Review of 'I've Got Your Number', by Sophie Kinsella

I'm sorry, the person you're trying to reach is engaged at the moment. Please leave your message after the tone.

Poppy has lost her engagement ring. And her phone. So life can't get any worse - right? When Poppy finds a phone in a bin, she thinks her problem is solved and gives her new number to the hotel where she lost her ring. But when she finds out that the phone belonged to the PA of businessman, Sam Roxton, who wants it back, Poppy finds herself running his life and her own...

Sophie Kinsella's 2011 novel 'I've Got Your Number' is laugh-out-loud hilarious, so a little warning from me: read in public at your own risk! I was even telling someone about it in public and couldn't contain myself. A definite page-turner and absolute recommendation from me.

The book is an instant winner because of the blurb. I really hate when too much is given away on the back and I find reading boring until I come across something I didn't already know was going to happen. Unlike another Kinsella novel that I have read recently, 'My Not So Perfect Life', 'I've Got Your Number' didn't give a lot away and I think that it makes for better comedy because you truly don't see what's coming, making it all the funnier.

Poppy is a great character. She is so concerned with fixing other people's problems and not offending others, that she can't see the problems with her own life. I'm not sure if she totally overcomes this by the end, but she learns the ability to stand up for herself and realise her own self-worth. Perhaps I like her all the more for that reason, she's not perfect. Nor are any other of Kinsella's protagonists, which make them completely relatable.

Poppy is paired with Sam, the total opposite of her in that he doesn't fix problems or mind offending people, preferring a more efficient and simple yes or no answer rather than Poppy's rambling apologies and never-ending kisses at the end of text messages. Over time, Sam is shown to care deeply about the people who are close to him, while Poppy cares about everyone too much. They are really a great duo for this comedy and their differences make for elevated, hysterical moments.

Throughout the duration of the novel, sometimes I did want to scream at Poppy. 'Why Poppy?!' was a very frequent thought. But I came to realise that Poppy needed to come to that conclusion on her own, and I'm not here to judge another person or character's development because it's not mine. I'm trying to be more understanding of people and working out their reasons before judging their actions. Poppy is no different. Her backstory is evidence of why she is the way she is and informs some of the decisions that she makes (the ones that make you want to shout, 'Why Poppy?!). But she's not you and she's not me, and we should only hope that she learns to make the right choices by the end.

I loved the play on words in the novel. Poppy loses one ring but gains one (in the form of a phone) in the process. It's up to her who's she deems more valuable, or if a ring is even valuable in the first place. The fact that this novel relied so heavily on phone communication made it very interesting and different from any other book I have read before. On a real life basis, I prefer face-to-face communication and find it awkward when you build a relationship online. While it's easy to do, I never feel like a true impression of a human being is made through text messages, and Kinsalla captures this beautifully. Poppy and Sam both realise that there is a lot to hide behind the facade of a phone, perfectly encapsulating the world we live in today, while their own relationship is only deepened face-to-face. However, character progression is evident through text and voice messages, and characters' styles and attitudes of messaging drastically change by the end.

This book definitely has my recommendation. One of my favourite Kinsella novels and funny from chapter one. Over the past few weeks, Kinsella's books have been nothing short of a godsend for me. As one of the poor souls that lockdown has affected (who isn't?), I've been home since mid March, completed my last term of university online and have had nothing to do since May. I started to really feel the gloom after finishing every book that Sarah J. Maas has ever written and realising that I had a book-shaped hole in my heart. I tried to read other fantasy novels but they didn't fill the void, so thence came my move to comedy. I love Kinsella, I really do (where do you think I got the name for my blog [Confessions of a Shopaholic is my favourite film]?) and I have now read most of her standalone novels, usually in about 2-3 days per book.

Onto the book... Look, let me make a few things clear:

Do most of Kinsella's novels follow the same sort of structure? Yes, they do.

Is this book exempt from that structure? No, it is not.

Is this book a little outdated in terms of feminism, like other Kinsella novels? Yes, it is.

Is this book totally predictable? Yes, it is!

So why? Why am I recommending it? Why am I even reading it in the first place? The answer lies in the paragraph above. I had a book-shaped hole in my heart that needed patching up. In actual fact, I think that every human being has a hole in their heart right now that needs filling. We haven't been able to see our families, friends, go to work, school university, go shopping, to a restaurant, an arcade, the cinema. Some of us have had to put our weddings on hold, can't attend funerals, can't hold our loved ones hands as they pass away. We can't even pass each other in a shop or on the street without thinking, 2 metres!!! So I think we all need a little healing, and when mine, in the form of the words of Sarah J. Maas, ended, I felt like all of the emotions that I didn't even realise I had been harbouring, flooded out.

I'm recommending this book to you today because if your life has been derailed, even just a little bit, then maybe a laugh is the first step on the road to making yourself feel just a tiny bit better. Maybe becoming a hopeless romantic gives you faith that one day, the world will go back to normal again. Maybe believing in love and other people is what we need right now. Don't give up hope. Believe in happy endings, because maybe one day, those holes in our hearts will be filled again, and we will finally get our own...