Mini Shopaholic – Sophie Kinsella

Mini Shopaholic
Sophie Kinsella

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?

I have a confession to make.  I love chick lit.

I think it’s the years of ‘classics’ being thrown at me at school, followed by being forced to find hidden meanings among their pages at university that has made me rebel in my own free time.  When it comes to an afternoon curled up in an old hoodie with a book, as far I’m concerned, the fluffier the better.

And they don’t come much fluffier than Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood), the heroine of Shopaholic series.

Mini Shopaholic is the sixth book in Sophie Kinsella’s best-selling series.  In the latest instalment, we join former financial journalist turned personal shopper Becky and her spending problem as she tackles motherhood and the recession.

Daughter Minnie has hit the terrible twos.  She throws tantrums in posh department stores, getting banned from four Santa’s grottos across London and her vocabulary includes “Starbucks” and “Visa”.  Among the mayhem that Minnie brings, Becky’s carrying on her usual spend-friendly ways, which is even more out of control now that she has tiny clothes and toys to buy.

However, the economic downturn hits husband Luke’s financial communications company with an almighty thud, and things are a little bit difficult in the Brandon household.  It’s time to Cut Back.

Becky vows to curb her spending habit in the name of the credit crunch, but not before hatching a plan to throw an incredible celebrity-style surprise party for Luke’s birthday.  But can she do it on a budget?

If you’re familiar with Becky, I’m sure you already know the answer to that one.

While I love my fluff, there’s something mildly infuriating about the Shopaholic series.  Six books on, debt conquered and rich man married, the girl still can’t see that she’s being ridiculous.  When it comes to shopping, the blinkers are well and truly in place on this one-woman spending machine.  Regardless of all the scrapes she gets in to and the miraculous happy endings attained as each book draws to a close, Becky always ends up in the same mess.   Six books’ worth of extreme shopping denial and still going strong – with her marriage still in tact. How is that even possible?

It’s frustrating.  As the series has gone on, the smiles that were so prominent in The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic have become few and far between.  Book six raises a smile or two, the occasional snort – usually encouraged by the fantastic supporting characters, like Janice from next door and Becky’s mum, two true English eccentrics that would make Bridget Jones proud – but other than that?  It dragged.

But I tossed my aggravation aside to find out exactly how she pulled off the party.  That’s the thing about Becky Brandon.  She’s a pain in the tonsils, but somehow you hang on in there, if only because you hope to see her fall flat on her face.

Don’t get me wrong.  I like Sophie Kinsella.  Twenties Girl? Loved it! Remember Me?  A great read.  But sometimes, just sometimes, there comes a point where a character needs to be sent off into the distance of chick lit land, never to be seen again.

But with the follow-up-friendly ending offered here?  Something tells me we haven’t seen the last of this shopaholic quite yet…

Rating: ★★★★★