By: Sophie Kinsella
Shopaholic And Baby is the newest and fifth installment of Kinsella's "Shopaholic" series. As the title suggests, Becky Bloomwood (the shopaholic protagonist) is pregnant with her first child and is revelling in all the pre-baby shopping. As she preps for the baby with help of her mother-of-three best friend Suze, and her thrifty and eco-friendly sister, Jess, Becky gets a much-coveted appointment with celeb obstetrician, Venetia Carter. Everything seems to be looking up for Becky, until she realizes Venetia is not only gorgeous and successful, she is also Luke's (Becky's husband) ex-girlfriend, who is only too happy to have Luke back in her life. After a shoddy private detective and a blow-up with Venetia, Becky is left to pick up the pieces of her life and salvage her marriage. In the end, everything is sorted out and Becky gives birth to a girl they name Minnie. This installment of the series was my favorite because we finally get a dynamic villain who appears at length throughout the book. In the first four books, the problems were always somewhat trivial and the antagonists were always very one-dimensional. Venetia is cunning in her seduction of Luke as well as her faux-kindness towards Becky. Finally, the dilemma of the book is something more than Becky over-spending! This book starts off a little slower than the others, but is definitely worth a day at the beach! Review by Sarah. (Fiction) 08/11/09
