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January 23, 2009 12:28 PM

BOOK REVIEW: Who's That Girl? By Alexandra Potter

Having read Alexandra Potter's previous novels, Be Careful What You Wish For and Me & Mr Darcy (and loving both!) it was inevitable that her latest offering, Who's That Girl?, would be next on my list. (And trust me, when you're spending the weekend ill and resembling a really bad extra in a zombie flick, a Lemsip and a good chick-lit to get lost in is exactly what one needs.)

Anyway, Who's That Girl has proven to be, yet again, one of my favourites. Potter's heroine, Charlotte Merryweather, runs her own successful PR company with a fabulous assistant and great clients. Specialising in beauty, Charlotte's schedule is hectic with client meetings, calls to the press, and of course, time with her personal trainer. Despite Charlotte's numerous allergies and her tendency to worry just a little too much, her life is great. She's got a fantastic career, designer clothes, a seemingly wonderful boyfriend who is all set for them to buy a house together. Her dream life seems a world away from when she first moved to London as a twenty-one-year old with no money, no friends and very little fashion sense.

That is, until Charlotte heads home one day, convinced that she's seen her rusty old Beetle. THE rusty old Beetle that she drove at 21. And the girl who steps out of the familiar car is just as familiar. In fact, she's a bit TOO familiar. And after following the car back through London, Charlotte notices that the mysterious girl lives in the exact same street that she used to. In fact, the exact same house.

Which is far too much of a coincidence, right?

Obviously, Charlotte's worries and paranoia lead her to think she's suffering from some kind of mental disorder. However, after checking out the girl and her location some more, Charlotte becomes mightily certain that it's real. She is back in 1997, and the girl in her old VW is Lottie - the naive, wide-eyed, broke Charlotte from previous years who wore scrunch-dried hair and hideous PVC trousers.

Is she dreaming? Is it time-travel? Charlotte's yet to find out. But more importantly, she has some REAL work to do...

Thirtysomething Charlotte is adamant on stopping Lottie from making the same mistakes all over again. Which includes plucking eyebrows and NOT sleeping with cheating love-rat band member Billy Romani, however sexy he might look.

However, as Charlotte sets out on her quest to make her previous self see sense, she realises that maybe she doesn't have all of the answers, either. That sometimes, mistakes just have to be made...

This book is funny, sweet and not to mention addictive. For anyone who's looked at an old photo and thought, 'oh god, did I really do/wear/like that?' then after reading this, you might just think again.

You'll like this if you liked: Be Careful What you Wish For by Alexandra Potter, and Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella.

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Posted by Elle Symonds on January 23, 2009 in New Releases, Rating: 5/5 | Permalink

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