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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Snapped by Pamela Klaffke
They say that a good idea is to write about what you know. Well, Klaffke seems to have heeded that piece of advice. She writes here about a fictional fashion writer called Sara B (note the pretentious second capital letter) who is the central character. And although Sara B is now in her middle years, she's still acting like a teenager. She's got the younger boyfriend/lover, got the latest fashion look which she can deftly put her stamp on, got the invites to the best parties in the best venues with the must-be-seen-with minor celebrities. But - is she happy? I know, it seems a silly question, but is it? Full review...
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
When you summon a demon the last thing you want is for you to lose power over it - for the shoe to end up on the other foot. Especially when the demon shifts shape and is currently an eight-legged spider. That's what's happened to young Nathaniel, having summoned Bartimaeus for a task of vengeance. But perhaps it's worst of all when you have to rely on the same demon's help to protect you from an even greater evil - the wicked intent of a fellow man. Full review...
Breaking the Silence by Diane Chamberlain
As I've reviewed several of Chamberlain's previous books and enjoyed them, I was looking forward to getting stuck in to this one. We meet the central character; wife and mother to five-year-old Emma, Laura. She's distraught. Her father (Emma's grandfather) has just passed away but his dying wish has really upset Laura. It's a strange request and she doesn't know what to make of it. She confides in her husband thinking that two heads are better than one. He's a brilliant academic and could give some much-needed advice. But he doesn't. In fact, he behaves like a five-year-old himself and almost has a tantrum. Odd. Now poor Laura's doubly confused, upset and doesn't know how to handle her grief. Tough times. Full review...
Captivate by Carrie Jones
Zara, her werewolf boyfriend, Nick, and their friends Issie and Devyn think their pixie problems are over. They've trapped Zara's dad, a pixie king, and his followers in a house surrounded by iron to stop them getting out and killing more teenage boys. But, Zara's dad is growing weak in his iron prison, and his territory is ready for the taking. That's when Astley turns up, a pixie king himself, when he's around Zara's skin turns blue, the true colour of a pixie. Only being half pixie, and having not been turned, why is Zara reacting like this? But Astley isn't the only pixie king that's made his way to Maine to claim the territory, and he's certainly not the most evil. Full review...
Scaredy Squirrel at Night by Melanie Watt
Scaredy Squirrel is scared to go to sleep at night. He has all sorts of tricks to keep himself awake so that he doesn't have to face his night-time fears. But his sleeplessness is having a toll on his health. Can he find a solution to his problem? Full review...
A Sickness in the Family by Denise Mina and Antonio Fuso
In Eton Terrance there lives the Usher family, in a house above a basement flat where a gangster holds sway over a Polish "girlfriend". After a bloodbath in there, the Ushers expand downwards, clearing a cavernous hole in their home where a staircase is due to go. This is not the only crack in proceedings, however, as we soon discover while witnessing the fall of this House of Usher. Full review...
Undercover Boss: Inside the TV Phenomenon That is Changing Bosses and Employees Everywhere by Stephen Lambert and Eli Holzman
I guess I have to admit to a certain weakness for a certain type of reality TV – it's a long time since I watched Big Brother and I've not been sucked into watching talent contests – but I do quite like programmes in which the participants swap places and/or step out of their normal lives to, allegedly, see how someone else lives. Full review...
Witches War: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Calla Tor has always known where her life is heading. Grow up, become mated to Ren, lead the new pack formed of her packmates and his, serve the Keeper who they are assigned to serve. That's the way things are for alphas, and servitude is the sacred calling of the Guardians. Then Calla breaks one of the fundamental rules of her society – she saves the life of a human boy, Shay. She hopes to never see him again, but when it becomes clear that he's somehow important to the Keepers, and Calla is charged to look after him, she finds herself spending a lot of time with him. Full review...
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives is one of those books that you read with a smile on your face. It's full of gloriously unsavoury characters caught in a terrible web of deceit. We are promised 'four women, one husband and a devastating secret' and it delivers on all three counts. Sure the secret is quite well signposted and Shoneyin doesn't really make much of an effort to divert the reader from putting two and two together, although it takes wife number four, Bolanle, an inordinate amount of time for the penny to drop, but it's not about discovering the deception - it's about the glorious journey of how things unfold. Full review...
Caroline: A Mystery by Cornelius Medvei
Meet Mr Shaw. He's an insurance worker who takes his wife and son off on their annual vacation one year, and finds himself indulging in a surprisingly platonic holiday romance. The subject of his infatuation, Caroline, has eyes, ears, hair and more that easily combine with Mr Shaw's fondness for classical Persian love poetry. At the end of the holiday he lets his wife and son depart while he takes a further week off to walk all the way home with Caroline. Who is, as it happens, a donkey. Full review...
Need by Carrie Jones
Zara's stepfather died in front of her after seeing a man at the window - it spooked him so much that his heart failed. Her mother is concerned about her, Zara's not herself, she's hollow after the sudden loss of the closest thing to a father she's ever had. So, she's sent away to live with her Grandmother, Betty, in Maine. However, Maine isn't the safe haven that Zara's mother thought it would be. People are going missing, young boys to be precise, the same thing that happened just before Zara, her mother and stepfather moved away from Maine to start with. Full review...
Griffin Mage: Law of the Broken Earth by Rachel Neumeier
Mienthe is living in her cousin's courtly household when a man arrives from the realms to the west, claiming to be an agent on the run with a great secret. It takes much time and effort to try and work out how duplicitous this man may or may not be, and what his bounty actually is (a singular, blank book, in fact). This effort begins to reveal a strange and unknown talent and possible destiny for Mienthe. But before this can be explored fully, worse news comes from out east. The peace wall keeping the evil griffins from laying waste to the world is crumbling. Full review...
Put Out The Light by Terry Deary
In 1940, Billy and Sally Thomas are living in Sheffield, a city which is well aware that German bombs will almost surely find their way there sooner or later. As the air raid sirens blare out, they help friendly Warden Crane to make sure the blackout is kept up - but when they find that people are having money stolen while they're in the shelters, they try to solve the crime. Meanwhile, in Germany, Manfred and Hansl are determined to do their bit for the war effort by getting into the bomb factory and writing an English soldier's name on a bomb. Then they meet Polish youngster Irena and become quickly embroiled in a frantic escape attempt. By December, the two sets of children will both have been thrust into the thick of the action, and we get a finale that's truly explosive – in more ways than one! Full review...
The Medusa Project: Hunted by Sophie McKenzie
Many teens (and older people, too!) wish they had a super-power or two: life would surely be easier if you could read other people's minds or move objects without touching them. But if this fascinating series about a team of crime-fighting teenagers shows us one clear thing, it is that psychic powers can bring as many problems as solutions. Dylan, the central character in this particular volume, is an angry, bad-tempered girl whose bristly exterior echoes her gift of protection her from physical harm. She is not well-liked by the other three, and this becomes a real problem when she finds herself having to deal not only with terrible revelations about her father, but with the appearance in her life of a mysterious boy, Harry. Why does he know so much about her? And can she trust him? Lonely, vulnerable Dylan is in the ideal position to make poor judgements and get herself into serious trouble. Full review...
Play Magic Golf - How to use self-hypnosis, meditation, Zen, universal laws, quantum energy, and the latest psychological and NLP techniques to be a better golfer by Dr Stephen Simpson
Do you find that when you're at the driving range or on the practice ground you're full of promise but once you translate this to the course all that promise drains away, leaving you stuck with the high handicappers? Do you know that you're better than this, but somehow you never seem to realise your potential? Yes? Then you need this book – and the probability is that you don't just need it on the golf course, but in 'real' life too. Maybe you're a more proficient golfer than that? You do quite well on the course? Then this book will show you how you can improve even more. Full review...
Red April by Santiago Roncagliolo and Edith Grossman
The very first sentence concerns the sudden discovery of a body. Judging by its dreadful state, not only some form of foul play but also some form of torture has been used. No one locally knows anything at all. Looks like a tough investigation looms for local Prosecutor by the name of Chacaltana. He is the central character in the novel. He comes across as a bit of a plodder, a bit of a dullard, someone who is methodical to a ridiculous level in his line of work. His line of work is also low-level. But, even so, he is a man who takes pride in what he does. So when he becomes involved in this macabre body incident, he gives it his full concentration. It becomes obvious he will leave no stone unturned to try and solve this crime. Full review...
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Coming Home by Rhoda Janzen
Even although the obliging blurb on the back cover tells the reader a little about being Mennonite, I couldn't resist looking it up in the dictionary. I was intrigued to start reading. And emblazoned across the front cover is 'No 1 In The US'. Great praise indeed, I thought. But how would it go down across the pond? Time to find out ... Full review...
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
Although only recently released in paperback in the UK, Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl has been gaining considerable critical acclaim across 'the pond'. Set in a future version of Thailand, it's an interesting take on the environmental meltdown scenario that has garnered it a couple of science fiction awards (the Hugo and Nebula awards) and was named as the ninth best fiction book of 2009 by Time magazine. No less than three of the review extracts used by the publishers in this edition liken Bacigalupi to William Gibson. High praise indeed. Does it rise to these expectations? Full review...
Ice Maiden by Sally Prue
Franz isn't popular in the village. It's 1939, and the German boy is on an extended holiday in England. Unsurprisingly, the local boys don't appreciate an enemy in their midst. Franz isn't happy at home either - he mistrusts his Nazi parents and he remembers the rounding up of the disabled, the gypsies and the Jews, and the smashing glass at night. Lonely, Franz spends a lot of time on the common, observing the natural world and the wildlife, in all its beauty and cruelty. Full review...
K'Barthan Trilogy: Few Are Chosen by M T McGuire
The Pan of Hamgee is a relatively inconspicuous fellow living in the world of K'Barth, the setting of the battle between the overbearing, alien Grongolian settlers and the fanatic Resistance, described aptly by The Pan as being 'The lesser, but only very slightly lesser of two evils, possibly.' Naturally, The Pan wants nothing to do with this political conflict but due to a number of unfortunate cases of wrong place, wrong time and disastrous luck, he has somehow been drafted in as the getaway driver of a group of bank robbers, and somehow come into possession of a magical thimble with the power to allow teleportation, an object greatly desired by K'Barth's despot ruler Lord Vernon. Full review...
Amazon Kindle
Are ebooks the future of books? Is it the right time to get an ebook reader? We thought about it long and hard. Yes we did. We don't often think about things this long or this hard, because it hurts. But sometimes, cogitations are necessary. We wouldn't be here at Bookbag if we didn't love books but we knew that more and more people were enjoying ebooks. It was time to find out what it was really like to have up to 3,500 books in your pocket or your bag. 3,500! Yikes! Full review...
The Astronaut's Apprentice by Philip Threadneedle
Bradley is as normal as any boy could be. He lives on a farm with his father and grandma and loves all sorts of boy things. But it's at this point that things begin to get a little bit, well, odd. His grandpa is an alien and his mother is in the attic, but she's dead. Grandma's not your normal cuddly version, either. She's of the opinion that childbirth is much over-rated, both from the point of view of the mother and the child and she's not above calling her husband a love rat and a womaniser. Still, even the best of families have their little oddities… Full review...
Rosebush by Michele Jaffe
Firstly, I've got to say this book was incredibly hard to put down. The plot is so absorbing I found myself trying to read a page at every opportunity I got. I was late for work on a few occasions because I couldn't pull myself away. This is one of the best books I have read in the last few months. Full review...
The Christmas Books by Charles Dickens
I'd just like to say at the outset that after reviewing mainly contemporary authors, it's a refreshing change to have the chance to review one of 'the classics'. (I hope I do the great man justice). Personally, I love the classics and I've read a number of Dickens' - including 'Bleak House' and 'Hard Times' but I haven't actually read 'A Christmas Carol.' I couldn't help but smile when Michael Morpurgo (who writes the short introduction to this book) says 'It is very difficult to sit and read Dickens' Christmas Books in a Devon garden on a sunny day ...' Well, would you believe my luck when I say that, as I'm writing this review, it's snowing hard outside? Everything is, well, Christmassy. Full review...
A Shortcut to Paradise by Teresa Solana and Peter Bush
The characters are introduced to the reader one at a time. The main ones have a whole chapter or two to tell their story, including a bit of background information but aside from all of this, they all seem to have some sort of connection to a swish, literary event. So, for example, there's a young, rather frazzled husband called Ernest. You can tell that he's a kindly, mild person. He takes his role as father, husband and (although meagre) breadwinner very, very seriously. He's a translator. He's had some bad luck to contend with lately and the household bills are piling up but he spares his wife the sorry details of their current financial state. But all he's doing is piling on the pressure for himself. Something's got to give ... and it does. Big-time. And without wishing to spoil the plot in any way, I think I can safely say that he ' ... decided to put himself into the shoes of the heroes he translated and, for the first time in his life, he took the bull by the horns.' Full review...
Amazon Kindle
Are ebooks the future of books? Is it the right time to get an ebook reader? We thought about it long and hard. Yes we did. We don't often think about things this long or this hard, because it hurts. But sometimes, cogitations are necessary. We wouldn't be here at Bookbag if we didn't love books but we knew that more and more people were enjoying ebooks. It was time to find out what it was really like to have up to 3,500 books in your pocket or your bag. 3,500! Yikes! Full review...
More! by Peter Schossow
What happens when the wind blows off your hat, and you chase it along the beach? This sweet, short little book has only one word (and that comes on the very last page), but it still manages to tell an imaginative story! Full review...
The Birthday by Julie Highmore
4 November 2008: That's the date of the US presidential election, and Fran's 60th birthday. Fran is nervous about her milestone birthday – she doesn't feel that old. She is worried about her husband, Duncan, who has become rather down and forgetful. As it turns out though, her planned party will be less a celebration than the catalyst for the revelation of a lifetime of secrets. Full review...
Make it Happen: The Prince's Trust Guide to Starting Your Own Business by The Prince's Trust
Who hasn't dreamed of being able to work for themselves, be their own boss, and not have to worry about the drag of a 9 to 5 job? Of course, the reality of starting your own business is that there are rather a lot of things you need to consider before getting started, as my sister found out when she started selling her own handmade greetings cards. Thankfully, this book was on hand to help her get things going and she's found it a really invaluable tool. Full review...
Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson
We left Curzon and Isabel at the end of Chains, just after they'd escaped slavery in New York at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. We pick up again with Curzon - Isabel has run off to find her sister - stumbling slap bang into the middle of the Battle of Saratoga. Cornered into enlisting into the Patriot army, Curzon isn't blind to the ironies in his situation as a slave fighting for the freedom of white men. Full review...
Being Billy by Phil Earle
Billy is a 'lifer' - he's been in care for eight years. He's angry, defensive and folded up inside himself. He's prone to vandalism and violence and barely a week goes by without his careworkers needing to restrain him. He doesn't really go to school and even when he does, Billy is so far behind that there seems little point. The only joy in his life comes from the twins, his little brother and sister. Louie and Lizzie can't keep him out of trouble, but they can provide an anchor and Billy delights in caring for them. He reads them bedtime stories and sits by the door of their room until they fall asleep. Full review...
The Memory Chalet by Tony Judt
In 2008 the historian Tony Judt was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative disorder that eventually results in complete paralysis for the sufferer. Unable to jot down ideas as they came to him, Judt had to rely on his memory to hold them until he had the chance to dictate his words to somebody else. His memory, which was already good, became exceptional. The progress of the disorder left Judt unable to move, but no mental deterioration or lack of sensation occurred, which he describes as a mixed blessing. He had to endure whole nights lying in the same position, unable to roll over or even to scratch an itch, a prisoner in his own body. To preserve his sanity during these tortuous nights he focussed on events from his own past, linking then with other events and ideas it had never occurred to him were connected. It was during these reveries that the essays in The Memory Chalet were not only conceived, but also developed in their entirety. Full review...
Soul Screamers: My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
After Kaylee and her friend Emma sneak into an over 18's club, Kaylee gets unnervingly distressed by the sight of a girl dancing, feeling as if she needs to scream. As Emma, along with the mysterious Nash, try to calm her and remove her from the club, she tells them that she's convinced the girl is going to die. Waking up the next day to turn on the news, she finds out she was right. And then it happens again… Kaylee's convinced she's a freak and there's something deeply wrong with her, but Nash seems surprisingly unfazed by this, while her aunt and uncle are both acting strangely. What's wrong with her? And why does she know less about herself than they do about her? Full review...
When I Was Joe by Keren David
We meet 14 year old Tyler and his young mother Nicki at the police station as he gives a statement about a stabbing he witnessed. Unfortunately for them, some of the people involved would rather not allow him to testify against them and he's forced to flee for his life, moving into the Witness Protection scheme and starting afresh in a new school. Despite the vicious thugs on his trail, there are certain compensations to life at his new school. Formerly just a face in the crowd at St Saviour's, the mysterious newcomer quickly becomes popular, especially when he gets involved in athletics and is coached by older teen Ellie. Not everyone's happy with the impact he makes, though, and he needs to worry about rivals in school nearly as much as he does about the gangsters who are still trying to silence him. And then he meets a girl with a dark secret of her own… Full review...
Chronicles of Fate and Choice: Tumultus by K S Turner
This is the follow up to Before The Gods, a debut novel lauded for bringing a breath of fresh air to the world of speculative fiction and one of Bookbag's top picks of 2009. Tumultus is the second of the planned trilogy and I was looking forward to seeing how the author would really cut loose now that readers were already familiar with the Shaa-kutu and the story of their link to the origin of the human race. Full review...
Ratbridge Chronicles: Worse Things Happen at Sea by Alan Snow
Meet the Nautical Laundry. A boat, crewed by piratical rats who weren't wicked enough to bring themselves to actual piracy, it's wedged under a bridge in the town of Ratbridge. They're trying to lead a humble life, doing the town's laundry - but when someone sees the scanties displayed for all around to see, they're whisked to court - and fined a pirate's treasure. Luckily, there might be help at hand - the local miracle medicine man, who's just started curing everyone of everything with the same gloop, called Black Jollop, is willing to pay a king's ransom for a boat to take him for new supplies. Or, is there something else, secret and evil behind these weird happenings? Full review...