Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

I'm a guy who loves science fiction and fantasy, so what the hell am I doing reading chick lit? Well, aside from supporting a fellow Canadian author with her debut novel, I won't put down a book that speaks to universal themes like human failings and redemption.

Katie Sanford is a cleverly written protagonist and while this book is classified as Chick Lit, it contains none of the shallowness you might find in the genre. Katie is an all too real heroine who is behind the eight ball on the financial front, busting her butt writing for basically anyone who pays and she's dreaming big. Her ship comes in when a music magazine called The Line (I kept thinking The Hour with George Stromboloppidydoodad or whatever the hell his name is, as I read) is looking for a writer. Kate applies, lands an interview and you'd think she nails it, right?

Um... nope.

Ol' Katie get's hammered the night before the interview, waking up only a few minutes before she's supposed to be there and... well... you know the rest. Think stress of an interview mixed with a hangover and no access to Gravol or any other anti-nausea pharmaceutical. Sooooooo Katie just BLOWS the interview in the worst way possible to the point of fleeing from the room to barf her head off.

No job for you Katie... BUT...

One of the interviewers contacts Kate and wants her to go undercover to spy on big time celebrity babe Amber Shepard with the condition that if she can wing a good expose on Amber, she'll get her dream job.

Nice people at The Line - I had to wonder if Catherine used TMZ as an influencing factor because it screamed paparazzi...

I'm not going to delve into the plot any more than what I have other than to say in Katie, we have a refreshingly BELIEVABLE female protagonist who, while being ambitious, isn't afraid to dream. SPIN is a novel that touches an all too common issue, namely alcohol and drug abuse, but it doesn't do it like you're sitting through a Sally Ann commercial. Catherine Mackenzie gives the reader a seemingly functional up and coming woman who is so focused on making ends meet and achieving her dreams that she hasn't been afforded the luxury of looking inward at her true self - one we all share. You know what I'm talking about. It's always there... hiding in the shadows, patiently waiting for you to crash.

You will laugh with this book. You'll grin and you'll cheer because Katie Sanford is a wonderful new character and Mckenzie has made her believable, warts and all. There's a reason SPIN is a national bestseller in Canada because the book speaks a language that even a dude like me who basically runs pulling his hair out in clumps at anything that even smacks of chick lit will sit down, read and hope like hell the heroine finds redemption.

Catherine Mckenzie's SPIN is a remarkable book for a debut novelist.