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.
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The Black Dragon (Mysterium) by Julian Sedgwick
Danny is a fish out of water at his public school. Half Chinese, he's still a newcomer after over a year, having grown up in a circus called The Mysterium. Those days behind him, he delights at the chance to go to Hong Kong with his guardian aunt Laura, even while she's there working as an undercover journalist, investigating nightmarish Triad gangs. Once in that exotic world it's a quandary to know just what side who is on, what with corrupt crops, people who are not as they appear and more – but what on earth is the connection between all this and the dark, disastrous ending the circus suffered? Full review...
Ways To See a Ghost by Emily Diamand
Isis has spent half her life effectively being the adult in the family. After a dreadful car accident which killed her little sister Angel five years previously, her mother Cally falls apart, and her father walks out on them. Isis is left to cope as best she can, though the early days are hard: there's often no food in the house, her uniform is grubby and too small, and she has to take responsibility for getting herself to and from school. Full review...
Hats Off To Brandenburg (The Roxy Compendium) by Graham Thomas
It was London, 1815. George III was on the throne although it was his son who was Regent, but it would be quite a while before those facts bothered the Roxy Playhouse Irregulars, who lived, loved and had their being in the old Roxy Playhouse. Money had always been in short supply as it tends to be when life is lived as a celebration, but they were in debt to Richard Sheridan and eventually forced to strike a bargain with him: pay their debts within one month or he would take the Roxy Playhouse. The Irregulars took the challenge and put on a performance, only this was no three-act play on a stage. Their performance was a tightly choreographed heist which would relieve members of the ton of some of their more valuable trinkets. If you're thinking of Robin Hood then forget it - this was going to be far more complex and bloody and it was obvious that there was more at stake than a decrepit playhouse. Full review...
By My Side by Alice Peterson
Cass is a medical student - she loves her work, and she also loves her boyfriend Sean. Tired, hung over and rather distracted, she walks into the street without noticing a fast-moving lorry coming her way... and her life is forever changed. Full review...
The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken (Vish Puri Mysteries) by Tarquin Hall
For those of us have not met Vish Puri before he's a private investigator, based in Delhi. He's also a gourmet and more than a little bit overweight. It's not for nothing that his wife calls him Chubby. His current case is a little unusual: he's called in to investigate the theft of a moustache. Vish is no slouch in the facial furniture stakes, but his client is the champion and the loss is more than just an embarrassment. Then, to complicate matters Vish is present at a post-match cricket dinner when the father of a top Pakistani player dies - from poison in his butter chicken. When Vish is called in to investigate he has to become involved with the continent's mafias. And he has to travel to Pakistan. Yes - it's that serious. Full review...
All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
Em and Finn are being held prisoner by the Doctor. They never see each other but are able to communicate through the cell wall. This is a blessing but also a curse: they can each hear the interrogations and torture meted out to the other. Neither talks but how much can they take? And then Em finds a note hidden in her cell. It's from her future self and it tells of fourteen escapes. And fourteen failed trips back to the past to try to put things right. There's only one way left. Em must kill someone she loves. Full review...
Unfaithfully Yours by Nigel Williams
When Nigel Williams first really burst on to the best-seller list, a couple of decades ago, it was with a book set in Wimbledon that really quite tickled a younger me – and my mother. But then he produced two more in the same series, and we soon decided he was a bit of a one-trick pony, and could never be sure how much of the trilogy we'd read, or be too eager to read more. Flash forward, and Williams has certainly branched out – his setting this time is Putney. Wimbledon Common is now Putney Heath, and so on. But here he provides an epistolatory novel – and if there's one kind of novel to make me prick up my ears it is one built from letters. It is the blatant two-and-fro timing of the narrative, and the succinctness that characters are formed with, that strike me as obvious benefits of such a book – and Unfaithfully Yours has those and many more. Full review...
Craft it Up Around the World by Libby Abadee and Cath Armstrong
With long summer holidays looming ahead along with uncertain British weather it's alway a good idea to have plans about activities which will involve and interest children. In Craft it Up Around the World we've got thirty five suggestions for projects which will keep children entertained. As the title suggests we're going on a world tour and you can pick the projects to suit other activities you have planned, as a reminder of a holiday or just on a random basis. Full review...
Love in Revolution by B R Collins
Everyone in her village - in an unnamed Basque country - loves pello and Esteya is no different. It's the national sport and its heroes are national heroes. That the holder of the Kings Cup hails from her village is a source of pride to Esteya, her twin brother Martin, and everyone else. Except older brother Leon. So when the Bull comes home for a visit, everyone is excited. And when a young peasant boy challenges him to a game, everyone laughs. And when the peasant boy wins, everyone is shocked and discomfited. Except Leon. Leon, a communist sympathiser, sees it as a symbolic victory of the peasant over the dissolute regime of the King. Full review...
Changing Guard at Buckingham Palace by A A Milne and E H Shepard
Do you remember that time when they were changing guard at Buckingham Palace, and Christopher Robin went down with Alice? Or how about that Christmas when King John (not a good man) asked for lots of things but only really wanted a big, India-rubber ball? These were the poems of my childhood, so much so that when this new compilation arrived I remembered some of them by heart even though it must have been a good 20 years since I leafed through 'Now We Are Six' and 'When We Were Very Young' Full review...
The Shadow King: The Bizarre Afterlife of King Tut's Mummy by Jo Marchant
Now, if I'd known
They'd line up just to see him,
I'd taken all my money
And bought me a museum.
These lyrics, taken from a popular Steve Martin song, perfectly epitomize a phenomenon first described in the New York Times, February 1923. The craze came to be known as Tut-Mania and even now, ninety years later, there is something about the boy-king with the golden mask that ignites the imagination and curiosity of each subsequent generation. Full review...
My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish 2: The Sea-quel by Mo O'Hara and Marek Jagucki
Mo O'Hara's first book made quite a splash in our house, with both of my sons declaring it the best book ever. Considering the number of books in our house, that is really saying something. My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish had everything a boy could want - a mad scientist - a computer hacker and a zombie ( or more accurately a zombie goldfish) along with action, adventure and a huge helping of humour. My sons have been counting the days until the release of the sequel (or should we say Sea-quel?). My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish was always going to be a difficult act to follow. When your first book is absolutely perfect, children do expect you to carry on the same vein. Thankfully, Mo has pulled it off again with a sequel just as good as the original. Full review...
The Last Battle by Stephen Harding
May 4, 1945 saw the unconditional surrender of all German troops in Germany in Northwest Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Bavaria. Berlin had surrendered two days earlier. A few more areas remained officially at war, but even the most diehard supporter must have realised Germany had fallen. The war was over, to most soldiers, although VE day would be delayed for a few more days. But the most implausible battle of the second world war was about to begin. Had The Last Battle been fiction, I would have scoffed at the unlikely alliance featured in this book as too unbelievable. A final battle played out in isolated Austrian castle was to rescue French VIPs held as honour prisoners. They were to be protected by the oddest ensemble of soldiers ever known. A ranking member of the S.S., a decorated Wehrmacht officer and his troops, the Austrian resistance and a few American soldiers against a suicidal S.S. troop bent on carrying as many killings as possible before the inevitable end. Full review...
The Never Pages by Graham Thomas
There are two rules that the Dream Investigator must follow:
1. Document everything.
2. Keep moving forward.
Master G is in search of his one true love, Lucy. But Lucy is lost in the NeverRealm, the dimension that separates the living from whatever comes after. In the NeverRealm, memories do not exist. So how is Master G - the Dream Investigator - to find her? From the very first moment, his journey into the NeverRealm is destroying his mind, turning thoughts and knowledge and recollection to sand, shifting sand. He will need courage to face the nightmarish environment. He will need fortitude to resist the degeneration. He will need to find Brekker, his unreliable scientist friend. And he'll need the companionship of Paisley, a dog named after a carpet... Full review...
The Mysterious Misadventures of Clemency Wrigglesworth by Julia Lee
Clemency Wrigglesworth is orphaned and penniless when she starts her long journey back to England from India. On board ship she is put in the care of a charming and kindly nanny, Mrs Potchard, who resolves to trace Clemency’s long lost relations on their arrival at Southampton. Whilst Mrs Potchard’s investigations continue Clemency is taken in by the Marvel family, an unusual and entertaining bunch, but very different from what Clemency has been used to. However, they are kind and Clemency gradually relaxes despite the worry that someone is following her. But then the sinister Miss Clawe arrives at the Marvels’ home and Clemency is taken away with only the clothes she is wearing leaving all her belongings behind. Concerned about their young charge Gully Potchard and Whitby Marvel set out to find and help her and with the help of a travelling theatre group of knife throwing Red Indians they set off. However, Clemency's problems are worse than they realise; can they find her in time? Full review...
Terra by Mitch Benn
Terra is different from everyone else on Fnrr and not only because she has vowels in her name. You see, Terra isn’t actually from Fnrr. Her adoptive father (Lbbp, a Fnrrn scientist) rescued her from her parents, the Bradshaws, on the planet Rrth in a moment of unthinking philanthropy. If only he'd done a little more thinking and little less philanthropy… Full review...
Burnt Norton by Carolyn Sandon
After the death of his youngest son in a terrible accident, Sir William Keyt starts to lose interest in life. It takes meeting young Molly Johnson, a bright and beautiful daughter of a local landlord, to rekindle a spark for him. He brings her into Norton House as a maidservant, where she quickly catches the eye of his bookish eldest son, Thomas. But Sir William wants Molly to be more than a maid to him, and as a rich man and an MP is used to having his own way. Full review...
Cold Hearts by Gunnar Staalesen
After refusing a prospective client, who afterwards viciously assaulted another prostitute, Margrethe goes missing. Her worried friend from the street visits Varg Veum, a local private investigator, in the hope that he will take the case and get to the bottom of it without the need for police involvement. Varg then investigates every lead and attempts to discover all he can about the missing woman’s unusual upbringing, racking up more trouble and past cases as well as creating dangerous enemies. Full review...
Cherry Green Story Queen by Annie Dalton and Charlie Adler
At first glance, I expected this to be a fairly typical girl's story for tweens. I certainly was not expecting a story of such beauty or depth. This is a very enjoyable read, but is it much more than light fiction. I enjoyed it so much, I wanted to share the book with my sons, but I had to be very careful to hide the cover. Being typical boys, they are not going to want to hear a story that looks so much like a girl's story. This book has something in common with 'The Arabian Nights, Tales of 1,001 Nights'. In fact it shares a direct link with the ancient book. But this story will only give us three nights of magic. Still three nights might just be enough to change the lives of six children in foster care. This also shares the basic message of 'The Allegory of the Long Spoons' a well known parable by the Rabbi Haim which has passed into the folk lore of many cultures. The basic message is that the difference between heaven and hell is not so much a difference in physical circumstances, but rather is the result of how we treat one another. Full review...
The Riddle of the Labyrinth by Margalit Fox
Meet Linear B. It's the name given to an ancient writing system discovered in 1900, and has stuck ever since then. If you need to know more, it's a linear style of writing, and is linked to Linear A. There, that's that cleared up. But it took an awful long time to clear anything more up – while people knew some things about Linear B, and why and how they got to be holding it in their hands, the actual language it contained, and its meaning, was a truly intellectual challenge. It was five whole decades of obscurity, annoyingly secretive archaeologists and more, between Sir Arthur Evans finding Linear B on copious clay tablets on Crete, and its interpretation. In between those two landmarks was an unsung American heroine, and this book is both an incredibly readable guide to everything regarding Linear B, and a study of her contribution. Full review...
Never Forget by Lisa Cutts
DC Nina Foster isn't that unusual in the police force. She's perhaps a little overweight and a little too fond of wine. Her relationships don't tend to last but then the unpredictable hours which the job demands don't help in that area. She has some good friends within the force - part camaraderie, part common interest and a lot of knowledge that that these are the people you might be relying on in an emergency. Nina does have one secret though and it relates back to her childhood. She does her best not to give what happened to her any room in her head and most of the time it works. Most people have no idea about her history. Then a frenzied stabbing pulls Nina into her first murder investigation and the Major Incident Room. Full review...
The Interpretations by David Shaw Mackanzie
The Interpretations is the second novel written by David Shaw Mackanzie. It's set in the Scottish Highlands, in the remote town of Dalmore, after the strange disappearance of one of its residents. The book is split into two parts. Part one takes place in the late 1980s while part two takes place in the early 2000s. In the first part we meet Tom Kingsmill, born and bred in Dalmore. Tom participates in a race with his local running club. Part of the race route Tom is expected to run leads over the newly-built bridge connecting Dalmore with the outside world. This bridge is the one Reverend McFarren has an obsessive hatred for. He believes the bridge is a bad omen after two teenagers jumped to their deaths just the month before. No one could have predicted the way in which the reverend's hunch is proved correct. Tom fails to finish the race - in fact, he has vanished entirely. Full review...
The Gift of Darkness by VM Giambanco
Thirteen days. These are the words etched into the door jamb of James and Annie Sinclair's bedroom while James, Annie and their two young sons lay on the bed, murdered. Newbie in the Seattle PD homicide division, Detective Alison Madison, gradually realises a truth as horrific as the scene with which she and her colleagues are faced. It all started with a historic kidnapping from 25 years earlier and now time is running out. Thirteen days… They aren't just carved words, they're a ticking clock. Thirteen days to solve the case. Thirteen days before darkness descends. Full review...
Destiny in the Desert: The Road to El Alamein - the Battle that Turned the Tide by Jonathan Dimbleby
El Alamein is a totemic British battle, standing as it does with others which turned the tide of our fortunes. The Allies were still smarting from the effects of Dunkirk and harbouring the knowledge that had Hitler elected to press his advantage then the situation could have been very different. Churchill is often quoted as saying that there were no victories before El Alamein and no defeats afterwards. This isn't true - 'it seemed that' is generally omitted from the beginning of the quote - but it does sum up the fact that the battle turned the tide of perception as well as the fortunes of war, which was quite an achievement for fighting which took place on land to which none of the major participants had any legitimate claim. Full review...
Eleanor's Eyebrows by Timothy Knapman and David Tazzyman
Eleanor just can't see the point of eyebrows. They don't do anything. They just sit there, two silly, scruffy, hairy, little bits of fluff! Sadly for Eleanor, her eyebrows overhear her describing them in this way, and they refuse to stay where they aren't wanted and so pack their bags and set off into the big world to find a place where someone will love them! Full review...
Mmm...Let's Eat! by Libby Koponen
Children often have a tendency to end up eating brown and white foods, not wanting to branch out into any more colourful territory for fear of the unknown of purple aubergines or blue blueberries. This book aims to get children thinking a little bit more about the colours of foods, perhaps encouraging them to try something a little bit out of the ordinary one day. Full review...
Stick Man's First Words by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
Does your child roam the house dressed as the Gruffalo? Do you know the words to Tiddler off by heart? Have you read and loved Stick Man as we at The Bookbag have? Well, this is one for the fans, a first words book full of wonderful illustrations by Axel Scheffler and based on the Stick Man story. Full review...
Mr Birdsnest and the House Next Door by Julia Donaldson and Hannah Shaw
I love Julia Donaldson's books for younger children. Everyone loves The Gruffalo and Tyrannosaurus Drip is still one of our favourites, but as the children have grown, these books have been read less frequently. I have to admit, I've missed them. Mr Birdsnest and the House Next Door gives us a chance to enjoy this brilliant author for just a little while longer. This is fun story, told in the first person, so we never know the name of the main character. We do know she is lively active young girl, perhaps with an active imagination. I would guess her to be about 10 years old with an equally active and inquisitive younger brother named Elmo. Full review...
Squiglet Pig by Joyce Dunbar and Tim Hopgood
Squiglet Pig is based on a real deep sea creature, the piglet squid. This is one of those creatures you have to see to believe. It honestly does look like it always smiling, and very much like the main character in this book. Full review...
Them by L A Weatherly
Kylie and her family had a prosperous upper middle class life - until the day Kylie's stepfather nearly beat her to death. Forced to flee, they ended up in a shelter, and are now trying to start life over with a very different set of circumstances. Kylie's Mom is working and exhausted, they live in a run down flat, and the money barely stretches to covering groceries - and as Kylie's little sister keeps reminding her - this is all her fault. Pressures build up with strange phone calls. Could Kylie's stepfather have found them? And of course there are the usual difficulties of starting a new school and trying to make friends. Full review...
A Cat Called Dog by Jem Vanston
Cats are not dogs. And dogs are not cats. Even two-legs know that. But Dog was a cat, because that was his name: he was a cat - a cat called Dog - and he was happy with that too.
Confused? Don't be. Dog may be happy but he is the confused one, not you. He is a cat. He is a cat. But he's called Dog because he behaves like one. He pokes his tongue out like a puppy. When he gets excited, he wags his tail like a puppy. And, horror of horrors, he even yaps and barks like a puppy. This kitten-cat is only one summer old, so perhaps it's not too late. Perhaps, if he were to find a tutor, he could learn to be a proper cat. A cat who understands the feline holy trinity of eating, sleeping and washing. A cat who understands his importance to two-legs. A cat who can proudly take his place among the others of the best species in the world. Full review...