Rachel's Holiday is a good book to take on your own holiday (Rachel's Holiday - Marian Keyes)

Member Name: BumpyBump

Product:	Rachel's Holiday - Marian Keyes
Date:	20/10/09 (20 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Keyes tells the story well and Rachel's story unfolds nicely

Disadvantages: Not a book for those who are fed up with happy endings

Having read and enjoyed a few Marian Keyes books recently, Rachel's Holiday was the next on the list and it comes to the usual standard I now expect from Keyes.

Rachel is a 27-year old Irish girl living in New York with her best friend Brigit. Her life is an endless whirl of drugs and booze, she is always the life and soul of the party and she has a hunk of a man to fulfil her every desire. Her life is practicaly perfect....isn't it?

Well, clearly, no it's not. Rachel gets shipped back to Ireland after accidentally taking an overdose which lands her in hospital. Her shamed parents sign her up for a 3-month stint at the local Rehab Clinic and Rachel thinks that actually it might be quite nice to get away for three months, to relax and spend her days in the swimming pool or sauna. But shortly after she arrives at The Cloisters it becomes painfully clear that there is no swimming pool and there is no sauna. All there is, is endless cooking, cleaning, cups of tea and therapy sessions. But Rachel doesn't need therapy because she's only a recreational drug-user and soon the staff at The Cloisters wil realise that...

Rachel's Holiday is a light-hearted look at drug-addiction(well, as light-hearted as it can get anyway) and covers not only the seedier side of it but also the more socially acceptable face of cocaine use. The book is set in 'real time' although Keyes dips in and out of of Rachel's past as Rachel comes to terms with her addiction and how it affected those round her.

As with all chick-lit books, although Rachel goes through hell on her journey, she does come out the other side and things work out alright in the end.

Summary: Keyes is on her usual witty form here and makes this book an enjoyable read.