Book Reviews From The Bookbag
Hello from The Bookbag, a book review site, featuring books from all the many walks of literary life - fiction, biography, crime, cookery and anything else that takes our fancy. At Bookbag Towers the bookbag sits at the side of the desk. It's the bag we take to the library and the bookshop. Sometimes it holds the latest releases, but at other times there'll be old favourites, books for the children, books for the home. They're sometimes our own books or books from the local library. They're often books sent to us by publishers and we promise to tell you exactly what we think about them. You might not want to read through a full review, so we'll give you a quick review which summarises what we felt about the book and tells you whether or not we think you should buy or borrow it. There are also lots of author interviews, and all sorts of top tens - all of which you can find on our features page. If you're stuck for something to read, check out the recommendations page.
There are currently 16,117 reviews at TheBookbag.
Want to find out more about us?
New Reviews
Read new reviews by genre.
Read new features.
The Dog Detectives: Lost in London by Fin Gypsy, Zoa Gypsy and Monika Suska
There are six ravens kept in the Tower of London and they hold a magical spell which stops the city falling into ruin, but only so long as they stay in the Tower. So what happens when they decide to have a game of hide and seek? Luckily Detective Jack and Deputy Poco Loco, The Dog Detectives, are on hand to help. Will they find all six before afternoon tea? Full review...
Isabel Dalhousie: The Forgotten Affairs of Youth by Alexander McCall Smith
My husband is soon to take a work trip to Edinburgh and I am very jealous. Mainly because thanks to AMS' novels I feel like I already know the city, and I would love to walk in the footsteps of Isabel or any of the characters from his other series, '44 Scotland Street'. So, to console me, I have turned to the latest in the Isabel Dalhousie series. I must admit, I was a little wary at the beginning since I was quite disappointed with Isabel's seventh outing, The Charming Quirks of Others, and I wondered what I would do if this one also proved to be a let down. Fortunately it wasn't, and dear Isabel is back in sparkling form! Full review...
Sticky Ends by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
This is a book of funny rhymes and verses in which rather disgusting and gruesome things happen to the characters involved, with each one getting their comeuppance. Tony Ross obviously had a wonderful time illustrating the book with everything from noses, dripping with blood as they're pinched off right through to Father Christmas using the toilet... Full review...
Fury (Fury Trilogy) by Elizabeth Miles
Both the central characters in Fury have dark secrets. Em is in love with her best friend's boyfriend. So when Gabby goes away on a winter holiday and Zach starts flirting with her, Em just can't resist even though she knows she's doing something unforgivable. Chase lives on a trailer park but runs with a rich crowd. He'll do just about anything to maintain his place in the group - and there's something he has done to that end of which he's deeply ashamed. But their small American town has come to the notice of three otherworldly sisters. The Furies have come to Ascension and Em and Chase are about to discover that feeling guilty isn't the only price they'll be paying for their misdeeds... Full review...
Who Am I? This is My Mouth by Luana Rinaldo
Who am I? Well, I'm a very sturdy board book, but forget any idea of just having eight to twelve pages with pictures and an elementary story for the youngest children. On each double page spread we have an animal and a rhyme which gives a hint as to who the animal might be – but the mouth obviously belongs to another animal altogether. So – on the first page we have an animal with long teeth which are used to eat hay – but the snout is green and appears to be underwater! Pull the slide at the side of the page and the correct body part appears along with the word 'horse'. Full review...
Where's Asterix? by Albert Uderzo and Renee Goscinny
Following in the tradition of 'Where's Wally' books here we have 'Where's Asterix?' There are 12 different scenes from the Asterix stories where you have to find not just Asterix but a whole range of other characters hidden throughout as well. Turn it into a competition as you win a laurel wreath for each character you find! Full review...
Ape House by Sara Gruen
Isabel Duncan is a scientist working with Bonobo chimps, teaching them sign language. John Thigpen is a journalist who comes to meet the apes and write a story about Isabel's work with them. He is moved by the apes, by their behaviour and Isabel's obviously very close relationship with them. Soon after he leaves, however, there is a bomb at the centre by a group of extremists who want to liberate the apes. Isabel begins a desperate hunt to try and discover where they've gone, and John finds himself also caught up, trying to discover the truth of what's happened. Full review...
Nora: The Girl Who Ate and Ate and Ate by Andrew Weale and Ben Cort
'Nora, the girl who ate and ate and ate...' is a fabulously funny book. Before you even open it, you can tell that Nora is a small child with a huge appetite as on the front cover her plate is piled high with all manner of food that she appears extremely eager to devour. Throughout the story, Nora eats more and more but when she scoffs all of the 'hugest gooey chocolate cake' that her mother has just made, she is sent to her room. It doesn't stop there though as Nora hunts round for more things to eat and I am not just talking about food. She eats everything including her teddy bear curled up in her mattress in order to make a sandwich! After finally eating her clothes she lets out an almighty burp that has the most surprising but happy consequence for this hungry heroine! She whizzes into Space like a balloon and ends up on the moon which, of course, as we all know, is made of cheese! Full review...
Stabat Mater by Tiziano Scarpa
Translated by Shaun Whiteside from Scarpa's 2008 Italian original, 'Stabat Mater' is set in a Venetian orphanage for girls run by nuns in what would have been around the 1700s. The girls at the 'Ospedale' are trained as musicians and singers who play from a hidden gallery in the adjoining church for the patrons of the Instituto della Pietà. However, this is a highly stylised little book, bordering on the almost poetic, narrated from the point of view of one of the orphans, a young violinist named Cecilia who goes on to tell of the impact of the appointment of a new in-house composer, one Don Antonio, or Vivaldi as most of us know him. Full review...
Dust Devils by Roger Smith
"Rosie Dell had come to end it. For keeps this time."
It is the affair that she's been having with Ben Baker, one of the richest men in the country. Unfortunately for Rosie, she doesn't say what she's come to say… unfortunately for Ben, for Rosie, and for her family, someone has plans to end it for her. Actually, not plans, as such. She shouldn't have been there. Everything that happens next wouldn't have, if she hadn't been. Full review...
A Fish Trapped Inside the Wind by Christien Gholson
The front cover is lovely with its blue and turquoise suggesting languid waters. The author of 'The Jane Austen Book Club' (which I've read incidentally) 'fell in love with this novel.' High praise indeed. I'm hoping to do the same.
Everything about this book stinks (and I use the word explicitly). All of the chapters have the word 'fish' somewhere or other and there's a quote right at the beginning which gives the book its quirky and unusual title. (As I'm a fishy Piscean does that bode well for a good or sympathetic review, I wonder). Full review...
Join the Club: How Peer Pressure Can Transform the World by Tina Rosenberg
Teenagers in South Carolina have become involved in the anti-smoking movement, passing out information encouraging their peers to educate themselves about the ways big tobacco companies try to get them hooked. There are youngsters in South Africa who’ve refused to have sex without a condom because of the danger of HIV and AIDS. Minority students in Texas have challenged data going back years by succeeding at calculus where traditionally students of their race have struggled. Why? Because other people have done the same thing, and they want to fit in. Full review...
Life, Death and Gold Leather Trousers by Fiona Foden
Despite having not seen her uncle Jupe, the famous former rock star, for several years after he fell out with her mother, Clover is still devastated by his death. So when her parents split up the day after she turns thirteen, and her father runs off with a nude model, she doesn't think things can get any worse. Can she cope with the fallout of the split, look after kid sister Lily, and get to know cute fellow guitarist Riley better? Or will her rival Sophie Skelling's teeny crochet bikini tempt him away from her? Full review...
Bitter in the Mouth by Monique Truong
Linda Hammerick, a young girl growing up in North Carolina in the late 1970's, is different. She suffers from synesthesia, tasting things when she speaks or hears words. She grows up with her great-uncle, Baby Harper, as her best friend, as his singsong voice is the only one she can hear without the accompanying tastes, and writes letters back and forth with her best friend Kelly rather than have long conversations with her. Full review...
Wickedness by Deborah White
Claire's grandmother has just died. And her parents have just split up. So it's not really a good time. Mum is being even more of a pain than usual - endlessly cross, endlessly cleaning, endlessly combing Gran's belongings for anything of value - and Claire wants nothing more than to go home to her own house and her own things. But then she finds a letter addressed to her from her grandmother. It contains a sheaf of manuscripts and a ring inscribed with a hieroglyph. Once on Claire's finger, the ring gets stuck - much to her mother's annoyance. It could be worth a pretty penny to the rather sinister Egyptologist who's interested in buying some of Gran's possessions. Full review...
I Don't Want To Be A Pea! by Ann Bonwill and Simon Rickerty
Hugo is a hippo and Bella is a bird and they belong to each other because all hippos have birds and all birds have hippos. They are all set for a very special night as they get ready to attend the very exciting Bird-Hippo Fairytale Fancy Dress Party but first they need to decide on what costumes they will wear in order to go as a pair. Hugo's first suggestion is that they should go as the princess and the pea but Bella does not want to be a pea because it is too small and green. She suggests that they go as a mermaid and her rock, but this time Hugo objects to being the rock as it is too grey and blobby. They continue in this way making and rejecting suggestions until it looks as if they have reached a stand-off with neither willing to give in. This situation makes both Bella and Hugo miserable though so at last they agree to a rather surprising and ingenious solution and end up having great fun at the party after all. Full review...
There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff
Ok. Imagine God is actually a teenage immortal, much in the vein of teenage humans. He rushes his coursework (creation) and while there are flashes of brilliance and potential in it, there's no real thought or organisation and so the whole thing doesn't really work properly. But God is too busy having a lie-in or lusting after buxom young women to be ironing out these sorts of boring creases in the making of a successful planet. Full review...
Shadows at Stonewylde by Kit Berry
When we last left Stonewylde, the community seemed to be on the verge of a period of glorious prosperity and happiness as Yul became the new Magus and Sylvie joined him as guardians of Stonewylde. Thirteen years have passed, and Stonewylde is almost unrecognisable; it hasn't quite succumbed to the Outside World yet, but just how much longer can it remain self-sufficient and resistant to the consumerism and pervasive technology that is characteristic of the rest of the country? Furthermore, the cracks that begin to appear in Yul's and Sylvie's relationship are branching out throughout the whole community, with malcontent brewing, cruelty going unchecked, and sinister hints of a dark presence returning to Stonewylde. Full review...
The Ice Age by Kirsten Reed
Two people road trip across America. Sort of. They don't start off together, or meet up intentionally, and the age gap is purposely provocative. She likes him because he's old and has pointy, vampire teeth he might use to bite her with (Twilight sell out, much?) She is 17. We don't know her name, but it is she who tells us the story. He is called Gunther. People think she is his daughter. They hope she is. It's just too odd to comprehend otherwise. Full review...
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
Invariably, the Booker Prize longlist contains one book that is more on the side of light reading than the more worthy and overtly literary fare that it is usually associated with. 'The Sisters Brothers' is the 2011 choice. Set in the US in 1851, it details the adventures of two brothers, Eli and Charlie Sisters, who are hired hands for a mysterious boss known only as the Commodore. Narrated by Eli, who has slightly more of a conscience than his older brother, the story starts with the Commodore ordering a hit, for reasons unknown, on a certain Hermann Kermit Warm. Full review...
The Comic Strip Big Fat Book of Knowledge by Sally Kindberg and Tracey Turner
Who doesn't like a nice comic, eh? There's something so accessible about the lovely picture and text combos, and facts are far from dull when they come via speech bubbles, don't you think? Taking full advantage of this fact, Sally Kindberg and Tracey Turner have, for some time, been creating factual books for children which pass on their insight and Important Information through the medium of comics. Now for the first time, you can collect 3 of their titles in one simple volume. Combining the previous reviewed History of the World and History of Space with the Greatest Greek Myths Full review...
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The story see-saws a chapter at a time between the teenage Victoria and the child Victoria. The book opens with (the teen) Victoria leaving foster care for good. She's been a difficult child to place so, now at 18, she is a troubled and angry young woman with many unsolved issues. The constant link has been Meredith, the loyal social worker. But Victoria now wants shot of the lot of them, Meredith included. Victoria can now be as free as a bird and do what she wants, when she wants. Bliss. Or is it? Full review...
The Damnation of John Donellan: A Mysterious Case of Death and Scandal in Georgian England by Elizabeth Cooke
Truth is stranger than fiction - but it is not always this gripping. The Boughtons of Lawford Hall, Warwickshire, have a colourful history, including the ghost of One-Handed Boughton, who haunted their land long before this new misfortune befell them. With marriages creating more branches of family, delicate relationships abound and help to shape the complex events detailed in the book. We begin with Sir Theodosius Boughton, heir to the estate when he comes of age, suffering from venereal disease. He is obliged to take medication and is well known for neglecting the recommendations of physicians. One fateful morning, he takes a new medicine, and dies in agony. Full review...
What the Nanny Saw by Fiona Neill
Ali Sparrow is twenty-one and has just dropped out of university (albeit hopefully temporarily) as she needs to earn some money, so becoming a nanny to a rich family seems ideal when she sees Bryony Skinner's advert. Soon Ali finds herself central to the Skinner's vast home and life on the rather exclusive Holland Park Crescent in a house that extends way beyond the usual two floors. Full review...
Sworn Sword by James Aitcheson
The novel is set in the turbulent years following the Battle of Hastings. We follow the Normans as they set out to quell the restless and rebellious factions in the North of England. An ambush in Durham sees the Normans decimated and determined on revenge - this precipitates the events which follow. Full review...
The Stranger's Child by Alan Hollinghurst
Alan Hollinghurst's Booker-nominated and long-awaited 'The Stranger's Child' is without doubt, as one might expect from this writer, beautifully written. Almost every page offers something to smile about either in terms of the comments of his characters or, more often, the wry descriptions that the author offers. The structure of the book is episodic, split into five parts covering pre-World War One, the 1920s, the 1960s, the 1980s and finally the early 2000s. It offers a thoughtful and well observed picture of changes in society and culture over this period and in particular of attitudes to homosexual relationships, although admittedly Hollinghurst's subjects tend to fall into a narrow band of well educated, artistic and often aristocratic members of society. Writers, poets and artists are the subject matter rather than the man on the street. His male characters are invariably homosexual while his females mostly either remain unmarried or have dysfunctional marriages. Full review...
Heist Society by Ally Carter
A new series from the creator of the Gallagher Girls? Excellent! And this book doesn't disappoint: young people with unusual and highly specialised skills, encountering bad guys and peril with determination and a healthy dose of humour. So, what's the difference from the 'Gallagher Girls'? Well, this time, the heroine and her crew are, um, to put it bluntly, the villains! Except that it's just not that simple. Kat comes from a large family of burglars and art thieves, but she decides she's had enough of the family business and wants a normal life. Sadly, someone else decides that's not going to happen. They should have told her, using your criminal abilities to forge a false identity and get yourself into the best boarding school in the country is not the best way to go straight. Full review...
Boys for Beginners by Lil Chase
Gwynnie has always been one of the guys which was fine...until Charlie Notts showed up at school. He's Hot (capital H) and friendly and likes football, but when Gwynnie realises he's firmly putting her on his list of mates, not girls, action must be taken. The thing is, for a girl whose close family and friends are all blokes, and whose one life love to date wasn't so much a trouser shape as a team (Go Spurs!), it's going to be a big jump from being one of the guys to bagging one of the guys. Full review...
Boy by James Mayhew
Boy is chilly, and looking for somewhere cosy to snuggle up. He doesn't want to share with his parents though so he goes off exploring by himself to find the perfect cosy spot. Several times he thinks he's discovered somewhere, but then it turns out to be where a sabre-toothed tiger lives, or the home of a woolly mammoth. Will he ever find the place that's perfect just for him? Full review...
Warduff and the Corncob Caper by Mat Head
There's trouble on Corncob Farm. A fox is coming round for tea and poor old Fefferflap is all a flutter because she suspects that she, and all the other farm animals, are on the menu! Can Warduff save the day? Full review...
Mad About Minibeasts! by Giles Andreae and David Wojtowycz
Is your little one mad about minibeasts? Are they forever summoning you to come and see the spider in the bathroom or the ladybird on the log? If so then this rhyming book is perfect to read with them! Full review...
Tumtum and Nutmeg: Trouble at Rose Cottage by Emily Bearn
Mysterious things are afoot in Rose Cottage. It appears that some new mice, one with golden teeth, have moved into the kitchen and are threatening the tranquil lives of Tumtum and Nutmeg who live in Nutmouse Hall. After some investigation they discover the new mice are town mice, intent on causing trouble. Will the children discover who has been stealing their things, or discover a way to stop their father from selling Rose Cottage before it's too late and their lives, as well as Tumtum and Nutmeg's, are changed forever? Full review...
Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus
Christopher Robin is back! At least that's what the Rumour spreading like wild fire through the Hundred Acre Wood says. He's returning for more adventures with Pooh and Piglet and Rabbit and Owl and Kanga and Roo and Tigger and Eeyore and, as I'm sure you'll agree, that is a Very Good Thing. From exciting new friends (Lottie the Otter giving Kanga some welcome female company) to adventures and competitions, with water slides to locate, bees to relocate, books to write and schools to found, this book picks up where the previous one left off, and really does read like an organic 3rd part of a trilogy (poetry books excepted) rather than a tag on that comes some 80-plus years after the original and from the pen of another. Full review...
Dreams of Joy by Lisa See
It's the late 1950s, and America's teenagers (the very idea a brand new concept) are beginning to live the all-American dream. For some of them however it isn't all 'Happy Days' diners and rock'n'roll. For the second generation Chinese immigrants there's an alternative: back 'home' there's a brave new world being forged, a world where 'we'd work in the fields and sing songs. We'd do exercises in the park. We'd help clean the neighbourhood and share meals. We wouldn't be poor and we wouldn't be rich. We'd all be equal.' Full review...
The Cold Eye of Heaven by Christine Dwyer Hickey
I reviewed Hickey's Last Train From Liguria so was keen to see if I'd enjoy this book too. The front cover says that Farley unravels the warp and weft of his life which is a great phrase - wish I'd though of it. Hickey lives in Dublin so I'm kind of expecting good characterization (as the book's location is Dublin) and a nice line in put-me-down wit. But will I get it? Time to find out ... Full review...
A Diamond in the Sky by Margaret Pelling
We meet Dora in a reflective mood in what used to be the nursery. Well, it still is - except there's no baby there now. Pelling tells us down the storyline exactly what happened and why and the (a bit mushy for me) title of the book is key to the story of Dora. It gets mentions throughout. As Dora sits in the empty nursery she can't help but re-live that tragic event all over again. Her arms were wrapping themselves around her so tight that she was having trouble breathing. She's now a total mess and that's about the sum total of her life at the moment. Dora now thinks she's a dreadful person. And no one will want to know a dreadful person, will they? Full review...
Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller
Barbara has been teaching at St George's for several years, and in spite of her caustic words on the institution, it is very much the focus of her lonely life. When newcomer, Sheba joins them, she forms a strong bond with her, and becomes part of Sheba's life. Sheba is married with two children, but her attraction to a pupil, Connolly, leads her to risk everything in a liaison of which Barbara is extremely jealous. As a result, their apparent friendship travels a sinister path. Full review...
A Broken Childhood: A True Story of Abuse by Lydia Ola Taiwo
Mojisola – known to everyone as Ola – was born to a Nigerian couple in London in 1964 and spent the first five years of her life in a foster home in Brighton. Here she was loved, looked after and lived her life in a genuinely good family. This wasn't an unusual arrangement as it allowed the biological parents to earn money without worrying about childcare – and Ola was happy. It was all the more cruel when her biological father arrived to take her 'home' for the weekend – a weekend which would stretch into seven years of abuse and neglect. Full review...
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
Stacey Schiff's biography starts more of less from Cleopatra's infamous meeting with Caesar, where she sneaks into his rooms in a sack. This is one of the most popular images of Cleopatra in the public consciousness and Schiff happily refutes the image of her emerging as a well polished seductress, pointing out that anyone who had been carried in a sack for a considerable period of time will more likely be fairly dishevelled. Schiff takes us through from this moment up to Cleopatra's much dramatised death, and beyond, to the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Full review...
