SPIN: A REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

 GIVEAWAY ENDED
SPIN

BY CATHERINE MCKENZIE

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Kate's To-Do List:

1. Go to rehab
2. Befriend/spy on "It Girl"
3. Write killer expose
4. Land dream job

Piece of cake!

When Kate Sandford lands an interview at her favorite music magazine, The Line, it's the chance of a lifetime. So Kate goes out to celebrate—and shows up still drunk to the interview the next morning. It's no surprise that she doesn't get the job, but her performance has convinced the editors that she'd be perfect for an undercover assignment for their gossip rag. All Kate has to do is follow "It Girl" Amber Sheppard into rehab. If she can get the inside scoop—and complete the thirty-day program—they'll reconsider her for the position at The Line. Kate takes the assignment, but when real friendships start to develop, she has to decide if what she has to gain is worth the price she'll have to pay.

How far would you go to get what you wanted?  That’s the question author Catherine McKenzie addresses in Spin—a delectable debut novel that takes readers into the connected worlds of pop culture, tabloid journalism, and celebrity rehab. The story of a newbie undercover gossip reporter who follows a troubled starlet into a rehab clinic intending to dig up all the dirt she possibly can, Spin is smart, hip, utterly engaging contemporary fiction in the vein of Jennifer Weiner and Emily Giffin.

PRAISE FOR SPIN:

“In Kate Sandford, Catherine McKenzie has created a 21st century Bridget Jones—dark and delicate, broken yet strong. SPIN is all at once comic, heart-breaking, and life-affirming.”

— Tish Cohen, author of Inside Out Girl and Town House

 “Spin is a fresh, sassy and compelling novel delivered with pitch-perfect humor. McKenzie’s light touch with a serious topic will have readers cheering for Katie as she proves people can change.”— Holly Kennedy, author of The Penny Tree, The Silver Compass and The Tin Box “Imagine if Bridget Jones fell into a million little pieces, flew over the cuckoo’s nest, and befriended Lindsay Lohan along the way....”— Leah McLaren, Globe and Mail columnist, author of The Continuity Girl “With Spin, Catherine McKenzie taps into both the ridiculous and sublime elements of the world her characters inhabit, and, more importantly, points out how those are often exactly the same. A thoroughly engaging debut.”— David Sprague, music journalist, contributor to Variety, Village Voice, and Rolling Stone “[A] charming debut...With fresh, fast-paced storytelling and a personable, self-deprecating protagonist, McKenzie whirls a perfectly indulgent tale.”— Publishers Weekly on SPIN "[McKenzie] is a writer to watch.”

— Booklist on SPIN

 “Catherine McKenzie, in her debut novel, ably invites the reader into the story... For readers who enjoy a light, breezy love story, this book clips along well and satisfies. Many will likely find this book enjoyable and a worthy debut effort by Catherine McKenzie.”

— New York Journal of Books

 “McKenzie’s tale of girls gone wild and gone to rehab is ripped straight from the latest tabloid headlines and will keep readers intrigued to the very last page.”

— RT Book Reviews (top pick)

 “The characters are easily imagined and well thought out.... Making her U.S. debut, Canadian author McKenzie introduces a modern literary heroine who will remind readers of Sophie Kinsella’s “Shopaholic” protagonist: flawed but compelling....compulsively readable. ”

— Library Journal on SPIN

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Catherine McKenzie was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, where she now practices law. An avid runner and skier, she also sits on various boards and professional organizations, and has taught part-time at the McGill Faculty of Law. 

Visit Catherine’s website: http://catherinemckenzie.com/

Become a fan on Facebook

Follow her on Twitter: @CEMcKenzie1

MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW OF SPIN:
Catherine McKenzie gives readers more than what they bargain for in her debut novel, SPIN. Disguised, perhaps to look like just another chick-lit novel, SPIN is more than that. It is really well written and the characters are fleshed out to be real people who readers can identify with in many ways. With main character Kate Sandford, McKenzie gives readers a personality that is easy to like and to be frustrated with all at the same time; much like the friend most of us have had at some point in our lives. Kate is almost 30 and wants a job as a journalist and is excited to be interviewing for the popular music magazine The Line. When she blows her interview, Kate is given a second chance to prove herself but at what cost?

Kate takes the challenge offered by The Line and enters a rehabilitation center under the pretense of being there for herself while all the while The Line has sent her there to “spy” on a big name, hard-partying celebrity. Kate realizes 30 days is a long time to agree to when she is admitted but also believes she will come out with her dream job in hand. Instead, Kate comes out with much, much more.

SPIN could almost be a light bit of fluff to read as it did keep me easily and eagerly turning pages, and I enjoyed my time doing it. It didn’t tax my brain but it did make me feel for the well-written characters and especially for Kate, as well as Amber Sheppard who Kate is there to report on. What Kate doesn’t count on is how her relationship with Amber will grow and how the rehabilitation center will push Kate to find out about herself just as much as about Amber. Amber and love interest Henry are also developed nicely in their supporting roles by the author.

Catherine McKenzie writes with wit and charm while keeping it real. Her research was quite evident about how rehab centers work, and IF they work. This is of particular interest to many of us who feel for those who need the help so desperately.  I think I also found the time spent reading about the rehab center of particular interest because of the recent passing of the brilliantly talented but troubled Whitney Houston. SPIN is well worth the time and an enjoyable read. I look forward to reading more from Catherine McKenzie in the future.
  

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO MARY AND THE GOOD 

PEOPLE AT HARPER COLLINS, I HAVE

ONE COPY OF THIS FABULOUS

BOOK TO GIVE AWAY

  

--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO 
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT YOU READ ABOVE ABOUT SPIN THAT MADE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK, AND DON'T FORGET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING ABOUT CATHERINE MCKENZIE WHEN YOU VISIT HIS WEBSITE HERE

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY THAT YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY YOU MAY COMMENT SEPARATELY FOR EACH TO RECEIVE MORE ENTRIES

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT

6 PM, EST, FEBRUARY 29

 GOOD LUCK!