Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
2009, 425 pages

Lara Lington is at her great aunt Sadie's funeral when she hears a voice demanding, "Where's my necklace?" Lara soon realizes that she is being haunted by Sadie, and she attempts to fulfill her great aunt's final wish(es) while simultaneously dealing with her own personal and professional problems.
I move my eyes along, incredulously. The hand belongs to a long, pale, sinuous arm. Which belongs to a girl about my age. Who's lounging on a chair in front of me, her fingers drumming impatiently. She has dark bobbed hair and a silky sleevless pale-green dress, and I can just glimpse a pale, jutting chin.

I'm too astonished to do anything but gape.

Who the hell is that?

As I watch, she swings herself off her chair as though she can't bear to sit still and starts to pace up and down. Her dress falls straight to the knee, with little plaits at the bottom, which swish about as she walks.

"I need it," she's muttering in agitation. "Where is it? Where is it?" (p27)
I am a big fan of Sophie Kinsella. I've lost count of the number of times I've read her Shopaholic series, and I know I can rely on her books for a light but satisfying read. Twenties Girl was no exception - in fact, I think it might be my second favorite book by her after the Shopaholic books.

I was very skeptical of the premise of this book coming in. I'm not generally a fan of ghost stories, and recent experiences haven't exactly helped me revise that prejudice. However, I really liked the way Kinsella used the ghost of Sadie in this book. I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as Shopaholic, but I ended up really enjoying it.

As has been my experience with other books by Kinsella, once I picked this book up, I was pulled in by the story and kept reading until I finished the book, several hours later. The plot definitely kept me interested, and I really enjoyed some of the twists in the latter half of the book. I loved the characters of both Lara and Sadie, and especially the way they interacted - seeing just what Sadie could get Lara to do for her, and watching as the friendship between the two developed.

Overall, this book was a very entertaining light read. I'd recommend it to anyone who's a fan of Kinsella or looking for a quick, fun book to read. I'm glad I got over my fear of ghosts and picked it up ;)

9 comments:

  1. I loved Twenties Girl. And, it is my first Sophie Kinsella book. I keep meaning to read others, but you know how that is. Anyway, I do like ghost stories so that is what drew me to the book. It was light, funny and surprisingly poignant. Glad you liked it.

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  2. Nice review! I'm new to this author and haven't read any of her books. Maybe this will be the first one!

    Emidy
    Une Parole

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  3. I am glad you liked this - I really enjoyed it too. I had the same reservations about the ghost element but the characters drew me in and I got over it!

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  4. Ooh, I love Sophie Kinsella! I agree - when you want an escape to a light, entertaining world, simply read one of her works and you'll get it. :) I can't wait to read this one. The most recent book I've read by hers was Remember Me? That was lovely.

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  5. Hi! I found you on The Saturday Network!

    I have a copy of Confessions of a Shopaholic sitting in my bookshelf at this very moment. I haven't got to it yet, but after reading your review on Twenties Girl, I'll be sure to start on it :)

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  6. I Haven't got very far yet with this (busy few days kids wise) but I am enjoying so far...great review.

    By the way..I have an award for you http://rhiana-reads.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-first-award.html

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  7. I read this book a few months ago. If I would have known it was a ghost story, I probably wouldn't have read it. I'm really happy I did, because I did enjoy it.

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  8. Glad to see you enjoyed this one. I'm looking forward to reading it at some point. I absolutely loved the Shopaholic books, and I read somewhere that she's writing another.

    --Anna
    Diary of an Eccentric

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