Book Review - Mini Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)

Plot Summary

This is the latest instalment in the Shopaholic series - basically, Becky Bloomwood is addicted to shopping (as the title may suggest), despite the fact she used to write for a financial magazine. After various books in the Shopaholic series, Becky is now married, has a two year old daughter, Minnie, and is living with her parents.

She and her husband, Luke, ended up moving in with her parents at the end of the last novel, Shopaholic and Baby. Now, two years on, they are still living with her mum and dad.

The book is based at the start of the recession. Minnie's christening (which Luke isn't at as he is in London, at the Bank of England) is interrupted as the vicar runs out of the church to take his savings out of the bank. Later that day, back at the house where Becky and her mother have had a slight disagreement over the theme of the party, Becky decides to throw Luke a surprise birthday party (despite the fact he never celebrates his birthday) and to have Minnie's christening the same day using it as cover for the party preparations.

But the vicar has other ideas. He turns up, apologises, and christens Minnie there and then.

Becky decides to still throw Luke his surprise party. No-one thinks Becky will be able to pull it off though.

Becky falls out with her best friend during the plans. She secretly meets up with Luke's secretary and gets her in to trouble at work. She allows Luke's mother to meet Minnie and help with the party preparations (Luke has a difficult relationship with his mother and hasn't spoken to her since she made a comment about his late step-mother).

Becky and Luke decide that they will move out soon - they have had a lot of bad luck with their houses falling through, and decide to save as much as possible. So Becky promises not to go shopping until she has worn everything in her wardrobe. Luke thinks that she has been shopping again though, with all the secrecy and suspicious behaviour.

The couple also have to contend with Minnie's behaviour, from being banned from several Santa's grottos to ordering expensive designer coats on the internet - she truly is her mother's daughter! Becky is sensitive where her daughter is concerned, convinced others see Minnie as spoilt. Luke persuades her to allow a nanny to come evaluate Minnie's behaviour and they hire a nanny on best friend Suze's advice (who lasts less than a day).

Review

There is good continuity from previous novels. The characters, most of whom were present in the very first novel, continue to behave as themselves throughout the series.

Becky, as usual, ends up in many bizarre and unlikely situations which add only to the hilarity of the novel. She claims to be an art critic and then ends up meeting the woman she told this to when planning to enrol her daughter at an exclusive school. Minnie manages to order 17 Miu Miu coats over the internet despite being only 2! Becky is ostracised by the nannying community after the nanny spends less than a day with Becky and Minnie - no nanny agencies will deal with Becky after this, and the story becomes legendary. Sophie Kinsella manages to write, though, in a way that makes it sound that it is completely plausible for Becky's life to be like this.

The novel is definietly a feel-good book. Becky always manages to suceed somehow. The methods she goes to to achieve the outcome are often crazy, sometimes don't work, and make for a good giggle. But she is absolutely paranoid (not, of course, in a crazy way) and goes miles out of her way to hide her tracks.

The only problem with this book is that, as far as I can see, this must be the end of the Shopaholic series. Becky has found her dream job, almost lost her dream job, lived abroad, met and married the man she loves, found a half-sister she never knew she had, had a baby, tried to give up her shopping addiction, and now, well I won't give away the ending. But hopefully, Sophie Kinsella can be imaginative and come up with the next installment in Becky Bloomwood's life.

This is a fantastic book, part of a wonderful series, and I do highly recommend reading the complete series (The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic, Shopaholic Abroad, Shopaholic Ties the Knot, Shopaholic and Sister, Shopaholic and Baby, Mini Shopaholic).