Chick Lit Sequels

YOU know how it goes. Girl meets boy. Girl hates boy. Girl somehow comes into compromising situation, probably gets drunk, buys new shoes and has a family drama along the way. Accidentally falls in love with boy somewhere along the line. All live happily ever after.

It’s the bear bones of what’s keeping women across the world entertained, their little guilty pleasure. It’s rubbish, and we know it’s rubbish – but sometimes we can’t be bothered picking up a classic or an intellectual best-seller. Truth of the matter is, we love chick lit, and we’re only slightly afraid to say it.

Good girlie novels are hard to come by, and a good chick lit writer even harder. Book after book of complete done-before tosh, we’ll eventually find an author who could’ve written for us and wait with anticipation for her next novel. But sometimes… Well, sometimes the follow-ups just aren’t as good as the first – or the follow-up is just a colossal waste of time all together. Does the chick lit heroine have any staying power?
Or is there a way of getting around the difficult follow-ups in a tale? Here’s a look at how it’s done – and how it’s definitely not.

The Good - Marian Keyes

Marian Keyes – the mother of great chick lit. And the master of the follow up. While many feel the need to roll out the same old characters in the same old situations, Keyes’ books don’t claim to be sequels – instead, she tells the tales of five sisters individually. So far, we’ve heard the tale of Claire (Watermelon), whose husband abandoned her the day she gave birth to her first child. There’s Rachel (Rachel’s Holiday) and her drug addiction. Maggie (Angels) is next up, who leaves her husband and tries out life in LA. And most recently, there’s been Anna (Anybody Out There?), dealing with loss and moving on. Helen, the youngest, is still to come. Each girl’s story is entirely separate – but the other sisters do feature, and their own lives and problems.