Summer Chick-Lit #1

Although not all my reviews are spoilery, which I do not consider this one to be, here is a little warning just in case.

 [We take time out from our usual semi-intelligent books as it is the holidays & I can read books that don't require concentration. - New feature to this blog, check the title]

Review Written: 26th June 2012

Personally, I Blame My Fairy Godmother by Claudia Carroll

The Summer Holidays are the time for me to read as much chick lit as possible. This can be achieved in a few simple steps.

1. Go to the local library. I have 4 libraries surrounding me, but I always go to the one closest.
2. Get out your own weight in books. Two weeks until the due date? Oh that’s fine; it’s not like you have anything better to do!
3. Search for books. This is a lot harder than it sounds. Some have been in the library longer than I have been breathing so have that really horrible old book smell. Not the pleasant old book smell, the horrible old book smell. Some are simply too chick-lity for my liking; the one’s that try and apply to you. We all have that one boyfriend-no. We all have that one friend-no. We  all have that one job-no. The day I see we’ve all been forever single nineteen year old girls who crush on adorable celebrities all the while sobbing because we’re going to end up living with twenty seven cats then, and only then, will I dig the blurbs that attempt to apply to me. Also, try to get out at least one intelligent book. Even throw it in there for safe keeping. Charles Dickens Great Expectations you say? Well, I do want to read it eventually, but not this summer so I’ll get it out and the library system will believe I am a genius.
4. Go back home, sit on your bed and spend the remainder of the summer trying to forget that perhaps you should be socialising only you can’t because you have NO MORE STUDENT LOAN MONEY.

I think this book came out two years ago. I first noticed it while I was on holiday and the two things I remember from that holiday is:

• I saw this book in Asda while we went to get food, asked my dad to perhaps treat me only to find he’d walked off in search of butter and
• There was NO PHONE SIGNAL ANYWHERE. That’s what happens when you stay in the Forest of Dean. There is no signal and you have to be careful when walking around at night because of the wild boars.

And I wished to read it because I have a fondness for fairy stories. This is obviously a twist on Cinderella. It starts with a bit of background on Jessie’s life. Her mother dies when she is at a young age so she lives with her dad. Unlike Disney, where Cinders is actually quite rich, Jessie’s father works long hours to support her and she decides that when she becomes older, she would like to be famous, as with fame comes money. When Jessie is ten, she is introduced to her soon to be step mother Joan, and two stepsisters Maggie & Sharon who fail to get along with her, just as she fails to get along with them. Fast forward a few years, Jessie has her own show where she basically does dares for a living, has an amazing apartment and of course, the perfectly hot, beautiful, sexy, beefed up boyfriend, a boyfriend who lovingly got her through the sudden death of her father.

Then it all came crashing down. After a mistake on air, Jessie is fired, she fails to keep up with her payments and that perfect, loving boyfriend suggests they take a break because he is worried about his reputation. Lovely. To make matters worse, she can no longer afford to rent her home and has to move in with her stepmother & stepsisters, both in their thirties and still living with their mother. Oh, and she can only move in on one condition. Seeing as she lacks money to pay rent, she has to do the house chores, just like Cinderella.

The story progresses at a fast rate. She fails to get over her not-so-loving boyfriend Sam which means the reader experiences many a text message, phone call and one very, very embarrassing situation that her step sisters witness. However, her relationship with one of her step sisters, Sharon, improves greatly when she signs up for online dating. Their relationship is similar to Disney’s Cinderella and Anastasia (and here, I’m talking about the Anastasia in the 2 sequels). Anastasia wishes above everything, for love, and Cinderella helps her to find it. Although, this does make Maggie Drusella, a fit that I believe is perfect. After signing up on the dole, she gets a job at a fast food place, an extreme ‘how the mighty have fallen’ scenario before being offered a slot on a local radio station.

A slot offered by childhood friend Steve. One thing Jessie seems to lack is real friends. Married couple Eva and Nathaniel are more her ex’s friends than hers, and waaay too positive Emma leaves me with too much suspicion. She has lost contact with childhood friend Hannah and her elder brother by three years, Steve but when he appears on Jessie’s doorstep with a bunch of flowers, I instantly ship them. Of course she goes running off to try and fail to win back her ex-boyfriend but she apologises to him, he offers her a job, and it’s the start of something magical.

The remainder of the book is Jessie settling into her new job and balancing feelings for Steve and her ex Sam. Does she really want to get back with him? Really?

Like any chick-lit, this was an enjoyable read filled with romance & embarrassing moments and bonus; I could switch off my brain when reading. Just what I needed after a first year at university.

NEXT REVIEW: Stay tuned for Summer Chick-Lit #2