I’ve Got Your Number

Tuesday, January 8, 2013


I’ve Got Your Number
by Sophie Kinsella
★★

When I was in college I binge read Sophie Kinsella’s books. Since then I’ve occasionally picked one up, but with her most recent one I think I’ve officially outgrown her. I spent way too much of the book rolling my eyes at the dopiness of the main character and I just felt like I was wasting my time. I’ve really enjoyed some of her books, but I think I’ve hit a wall and they just feel repetitive and frustrating now. I know I’m in the minority on this one, but that’s ok.

Here’s a list of ten things I wanted to say while reading this book. There are SPOILERS, so skip it if you haven’t read it and you’re planning to.

1) Why do the women in these books think honesty is the plague? Really, pretending your hand has been severely burned is a better option that just explaining the truth?

2) Who in their right mind writes horrible email drafts to get things off their chest and then deletes them? Of course one will end up getting sent to that person by accident, give me a break!

3) Why did she not nip her whole friend hitting on her fiancé thing in the bud early on? That is not okay people. And apparently that’s someone she’s close enough to that she made her a bridesmaid.

4) No one I know would possibly end up in all the absurd situations this woman manages to get herself in. I know that it is fiction, but she did so many ridiculous things that it was hard to have any sympathy for her when they backfired, (sending an email to his Dad, encouraging the whole company to share their new ideas without his permission, etc.).

5) Why do women in these books have to be so oblivious to the fact that they are with creepy jerks for 99% of the story?

6) Footnotes, seriously? The gimmicky addition to the novel just didn’t work. There is no justifiable reason that a rom/com book needs footnotes and it became annoying really fast.

7) Wanting to make things easier on others is not the same thing as being a doormat. Grow a backbone and stop letting people take advantage of you!

8) Sam was actually a good character. I liked that he was honest and straight-forward and didn’t dance around every issue like Poppy did.

9) Exactly how many red-flags do you need before you realize the man you’re with isn’t the right one? He doesn’t tell you the truth about family issues, he talks down to you, you don’t know about his past, you’ve only been together a short time, he flirts shamelessly in front of you, your own family doesn’t really like him… that’s not enough!?!

10) Seriously, the guy gets you a new ring and the whole cheating thing is no big deal now? I get that you think that makes you “special” in his eyes but no, just no.

BOTTOM LINE: There are some great “chick lit” books out there that manage to have intelligent women as main characters. I’m tired of reading books where the woman has to do 50 stupid things in order to end up with Mr. Right.


8 comments:

Heather said...

This whole post made me giggle because it all sounds like something I would say! I think I "outgrew" Sophia Kinsella awhile back too.

It had footnotes? Uh, WTH? lol

annieb said...

I really liked this review in spite of the fact that I have never read a Kinsella book and have no plans to do so. It sounds like your review is better than the book. Nicely done.

Alex (The Sleepless Reader) said...

I'm 100% with you on this one and the reason why chick-lit is not working for me as much as it did in Uni. Regarding #2, if she was writing the venting email to delete it, what was the need to include an email on "To". And #7 is really a pet peeve with me - there seems to be no middle ground!

The Insouciant Sophisticate said...

Loved your points on this; I did actually enjoy this book as it was very typical Kinsella and what I expected but your points are totally valid.

Jenners said...

Yup … you definitely outgrew this author I think (perhaps even the genre).

This was fun to read though!!

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Heather - Seriously, it had footnotes!

annieb - Ha, thanks! Her books can be fun if you're in the right mood I guess.

Alex - Ugh, I know! Can you imagine drafting an entire email to someone and then being shocked when it was sent. *Slams head into desk in frustration*

Bookworm1858 - Yeah, it was similar to other Kinsella books and I used to really like them. Oh well.

Jenners - I'm beginning to think you might be right about the whole genre. There are some chick lit style books where the writing is really intelligent though. I just don't like it when I have no respect for the main character.

Anonymous said...

I feel the same way about Sophie Kinsella's books: I've outgrown them! They are fun reads for a younger, less settled audience. I agree with most of your points about chick lit, however, I don't roll my eyes when the main character is with a creepy guy as long as I understand her motivations. Is there some reason--other than the fact that he's cute--that she's with him? Is it because she has low self-esteem? Are their family pressures? Economic reasons? If she's the type of girl who could date anyone and is STILL dating a jerk, that's when I roll my eyes. Honestly, I have too many friends in real life who are dating jerks to dismiss similar set ups in fiction.

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

misfortuneofknowing - That's a good point. There are way too many real life girls with bad guys, which is sad.