Novel Summary: Shopaholic Takes Manhattan

Novel Description

Title                 : Shopaholic Takes Manhattan

Author            : Sophie Kinsella

Publisher        : Delta

Published date: February 5, 2002

Size                   : 18,7 x 12,7 cms

Page                 : 352 pages

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan

Life looks good for Becky Bloomwood. She has good relationship with her boyfriend, Luke, an entrepreneur, and great job as financial expert in TV show, Morning Coffee. However, she has bad behavior. She is such a shopaholic, or even spendaholic. She likes shopping anywhere she is, especially wherever there are branded bags, clothes, or shoes, such as Prada, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, and so forth. Even though she has a problem with her debt at Endwich  Bank  because her expenses, she does not care of that. Since Becky has motto: “You can’t make money unless you spend it first. In order to decrease her expense on shopping, she asks Suze to be her financial advisor, she also tries to control her hobby, shopping. Becky does not think much about the debt since she thinks she can earn money from her TV shows, and she also get offering to write a book about financial. Besides, she gets along with her bank manager, Derek Smeath. So, that is way she is not into it.

  One day, Luke moves to New York for business, and he asks Becky to go with him. Unquestionably, Becky accepts it. In New York, Becky does not only accompany Luke. She has so many things to do. Furthermore, she also gets some interview for American TV, like CLBN and others. They want Becky to be the host of the program. Becky also meet Luke’s mother in New York. Besides of which, the most great thing she does it SHOPPING. Yes, her behavior gets worse in New York. She cannot control herself for buying anything she likes or is interested in. Shopping anywhere is great, she thinks, but the advantages of doing it abroad are:

1.      You can buy things you cannot get in Britain.

2.      You came name-drop when you get back home.

3.      Foreign money does not count, so you can spend as much as you like.

Therefore, Becky also does not watch her expenses. She even does not notice if she gets some trouble with her debt, since her bank manager is no longer Derek Smeath. John Gavin who becomes Becky’s new bank manager is not as kind as Derek Smeath. He is a very capable man and rigorous.

                   When Becky arranges her new carrier in New York, and plans future plans, an article in the Daily World reveals her high debts, calls her a fraud for telling people how to manage their money when she is herself feckless. This causes a fight between her and Luke, as there are current rumors about that his PR Company, Brandon Communications, will lose Bank of London as their client, and her being revealed as in debt (and Luke not even knowing about it) does not help situations. More and more opportunities are ruled out, when more and more people read the article. Becky’s opportunity in American TV is also cancelled. She even loses her current job on Morning Coffee, and is replaced by her former co-worker Clare Edwards, who Becky never liked, being boring and smug. She returns home to her roommate and best friend Suze, while Luke remains in New York, and their relationship comes to an apparent end.

Becky and Suze go to Becky's new bank manager to ask for a bigger overdraft, but are met with nothing but hostility and disgust. A woman who worked for her former employers Morning Coffee contacts her and asks her to lunch, Becky becomes hopeful, but it turns out she only wants Becky to come on and be told off by Clare for TV. Becky becomes depressed. On a trip to Luke's office to collect a package for her delivered there, she overhears a conversation between 'Alicia Bitch Long-Legs', Luke's employee, and another Brandon C. worker, which confuses her. She discovers Alicia and the worker are planning to steal Luke's clients, along with Bank of London, and set up on their own. She contacts Luke's colleague Michael Ellis and tells him, but asks him not to let Luke know it was her.

              In order to earn money, Suze suggests for a healing exercise that Becky throw out all her unnecessary possessions. Becky has a better idea, and decides to sell them. She has a huge bidding and sells all of them, even her Denny and George scarf, a big symbol for her and Luke's relationship. She accepts the slot on Morning Coffee, but shocks them all by telling them she has no more financial problems, has paid of all her debt, and is heading off to New York now to work at Barney's (all of which is now true). Luke turns up at the airport, and tells her Michael told him all about what Becky did for his company, and thanks her. He begs her to stay, to come and work at Brandon C., but she tells him she doesn't want to settle down at a job she does not want, as she is too young for that. Becky leaves for New York. Two months later, Becky is working as a personal shopper at Barney's, when Luke shows up as a customer. He apologizes for all that happened and they get back together.