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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Little People by Jane Sullivan
Unemployed governess Mary Ann rescues what seems to be a child from the currents of the Yarra River in Australia. However, the 'child' turns out to be none other than Charles Stratton, aka General Tom Thumb, 'midget' and star of PT Barnum's touring 'Lilliputian' show. As a token of gratitude for her act of heroism the troupe's tour manager, Sylvester Bleeker, offers Mary Ann work and a solution to her dilemma. For she is not only out of work and alone... and pregnant. She's made to feel welcome and a sense of belonging at last although all isn't what it seems. She may well be everything that Tom Thumb and his wife Lavinia have been looking for but that may not be a good thing. Even the title itself isn't all it seems and has an additional meaning, not just a reference to the small of stature. Mary Ann gradually realises that, as a lone single parent, she would be destitute (and everything that meant at that time) without the troupe. She too is a little person, but of no account rather than reduced height. Full review...
Winston Windsor and the Diamond Jubilee by Melissa Wareham
The Queen has quite a few corgis (and one dorgi) but her best-loved dog is Winston Windsor. Winston Windsor is devoted to the Queen, obviously, but his heart has been stolen by Wilma the poodle who is owned by the man who supplies fruit and vegetables to the Palace. When the Queen decides to change supplier (please step up the organic farmer based at Highgrove...) Winston realises that he will never see Wilma again. An unwise escape from the Palace in pursuit of his lady love leaves him in the dog pound with Flossy the Rottweiler (a difficult name for a boy, don't you think, particularly when you've been beaten up by a Chihuahua?) and Harry. When the dogs unearth a plot to kidnap the Queen on her Diamond Jubilee day they know that they have to get back to the Palace and warn the Queen - but how? Full review...
Emma Hearts LA by Keris Stainton
Emma's not thrilled to be moving across the Atlantic to LA - unlike her mother and her younger sister Bex. Her mum has a new job and Bex is set to meet with a Hollywood agent. All Emma has to look forward to is a reunion with Oscar, the dorky boy she knew when growing up. When she meets Oscar, though, he's unexpectedly cute... and then TV star Alex Hall appears on the scene as well. With two boys interested, great weather, and locations from movies and TV shows at every turn, maybe LA is actually a pretty good place to live... Full review...
The Super Swooper Dinosaur by Martin Waddell and Leonie Lord
'One day, Hal and his little dog, Billy, were out playing when the sky darkened and...'
The next thing Hal knows is that an enormous winged super swooper dinosaur has landed in his garden and wants to play. Well, you don't really want to argue with a dinosaur that you have only just met so Hal agrees. The first game that the super swooper suggest is Hide-and-seek but it soon becomes apparent that it won't be very successful as the dinosaur is too big to hide anywhere in the garden and is easily found by Hal every time. It's time to think of something else but the next idea, dino-dancing, is equally unsuccessful when Hal's new playmate ends up dancing on the roof. Paddling is equally problematic when the super swooper lands in the little paddling pool with an enormous splash which completely soaks Hal's mum Full review...
The History Room by Eliza Graham
The novel begins with a key scene from Meredith’s childhood and then springs forward to the present day and the incident in the history room. The prank sets the tone for the whole novel – sinister in many subtle ways and having several layers of meaning. The cast assemble around the fall out from the prank and each character is beautifully drawn. Hugh, Meredith’s husband, is suffering the results of horrors he experienced in Helmand. Meredith’s immediate family are also traumatised by the death of her mother. In this highly charged atmosphere, it’s hard to know whether they are taking the prank too seriously or if it does indeed imply worrying occurrences within the school. Add in the presence of strangers in the form of new pupils and new staff, and before long even the most long-held relationships begin to suffer as a result of all the suspicions that are brought out by the prank. Full review...
Goddess Girls: Athena the Brain by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
Turns out Mount Olympus isn't so very different from our world after all. Lots of young gods and goddesses all together, making friends, discovering how to use their abilities properly, and having the occasional argument. It has eccentric teachers, handsome boys, and mean girls — in other words, it's middle school! Full review...
Adventure Island: the Mystery of the Drowning Man by Helen Moss
The great thing about adventure stories, as opposed to fantasies, tales of superheroes and even the more dramatic end of the teen-spy spectrum is that young readers can easily imagine themselves joining in the action. Pulling a drowning man from the sea, saving a film star, finding a treasure map and discovering dinosaur bones are all possible — even if, to be honest, they're not very likely. Full review...
Chocolate Shoes and Wedding Blues by Trisha Ashley
Tansy was brought up by her great-aunt Nancy, who is in her nineties at the start of this book. Tansy lives with her fiancé Justin, but time is racing by and she is beginning to despair of ever getting married or having babies. Justin is under his demanding mother's thumb, and Tansy loves getting away to the village where her great aunt owns a small shoe shop. Full review...
Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready
Age gap relationships - who'd risk them? Zach is only a brief moment older than Aura, but in that instant the world changed, as Aura and anyone younger can see and speak to ghosts - while Zach might as well be poison to them. Over two books Aura has accepted being with Zach and not her dead rock-star boyfriend, who has finally, permanently, moved on. Last time they even found out a lot about how and why the Shift, as that moment is called, happened. Now we're to consider the present and the future - what it would mean for Zach and Aura to really get together, and what the Powers That Be (whoever they are) are expecting of them, together and apart. It's the last in the trilogy, so a lot of secrets will be revealed, a lot of threat will be faced - and it'll be emotional. Full review...
Invisible Monsters Remix by Chuck Palahniuk
'Don't expect this to be the kind of story that goes: and then, and then, and then.' And yet... Once upon a time I collected a couple of Palahniuk books, upon his first, Fight Club-inspired flush of British success, and never got round to reading them. And then the book reviewing gods conspired to give me Pygmy, Tell-All and Damned to peruse. And then I still didn't go back through his past works. But then he revised Invisible Monsters, his second-written and third-published novel, and I got to look at it after all. Full review...
Three Strong Women by Marie N'Diaye and John Fletcher (translator)
As it says on the tin, this powerful novel revolves around three women, connected by their strength and two countries and diverse cultures (France and Africa) but also other, more subtle factors. (More of that later.) First there's lawyer, Norah, returning to Africa at the behest of her estranged father. There has never been love lost between them, mainly because her father prefers to ignore his female offspring; therefore his reason for the summons is a mystery, until... The second story is that of African teacher, Fanta, forced by an event beyond her control to leave Africa and settle in France with her husband Rudy. Then the final section belongs to Khady, widowed after three years of marriage and sent to France by her Cinderella-esque mother-in-law. As Khady's status as a childless widow is financially unattractive, it has been deemed that she would be of more use sending money back from Europe... once she has entered France as an illegal immigrant. Full review...
My Family and Other Freaks by Carol Midgley
Danielle has an embarrassing family, a dog who's in love with an Ugg boot, and a love rival who she can't possibly live up to – or can she? Determined not to be beaten in her efforts to secure Damien's affections, Danni hits on a plan – only for it to go horribly wrong, landing her with the nickname of 'Dench The Stench'. Surely things can only get better – can't they? Full review...
Chain Reaction (Perfect Chemistry) by Simone Elkeles
Luis Fuentes is a risk-taker who meets a feisty girl whom he falls in love with. Unfortunately, a gang called the Latino Blood are also interested in him for rather different reasons, and Nikki doesn’t approve of them. Who will win out – the gang, or the girl? Full review...
Clarity by Kim Harrington
The tourist season at Cape Cod is about to start and for Clarity 'Clare' Fern and her family, this is really important. Clare's family are psychic, not the phoney kind who take your money and give you a false prediction about tall dark strangers - the genuine kind. Clare's mother can read minds, her brother Perry can talk to the dead, and Clare can see memories linked to objects. Their family business is entertaining the tourists, and the summer rush pays the winter bills. Full review...
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Harold and the Purple Crayon is a classic picture book that celebrates the power of the imagination. Harold draws his own journey with the crayon. When he gets hungry, he draws himself a picnic. When he wants to walk through a forest, the crayon helps out. His slight figure walks across the plain white pages of the book creating everything that the reader sees. But the things Harold draws don’t always do what he likes, and he has to think quickly to reach the safety of his bed at the end of the tale. Full review...
Snip Snap, look who's back! by Mara Bergman and Nick Maland
Were the people scared? You bet they were!
So says Mara Bergman when the alligator from Snip Snap! What’s that? returns for further slightly scary fun. The original story is a sure fire hit as a read aloud and fans will definitely want to try this sequel. Full review...
Next by Keith Gray
That Keith Gray hangs out with all the cool people, you know. Hot on the heels of one fabulous anthology of short stories all about virginity, Losing It, comes Next. The topic this time is life after death and it's another preoccupation for young people. What's next? What will it be like? How will those left behind manage and cope? Each of the cool people contributes an idea of what death may bring. Full review...
What Boys Really Want by Pete Hautman
Adam is a teenage entrepeneur with a keen eye for a get rich quick scheme. His best friend Lita is an aspiring novelist who also writes an anonymous blog. There's definitely no romance between them - Lita may have broken up a couple of Adam's relationships without him realising it, but that's for his own good. In fact, Lita's convinced Adam knows nothing about romance, so when he comes up with the great idea of writing a self-help book which explains what boys are looking for in a girl, she wants nothing to do with it. Of course, if she took more of an interest, she might notice there are a lot of parts with a significant resemblance to a certain blog... Full review...
Great Britain Concise Stamp Catalogue 2012 by Hugh Jefferies
Now in its 27th year of publication, the Great Britain Concise Catalogue provides a comprehensive listing of all issues from the 1d black and 2d blue of May 1840 to the Children’s Comics issue of 20 March 2012. As a halfway house between the very basic ‘Collect British Stamps’ and the multi-volume specialised edition, this lists the main variations of each issue, alongside miniature sheets, special first day of issue postmarks, postage dues, booklets, and the regional issues from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, as well as the Channel Islands and Isle of Man prior to their postal independence in 1969 and 1973 respectively. Full review...
The Treasures of Queen Elizabeth by Tim Ewart
Tim Ewart is Royal Correspondent for ITV News, which must be one of the perfect starting points for writing a biography of the Queen as she celebrates her diamond jubilee. She's only the second British monarch to achieve this landmark - the other being Queen Victoria. After sixty years on the throne - and eighty six in public life - there's not much which isn't known about the Queen and few pictures which haven't previously seen the light of day, but Ewart's book is marked out by the inclusion of memorabilia which will have a freshness for many readers. Full review...
2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson
'Intellectually engaged…intensely humane… exuberantly speculative' was Iain M Banks' blurb for 2312. So who am I to disagree with one of the current masters of the genre?
No-one. Just an ordinary reader. And actually, the more I think about the less I do – actually – as such – disagree. Banks' phrases are true and accurate. They're just not the whole story. Not for me anyway.
For a reader, as opposed to another writer, the book is much more difficult than that. Publishers Weekly called it challenging and that's much nearer the mark. Full review...
Memory of the Abyss by Marcello Fois
We are on Sardinia, over a hundred years ago. It is a land of legend, where storytellers can see a different nature to the moon each night and convey that in their earthly stories. It's a world of wonder, where sheep can fall from the skies for more than one reason. It's a poor land, where lads are expected to be responsible shepherds by the time they are ten. As a result people look after each other - except, while returning from a Christening Samuele and his father are refused basic hospitality. Later when the boy runs away one night the land falls away beneath him - yet he finds a girl to ground him to this earth. Which is most relevant when he goes to war, and particularly when he comes back and finds himself a wronged man, and in need of vengeance... Full review...
Azazeel by Youssef Ziedan and Jonathan Wright (translator)
An archaeologist in a time and place close to that of modern troubled Syria discovers thirty scrolls. These are the writings of a Coptic Christian monk born into Roman dominated Egypt in AD391. A door thus opens into an ancient world and the emerging vista stretches from the present into the distant past, as if eliciting an omnipresent dimension to reality. The fluent evocative prose flows like a meandering river or a ribbon connecting continuously the present moment with the ancient world. A panorama emerges dominated by Rome and Constantinople and extends to Alexandria, Jerusalem and Antioch. Full review...
Elizabeth: A Diamond Jubilee Portrait by Jennie Bond
Jennie Bond was the BBC's Royal Correspondent for fourteen years from 1989 and covered a period of particular turbulence in the Royal family. It might not have been unprecedented but it was the first time that what was happening was so widely reported throughout the world. This book covers a much wider period with the emphasis being on pictures rather than words. It's a heavy, well-produced and lavishly-presented book of the type which would make a good present or souvenir of a visit to the United Kingdom. Full review...
Deadly Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock
Mackenzie's best friend Amy was the final victim in a string of werewolf killings in the town of Hemlock. Lupine syndrome is spreading and the government has set up internment camps for all those infected. But Amy's killer was never caught. When the vigilante Trackers turn up in town, determined to hunt down the culprit, Mac is uneasy. The Trackers are extremists and often act outside the law. So Mac sets out on her own investigation of Amy's death. And what she discovers will change her life forever... Full review...
The Crabber Stories by Francis Bennett
John White was known to everyone as Crabber - a nickname which he once earned and which then stuck - and he grew up on the shores of Long Island in the nineteen-fifties. It was a close-knit community and a time when children had more freedom than they are likely to be allowed now. We watch as Crabber grows from being a boy still suffering from the death of his elder brother when we first met him through to a time when he's old enough to go on a hunting trip on the mainland with a local family. He tells his own stories, as truthfully as he can and with the sort of insight which children have before life injects its cynicism. Full review...
Adorkable by Sarra Manning
Jeane Smith has her own quirky fashion sense, half a million Twitter followers, and a place on the Guardian's '30 People Under 30 Who Are Changing The World' list. Michael Lee has good looks, designer clothes, and parents who push him to excel at everything. They have nothing in common - so why do they end up kissing so often? Full review...
Fly, Chick, Fly by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
Do you have a born worrier in your family? This picture book is for them. Two of the owlets in the tale leave the nest with excitement and confidence. The third one is too much of a thinker for her own good. When her parents say she has to fly, she replies
If I fly, the crow might get me.
If I fly, the rain might wet me.
If I fly, a train might hit me.
My sister flew and never came back.
Why would I want to fly?
Full review...
Skating Sensation (Dork Diaries) by Rachel Renee Russell
OMG!! Niki's gym class is doing ice-skating this term, and anyone who presents a display at a public charity event will get a straight A. Also, if she can perform well she will keep an endangered animal charity working for some months. It's just a shame then that Niki suits ice-skating as well as chocolate suits building barbecues. What's worse, is that the shelter has a deep meaning for her hunky friend Brandon... Full review...
Ru by Kim Thuy and Sheila Fischman (translator)
Everyone of a certain age will remember the American withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975. This was the answer to years of student protests and the prayers of many US parents who saw sons like theirs drafted to war only to return in body bags. As far as the west was concerned, the suffering was over. However, for the Vietnamese people, the suffering continued as the Khmer Rouge and then the invading Cambodians killed, tortured and destroyed people who were just trying to survive. Ru is written by and about one such person. Full review...
Dreams (Sarah Midnight Trilogy) by Daniela Sacerdoti
Seventeen-year-old Sarah Midnight's parents are dead. Everyone else thinks it's an accident - but she knows the truth because her parents were demon hunters and her dreams helped her guide them from the safety of her bed. But they didn't train her for what would happen when they were gone - and if she doesn't master her powers, and learn who she can trust, she might be the next to die. Can she live up to the Midnight motto, Don't Let Them Roam? Full review...
The Beautiful Truth by Belinda Seaward
There are two parallel story lines in Belinda Seaward's The Beautiful Truth: one set in the present day and one in wartime Poland. Both involve love stories and personal struggles, and there are repeating themes such as horses and the stars that effectively provide links between the two in this clearly well-researched and engrossing narrative. Full review...
Elephant Pants by Smriti Prasadam-Halls and David Wojtowycz
Oh, fiddle-dee fickers,
Where, oh where, oh
WHERE are my knickers?”
This is the plaintive cry from Major Trump that sets the tone at the start of this wonderfully entertaining story and sends Noah and all the animals on the ark into a flap. Major Trump asks Noah to help locate the missing undies which are a fetching red pair with white hearts that match his wife's. Noah calls an ark alert and gathers all the other animals round in order to line up and display the pants that they are wearing. What then follows is a comical parade of animal pairs showing of their weird and wonderful underwear. There are hippos brandishing stars and stripes pants, flamingos with frilly knickers, tigers in super-strength drawers and horses wearing ones that are organic, recycled and handmade. I have only mentioned a few of what is quite a sensational collection of varied underwear. Unfortunately, no one is wearing the missing undies but perhaps there is another explanation for where they might be! Full review...
Murder and Chips (Jiggy McCue) by Michael Lawrence
Poor Jiggy. It seems everything he touches is doomed. In previous books he's been squeezed almost to death by a pair of demonic underpants, attacked by the ghost of a bad-tempered goose and pursued by a spiteful genie—though all of that, frankly, is nothing compared to what happened with that toilet (don't ask). And now, to cap it all, exams are looming—you know, the ones everyone tells your whole future depends on? Jiggy and his two friends Angie and Pete are stressed, and in dire need of bit of rest and relaxation. Full review...
Katie in London by James Mayhew
Katie is visiting London with her little brother and her Grandma. When Grandma gets tired they stop a while in Trafalgar Square, and whilst Grandma rests on a bench Katie and her brother find themselves going on a magical adventure with one of the Trafalgar Square lions! Full review...
Cheer Up Your Teddy Bear, Emily Brown! by Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton (illustrator)
Emily Brown and her rabbit, Stanley, are having fun indoors on a very grey and rainy day. They meet a small, very wet little teddy bear who is singing sad, self-commiserating songs to herself about how sad and lonely she is. Of course, Emily and Stanley feel compelled to help, so they take the teddy with them to the Outback of Australia, but will they manage to cheer the little teddy up? Full review...
Small Bunny's Blue Blanket by Tatyana Feeney
Small Bunny has a blue blanket. He loves his blanket very much and takes it everywhere he goes. It helps him to do all the things he enjoys doing, like swinging and painting and reading. Of course, this means that Blue Blanket gets rather dirty, and so one day Mummy says that both Small Bunny and Blue Blanket need to have a wash... Full review...
Tears of a Phoenix by Helen Noble
It was almost inevitable that Jed Johnson would follow his brothers into crime. The slippery slope from care to young offenders' institute to an eventual life sentence was almost predictable despite his mother's attempts to raise him for responsibility. However, once serving the life sentence, Jed has time to think and, aided by Elisabeth, a prison service psychologist, he assesses his past and decides how he'd like his future to look. Decision doesn't guarantee fulfilment though, and Jed has a long way to go before he knows how his story will end. Full review...
Spy Another Day by Philip Caveney
That Mr Lazarus is an odd man. He works at the local cinema, which is owned by Kip's dad, and unknown to anyone but Kip he's actually set up home in the projection room. He claims to be about 120 years old, and he makes money by selling film memorabilia. But he doesn't acquire his loot by hanging round movie plots, or rummaging around on stalls at car boot sales. No, he does it by persuading (well, that's a polite way of putting it: blackmail's such an ugly word) Kip and Beth to go into films and steal it. Yup. Into actual films, while they're playing. Downside? If they don't get out by the closing credits, they're stuck there. No pressure, then. Full review...