GREAT READS

Mini-Shopaholic

Sophie Kinsella.

Perhaps you thought the hilarious Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella had exhausted itself...think again! A true shopper never dies or cures herself -- she just reinvents herself!

We have seen Becky Bloomwood Brandon go from young twenties-something, racking up insurmountable credit card debt to finding long-lost stepsister, getting married and having a baby to this supremely funny tale of her little daughter who is a bit of a monster when it comes to that shopping gene.

I always feel guilty reading Sophie Kinsella, but is almost therapeutic -- a fast, light, funny read. Becky, the main character, is a goodhearted and well-meaning young mother and wife who just constantly gets herself in trouble with her shopping addiction.

In this story, she has promised her husband she will curb her mania for shopping. However, she indulges it through her two-year old daughter by advancing her an allowance to cover clothes she will need for the next twenty years and then proceeding to buy those future clothes now.

The pace builds till you feel like you are in the middle of a zany I Love Lucy episode. How Kinsella ties together all the loose ends is a treat. This is a fast read, a page turner, has a surprise ending that really was one, and finally, will unexpectedly warm your little heart. As Becky herself says: "Honestly, shopping beats therapy anytime! It costs the same and you get a dress out of it!" Long live Beckys and their zest for keeping economies going.

Recommended by Betsy Schroeder