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.
Mist by Kathryn James
Thirteen year old Nell Beecham is nowhere near as cool or pretty as her glamorous sister Gwen. But when Gwen goes missing after a sweet sixteen party in the woods, and Nell realises her new friend Evan River is somehow linked to the kidnapping, it's left to the younger girl to try to save the day. Full review...
The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook: A Guide to Swashbuckling with the Pirates of the Caribbean by Jason Heller
You don't see pirates reading many books. If you ask me, it's because their hooks make the pages hard to turn. Of course, the salty damp air would do nothing for a book's longevity, just one more reason to make sure you've read and understood this before you take to the ocean wave and set sail on your adventures. Full review...
A Kiss Before Dying by Ira Levin
I haven't read any of Levin's books to date although I know various titles from television and films etc. And what struck me straight away was the terrific introduction by Chelsea Cain. Most intros can be rather dull and pedantic but this one is refreshingly different. It starts with the eye-catching line 'I could kill Ira Levin' and left me eager, very eager to get on and read the book. Full review...
Teach Us to Sit Still: A Sceptic's Search for Health and Healing by Tim Parks
Self-help books are pretty polarising when you think about it. I mean, would you tell somebody that you were reading a self-help book if you had no idea how they were going to react? On the one hand there must be people who devour these kinds of books one after the other, searching for that mystical formula that will bring about profound inner change. At the other end of the scale are readers that steer well clear of self-help or anything else that isn't rational and based on proper scientific research and evidence. Entrenched views are what makes this title an interesting proposition. A sceptic's search for health and healing which alludes to meditation? Surely much more interesting than a new age guru who already believes wholeheartedly that their insights will transform YOUR life and enrich their bank balance. I want to know how the sceptic was convinced, not the guy who entered the room wearing healing crystals. Full review...
Dead Water by Simon Ings
The standard advice to artists has always been "don't gild the lily". For those writers who appear not to understand how this relates to their art form, let me offer up a basic translation: don't complicate a brilliant plot!
Dead Water suffers from such gilding. Full review...
The Gloomster by Ludwig Bechstein, Axel Sceffler and Julia Donaldson
We've all been there. Finding fault with everything around us, and perhaps picking on one particular irritant that gets us so rattled, tetchy and narked all we can do is invoke "Hell and damnation!" down on all creation - including, of course, ourselves. After all, our lot is so bad it won't make anything much worse. Full review...
Soul Beach by Kate Harrison
Alice's older sister Meggie, a university student and erstwhile reality show star, was found dead 4 months ago. Murdered. After prolonged Police investigations and appeals it's time, finally, for the funeral, a chance to put Meggie to rest. But for Alice, this is just the beginning. As she's getting ready to bury her sister, she receives an odd email that's claiming to be from said sister. It's clearly a joke, and one in very bad taste at that, but when you're 16 years old and your best friend and confidante has been ripped viciously out of your life, you'll cling to just about anything. The invitation invites Alice to 'join' Meggie on Soul Beach…a Social Networking site for the young and the dead. And though she's sure it's a ruse, Alice cannot help clicking through to see who or what awaits her. Full review...
Neversuch House: Mask of the Evergones by Elliott Skell
The Halibuts are an extraordinary family. Almost two centuries ago the Captain used his immense wealth to buy up land and surround it by a high wall. He took a wife, and employed families of servants to serve his every need. Money was no object, and subsequent generations of Halibuts had anything they desired on one condition: if they ever left the grounds of the House, they could never return. Full review...
Isabel Dalhousie: The Charming Quirks of Others by Alexander McCall Smith
I do wonder, sometimes, how it is possible that Mr Alexander McCall Smith can possibly manage to write so many novels? Wouldn't it be fascinating to meet him, and see if the stories just ooze out of him non-stop, and if he walks around with pen and paper at all times jotting things down as they occur to him... In this book he's bringing us back, once again, to Isabel Dalhousie's world. If you don't know who Isabel is then you should really forget all about this book for the moment and go right back to the beginning to The Sunday Philosophy Club so you can get all the characters in order and know what's going on. If you're already up to date, however, and have read up to The Lost Art of Gratitude then you're good to go! Full review...
Go Green! A Young Person's Guide to the Blue Planet by Claudia Myatt
Go Green!? Forget that title. What planet does that come from? Let's start again. This fantastic book is about the blue stuff, everything from oceans to raindrops. The book covers just about every angle that a child passionate about water might conceivably find of interest – marine creatures, icebergs, sunken volcanoes, tsunamis, undersea exploration, bores and whirlpools, inland waterways, tides, lochs and locks. There are answers to lots of questions of the 'Why is the sea blue?' variety. Sandwiched into this comprehensive guide to the physical geography and biodiversity of the seas (probably enough for GCSE) is a large dollop of green ketchup, to be sure, but my instinctive reaction is that here is the best children's introduction to 'water' that I've ever seen. Full review...
Earwig and the Witch by Diana Wynne Jones
Earwig lives at St Morwald's children's home. Unlike some orphans in literature she's perfectly happy there since she seems to have everyone answering her every whim, and she loves spending time with her best friend Custard. Things are soon to change though as one day a rather strange couple, Bella Yaga and the Mandrake, come to look for a child to foster and the one they pick is Earwig! Full review...
The Parent Swap Shop by Francesca Simon and Pete Williamson
Ava's parents like to nag. They nag her about her spelling, about eating with her knife and fork, or sitting straight on her chair, or going to bed on time...nag, nag, nag! But then one day she finds a card advertising 'The Parent Swap Shop' and when her parents nag her one more time she packs them off and sets out to find herself a new set of parents! Full review...
The Silenced by Brett Battles
In the fourth instalment of the Jonathan Quinn series, Quinn and his team are hired to clean up after an operation and find a mysterious woman has followed them there. Before they can stop her, she disappears. On the next job she turns up again, this time with friends, and things start to go drastically wrong. Quinn must find this woman and stop her, but in the meantime somebody has become very interested in finding out Jonathan Quinn's real identity and is getting closer to his family. Quinn has to make a choice; do his job or save his family? Full review...
The Eddie Dickens Trilogy by Philip Ardagh
Meet Eddie Dickens. Aged eleven years old, he's only been allowed to be away from home twice in his life - once for about eight years on a boat, when a crate of luggage went to school in his place, and once for about three years. Now though he is being forced to move in with Mad Uncle Jack and Even Madder Aunt Maud, as his parents are very ill. But they're so deliriously bonkers, there's very little chance of him getting to actually move in with them. Who knows - he might even end up stuck in an orphanage instead? Full review...
Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong
Wow. Gosh. Can it be true? We're on book 12 of Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series already. It seems like only yesterday that I became acquainted with her world of werewolves, witches, necromancers, demons and sorcerers, but Wikipedia tells me it was way back in 2001.
Spell Bound opens right after Waking the Witch left off, with Savannah Levine struggling to cope with her guilt in the wake of a disturbing murder case. Full review...
Tarantula: The Skin I Live In by Thierry Jonquet
In a large French country house, an expert in facial reconstruction surgery keeps a beautiful woman locked up in her bedroom. He placates her with opium, but barks orders through hugely powerful speakers and an intercom. She tantalises him with her sexuality, which he tries to ignore, except for when he seems to abuse it in a sort of S/M way when he does let her into society, as he forces her to prostitute herself. Elsewhere, a young, inept bank robber holes himself up in a sunny house, waiting for the heat to die. And finally, a young man is held chained up in a cellar at the hands of an unknown possessor. Full review...
Dresden Files: Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
It's been a while since I've read a Dresden Files novel, so I am fuzzy on the details before I begin 'Ghost Story', the latest instalment of the wildly successful urban fantasy series. 'Ghost Story' is an unconventional one, even by Jim Butcher's standards – it begins after the narrator, Harry Dresden, was shot by an unseen sniper in the previous novel Changes. There is no deus ex machina or cliffhanger resolution in the first chapter – Harry really is dead as a doornail. For any fan of the series, this is naturally a conundrum: how do you continue the Dresden Files if Dresden is no longer alive? Jim Butcher gets around this seemingly insurmountable problem by having his brash lead character remain equally as incorrigible and unforgettable as before – it's just that now he's having a bit of trouble with his reliable 'punch first, ask questions later' doctrine, as his fists tend not to make contact with human flesh any more. Yep, Harry's a ghost. Where do you go from here? Full review...
Precious and the Monkeys by Alexander McCall Smith
Someone has been stealing food at Precious' school. There are suspicions about who it might be, but no one is sure so Precious sets out to try and discover the truth as to just where all those snacks are disappearing off to... Full review...
Collusion by Stuart Neville
When I read the back cover blurb carefully, I discovered that most of the story is located in Ireland and not New York as I'd previously thought so I was just a little disappointed before I'd even opened the book. I'm usually a sucker for anything American in the fiction stakes.
Policeman Jack Lennon (his proper name is John and there's a good piece later on illustrating the fact that he's officially called John Lennon). Jack's on surveillance duty watching a couple of no-users as they sit and talk in a local cafe. Jack's in the comfort of his vehicle but still, he's not impressed with his latest task and says in his own words 'Yep, ... shit work.' Full review...
The Submission by Amy Waldman
The front cover of the book that I received for review is subtle (as befitting the sensitive contents) and I can see the two twin towers (as was) depicted in grey in the title word submission. The back cover announces that this novel will be Published in time for the 10th anniversary of 9/11. No pressure then. I open the book with a certain amount of trepidation, I have to admit and feel slightly as if I'm about to tread on (literary) eggshells. Heavens - what if I don't like the book? Full review...
Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs
Sixteen year old Tempest is going through some changes in her body. But they’re not the usual changes teen girls go through as they grow up. Instead, she’s developing gills and a tail. Full review...
Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur
On moving to middle school, eleven year old Elise's life takes a turn for the worse. She's bullied by her cool and popular locker-buddy Amanda, and embarrassed by her best friend Franklin – who's decidedly uncool and certainly not popular – she's also struggling to cope with the new arrivals at her home, Aunt Bessie's younger sister Annie and her baby daughter Ava. Just when she doesn't know how she can cope with everything, help arrives in the form of a strange key with her name on it. As she opens a door to find out about her past, Elise starts to realise that she can take control of her future. Full review...
Death on the Rive Nord: An Inspector Lucas Rocco Mystery by Adrian Magson
Illegal immigrants are not a recent phenomenon. Back in 1963, in Picardy, a truck dropped a group of illegal workers close to a deserted stretch of canal, at the dead of night. Seven people left the truck, and it was only when the driver investigated that he found an eighth inside the truck, stabbed to death. It was a few days before the body surfaced in the canal and Inspector Lucas Rocco was given the job of investigating the death. The problems in Algeria were in the past but not forgotten and Rocco would find himself involved with notorious gang leaders from the former colony – and occasionally wondering if he has bitten off more than he can chew. Full review...
Sektion 20 by Paul Dowswell
It's the early 1970s and Alex is living with his family in East Berlin. His Western counterparts are enjoying Coca Cola, fashion and rock music, but Alex can only dream of these things. His time is spent at school listening to endless lectures on the superiority of the socialist system or avoiding saying what he really thinks, even when he's with his family and closest friends. Nobody in East Berlin wants to come to the attention of the Stasi, the state security service. Full review...
August by Bernard Beckett
In an alternate world, Tristan and Grace come from The City, a closed and enclosed society in which religion dominates. Tristan had been an acolyte at St Augustine's. He spent a childhood being drilled in philosophical discussion of free will by the Rector. A star pupil, a single event made him question everything he had been taught. Grace had spent the first part of her childhood in the convent, but a single act of kindness led to her excommunication. Full review...
The Boys From Brazil by Ira Levin
A small group of powerful Nazis gather for a convivial post-prandial meeting, and collect identities and orders from their leader, who is sending them to different corners of the world in order that many innocent people may be killed. But this isn't when you might expect - it's the mid-1970s. It isn't where you might expect, for these Nazis are remnants of Hitler's regime that fled to south America for safety. And the deaths are being ordered for reasons you will never foretell. In that regard, then, you are as well-informed as chief Nazi hunter Yakov Lieberman, who hears tantalising hints of the plot, but cannot fathom it - nor indeed find proof it has indeed started. Full review...
Seven Days One Summer by Kate Morris
'Seven Days One Summer' tells of an Italian holiday that should be perfect but somehow is not. When one reads on the front cover, the words 'what could possibly go wrong?', one somehow knows that this is going to be the holiday from hell. All of the couples that arrive at Sam's villa have their own problems and secrets that they seem unable to keep to themselves. Jen finds it hard to put up with Marcus' constant drive for success that impinges even on their holiday as he is constantly making calls about business; Tara and Dave are newly-weds but Tara is already disillusioned with married life; and Toby and Miranda are engaged to be married but he does not know whether he is able to put up with her controlling ways. Jack is a successful film star but struggles to entertain his small children on their first holiday since separating from his wife, Ellie. There are so many tensions that you could cut the air with a knife. Full review...
Wild Abandon by Joe Dunthorne
When your first novel has been successful, it adds pressure onto the second. This is the situation facing Joe Dunthorne, as his debut Submarine won several awards, was adapted into a film and came highly praised by The Bookbag. This means Wild Abandon has to be rather good to keep his reputation intact. Full review...
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Star of India by Carole Bugge
A woman with a distinguished scent about her appears flustered at a concert recital. A famous landlady gets kidnapped while on an innocent holiday to the west country. A malformed, brilliant modern-day alchemist gets murdered. There is only one person, who famously went over a certain Alpine waterfall, who could piece all this and more into a threat to the Royalty and Empire itself. But there is also only one person, who famously seemed to have stayed dead in going over the same Alpine waterfall, with the strength of mind to put the whole game into play. Full review...
Last Dance with Valentino by Daisy Waugh
When I read on the front cover that this book is described by the Sunday Times as A gripping, bittersweet love story it wasn't a particularly good statement for me to read. As a rule I don't generally 'do' love stories. If I happen to read one every once in a while then that's fine by me but I don't encourage them! But, both the lovely title and the front cover did their job and pulled me in - just a little. Full review...
Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs
You think you've got problems with your love life? Spare a thought for Lily Sanderson, who has a huge crush on swimming god Brody Bennett, an obnoxious biker-boy neighbour Quince Fletcher, and a serious deadline problem. She's totally convinced that Brody is the right man for her, and needs to get him to realise this and take him home to meet her father. Who just happens to be the King of Thalassinia. Of course, that will also means revealing her big secret. You see, Lily is half-mermaid. With all this going through her mind, it's no surprise when she gets confused, leading to a kiss which changes everything... Full review...
Christian Anarchism: A Political Commentary on the Gospel by Alexandre Christoyannopoulos
Whilst I've long been a Christian, I've never considered myself an anarchist. My thinking is that anarchy is something you're more likely to see on the news than on 'Songs of Praise'. However, there is a school of thought that suggests that Jesus' teachings were so counter-cultural and so against Roman law that it constitutes anarchism. Full review...
Final Friends by Christopher Pike
When Jessica Hart and her friends end up at a new school, she decides to throw a party to get to know some of the cute guys there. It seems like a great idea at the time – but it will have far-reaching consequences which will mean their senior year will be nothing like they expected. Full review...
Conference at Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
There are no Starkadders at Cold Comfort Farm.
To those of you who've not read Stella Gibbons' magnificient original novel, this is hardly likely to be a major shock - to the Gibbons fans amongst us, though, this is chilling news indeed. And when Robert Poste's child Flora returns to the farm - now a modernised monstrosity full of members of the International Thinkers' Group – sixteen years after her original visit, the news get graver and graver, as the cows Feckless, Graceless, Pointless, and Aimless have passed away of shame due to the disgrace of the bull Big Business. With the menfolk trying to make their fortunes abroad, and the women struggling, it's left to Flora to try to save the day once again. Full review...
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
After his grandfather's death, sixteen year old Jacob is sent to a psychiatrist. He swears that he'd seen a monster of some description - just like the weird and unusual things the old man used to tell him about - when he discovered the body. As you can imagine, everyone thinks Jacob is crazy. But then events set in motion a visit to the island off the coast of Wales where Jacob's grandfather grew up, and as Jacob finds Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, he discovers that his grandfather may have been telling the truth all along... Full review...
Westwood by Stella Gibbons
I was instantly attracted to this novel as it's set largely in Hampstead and Highgate, which is territory I'm fortunate enough to be familiar with. I was also instantly attracted to Margaret – a young woman with the worries of the world on her shoulders. Continually concerned with politics and the impact of war on those far away as well as close by, Margaret has genuine warmth and concern for her fellow human beings, and this pulls the reader into her story straight away. Full review...
Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan
Sid and his friend Chip are revisiting their youth, more than 50 years ago. They were jazz musicians, living and working in Berlin and Paris, until they had to escape Nazi occupied Paris in 1940 to return to Baltimore. Now it is 1992, and all the others they worked with are long since dead. They have just been involved in a documentary about their experiences, and are about to return to Germany (soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall) for a jazz festival in memory of the great Hiero Falk. Hieronymus Falk was a young black German musician with an exceptional musical talent, the star of their band, the Hot-Time Swingers. He was picked up by 'the Boots' as Sid refers to the Germans, in Paris in 1940, and disappeared into a concentration camp, then they heard he was released but died in 1948. Full review...
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
Orphaned at 19, Flora Poste – a London sophisticate – is led to retreat to deepest Sussex to live off her relatives the Starkadders at the aptly named Cold Comfort Farm, a mournful bunch who take her in as they couldn't refuse anything of 'Robert Poste's child', but seem less than happy with having to do so. As she meets the preacher Amos, his over-sexed younger son Seth, his flighty sister Elphine, and the hugely memorable – if barely seen – Aunt Ada Doom, the first person in literature to see 'something nasty in the woodshed' – she resolves to take the family in hand and solve their problems. Full review...
Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt
When she finds out her dad was diagnosed with MS some months ago, but no-one had felt the need to tell her, Payton's world starts to fall apart. So much so, that when her new counselor suggests picking something as a Focus Object to write about, she decides to go for it, and chooses Sean Griswold's head. But what starts off as a supposedly academic study of the said head becomes something rather more interesting, as she realizes that Sean himself might be someone worth focusing on. Full review...
No! by Marta Altes
No! is all about one family pet's desperate attempts to please his owners. He helps with the laundry, tastes their food before they eat it to make sure it's all right, and even warms up their beds for them before they go to sleep...the poor deluded pup thinks his family love him very much since they're always calling out what he thinks is his name, 'Noooooo!' Full review...