Shopaholic to the Rescue – Sophie Kinsella

Shopaholic to the Rescue is Sophie Kinsella’s latest instalment of the Shopaholic series and details Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood), family and friends and their escapades across the USA.

I’ve been reading Kinsella’s novels, in particular the Shopaholic series for over 10 years! Reading this latest instalment felt like coming home and catching up with an old friend.

As I’ve said in previous reviews of Kinsella’s work, her conversational tone does well to draw the reader in. This especially works when writing from the first-person perspective, Becky’s perspective is certainly a force to be reckoned with!

One of the things I enjoyed most about this novel is that even if the current circumstances look bleak, Kinsella writes with a consistent aura of positivity – it makes me as a reader feel hopeful that things will turn out right in the end. I’ve now developed such a bond with Becky that when she feels sad, so do I, but just like Becky I soon bounce back, as does she.

 

Shopaholic to the Rescue definitely keeps up with earlier novels in the series. There are just as many twists and turns, and intriguing and surprising plot twists. There are some returning favourite characters as well as some returning faces Kinsella fans will just love to hate (no spoilers).

One of the strongest themes in Shopaholic to the Rescue is relationships. There are so many relationships interwoven across the Shopaholic series, but it is in Shopaholic to the Rescue that family relationships really come into the forefront, and take centre stage.

From Becky’s relationship with Luke and Minnie, to her Mum’s relationship with Janice, the list goes on. But Kinsella is very skilled as she crafts each relationship differently, taking care to ensure that the reader is crystal clear as to how each person relates to each other. She doesn’t just rely on the reader having recently read a Shopaholic novel, readers are also confronted with new ways in which some surprising characters relate to each other.

All these relationships along with the fast pace of the plot and the numerous plot twists, adds to the overall pace and excitement that the novel generates. There is also always just enough reflection to give the reader a breather and a bit of a reprieve, so they can digest the previous chapter and assess the situation.

Although readers will have read about Becky, her husband and her daughter’s adventures in America before, this novel follows them as they travel across the country, with their entourage of course, and a story that is both heart-warming and heart-wrenching at the same time.

Kinsella’s descriptions of this all-American road-trip were both fascinating and hilarious. Becky’s encounters with some real-American culture is every bit an enticing as any movie.

I really think the Shopaholic series should be made into a tv series – I know I’d definitely be tuning in. Until that happens, Shopaholic fans should make sure they’ve got a copy to dive into. If you’ve never read any of the Shopaholic series before, make sure you start at the beginning because this one is worth the wait to get the full impact.