Remember Me?
by Sophie Kinsella
|
List Price: Our Price: $1.35 You Save: $23.65 (95%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Remember Me?
Book Review: One of her best...
Summary: 4 Stars
I've read every Sophie Kinsella book to date - yet this one probably stands out as one of my favourites, and definitely my favourite "standalone" (i.e. not Shopaholic series) book. Surprisingly there was a lack of hype around this latest release - perhaps the chick lit market is at a breaking point, but Kinsella is one of the titans of the genre, consistently writing fun, addictive, unique books.
The 'unique' storyline this time follows the life of Lexi Smart, a twenty-something Londoner who wakes up in a hospital, believing that she ended up there after a night out with her girlfriends that culminated in a nasty fall down some stairs. It isn't long before Lexi realizes that she's actually three years older than her memory serves her - and she's actually in the hospital from a nasty car accident that erased the last three years of her memory. At first, everything in Lexi's new, seemingly fast-forwarded life is stellar - she has a hot body, has improved her little physical quirks (crooked teeth, hair), has upgraded her career, and is married to a gorgeous, wealthy real estate developer. As she struggles to remember her past, Lexi is given several rude awakenings from those she was close to - and those she had drifted from - over the last three years about how she came to be the person she is perceived to be today. Can Lexi remember her past? Does she even want to? Ahh...all will be revealed.
I loved this book because Lexi was a *lot* less hysterical than your typical Kinsella protagonist. Her emotions and frustrations were fueled by a (somewhat) legitimate situation, rather than a snowball effect of hysteria. I found her to be one of the more likable, relatable characters Kinsella has ever written, and I actually cheered for her and felt bad for her as her new life began to unravel.
Overall I would definitely recommend this book to Kinsella fans, even if you're mostly a Shopaholic reader, this is probably the most "worth-it" read from the standalone books she's written to date. Fun and fast - you'll get through this in a matter of hours or days.
Book Review: Kinsella's new book is as fun as ever
Summary: 4 Stars
In Remember Me? Alex Smart finds herself in the hospital with a concussion and begins trying to piece together how she got there. All she can remember from the night before is that she had been out drinking with the girls on a rainy night and she slipped and fell on the wet pavement. But when she goes to look in the mirror, she sees that she's somehow lost a good amount of weight and her teeth are amazingly straight and shiny. And why does she have a Louis Vuitton bag next to her nightstand? She can't afford that!
When people begin to visit her, she doesn't recognize them and they look older than she expects. Finally someone tells her that it's 2007 not 2004. The slip and fall incident happened three years ago. But she doesn't remember the last three years, which includes her meeting her now-husband. The tale that ensues is hilarious as always and not nearly as cliche as I had previously thought.
Sophie Kinsella has a way of telling stories that makes me fall in love with her characters and manages to put me in their shoes (even though I know I'll never be able to afford the lifestyle of many of her characters). However, having read all of Kinsella's books, I'm beginning to see a pattern. She spends the first 2/3 of the book making us fall in love with the main character and all of her witty mishaps. We also watch as they nearly destroy their lives, then in the last few chapters the main character thinks of something brilliant that saves her crumbling career, or that of her husband or friends. As I was reading this book I realized it had become formulaic and it made me sad because I do so love Sophie Kinsella. I still recommend this book because it's a fun and easy read, but if you've read all of Kinsella's other work be aware that you'll be reading it saying to yourself, "OK, now what's she going to think of to save everyone's job? Because I know that's coming next."
If you've never read Kinsella, I highly suggest Can you keep a secret? and Confessions of a shopaholic.
Book Review: Out of an overused made for Tv movie plot comes Kinsella's best novel yet
Summary: 5 Stars
It's a tried and true made for TV movie theme.
Someone, usually someone down on their luck like the ugly girl in high school or the miserable kid, makes a wish that they were all grown up. And then presto-they are! It's X amount of years in the future and suddenly they are an adult and have become beautiful, popular and have a wonderful life.
But that doesn't mean they're prepared to deal with it.
Sophie Kinsella has taken this common and (frankly) overused plot line and remade it into a wonderful, hilarious, romantic and hugely touching novel that is really her best work yet.
Lexi Smart has an entry level job and no yearly bonus, a boyfriend who everyone calls loser Dave, snaggly teeth and her father's funeral to attend in the morning. She doesn't make a wish for a better life, but she does fall on her head. And wakes up in the hospital with a great body, perfect teeth, a fantastic job, the perfect husband and no memory of the last three years.
It seems perfect at first. Her life is great on the surface. She's rich, good looking and married to a millionaire Greek god. But as she gets to know her new life she realizes that she is missing from it. The new Lexi is dramatically different from the old and not only in appearance. Nowhere is there any trace of the girl she once was-and, thanks to a bump on the head, is again.
Until she learns that this self has secrets-huge secrets which may be her only hope of getting the world to remember the girl Lexi Smart used to be.
"Remember Me?" is by far the best novel Sophie Kinsella has written to date. It is just amazing! I laughed out loud, felt Lexi's initial joy and later frustration and anger and swooned at the romance. This book has propelled Kinsella out of the chick lit genera and into the category of just plain old great novels. I recommend this to everyone. My only complaint is that the book can be read in several hours-and I wanted more!
Five stars.
Book Review: Memorable romp by Kinsella...
Summary: 4 Stars
Lexi Smart has an entry-level position at a carpet company. She has frizzy hair and crooked teeth. She has no sense of style, and she's dating a guy whose nickname is none other than "Loser Dave." Her father died and, the night before his funeral, she slips on the street, right in front of an oncoming cab. When she awakens, it is 2007 (instead of 2004), she looks gorgeous (hair, teeth and other body parts have been "enhanced"), she owns designer clothes and handbags, and is married to a drop-dead gorgeous multimillionaire. She is also one of the top dogs at the carpet company, and rules over a whole department, the one where all of her friends work. Lexi has lost her memory. She doesn't remember the last three years of her life. How on earth could this happen, and how did she become a beautiful fashionista with an important job? Slowly, she uncovers the mysteries regarding this shaded piece of her life, but things truly spin out of control when she meets Jon, a handsome architect who stops at nothing to win over her affections... again.
I am a huge fan of this author. The Shopaholic series is one of my favorite book collections out there. Sophie Kinsella is wonderful. She has such a light and sassy sense of humor, and I love her writing style. Remember Me? isn't exactly out of this world or even original for that matter (the plot is vaguely similar to the movie 13 Going on 30 with Jennifer Gardiner), but Kinsella makes it a fun romp worthy of reading. I devoured this book in a single sitting. There's nothing better than a great British chick-lit when you're in the mood for something light, romantic and fun, and Kinsella never fails to deliver in this area. Remember Me? will no doubt become yet another notch in the author's bestseller post. You're in the mood for a fun, sassy comedy? Pick this one up. Not as hilarious as the Shopaholic books, but it is just as entertaining as Kinsella's standalones, The Domestic Goddess and Can You Keep a Secret?
Book Review: Ridiculous and Ironically Shallow
Summary: 2 Stars
To say the least, I was dissapointed with Remember Me? While I knew I wanted to finish it just to see how it ended, part of me really didn't care all that much. The main character was rather stereotypical to the Chic-Lit genre: stupid, materialistic, wild about dancing, obsessed with cocktails, etc etc. And even besides her, there were no lovable characters throughout the whole story. Not to mention the plot was fairly unrealistic. I just kept thinking "Back to the Future" the entire time rather than amnesia-stricken woman.
Remember Me? is about Lexi, a girl who got into a car accident at 28 years old and awoke to find the last three years of her life completely missing from her memory. Not only that, but her life has completely turned around. Lexi finds out that she is married to a rich and handsome man (go figure), finally has a driver's license, is two sizes smaller (due to a strict "no carb" diet), has new (and even more shallow) friends, and is a very important figure at her previous company making the big bucks. Everything, in a nutshell, is perfect when she first wakes up.
BUT THEN
...she finds out nothing is as it seems. Her marriage sucks, her best friend hates her, her little sister is a crazy juvenile delinquent, and she's not allowed to eat any toast or chocolate.
What really does this book in is the unrealistic plot and lack of likable characters. These two factors together make it difficult to put a whole heart into reading it. I did finish it quickly, however. Due to its high demand at the library, I decided to read and return it ASAP for the next sucker who wanted to check it out.
On the bright side, Remember Me? is some what entertaining and not entirely predictable (though partially). It's also light and fast - just like a good beach read oughta be. So while it itsn't that bad, it isn't that good either. It's sort of a hit or miss. So you could take your chances... or not.