Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
Release Date: 2009 / 448 pages
Synopsis: Lara Lington has always had an overactive imagination, but suddenly that imagination seems to be in overdrive. Normal professional twenty-something young women don’t get visited by ghosts. Or do they?
First Line: The thing about lying to your parents is, you have to do it to protect them.
Review: I think Sophie Kinsella is one of those authors you either love or don’t really get… I loved her Shopaholic
series and found Becky Bloomwood to be a delight. However, I was a little more lukewarm regarding her other, non-Becky works and worried that I would feel the same way about Lara — especially when I saw that a ghost was involved! I’m not much into ghost stories, but my sister recommend this and I trust her judgement — plus, I had five days to myself while my husband was off golfing…
I did enjoy my time with Lara — she is funny and engaging and her trials and tribulations with her ghostly great aunt are amusing. It did seem too long, honestly… I would have cut the bits about getting over her ex-boyfriend. Initially this seemed to be the focus of the novel, but ultimately was not important at all. There also seemed to be a mystery surrounding the break-up that maybe her parents were in on, that never came to light. Lara’s realization that Josh was only “white bread” in her life — tasty but unsubstantial — could have been expressed through her experiences with Natalie, her boss.
In fact, my primary complaint with this novel would be that it seemed to “find itself” a bit as it unfolded. And I don’t mean that Lara found herself, but that Kinsella seemed to figure out the true focus of the novel as she went: Romance? Ghost story? Murder mystery? Hero’s journey? A bit of everything, true, but I had a hard time wrapping my brain around what we were supposed to focus on until the last 100 pages or so…
So, did I enjoy it? Yes. Was it flawed? In my opinion, yes… Personally, I think only truly great works of art should push 400 pages… I’ll spend 2-3 hours with light, fluffy fare anytime, but investing 7 hours is asking a lot…
Anyone else read this yet? Any other fans (or frienemies) of Kinsella’s out there?
I usually really like her books but I tried and failed to read this one. I was bored, didn’t like the main character and gave up after 50 or so pages.
I’ve never read any Kinsella or been especially drawn to her until this book. I love the 20s and would probably pick up anything about that decade and give it a chance. I’d really like to read this one. thanks for the review!
I do understand, Dana!
The twenties angle just might keep you interested — let me know if you give it a try!