~REVIEW of Catherine Mckenzie's SPIN~

“Imagine if Bridget Jones fell into A million little pieces, flew over the cuckoo’s nest and befriended Lindsey Lohan along the way.” Okay I might have stolen that quote from the back of the book but it does describe Spin perfectly, so I couldn’t help myself.

This was a fantastic read and from a new Canadian author no less. Totally relatable, addictive and hilarious, I had trouble putting this one down. It's written along the lines of Sophia Kinsley’s Confessions of a Shopaholic series or as I mentioned Bridget Jones's Diary, I also had flashes of Girl, Interrupted (if the loony bin were rehab) And yet despite all the comparisons Spin still manages to have a unique feel to it.

Peppered with pop culture references from movies, TV and music there's even a chapter by chapter playlist included at the end. I also just love books that are written the way we girls actually think, you know with random disjointed thoughts and crazy insecurities. And how much fun is it to follow a heroine who isn’t perfect? Kate, well she’s a mess so it was an absolute blast stumbling along with her while she finds herself.

Kate,(Katie, whatever) Sanford has just landed the job interview she’s been dreaming about her entire adult life, (other than writing for Rolling Stone that is.) It’s an interview with her favourite music magazine The Line. It’s also Katie’s 30th birthday which is all the more reason to celebrate, right? I mean what harm can meeting her friend Greer and having one little drink do? She’ll still get home early enough to be clear headed and fresh for the big interview tomorrow. Well as most of us know there’s no such thing as one drink (especially with friends like Greer.)

Katie’s botched interview is hilarious, she’s late arriving, still a bit drunk and concludes the meeting by excusing herself to throw up and lie on the restroom floor. Needless to say she doesn’t get the job. She is however just perfect for another assignment they have in mind; entering a 30 day stint in rehab to spy on the new “it” girl of the moment and writing a 5,000 word expose for their subsidiary gossip magazine. (Should she succeed the job she actually wants will also be waiting for her.) It’s a no brainer really, at this point Katie has burned almost every bridge she can and has nothing left to loose, besides its only for 30 days.

Kate’s observations from rehab while somewhat heartbreaking still retain the comedy. Her experiments with jogging had me laughing out loud as did the descriptions of her dog obsessed counsellor. Of course there’s a romance in bloom and hey what do you know she might just have a drinking issue after all. At the very least Katie needs to grow up and stop telling people she’s still in college or at least partying with college kids. The rehab section of the story is predictable but that doesn’t make it any less fun to watch the train wreck and cheer from the sidelines. The ending reads like a Hugh Grant movie and I loved it. Cheers