Don't panic, Christmas Shopaholic is here to show you how to slay the big day!
Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) is back just in time to save (or ruin, depending on your perspective) the festive season in Christmas Shopaholic, the ninth instalment of Sophie Kinsella’s bestselling Shopaholic series.
Released in October 2019, this is somewhat of a last minute review to hit the shelves before the big day and, for maximum enjoyment, it’s also recommended that you squeeze this Christmas read in before December 25. In Christmas Shopaholic, Kinsella perfectly captures the madness and mayhem that accompanies everyone’s annual Christmas celebrations except, this time, it includes that extra dash of crazy chaos that follows Becky Brandon wherever she shops.
Fans of the series will not be disappointed. Becky is as outlandish, brilliant and cringe-worthy as ever. A relatively simple premise — Becky is landed with hosting Christmas for the first time when her parents move to ultra-hip Shoreditch — is comedy gold in Kinsella’s expert hands. Not only must Becky plan the perfect Christmas within a reasonable budget (an ever-present challenge for BB) but she has the demands of a picky youngster, even pickier vegan sister, and disinterested husband to cater for.
Of course online shopping has revolutionised things since Becky’s debut in Confessions of a Shopaholic nearly twenty years ago, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less stressful. As Becky buys unnecessary things to score free shipping, takes days off work to venture into London to buy the perfect present for husband Luke, and impersonates a clothing ‘brand ambassador’ in an attempt to get free luxury goods for said husband, you’ll be torn between laughing at her behaviour and wanting to give her a darn good shaking. But this mix of slapstick, deep character flaws and even deeper heart are what has made Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) a classic character that readers return to over and over again.
Along with the challenges of Christmas, Becky contends with life in a quiet village far from the excitement of London. There’s also the return of an old college boyfriend who has transformed from the geek she once dated into a sexy rock god who spends his weekends partying in Warsaw.
Comparing the young adult she once was to the (relatively) stable and staid mother and wife she’s now become, is a midlife assessment/crisis many readers will relate to. Kinsella also deploys one-sided emails between characters and internet search history lists to great effect. Surely anyone considering their annual ‘must get fit’ new year’s resolution will relate to a list that migrates from ‘personal trainer’ to ‘personal trainer not bossy’ to ‘Lululemon sale’.
It’s probably safe to say that fans of this series will get the most from it, although it’s also quite capable of being read as a stand-alone novel. If you’ve followed Becky’s character arc from a literal shopaholic to a character who still loves to shop but doesn’t need to declare bankruptcy as a result, you’ll likely ‘get it’ much quicker. If you’re a newbie, Becky’s over-the-top antics (eg. attempting to join an exclusive London club just to enable purchase of a raffle ticket and then challenging the rules of entry as sexist when it’s revealed that the 1816 Billiards Club is strictly ‘men only’) may be irritating. But Kinsella’s prose is so deft and those antics really are so wonderfully written, that even the uninitiated should be able to hang in there long enough to forgive the cringe factor and fall in love with Becky.
Christmas Shopaholic is far from a ‘deep’ book but that said, it does a great job of highlighting the anxieties that accompany Christmas in an all-too-human attempt to make those we love happy. Overall, Christmas with Becky is great fun, the ending gives fans hope that there’s even more in store for our beloved heroine, and if you can’t find the time to read it before the fat man in red visits, tuck it away for a post-holiday pick-me-up indulgence. A great way to break your own holiday stress with some hilarious, heart-warming chick lit.
Reviewed by Samantha Bond
Twitter: @SamStaceyBond
Distributed by: Penguin Books Australia
Released: October 2019
RRP: $32.99
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