Mini shopaholic (by Sophie Kinsella)

(Amazon UK link)

The fifth book in Sophie Kinsella’s classic ‘chick lit’ series, ‘Shopaholic and baby’, features Becky Brandon going through pregnancy; the baby is not born until the end of the book. And its immediate sequel, ‘Mini shopaholic’, which I last read in 2012, begins a couple of years later. As with most books which I haven’t read in a decade or more, I had entirely forgotten the storyline.

One can’t forget Becky, however, or her hard-working and generous husband Luke. They are living with Becky’s parents at the start of the book, hoping to buy a place of their own. But one after another, the houses they want have problems. It looks as though the perfect one is available, however, so they’re hopeful. They’ve taken over rather a lot of her parents’ house with Becky’s huge collection of clothes and shoes, not to mention little Minnie’s equipment, toys and clothes…

Becky has been trying to cut down a bit on her own shopping, and even agrees to start wearing the things in her closet at least three times before buying anything new. And she’s also set up a new system for Minnie to buy things with her pocket money, although Minnie loves shopping as much as her mother does, and it’s clear that already she’s many years in debt…

Becky would like another baby, but Luke insists that Minnie is a handful, and that if they can’t deal with one toddler, another baby would be a nightmare. So they decide to get some professional advice. At least, Luke does; Becky doesn’t really think there’s a problem, although she does realise it’s a bit unusual for a toddler to be banned from more than one Santa grotto. 

Meanwhile, Luke’s birthday is approaching, and Becky wants to throw him a surprise party. Being Becky, she doesn’t do anything by halves, although she hopes to do a lot of preparation herself, and not spend too much on the party. But the guest list keeps increasing, as do the requirements… and when she tries bartering, it’s not very successful.

It might sound like a rather frivolous, trivial plot, and of course in one sense it is. But Becky is a delightful character: naive, perhaps, and a compulsive spender. But she’s always optimistic, and she cares deeply about those around her. She hates having arguments or disagreements with anyone and sometimes resorts to half-truths (or outright lies) to keep the peace. 

So when their house move is delayed yet again, she doesn’t tell her parents. And she doesn’t tell Luke that his birth mother - who has said unforgivable things to him - really wants to see Minnie. She doesn’t tell her boss about her new initiative to encourage clients to keep shopping… and yet trying to keep the party a secret from Luke becomes increasingly difficult.

I didn’t think I was enjoying this book quite as much as the previous ones; the party preparations felt a bit contrived, and nothing much was working out. But then I realised I was totally drawn into the story, which is very cleverly written with surprises for the reader as well as for Luke. There are some quite poignant scenes as well as some that made me laugh aloud. And I was sorry when I turned the last page. 

Yes, it’s chick-lit, and yes Becky can seem shallow and caricatured. Her life and lifestyle are nothing like mine. But despite everything, I like her very much. And I appreciate these books, which are light-weight but well-written, with very little bad language and no detailed scenes of intimacy. 

Recommended if you like this kind of book, but it’s best to have read some of the earlier ones first.

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