Book Review: Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

The latest installment of the popular Shopaholic series is out from Sophie Kinsella and I grabbed a copy the week it was released and was excited to gobble it up. Mini Shopaholic is the fifth book about Becky and all of the gang and it focuses on two plot lines, her two-year old daughter Minnie's out of control behavior and Becky planning a surprise birthday party for Luke. Becky's outrageous spending habits haven't changed much despite talking about the global recession on every page of the book. Each chapter presented a dilemma she found herself in due to lying to cover up for something either related to shopping or the surprise party which made me feel like I was reading a book aimed towards fourth graders. I know it's not supposed to be thought provoking reading material, hey that's why I read this stuff, but the latest Shopaholic book was not so good. It actually pained me to read it at times and I finished it just to say I was caught up in the series. I love Sophie Kinsella and the character of Becky Bloomwood Brandon and I'm hoping the next Shopaholic book is better than this one. If you're looking for a clever book from Kinsella who can tell a chick story with humor, I recommend Twenties Girl. Maybe that's why Mini Shopaholic wasn't so good because I know Kinsella can do much better. The grade I'm giving this would be lower if Mini Shopaholic was not part of the Shopaholic series. Book Report Grade: C-