When Tess becomes Vanessa, chaos is near

Review

About a Girl

by Lindsey Kelk

 

First sentence:

I never meant for things to get so out of hand.

Summary:

I’d lost my job. I’d lost the love of my life. My mum wasn’t talking to me. My best friend was epically pissed off. And my flatmate probably had a hit out on me by now. I never meant for things to get so out of hand…

Tess Brookes has always been a Girl with a Plan. But when her carefully constructed Plan goes belly up, she’s forced to reconsider.

After accidently answering her flatmate Vanessa’s phone, she decides that since being Tess isn’t going so well, why shouldn’t she try out being Vanessa? With nothing left to lose, she accepts Vanessa’s photography assignment to Hawaii – she used to be an amateur snapper, how hard can it be? Right?

But Tess is soon in big trouble – she isn’t a photographer, she isn’t Vanessa, and the gorgeous journalist on the shoot with her, who is making it very clear he’d like to get into her pants, is an egotistical monster.

Far from home and in someone else’s shoes, Tess must decide whether to fight on through, or ‘fess up and run…

source: Goodreads

My opinion:

Lindsey Kelk is the author of the well-known “I heart …” series and “The Single Girl’s To Do List” and “About a Girl” is her next big hit.

I really liked the idea of the novel but had some difficulties with the main character, Tess. She is fed up with her life and in desperate need of some change but she can’t get her stuff together and move. She is a bit whiney at the beginning but as soon as she decides to take on Vanessa’s personality she becomes more open and starts enjoying life a bit more. She still is insecure and unsure of herself when she’s alone but in company she is outgoing and tries to live up to her roommate’s self.

The story is really cute and chick-lit-y. Tess flees from her life in London and takes a job as Vanessa, her roommate, in sunny Hawaii, where she’s supposed to do a photo shoot. There she meets someone, even though she is still hung-up on a guy back home but tries to figure out what she wants while enjoying her “vacation”.

I liked Tess, despite her sometimes annoying nature, but I really loved Albert Bennett, the designer she was supposed to do a shoot with. Al is a genuine and lovely guy who is devastated after the death of his wife Jane – yes, she was seriously called Jane Bennett – and tries to find her place in life again. The difference between Al and Tess are few but Al gives much better tips to get Tess out of her shell and get her to enjoy her life and decide what she really wants to do.

One really annoying thing is the ending of the book. Basically nothing is solved in Tess’ life so if we want to know what will happen next we need to buy “What a Girl Wants” to find out.

The books in the “A Girl” series are:

• About a Girl
• What a Girl Wants

For more information about Lindsey visit her Homepage and her Twitter page.