Twenties Girl: A Novel

by: Sophie Kinsella

Published by: The Dial Press

Reviewed by Claire Vath

Fresh from a breakup and with trouble brewing in her business, Lara Lington suddenly feels despairingly alone. That is, until the ghost of her great-aunt Sadie appears … and only Lara can see and hear her. Evidently Sadie’s soul can’t rest until Lara helps her find a valuable necklace.

Though the 105-year-old great-aunt who had recently passed away was largely unknown by her family, the spirit that trails Lara is the 1920’s version of Sadie—dressed in flapper clothes and adorned with feathers, a sleek bob and kohl-lined eyes. Lara is, at first, terrified.

Twenties Girl is chick-lit writer Sophie Kinsella’s latest book in a long line of popular titles, including the Shopaholic series. Twenties Girl is admittedly her first ghost story. I consider Kinsella to be one of the better writers in the genre because her stories embody what I want chick-lit to be: Light, airy, fun and formulaic. It’s easy to blow through these books because, to be honest, it’s kind of like watching a TV show where, 20 minutes after it’s ended you can’t remember the characters’ names.

It would be hard to argue that many books in this genre provide any literary depth—nor do they profess to. So with that in mind, Twenties Girl is a roaring ride. There’s a touch of the predictable romance, the slightly neurotic and flawed main character in Lara, and plenty of drool-worthy twenties fashion, as Sadie the ghost insists that Lara don the era’s garb for a date.

Kinsella pens her books with such ease that it’s not difficult to fly through the pages. She introduces humor—her main characters always seem to possess a witty self-dialogue—and this story offers a touch of mystery as Lara and Sadie search for Sadie’s necklace.

As the story and search progress, Lara uncovers a lot about the great-aunt Sadie, whom she had pictured a wizened old woman. Sadie’s vibrant past meets the present when Lara makes some startling discoveries about her aunt—and herself.

Twenties Girl is a good, solid beach read.

Armchair Interviews agrees.