Bestseller: Can You Keep a Secret?

I picked up this little Barbie-pink book at an airport while stuck with an unexpected three-hour delay and faced with only bestsellers from which to choose. It was an ironic choice for me, a self-professed literary snob who generally snubs any item of “chick literature” not penned by Jane Austen.

However, despite these inherent obstacles, Sophie Kinsella’s “Can You Keep a Secret?” sucked me in kicking and screaming.

Emma Corrigan, the heroine of this sugary tale, inadvertently spills all her life’s secrets to the handsome stranger sitting next to her on the airplane when she mistakenly believes the plane will crash. Of course, the plane lands safely and the stranger disappears with her secrets—only it turns out he’s no stranger, but the elusive CEO of the company where Emma works. You know they’re meant to be together, but the road, as always, is long, bumpy, hilarious, and full of improbable obstacles.

The genre is conventional, the plot strains at suspension of disbelief, and the cover is bubble-gum pink—yet I couldn’t put the book down.

The prose is engaging and charmingly British. The characters, belying their genre, are believable, unique, and astonishingly real. The irrepressible Emma’s conflicts, thoughts, reactions, and emotions all seem perfectly plausible, even as the events of her life stray into the realm of fairytale.

Kinsella’s comic timing is flawless and I often laughed out loud. She even manages to make some serious points at the end about the games and posturing that so often form the basis of dating, and the importance of being honest to both yourself and your loved one.

On the whole, this innocent, clever, winning little piece of chick-lit is for any romantic who isn’t too proud to enjoy a guilty pleasure.

Can You Keep a Secret?
By Sophie Kinsella
Dial Press Trade Paperback
Out Now