A great chick lit read (Tuesday's Child - Louise Bagshawe)

Member Name: dippykitty

Product:	Tuesday's Child - Louise Bagshawe
Date:	15/06/09 (31 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lucy is an engaing central character, good characterisation

Disadvantages: None for me

Although I've previously reviewed Glitz by the same author, Tuesday's Child was actually the first book by Louise Bagshawe that I read.

***The Plot***
Lucy Evans is a dedicated tomboy. Living with her lawyer flatmate Ollie, she earns a pittance as a games reviewer and is forever broke. At one particularly bad moment, three things happen that throw Lucy's life into disarray: 1) Her games magazine is swallowed up by a rival title and she's suddenly out of a job and utterly penniless; 2) Ollie gets engaged to Annoying Victoria; and 3) Said engagement means that Lucy has to move out of the flat so that Annoying Victoria can move in. Forced to evaluate her life, Ollie throws Lucy one last lifeline in the form of a secretarial job working for a rich American (Todd) who owns a thriving property business. The downside? Todd only hires perfect English roses, which means that Lucy has to change just about everything about herself to suit the job description. Can the self-confessed tomboy pull it off?

***The Characters***

Lucy - The central character of the book is instantly engaging, especially as she seems very 'real'. As the book progressed, I was very keen to see if she could pull off such an unlikely transformation, and what would happen if she did.

Ollie - Lucy's flatmate seems nice enough, although it was quite frustrating to see him so sucked in by Annoying Victoria (see her character paragraph underneath this one for more details on that). Throughout the book, I was furiously hoping that he and Lucy would somehow get it together as they seemed perfect for one another.

Annoying Victoria - She really lives up to Lucy's nickname. She is high up on the masthead of a magazine and earns a small fortune as a result. Her attitude is overwhelming smug, especially where Ollie is concerned and she can go from uber-bitch to sugary sweet girlfriend in the blink of an eye. Needless to say, her character is very irritating but her part in the book's ending made me smile in an ironic type of way as it was quite fitting for her.

Todd - Lucy's boss is very self-assured and obviously used to getting his own way - mostly through intimidation. Lucy almost gets caught up in that side of his character but he comes crashing down to earth at the end of the book.

Lucy's colleagues (Jade, Buffy, James and Melissa) - For the most part, they are supercilious and look down their noses at Lucy and her lack of elegance and sophistication. It was interesting to see the turnaround regarding that later in the plot as a result of Todd's actions though.

Lucy's family (Mum, Dad and sisters Catherine, Emily, Laura and Anne) - Lucy's family are totally supportive of her and her decisions in life, which is lovely and heartwarming to see.

***The Writing Style***
It is written in the first person from Lucy's perspective, which gives a real insight into her thoughts on proceedings. Overall, the writing style is informal and very chatty, as though Lucy is talking directly to us.

***Overall Thoughts***
This is unashamedly a chick lit book and doesn't try to be anything else. It is a nice, light read that won't tax your mind. Lucy is an engaging protagonist and this helps to carry the book along when the plot might otherwise have stalled as there isn't really a huge amount happening in the book as a whole.

Summary: A fantastic book from the author of Glitz