After reading a ghastly (really!) ghost story last year, I was a bit wary of reading another book with a female relative making a ghostly apparition, but my love for Sophie Kinsella won me over.
Sophie Kinsella is one of my favorite chick lit authors, and she always hits the spot whenever I need a chick lit fix. I enjoyed Sophie Kinsella’s The Undomestic Goddess and Can You Keep a Secret?; and I liked the Shopaholic series as well (ahhh, Luke Brandon…). Remember Me? was a bit more serious than any of her other books, but I enjoyed it as well. A few weeks back, I was in dire need of a pick-me-up so I decided to finally read Sophie Kinsella’s latest book, Twenties Girl.
In Twenties Girl, Lara Lington is down on her luck: her boyfriend broke up with her, she quit her job to start a headhunting agency with her best friend, her best friend took off on a holiday and left her and their company in a lurch, her family doesn’t take her seriously, and she has an unwelcome visitor: the ghost of her great-aunt Sadie. Sadie wants Lara to find her missing dragonfly necklace before she can finally rest in peace.
In the search for the dragonfly necklace, Lara and Sadie get to know each other, and although they initially butt heads, they form the relationship they never had when Sadie was still alive. With Lara’s help, Sadie comes to terms with her death, and with Sadie’s not-so-gentle push, Lara learns to have more confidence in herself, which does wonders for her career, love life, and family life.
Sophie Kinsella is back on top of her game with Twenties Girl. While I liked Remember Me okay enough, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the other Sophie Kinsella books, and Kinsella’s writing hasn’t been quite as charming from Shopaholic and Baby onwards (and forget about her Madeleine Wickham works, too — mostly training ground, more of a miss than a hit) .
I loved Lara and Sadie’s tandem — definitely beats Elspeth Noblin and the twins from Her Fearful Symmetry (in case you’re wondering, Twenties Girl was published first)– and their hijinks kept me thoroughly amused from cover to cover. In fact, it is now my second favorite Sophie Kinsella book after The Undomestic Goddess! It’s light, laugh out loud funny, and yet heartwarming too — I couldn’t help crying a bit at the end.
I’m glad Sophie Kinsella has scored another hit with this book; I hope she keeps on writing. I hear she’s writing another Shopaholic novel — I hope that one is a better addition to the Shopaholic series than Shopaholic and Baby.
Twenties Girl, mass market paperback (tpb on its way from the UK!)
5/5 stars
Book #14 of 2010
*cover photo is of Greta Garbo in the ’20s
[amazonify]::omakase::300:250[/amazonify]
Hi, Blooey! Sophie Kinsella is my number one author for chick lit. Never got around to getting Twenties Girl though. I’m quite distracted by the amazing YA books we have around. But good to know that this is another great one by her. :)
Hi Jo! SK is my #1 chick lit choice as well! :D
Sophie Kinsella has the best leading men EVER. I blame her for all my ideals. Haha.
Self-made, handsome, and capable of inducing melt-on-the-spot moments!
I loved this book. Can You Keep A Secret was my first and favourite Kinsella book, but this is a close second. Although the first couple Shopaholic books are also pretty high up there.
What I loved about Twenties Girl is that while it still had the hilariousness of Kinsella’s previous books, it also had a slightly more serious tone and even made me tear up at a couple parts. It’s been quite a few months since I read it, but now I want to reread it right away!
Hi Alita :) Glad to meet another SK fan :) I liked CYKAS too but the message of Undomestic Goddess really got to me — it made me entertain the thought of chucking the fast paced life out the window and go bake bread or something… and hook up with a hot gardener!
I LOVED this book when I read it last year! It was A-MAY-ZING! So hilarious! Good review!!
@Aths- Thanks! Hope you drop by again soon. I’m adding you to my blogroll.
@Alita- I’m adding you to my blogroll as well!