I also felt that how quickly she was able to move forward may not have been the most realistic thing. I mean, maybe that's how it is for some people but that hasn't been my experience. But this was a fun read. 3.5 stars.
• 
  Anj Cairns

  It took me a little while to get into this book, but it tackles how anxiety and depression can creep up on you and leave you lost, lonely and emotionally drowning. This is such an important issue which can affect any of us. I did feel that the main character's transition from struggling with her own mental health to being a group counsellor was very fast, but it showed things can change.
• 
  Tasche

  While well-written and a good overall story, I felt some scenes were rushed, and some not portrayed seriously enough. Without going into spoilers, I found Sadie's friends to be very shallow and unrealistic--plastic caricatures. Dealing with depression and anxiety myself, I did find a few helpful anecdotes, but overall it was more of a lightweight entertainment.
• 
  Rebekah Askew

  I enjoyed Anxiety Girl. The story was a quick read and enlightening. I appreciated being able to get emotionally caught up in it and to empathize with Sadie. Toward the end, it becomes a bit expository, but I thought the message it shared was important and it really didn't detract from how much I enjoyed the novel as a whole.
• 
  Kayleigh Brown

  A lovely book
  
  So very relatable and it brings to mind mental illness can and does happen to anyone regardless of background. Just like Sadie it can creep up on you. I look forward to reading the rest of this to see where Sadie ends. Some lovely characters tactfully told story with a little humour to lift it.
• 
  Sherelyn Wade

  Anxiety Girl! That's me!
  
  Wish I had a book like this many years ago when I first had panic attacks and depression and no one believed me. It took a long time and many panic attacks to get a diagnosis let alone help. I could relate to this book in so many ways.