HelloKatieO’s #CBR4 Review #30: Spin by Catherine McKenzie
I’m in the middle of finals, thus my life is a little terrible. I’m reading a lot, but it’s all about Evidence. And Intellectual Property. And the Law.
So, Spin was a light, happy stress reliever. Thirty-year old Kate is a struggling writer who pretends to be in grad school for the free wine and cheese nights, with no romantic prospects on the horizon. When she lands her dream job interview, she shows up to the interview still drunk from a crazy night of partying. Needless to say, she doesn’t get the job.
What she does get is an offer to take an all-expenses-paid trip to rehab, where she’s expected to befriend a Lindsay Lohan-esque starlet seeking treatment there. And then write a salacious expose. Kate goes to rehab, becomes best friends with the starlet and falls in love. When rehab ends, Kate has to make a choice. Her new friend, her sobriety, or her dream job? Kate chooses a fun combination of the three.
As fun as the book was, it touched on something more serious that I don’t think gets enough attention among twenty-somethings. There are certain drinkings patterns that are totally normal and acceptable when you’re in college. But when you graduate, at some point, those patterns become signs of alcoholism. In your twenties, there’s a blurry, sensitive line between young, fun partying and alcoholism. Kate ostensibly goes to rehab for a job. But Kate is also in rehab because she needs it. Kate never left her student lifestyle behind, and her slow realization that she might actually be an alcoholic rings very true.
Let’s break down some of the classic chick lit elements found in this novel, shall we?