Publication date: February 27, 2007
Publisher: The Dial Press
Rating: 8
When the retail-obsessed heroine of the Shopaholic series returns–working as a personal shopper in London and expecting her first child–It’s no surprise that she’ll be buying for two. And in Shopaholic & Baby, Becky Bloomwood (now Brandon) doesn’t disappoint, and neither does her creator, author Sophie Kinsella.
In this installation, Becky is indeed up to her old tricks, and Kinsella’s writing is as fresh–and funny–as ever. If You’re a fan of the series, you’ll have followed Becky from her first pangs of credit-card angst, through a trip to Manhattan, to marriage to PR wiz Luke Brandon, to finding a long-lost sister. Through all of Becky’s adventures, It’s a tribute to Kinsella’s talents that the pivotal premise of her books (Becky’s shopping addiction) hasn’t turned into a tired device.
In Shopaholic & Baby, the author keeps Becky hot on the shopping trail (a designer nursery is a must-have), but she also throws another interesting plotline in her heroine’s way. In Becky’s insatiable desire for the most fashionable designer pregnancy possible, She’s delighted to have landed an obstetrician who caters to the rich and famous. But trouble (what else?) arises when Becky discovers that the gorgeous doctor once dated Luke–and might even still be interested in him.
The usual misadventures and misunderstandings ensue as Becky hires an investigator to find out whether Luke and his glamorous ex-girlfriend are having an affair, and this fifth instalment in the Shopaholic series still has all the charm of the first.
In less talented hands, the character of Becky could easily have become an annoying, self-centred woman with nothing but the immediate gratification of shopping on her mind. But Kinsella has maintained the sense of innocence and good intentions that make Becky so likeable, even as the character has matured to face the responsibilities of marriage and motherhood.
In one scene early in the book, Becky is eagerly waiting to catch a glimpse of her baby on a sonogram screen. As the technician asks her to adjust the multitude of necklaces She’s wearing, It’s clear that shopping-obsessed Becky hasn’t changed a bit. Yet as she describes her ?special pendants,?–maternity symbols, gestation crystals, and a ?chiming ball to soothe the baby?–It’s clear that our somewhat hare-brained heroine is already doing her best to take care of her little one, even if It’s in her own unique Shopaholic way.
If You’re a fan of the impulsive Becky, you’ve probably read this latest instalment in her adventures (and figured out the possibilities for another).
If not, you should definitely check out Shopaholic & Baby?but not before you’ve caught up on the earlier titles in this light-hearted series. It’s funny, fast paced, and a perfect antidote to the daily news.
