Dear friends,

Here’s a cute book in the “Chick Lit” genre, from the always-entertaining Sophie Kinsella:

In this story we meet Fixie – so named because she is a serious “Type A” personality who can’t resist meddling, improving, and “fixing” things for everyone around her.  She and her siblings run the family housewares store, Farrs, and Fixie knows exactly how everything should be done – which items to stock, how to display them and decorate the store, and exactly how to interact with customers.

One day, Fixie performs an act of kindness for a handsome stranger, and in return he writes her an “IOU” on the cardboard sleeve of his coffee cup.  This event sets off a chain of back-and-forth paybacks between Fixie and the stranger, whose name is Sebastian.

Sebastian already has a girlfriend, and Fixie is still hung up on her childhood crush Ryan, so it’s not like anything will happen … right?  Let the mishaps ensue.

I loved the story, but I did find Fixie rather hard to take at times.  She is blind to her own faults, and really lacks self-awareness when it comes to her effect on those around her.  As a book character, she’s funny, but in real life I’d find her hard to take in large doses.  I’m sure she’d find lots of things to “fix” in my life!

Because of her obsessive need for control, the other people in her life (her siblings, her crush) know exactly how to push her buttons, at at times I just wanted to shake her and say “Wake up! He’s manipulating you!” or “Wake up! You’re going to lose this friendship if you can’t stop meddling!”  But of course, Fixie has to learn these things in her own time, and in her own way.

If you know a Fixie (or you are one!), you’ll find lots to relate to.  For me, the story got a tad slow in the middle, but was otherwise a page-turner, and a fun, light read.

Happy reading!

Winnie and the Professor