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Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella (view source)
Revision as of 13:53, 11 October 2020
, 13:53, 11 October 2020no edit summary
{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=Shopaholic and Baby
|author=Sophie Kinsella
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|pages=368
|publisher=Bantam Press
|date=February 2007
|isbn=978-0593053874
|amazonukcover=<amazonuk>0593053877</amazonuk>|amazonusaznuk=0593053877|aznus=<amazonus>0385338708</amazonus>
}}
Sophie Kinsella is undoubtedly one of the queens of chick-lit, and deservedly so. Her Shopaholic cycle is extremely popular, and while her other efforts ( [[Undomestic Goddess]] and [[''Can You Keep a Secret?]] '') had mixed reception, Shopaholic continues to delight.
For the uninitiated, the Shopaholic in question is Becky Bloomwood, a creation of genius that narrates the books and gives them their unique flavour. Unlike other chick-lit heroines, Becky is not riddled with insecurities and neuroses but eternally chirpy, optimistic and cheerful. She has a slight spending problem, but as she gets conveniently married to a Very Rich (but also Very Loving) man earlier on in the cycle, she never gets into real financial trouble and can indulge in her consumerist binges to her (and readers') heart content. She is, essentially, a shallow, celebrity and fashion obsessed idiot, and an insufferably girlie one at that, but she's also full of life, endearing, good-hearted, upbeat and resourceful. Oh, and she doesn't worry about being fat. She is the kind of person that many readers might wish was their friend, but even if you think you wouldn't be able to stand her for 10 minutes in real life, it can be pure fun (if tinted with a bit of schadenfreude) reading about her.
A hymn to a golden-hearted bimbo and looking for solutions in the least likely of places ''Shopaholic and Baby'' is light, funny, unpretentious and still fresh, despite being the fifth in a series. Sufficiently removed from reality to provide safe, brainless entertainment, but with social comedy touching lightly on some very noticeable (and very laughable) facets of modern urban life, ''Shopaholic and Baby'' will have the hard-core fans ecstatic while providing an afternoon of slightly guilty entertainment for many others. It requires talent to have this reviewer rooting for a character who doesn't know who Odysseus is and who loves shopping for shoes, and Kinsella has this talent. Ideal for bath-time reading.
Another chick-lit book with good social comedy and family environment but a rather less cotton-wool brained heroine is [[The Nanny]]. Shoe-addicted fans of chick-lit will probably like [[Under the Duvet]], even though this reviewer didn't; while real-life candidates for an urban yummy mummy should read [[The Fabulous Mum's Handbook]], if only to avoid buying 5 new prams and a cot with disco lights. You might also enjoy [[Tiny Acts of Love by Lucy Lawrie]]. You might also enjoy [[Mums Like Us by Laura Kemp]], although we had our doubts. For more from the shopaholic, we have a review of [[Shopaholic to the Rescue by Sophie Kinsella|Shopaholic to the Rescue]].
{{toptentext|list=Bookbag's Chick Lit Picks}}
{{amazontext|amazon=0593053877}}
{{amazonUStext|amazon=0385338708}}
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