Shopaholic & Sister: A Novel

The adventures of Becky Bloomwood, now Becky Brandon, continue. Becky and Luke are finishing up their monster round-the-world honeymoon (in a great scene, Becky has a moment of enlightenment when she runs barefoot across hot coals in pursuit of souvenir bracelets) and have to return to "real life." But a huge surprise is waiting for Becky upon her return--she has a secret sister! As others have noted, the basic premise of all these stories is the same: Becky can't control her spending or her tendency to fib in order to avoid confrontation and spare the feelings of others. With the introduction of her sister in this book, another trend, one that ties this series in with other popular "chick lit" series (e.g., Twilight, 50 Shades), emerges: female relationships. These kinds of books are generally noted for their male-female relationships, normally with the heroine snagging a rich handsome husband, but equally important in my opinion, if less obvious, are the relationships between the heroine and her female friends and relatives. Part of their "coming of age" story is that of a woman finding her place in a community of other women, and negotiating her relationships with them. As part of the growing-up process, our heroines have to learn to recognize the similarities between them and other women, especially other women in their families, and that's what happens here with Becky and Jess. Which is not to say that this isn't largely a lighthearted description of Becky's shopping trips and the crazy scrapes she gets herself into, because it is, but it's also about something much more important (and female-friendly) than that.

I love the Shopaholic series, and although she can be annoying at times, Becky Brandon has an endearing quality and I can't help but like her. Yes, I do want to strangle her at times for being so darn naive and overenthusiastic, and I feel that in this book she is so over the top. But, even more annoying was her sister, Jess...what a b----! Of course, I knew it would work out in the end, but I couldn't stand Jess on her high horse. And, who the heck is so darn cheap?! I'm all about being thrifty and finding a good bargain, but she was acting like a homeless person! Other than those annoying points, overall, it was good and I enjoy Kinsella's style & wit. I did like the earlier books in the series better, but still a fun, easy read.

Sophie Kinsella has done it yet again, and taken the presumably one-note concept of a shopaholic to new heights of character development, plot twists and comedy! The introduction of skinflint Jess, a newly discovered sister, holds a mirror up to Becky's obsessive devotion to conspicuous consumerism and lays the groundwork for conflicts so far reaching as to put Becky on a life-threatening mountain climb (in kitten heels!) and further throw her into conflict with her new husband's major client by staging a protest march against him! The story has Becky on a roller-coaster ride from one crisis to another, and in-between there is plenty of pathos and sentimentality as our favorite chick lit heroine learns by hard experience the precious value of friends and family. I simply can't wait to read more by this author!

I'll admit it--I'm kind of hooked on Kinsella's Shopaholic series. They're run and fast reads, and always good for a few laughs. However, "Shopaholic and Sister" disappointed me, especially in the beginning. Main character Becky, master shopper and master spender, unfortunately comes off as whining and self-centered throughout most of the first half of the book. At times her attitude is that of a small child (I.e., when she tries to "steal" her best friend Suze away from another friend. Please! Most of us left that kind of behavior behind us at middle school). There is little self-reflection or self-examination. Instead, Becky spends and spends and hides and hides her spending from her husband and I don't know, yawn, yawn--who cares, eh? After the sister she never knew she had shows up in, the pace changes and it's almost as if Kinsella finally finds her groove (it's hard not to wonder why her writing is so lackluster in the beginning. Was she writing on deadline? Was she uninspired or tired of her character or simply struggling through the way most of us struggle through as we write?). Sister Jess is Becky's opposite: Sensible, thrifty and no-nonsense. It's the standard odd couple scenario, and while this contrast initially fumbles, the vibe is eventually established and the book takes off in the second half, mostly due to the way Jess endears herself to the reader. I'd recommend "Shopaholic and Sister" as a light read on a plane or train, and I'd also recommend reading the beginning fast and then settling down (with a nice stash of expensive chocolates) and thoroughly enjoying the second half.

This book was different from all the others in the series. Becky goes to a different location the last half of the book, and lots of new characters are introduced. Becky's enthusiastic aproach to her new sister was so refreshing. She never gave up trying to win her sisters approval. Her enthusiasum really shows in the end when Becky almost risks her life trying to see her sister. The end is very exciting and thrilling with a huge twist that is very unexpected. You don't have to read the other ones in the series to enjoy this one. I recommend it to anyone who wants to read a novel that will make them laugh, cry, and be on the edge of your seat (or couch which is where i read usually).

I loved this book. Becky is as annoying as ever as she reverts to her shopaholic ways (not seen so much in Ties the Knot) but I just love seeing how she gets herself out of those situations where you think that Luke is eventually going to go completely crazy at her. He really does have the patience of a Saint. OK, the end with the sister is a little predictable but not totally since you don't know what will tip the scales to them being able to communicate with each other!! Also, I kind of liked that she and Suze were not best friends anymore - that is so true to life....one friend gets married and has kids and starts hanging around with other mothers and you lose your place as "best" friend, especially when you go away for months on end. I'm sure it's happened to every woman of a certain age!! Can't wait to read the next installment.

What can I say? These books are hilarious.

Consegna puntuale. Perfetto!

I give it 4.5 stars as it starts off slow and it was hard to motivate myself to read it. Then it gets better and becomes as funny as the first 2 books.

Becky Bloomwood is back - endlich!! Gestern kam der vierte Shopaholic-Band bei mir an und heute habe ich ihn bereits ausgelesen. Dieses Buch ist großartig!! Becky und Luke beschließen nach zehn Monaten, ihre Weltreise abzubrechen und nach Hause zu fahren. Dort allerdings sehen sie sich mit neuen und altbekannten Problemen konfrontiert. Jeder hat natürlich geahnt, dass Becky in zehn Monaten ordentlich shoppen kann. Leider hat sie - mal wieder - komplett den Überblick verloren, und so stehen plötzlich mehrere Lastwagen voller Kram vor der Tür! Aber Becky hat eine tolle Idee - sie verkauft viele der Sachen bei eBay. Das Problem ist nur, dass man dort eben nicht nur Sachen VERkaufen kann! ;-) Doch auch neue Probleme treten auf: Suze hat eine neue beste Freundin, und Becky fühlt sich schrecklich allein. Als sich herausstellt, dass Becky eine Halbschwester hat, träumt sie von einem Wiedersehen wie in einer Talkshow... doch Becky hat mit Jess absolut nichts gemeinsam, denn diese ist total sparsam und geizig und sie hasst shoppen!! Zu allem Überfluss hat Becky versehentlich (wie immer) auch in Lukes Berufsleben Chaos angerichtet. Als Luke nach einem schlimmen Streit die Wohnung verlässt um auf eine Geschäftsreise zu fahren, fürchtet Becky um ihre Ehe. Sie glaubt, dass nur ihre Schwester ihr helfen kann, diese zu retten... Ein ebenso unterhaltsamer Shopaholic-Roman wie die ersten drei. Allerdings etwas ernster, denn zum ersten Mal überdenkt Becky ihre Lebenseinstellungen. Manchmal möchte man wirklich mit ihr weinen. Aber natürlich geht alles gut aus. Becky Bloomwood bleibt uns hoffentlich noch lange erhalten! Ich jedenfalls kann es kaum erwarten!