Archive for September 3rd, 2010

Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood) thought motherhood would be a breeze and that having a daughter was a dream come true a shopping friend for life! But it s trickier than she thought two-year-old Minnie has a quite different approach to shopping. She can create havoc everywhere from Harrods to Harvey Nicks to her own christening. She hires taxis at random, her favourite word is Mine , and she s even started bidding for designer bags on ebay. On top of everything else, there s a big financial crisis. People are having to Cut Back including all of Becky s personal shopping clients and she and Luke are still living with Becky s Mum and Dad. To cheer everyone up, Becky decides to throw a surprise birthday party on a budget but then things become really complicated. Who will end up on the naughty step, who will get a gold star and will Becky s secret wishes come true?

Leah: I did think that with the title of Mini Shopaholic that the book was going to be dedicated entirely to Becky and Minnie - and their shopping exploits of course - but that wasn’t the main plot at all. Minnie and her like of the word “mine” is prominent to the book but the book seems, to me, to be more focused on Becky wanting Luke to have a surprise party for his birthday after the year he’s had. There’s been no book between Shopaholic and Baby and Mini Shopaholic and there’s a gap of two years, so a lot has gone on in the intermittent time, but Becky explains it all to us and Luke - and Becky and Minnie - have had a heck of a time so Becky decides that Luke should, for once, celebrate his birthday and decides to organise a secret party. Because it’s Becky organising the party, things never go to plan and we’re with her all the way as she tries to arrange it all, so there’s the usual chaos which I just lapped up. Mini Shopaholic is as well-written as the other books, told entirely from Becky’s point of view, in a really easy chatty manner with letters interspersed throughout. Kinsella is such a fantastic writer, and manages to suck me in any time. She could write a book about paint and I’d love it. Mini Shopaholic has been well worth the wait and I managed to finish it pretty much in one sitting. The ending gives me hope for another Shopaholic book, whenever Kinsella decides to write it, so here’s hoping Becky Bloomwood will live to feature in another book! My life would be completely empty without her and I’m rather gutted I’ve actually finished Mini Shopaholic. I can’t wait to read it again soon! An absolute must-read for all Shopaholic fans!

Chloe: As soon as this book hit my doormat a while ago, I knew I wouldn’t be able to wait until now to read it so I quickly devoured it, and boy was it worth it! Mini Shopaholic is the first outing we’ve had from Becky, Luke and co. for a few years and Kinsella has chosen to keep to this time frame as well, meaning Becky’s daughter Minnie is now a precocious toddler rather than the baby we left Becky and Luke with at the end of ‘Shopaholic and Baby’, and therefore it makes for some quite hilarious reading! Minnie really is a mini Becky, already obsessed with nice things and getting her own way, and it leads to a lot of embarassing situations for poor Becky, quite a few of which mums all over will sympathise with too! The writing style is as great as ever allowing the reader to quickly and easily slip back into Becky’s world, and once you’re there, it’s like you never left! It’s another brilliant foray into this series, and I think ending definitely allows for Kinsella to bring back Becky and her family again if she so desires… let’s hope we’ll see Becky again soon!

So, you know why the fans love Sophie Kinsella, and you also know why the authors and publishers love Sophie Kinsella, but what about the crew here at Chick Lit Reviews? Good news, you’re about to find out exactly what it is about this author that inspired us to dedicate an entire week to her! So here goes…

Leah: I love Sophie Kinsella for the simple fact that she writes the stories I want to read. Consistently. She has written 10 books and I have absolutely loved every single one of them. I admire her for managing to write six books featuring everyone’s favourite Shopaholic Becky Bloomwood and have the books still be as fresh now as when the first book was released. I admire her for taking the plunge with her latest stand-alone novel Twenties Girl and writing about ghosts. Not many Chick Lit writers would write a ghost story but Sophie Kinsella not only did that but she pulled it off spectacularly. Sophie could write a book about paint drying and it would still be witty and hilarious and fantastic - she is that good. All of her female characters are warm and relate-able and all of her leading men are always the type of men people dream of marrying. A lot of people debate over who the Queen of Chick Lit is, but for me it will always be Sophie Kinsella. There is nobody else whose books excite me in the way the thought of a new Kinsella does.

Chloe: Other authors may try to imitate the great Sophie Kinsella’s writing style, but no one has ever managed it, and THAT is why I love Sophie Kinsella’s books. They are unique, no other books allow me to laugh out loud like the Shopaholic series, and Becky is one of my favourite Chick Lit characters of all time. I do enjoy Kinsella’s stand alone novels but for me they aren’t a patch on the Shopaholic series, although I did love Twenties Girl, I do have to admit. The fact her books appeal across the age ranges, and across the world says a lot about the appeal of her books, and the amazing comments we’ve had from all our readers about the books show just how much they are loved. If I had to recommend a good starting point for a newcomer into reading chick lit, I would certainly recommend they start with a Sophie Kinsella novel, she’s inimitable, and I hope Sophie Kinsella week has shown exactly how popular her and her books are.