Shopaholic

by Judy Waite

Book Overview

Taylor, Sam, and Sophie have been best mates forever. But lately things have been changing. Taylor is starting to sense that maybe Sam and Sophie would rather hang out only with each other rather than with her. And she can't talk to her mum about it -- she's been acting even more depressed than usual, spending the day watching the telly in her bathrobe and only eating when Taylor makes her dinner. Then Taylor meets Kat while out shopping one day...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689851383
• ISBN13: 9780689851384
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

An excellent young adult novel. A heartbreaking tale of a confused young woman who blames herself fo

Waite's Shopaholic is an extremely well-written work; also, the novel is one of the more touching and thoughtful young adult novels I have read in some time and I happen to love this genre of fiction. The novel touches on many contemporary themes that readers (both teenage and adult) will find engaging, including the poison shallowness of consumer culture and the definition of true friendship. Taylor is an insecure, deeply intelligent young woman who lives in a nondescript, depressed British town. She is on the verge of womanhood, dealing with more than her fair share of issues: her sister has died in a tragic accident (for which Taylor feels responsible), her mother has become so depressed that she is unable to care for Taylor or for herself, and Taylor's grandfather is the one steady light in her life but he suffers from health troubles. Taylor struggles to keep her situation steady by cooking for her mother and tackling all of the household duties while her mother sleeps and samples psychiatric medications. Then her dull life takes a sudden turn. While out at the local shopping mall with her "old," less glamourous friends, Taylor meets the dazzling Kat -- an aspiring model, gorgeous and charismatic and a bit too mature for her years. Things quickly spiral downwards: Taylor bends rules and lies to win Kat's favour and she soon finds herself in an untenable situation. The only complaint I have with this novel is that at times Waite seems to oversimplify, as if makeup, fashion, and an interest in pop music and boys are always bad, bad things for a teenage girl (instead of being inevitable things that can be pleasurable in their own right and balanced with deeper. more meaningful life goals). This complaint though is a minor one given the novel's overall effectiveness and grace. Highly recommended.

SHOPAHOLIC doesn't deliver.

A vanilla-cream-colored jacket. Lilac shimmer lipstick. Purses. Skirts. Taylor is growing obsessed with all of these things because she needs to keep up with her new friend, Kat. Taylor has other friends, Sophie and Sam, but they're not as cool as Kat, and they seem to be doing more and more things together without her. For Sam and Sophie shopping is fun, a way to occupy their time during a boring Saturday afternoon, but for Kat it's an obsession. Not long after she meets Kat, Taylor finds herself loaning Kat household money to buy clothes and spending way more than she should just to keep Kat as her friend. Kat's world, like much of the book, is superficial, and there's most definitely a lesson to be learned about what makes a real friend. Though Judy Waite tries to infuse a serious tone and angst in the form of Taylor's dead sister and catatonic, incoherent mother, she leaves the reader confused as to why Taylor's life is so unusual, since Taylor's secret is not revealed until the end of the book. Everyone around Taylor comes off as flat and underdeveloped, except for her loving grandfather. The descriptions of clothes and makeup often go overboard, and not enough time is given to more important issues, such as Kat's obviously less-than-perfect home life. Like a Nordstrom's shoe sale that has nothing left in your size, SHOPAHOLIC is a book that makes a lot of promises but ultimately doesn't deliver. --- Reviewed by Carlie Kraft

Painfully honest

Taylor's pain as she quietly endures her once colorful world fade into "muted browns" and thin watery sounds after the death of her sister. Feeling the odd girl out with her two friends, Sophie and Sam, she accepts the friendly advances of an older, hipper girl, Kat and like her bedroom-ridden, bathrobe-wearing mother, she begins to slide away from herself and into the world of shopping and makeup. When everything comes crashing down, her strong and wonderful grandfather is there to collect the pieces and hear the story she's needed so long to tell. Most of it anyway. This story is unassuming like a sprinkling rain. Hours later you realize that you're wet after all.

Great fast and entertaining story

I just finished this book, read it over the weekend. It was a good story and very real displaying young girls' emotions: Loneliness, desperation for friends, wanting money, needing parents to be parents and not the child being the parent....along with shopping, something all girls love. The book is fast paced and enjoyable. A good story to curl up with on a rainy day because the book will keep you interested and it's a simple read. I recommend it, and not just for teens, older people will find it entertaining too, I'm in my 20's. The title "Shopaholic" is what attracted me to it. I had heard about this book while reading a magazine and am glad I bought it.