Spin is the very first book by Catherine McKenzie, and the prequel to Spun.
In Spin, 30-year old Kate Sandford dreams of becoming a writer for her favorite music magazine The Line (the book’s version of Rolling Stone Magazine). When Kate lands an interview for her dream job, she gets ecstatic and goes out to celebrate—by drinking the night away. It’s the night before her interview.
When Kate arrives to her interview late and still drunk, she makes a fool of herself in front of the magazine’s editors, who think she’s a raging alcoholic. But not all hope is lost!
Later on, Kate is approached by the editing team and given another chance to redeem herself. The only catch, though, is that Kate must submit a gossip column piece on a major celebrity in rehab. Therefore, Kate must enroll in rehab herself to report on the celebrity and be reconsidered for a position with The Line.
I thought Spin would be a train wreck about a 30-something woman’s binge-drinking and the careless, selfish ways in which she manipulates and takes advantage of her friends. The events leading up to Kate’s disastrous interview are gross and pathetic, but funny.
Spin doesn’t become addicting (haha) until Kate realizes in rehab that she really IS an alcoholic! The author positions this in a way where us readers learn about it at the same time as Kate. Such a cool effect.
The pop-culture aspect of Spin is also very fun and gives us a deeper glimpse into Kate’s personality in regards to her taste in music. The playlist is included at the end of the book. It was fun to listen to the songs while reading the book. I also did this with House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski and the Haunted album by Poe, who is actually his sister.
If you’ve ever done incredibly stupid things while drinking, you’ll probably appreciate the brutal honesty of Spin, along with Kate’s transformation. I truly loved and appreciated this book.
Other books by Catherine McKenzie include:
Did you like Spin? What did you think about it?
Last Updated on December 29, 2025 by Sarah Ann
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