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Post Written by Doll Alli

Author: Sophie Kinsella
Book: Twenties Girl
Release: July 21, 2009
Series: Novel
Source: Personal Library
Purchase: – Book Depository

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? When the spirit of Lara’s great-aunt Sadie—a feisty, demanding girl with firm ideas about fashion, love, and the right way to dance—mysteriously appears, she has one request: Lara must find a missing necklace that bad been in Sadie’s possession for more than seventy-five years, because Sadie cannot rest without it. Laura and Sadie make a hilarious sparing duo, and at fist it seems as though they have nothing in common. But as the mission to find Sadie’s necklace leads to intrigue and a new romance for Lara, these very different “twenties” girls learn some surprising truths from and about each other. Written with all the irrepressible charm and humor that have made Sophie Kinsella’s books beloved by millions, Twenties Girl is also a deeply moving testament to the transcendent bonds of friendship and family.

I’ve always been a fan of Sophie Kinsella. I remember reading the very first “Shopaholic” novel and being instantly hooked. Since then, I have read pretty much everything she has published. She is well known in the chick-lit world for her easy-to-read, make you laugh out loud, brain candy books. I’m never disappointed in anything she writes. Believe it or not, I had no clue what Twenties Girl was about. I didn’t even read the summary on the back of the book, which is totally my modus operandi. That being said, I went in to reading “Twenties Girl” with certain expectations, and was not let down. Again, I always preface my reviews with “It depends on what you’re looking for in a story…” Twenties Girl is centered on the main protagonist named Lara Lington and her dead great-aunt Sadie. Lara is a recently single, failing self-employed head hunter who, at times, seems lost in life. While attending Sadie’s funeral, Lara meets a younger and vivacious 23 year-old ghost Sadie who is desperate to find her favorite necklace. Together they search for the necklace, but not without some Murphy’s Law intervention!

The Good: Although the beginning of this book was slow for me, the action picked up rather quickly and was able to keep my attention. I absolutely loved the banter between Lara and great-aunt Sadie. Their quick conversations reminded me of something Gilmoreish. They seemed more like fighting siblings. I always read chick-lit expecting the romance to smack you in the face, but it was much more subtle in this book. I like it when the characters don’t instantly fall in love with each other. You want it to be as realistic as possible, right? I’m a closeted hopeless romantic, and I also loved Sadie’s view on the world and love. She gave some great advice that I found myself wanting to take, like always wearing fantastic dresses. I also loved the mystery of what happened to the necklace. You wanted to figure out what happened to it and as soon as you think they’ve found it… well I won’t ruin it for you! There’s also a great twist at the end, which I’m not at liberty to reveal!

The Bad: There’s a lot of subplot going on with Lara’s family, much involving her super wealthy uncle Bill Lington who started Lington’s Coffee (think English Starbucks). His character REALLY annoyed me. Like, I’d rather quit facebook than read anything about him. I can’t imagine how it is having someone in your family become extremely rich. What uncle Bill does (plot twist!) and how he treats his family is just plain wrong. Lara’s sister Tonya and business partner Natalie almost reached the Jar Jar Binks level of exasperation that uncle Bill brought out in me. Thankfully, these were only minor characters and rarely showed up in the book. Too bad uncle Bill didn’t share the same fate.

The Ugly: There are only two things in this book that could have ruined it for me; luckily not much time was spent on them. The first is Lara’s complete lack of self-esteem. She’s in complete denial about her relationship with her ex Josh, and at first is determined to win him back even though he never really loved her. The way she dotes on him is quite pathetic, and I just want to scream at her “He’s just not that into you!” The second is the ability of aunt Sadie to seemingly change people’s free will by screeching into their ears. When Sadie does this, the idea seemed to magically appear in their heads. It influenced the storyline and seemed to make things happen that otherwise would be a non-issue. This may not bother everyone, but I like my characters to be not marionettes manipulated by a ghost.

Overall, I would suggest this book to a friend for a quick read. It made me laugh out loud at times, and kept my interest. I would also suggest that anyone who likes this book also check out anything else Sophie Kinsella has written like the “Shopaholic” series, “Can you keep a secret”, and “Undomestic Goddess”. She also has several books out under her real name Madeleine Wickham.

Also Reviewed By: Peeking Between the Pages – Books Love Me –

Alli has always been a lover of books. Her mom even has a photograph of her sleeping curled up in a book rack as a young child. From reading R.L. Stein’s Fear Street books as a young teen to reading just about anything and everything these days, her love for great stories has never ceased. She even thought to pursue her love of books with an English degree in college, but decided science was more of her forte. She currently resides in Georgia with her husband, her Boston Terrier (Maddie), and two fluffy cats (Chummy, Lulu) where she works as a research scientist. When her nose isn’t in a book, she enjoys anything outdoorsy and running races/ triathlons in her spare time.

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