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.
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To the End of the Land by David Grossman
This is a sweeping narrative about one Jewish family and how the various members deal with the ongoing Arab-Israeli war. The mother, Ora, is the lynch-pin of the family, but her resolve is tested to the limit when her younger son is about to be released from his stint in the army. Full review...
The Night of the Solstice by L J Smith
Claudia knew she wasn't really supposed to follow the fox - not on her own, to the old, forbidden house on the hill. But she did. And it will change everything. The fox is the familiar of Morgana Shee, powerful sorceress and only guardian of the passageway to another universe, Wildworld. But Morgana has gone missing and she must be found before the solstice, for then the gateway will be open to all, including Cadal Forge, an evil magician dedicated to conquering Earth. Claudia, and her siblings, Charles, Jane and leader Alys, must find her. And find her quickly, for everything hangs in the balance on the night of the Winter Solstice. Full review...
Katie and the Waterlily Pond by James Mayhew
When Katie and Grandma are at the art gallery, they see there's a competition to paint a picture in the style of Monet. Grandma has a bit of a rest, whilst Katie goes off to look at the Monet exhibition for inspiration. When one of the paintings speaks to her - really speaks to her - she steps inside it and explores... Subtitled A Magical Journey Through Five Monet Masterpieces, Katie and the Waterlily Pond is a wonderful introduction for children to art in general and Claude Monet in particular. They'll get a feel for In The Woods and Giverny, Bathers at La Grenouillère, Path Through the Poppies, The Waterlily Pond, and The Rue Montorgueil, Paris. Full review...
Cherry Crush: The Chocolate Box Girls by Cathy Cassidy
When Cherry Costello told her teachers that she was leaving Glasgow and moving to live in a cliff-top house in Somerset where her father would make organic chocolates everyone thought that it was just another of her tall tales. But this one was true. Not only was Cherry moving to Somerset the Costellos, father and daughter, were going to live with his girlfriend and her four daughters. From it just being the two of them there would be seven altogether. How will Cherry cope? And how will the Tanberry family cope with two new members? Full review...
Heaven and Hell by Jon Kalman Stefansson
Iceland, somewhen about a century ago. Five men and a young lad set out in their tiny oar- and sail-powered fishing boat, for cod. On board are people with the strength to take part in a solid twelve-hour shift - rowing four hours to the fishing banks, staying there stably for the lines, then hauling them in and rowing home. And that's not to factor in any temperament of the weather. Unfortunately it's not only knowledge of fishing these people have taken on board, for Icelandic men still like to dream of love, gaze nightly at the moon at the same time as their belles, and read stories of gods, romance and legend. It's a pity then these distractions will be fatal for one of the boy's five companions... Full review...
Diaghilev: A Life by Sjeng Scheijen
Sergey Diaghilev was one of the towering figures in the artistic world of Russia, and indeed Europe, at the start of the 20th century. Born in 1872 the ambitious son of a bankrupt vodka producer from Perm, and a mother who died a few days later probably from puerperal fever, by his early twenties he was on close terms with such names as Tolstoy, Zola, Tchaikovsky and Brahms. He worked his way into the ranks of the cultural cognoscenti at St Petersburg and launched the itinerant troupe which would become the Ballets Russes, playing to packed houses as far west as Britain and the United States. Full review...
Half a Sister by Kelly McKain
When Hannah's parents begin to have whispered, but obviously heated discussions about something her immediate thought is that they're splitting up. There's quite a bit of that at school and Hannah would hate it to happen to her. But when it all comes out the reality is rather different. Sam has just discovered that he has a fifteen year old daughter living in Paris and that her mother has been in a serious car accident. Sam sees no alternative but to bring Ellie to live with them, but Charlotte is worried about how this will affect their daughter. When it's put to Hannah she has visions of long girly chats and swopping clothes and makeup and agrees without further thought. To begin with it's everything she hoped it would be but then a darker side of Ellie emerges and life turns into a nightmare for Hannah. Full review...
Kiss Me Deadly by Tricia Telep (Editor)
What do Peter Pan, werecats, vampires, teenage zombies, and unicorn hunters have in common? Possibly very little... but they all appear as central characters in stories in this often enchanting anthology of stories of supernatural romance. Full review...
The Witch's Tears by Jenny Nimmo
Theo and Dodie's cat is missing, it's snowing, their clock-mender dad is away, and Mr Oak from the village has warned Theo all about witches. It's almost impossible to detect a witch, y'know, but if by some small miracle you can get them to cry, their tears turn to crystal. When Mrs Scarum turns up at Theo and Dodie's house, Theo is incredibly wary... Full review...
Tinysaurus by Sheryl Webster and Jan Fearnley
Tinysaurus is fed-up of being little. He's tried all sorts of things to get as big as Mummysaurus, Daddysaurus and Bigsissysaurus, but jumping, stretching and strapping tree trunks to his feet have done nothing to help. He's not allowed to go to places and do things on his own, and he's certainly not allowed to look after Mummysaurus' eggs. Then, one day the ground shakes and a Nastysaurus appears... Full review...
The Double Life of Cassiel Roadnight by Jenny Valentine
Runaway Chap walks into a hostel off the street. He's in need of a meal and a bed for the night. As the workers question him, trying to get a history, they notice his resemblance to a poster of a boy who's been missing for two years. Chap isn't Cassiel Roadnight. Chap isn't anyone. But the temptation is there: become Cassiel. Get a family. Live in a home. Become someone. And so he takes the chance and the new identity. Full review...
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
We last saw Nora and Patch at the end of Hush, Hush - lovely title, that! - battered after a Nephilim conflict, but very much together. Patch is no longer fallen, has been given back guardian angel status and the threat to Nora is no more. You'd think everything would go swimmingly after that, wouldn't you? But you know and I know that falling in love with any kind of angel, fallen or otherwise, isn't conducive to a normal life. Full review...
Lost Dogs by Garrett Carr
Some extraordinary children are to be found in the Northern Irish port-town of Hardglass. One, Akeem, has in fact just arrived - a stowaway on a cargo ship. Elsewhere, friends Andrew and Ewan are waiting to see the result of Ewan's father's trial for being a weapons dealer. While their friend May is newly residing at a most unusual school, one whose pupils have talents to match her singular one of sensing and empathising with the thoughts of animals. It's a gang of people brought together in a natural, realistic way, with some fantastic factors to their lives that are only going to get heightened. For said weapons, allegedly going on their way to be decommissioned, will soon be on the same cargo boat Akeem has just left - and they're weapons from the darker side of horror... Full review...
Iggy and Me On Holiday by Jenny Valentine
We've already met Iggy and Flo twice before. They're back again, with their tales of daily life, and this time the short stories cover their summer holidays. We've been massive fans of the Iggy and Me books from day one, and will continue to be so. They're super! Full review...
Kamchatka by Marcelo Figueras
Initially I was very excited and interested when The Bookbag was given this novel to review. Set at a time in which I lived in Buenos Aires, I was looking forward to a fictionalised account of these traumatic years - made all the more appealing, as the narrator purported to be the eldest of the family's two sons - 10 year old 'Haroldo' as he comes to be known, having by necessity left his former identity behind. In this respect, I was to be sadly disappointed. The majority of the novel comprises recollections from an adult Haroldo - not quite what the Amazon blurb, nor the précis on the cover, leads the reader to believe! In fairness, the author can't be blamed for this - but I felt mislead by the dust jacket - which may have coloured my enjoyment, and which lead, in part, to the relatively low star rating which I gave the book. Full review...
The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
Slapping your own child is bad. Slapping someone else's child is worse. This is the event at the heart of Christos Tsiolkas' Man Booker-nominated novel, set in Melbourne, Australia, when at a barbeque for friends and family, the host's cousin slaps the child of the best friend of the host's wife. Full review...
Stranger to History: A Son's Journey Through Islamic Lands by Aatish Taseer
Aatish Taseer was born of out of a short week of passion between a Sikh Indian mother and a Pakistani Muslim father. The mother was a journalist; the father a politician.
That week of passion was to be all it was, despite subsequent attempts at hushing up the pregnancy, then pretending a marriage until finally a clean break was made when the boy was about 18 months old. Ah, but such breaks never are clean are they? There's always a certain amount of meddling from the side-lines, and then there's a child's longing to know who he is, where he is really from. Full review...
Kissing Alice by Jacqueline Yallop
Arthur Claythorne, a decorator by trade finds himself out of work and back home in Plymouth as the First World War begins, along with a stolen copy of William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience, a book full of powerful imagery. After being injured in the war Arthur returns home to his wife Queenie May and two daughters, Florrie and Alice, a changed man, deeply affected by his experiences in the trenches and desperate to find religion. Despite Florrie's interest in following her father into Catholicism, it is Alice who suddenly finds herself the object of her father's unusual and inappropriate attention. Full review...
Silly Moo by Karen King and Marina Le Ray
When an apple falls on Cow's head, she gets all woozy so decides to go home for a bit of a lie down. She's got mild amnesia, so she goes from place to place on the farmyard, getting to meet all the animals, and causing all sorts of problems as she doesn't realise where she needs to go. Full review...
A Trick of the Dark by B R Collins
What if you found a way to cheat death? What if it left you pain-free forever, both physically and emotionally? But what if it also meant you had to split your soul, and that left you unable to touch anyone ever again? After Zach and Annis are dragged to France for a family reconciliation events are set in motion that cannot be undone. Annis sees Zach killed by a the tumbling wall of an old ruined house, yet moments later he is standing, unharmed, in front of her. As she tries to help Zach, and appease her bitter, broken parents, she is dragged deeper and deeper into the horror of Zach's situation. Full review...
Crump by PJ Vanston
It's Kevin Crump's first day as a lecturer at Thames Metropolitan University - an ex-polytechnic. It's the happiest day of his life, and he can't wait to see all that it holds, and make a difference to all his students. And then it hits him: the relentless pettiness of authority figures, the students who can't string two sentences together, the lowering of standards in search of higher test scores, so more money from foreign students, and political correctness gone (as I believe the saying goes) mad. Full review...
Cub's First Winter by Rebecca Elliott
It's the first day of winter and Cub can't sleep, so Mum decides the best option is a forest walk. Cub is a mass of questions about the new experiences - why are the trees undressed, why can they see their breath, and why are the birds going on holiday? Mum informs and reassures Cub as they enjoy the wonders of nature and each other's company. Full review...
Soulless: The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger
Miss Tarabotti fairly bounces (in a ladylike fashion, of course) onto the page. Her forthright character is refreshingly at odds with the rather snivelling wallflowers of the era. I just knew that Alexia was going to be bags of fun - and she was. She did not disappoint. Full review...
City of Thieves by Ellen Renner
There's nothing better than an adventure story where the thrills and shocks just keep on coming, where you sneak a look at the number of pages left and think nothing more can be piled on the unfortunate heroes, only to see them hit again - and then again! - with shocks and reversals of fortune. At the beginning of this gripping Gothic tale twelve-year-old Charlie has found her long-lost mother, and is about to be crowned Queen Charlotte of Quale; her dear friend and playmate Tobias is still in shock from the revelation that his father is the traitor who plotted to betray their country. The villain, who also killed Charlie's father the King, is about to be hanged for his crimes and the two young people feel once he is dead they will be able to get on with their lives. But mere hours before he is due to die, the devious and complex Windlass escapes from his prison cell . . . Full review...
B Positive by Dai Henley
Dai Henley counts himself lucky to have been born to loving and nurturing parents. When they discovered that his blood group was B positive they gave him his motto in life, and coincidentally, the title of this book. As he explains, it's not a celebrity autobiography (you might be selling yourself a little short there, Dai) and nor is it a misery memoir. It's the story of a man who has made the most of every opportunity he's been given – and a few mistakes along the way – but he's won through despite the difficulties and played a fair amount of sport too. Full review...
Arrrrgh! Slimosaur! by Alan MacDonald
Iggy the Urk wants to spend his days playing boulderball with his friends, and trying to get one over on his nemesis Snark. His dad takes him hunting - Iggy is desperate to bag a woolly mammoth or snaggle-toothed tiger. When they come across huge tracks and an even bigger poo, his dad worries, and Iggy's Grumma warns him about the scary slimosaur that's out there. Life for a caveboy isn't easy. Full review...
The Legacy by Gemma Malley
Longevity isn't working. The drug that prolongs life expectancy indefinitely appears to have reached its own life expectancy. A terrible virus is wreaking havoc across Britain and the sluggish immune systems of the Legals simply can't cope. Consumed by a desperate thirst, they're dying horrible deaths, leaving behind shrivelled and desiccated corpses. It's Richard Pinsent's worst nightmare. Not that Richard cares about people dying, of course. Full review...
Torment by Lauren Kate
Right, first things first. If you haven't read Fallen, go read it - or at least read a review to see whether it sounds like your cup of tea - because this review will inevitably contain significant spoilers for the earlier Lauren Kate novel. Full review...