Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

The term "shopaholic" is a bit of an understatement for Rebecca (aka Becky) Bloomwood. She has shopped herself into a large amount of debt from a number of stores, credit cards and her bank. Almost every day, she receives letters or calls from her creditors letting her know that she is overdue on her bills. The ironic part of her situations is that she is a financial journalist. Her job is writing columns for a finance magazine called Successful Savings. However, financial journalism is far from her dream job. She would much rather be writing for Vogue, or any other well-known fashion magazine. Becky strongly dislikes her job and doesn't have a boyfriend, so so she finds her happiness in shopping, even though she is "up to her eyeballs" in debt. Her father tells her there are two ways to escape her financial crisis--cut back, or make more money. The rest of her story revolves around her attempts to do both. Neither option is easy, but Becky realizes she must use her imagination and whatever willpower she can find to get herself out of the mess she has gotten herself into.

I am sad to say that my first foray into the "chick lit" genre this year was a bit disappointing. Confessions of a Shopaholic was predictible and unbelieveable even for me, and I tend to have no idea what's coming in most books. I just couldn't understand why Rebecca kept buying more and more expensive items when she was in so much debt! Now, there have been times when I have made purchases that were a little pricey or impractical, but not every single day, and not when I know I really can't afford it. Also, many of the people who know Becky seemed to think she is quite intelligent and a financial genius. From what I read, I can't understand how anyone would get that impression--she knows next to nothing about the financial world. I'm actually surprised she hasn't gotten fired from her job! While I was reading the last 50 pages or so, I couldn't help rolling my eyes more than once. I won't give away the ending, but you'll probably figure it out if you start reading the book.

There were definitely positives to the book as well. I found it to be a light, entertaining read. Shopaholic would be perfect for a day at the beach, or for a long flight. There were one or two instances when Becky's actions were similar to things I've done myself--such as buying something I don't really need just because it's on a good sale. The book was amusing at times. And in the end, I found myself liking Rebecca, even though throughout most of the book, I really wanted to sit her down and help her make a plan and actually stick to it! I would recommend this book to true shopaholics out there, or to those looking for a very light vacation-y read.

Date completed: June 8, 2008
# of pages: 312
Rating: 2/5

When I was searching for a picture of the book, I discovered that there is a movie in production, starring Isla Fisher set to release in 2009.

If you've read and reviewed this book, please let me know, and I'll post your link.