Twenties Girl - Sophie Kinsella (Review)

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Humor 
Publication date:  July 21st 2009 
Publisher: The Dial Press
Format: audiobook, 15 hours and 5 minutes
How I got it: My public library
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My rating: 3/5 

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 had been in Sadie's possession for more than seventy-five years, because Sadie cannot rest without it.

Lara and Sadie make a hilarious sparring duo, and at first 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. 

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My thoughts:

Lara is having some major life issues currently including, her ex- boyfriend, a job that she isn’t too sure about and now a dead aunt who might be haunting her.  Lara is just trying to keep her imagination under control and get her life on track, but maybe her dead aunt Sadie is just what she needs to get everything in line.

The author does a great job creating Lara’s personality.  We can see right from the beginning that Lara is a little stressed and has a lot going on, but is working hard on putting up a good front.   Lara doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings or trouble anyone. Lara grew on me when I was reading the book and I ended up rooting for her the whole time to get everything in order.  Lara did get a little stuck on the ex-boyfriend issue, but it does end up working on in the book.

The story follows Lara as she is in search of her great-aunt Sadie’s necklace.  Lara is somewhat looking for the necklace while trying to keep going with her career.  I loved the banter that occurred between Lara and Sadie during the book.  The banter alone would keep me listening to the book.  I loved the relationship that developed between the two of them and how much that Lara could learn about Sadie’s life.  Sadie was an amazing second character since she was a ghost stuck in the past it was an interesting view on life.  I enjoyed how it brought the Twenties Girl idea to life through Sadie.

The story moves along at a nice pace and is easy to follow along.  I loved how the story unfolded and it kept my attention most of the time.  The story gets busier towards the end, but overall a great pace.

My major complaint with the book would have been the romance.   I have read several Sophie Kinsella books and enjoyed the romance portion of those books.  The romance in this book felt slightly as an afterthought in this book.   The book is focused mainly on Lara and getting her life back together and trying to figure out what she wants out of life.  I did enjoy the romance at times and felt it was cute, but at other times I felt it could have been almost a second book.

I would suggest this as a nighttime read.  There were a lot of parts where I felt that the book could be put down and picked back up.  The book kept my attention while listening to it, but I was able to take some breaks and not feel like I missed anything. 

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About the Author

Madeleine Wickham (born 12 December 1969) is a bestselling British author under her pseudonym, Sophie Kinsella. Educated at New College, Oxford, she worked as a financial journalist before turning to fiction. She is best known for writing a popular series of chick-lit novels. The Shopaholic novels series focuses on the misadventures of Becky Bloomwood, a financial journalist who cannot manage her own finances. The books follows her life from when her credit card debt first become overwhelming ("The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic") to the latest book on being married and having a child ("Shopaholic & Baby"). Throughout the entire series, her obsession with shopping and the complications that imparts on her life are central themes.

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