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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Desert Heart: 2 (Ellen Martin Disasters) by Mark Lingane
Ten years have passed since Chasing Heart and that moment that Ellen Martin met and fell in love with Alex Heart while he was attempting to extricate her from South American impending doom. We now catch up with them to discover that Ellen has ditched Alex, has become a partner in her law firm and is about to fly out to the Middle East for important business negotiations on behalf of a client. Ellen isn't known for staying out of trouble and the Middle East isn't known for its tolerance of the mischievously danger-prone. Therefore it's not long before Ellen needs a rescuer again and, yes, it's reunion time. Full review...
Oliver and the Seawigs by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre
Children the age of Oliver are supposed to be adventurous, but he just wants to stay at home. He's been dragged across the globe by his explorer parents, but he only wants to settle. Moving into a new home at last, when they retire, he soon finds them vanished, along with lots of small islands that had peppered the bay their house overlooked. Oliver, then, has to turn pioneer, and try and find out what has happened to the rest of his family. Full review...
Four New Words for Love by Michael Cannon
Christopher meets Gina on Waterloo Bridge. He is newly widowed, she is newly homeless; he's an elderly Londoner, she's a young Glaswegian. It is a defining event in both their lives, but that only becomes clear in the future. Of pressing concern in the present is the rather rude policeman looking to move Gina on. The situation is nearing crisis. Sensing her desperation, Christopher impulsively asks her to come home with him, a proposal she tentatively accepts. Yet it is this one benevolent act that gives birth to an odd and platonic friendship, a relationship based on silences and lacunas, and one which Michael Cannon's fourth novel, Four New Words for Love, looks to delicately unravel. Full review...
The Lost Gods by Francesca Simon
Imagine that Christianity didn't end up a world religion. In its stead you have the Norse gods, a bunch of war-mongering, bling-loving, mead-slurping divinities with the appetite and impatience of a toddler in a sweet shop. Mad berserks battle to the death every day in their halls — for fun, that is — and their idea of meaningful communication is a thunderbolt. Only . . . they can't quite manage all that any more. Full review...
Broken Angels by Graham Masterton
Despite the odd reservation, the first book in his Katie Maguire series, was good enough to have me eagerly reaching for the second, Broken Angels. Whilst Masterton may have dipped into some of the female detective clichés with his debut crime thriller, he also dipped into his past as a great horror writer and the combination worked well. Full review...
Silent Mountain by Michelle Briscombe
Silent Mountain introduces us to the world of Jack Jupiter and his adventures. An ordinary boy with an interest in wildlife, Jack is bullied in school and still grieving the death of his father when, ignoring his Grandmother’s warning, he heads to the frozen lake and gets drawn into a life changing adventure in another world. Full review...
Fire & Ash by Jonathan Maberry
ALERT! Spoilers for early books in the Rot & Ruin series are scattered throughout this review. So if you haven't read the others, get thee over to my words about book one. Full review...
Kennedy: A Cultural History of an American Icon by Mark White
During his lifetime John Fitzgerald Kennedy created an image of himself that dazzled and which has largely remained intact despite the steady leakage of information over the years which could have been expected to tarnish. It could be argued that - much as in the case of Elvis Presley and Princess Diana - death was an excellent career move, but Mark White examines the way the image was built up, then maintained and - after the assassination - burnished, reinforced and protected. Full review...
Last Man Standing by Davide Longo and Silvester Mazzarella
I've read countless dystopian fiction accounts of a world changed overnight by everything from man eating plants, to nuclear war, plague, or zombies. This is the first to present a complete meltdown of society as the result of economic crises, but this does hold far greater credibility than the average vampire or zombie plague. The main protagonist, Leonardo, is not a hero. He is a very ordinary middle aged man with many flaws. He has no super human strength or abilities of any kind - the only thing that gives him the courage to continue is his love for his estranged daughter, who suddenly reappears in his life, along with a deeply disturbed stepbrother, early in the crisis. Full review...
Alexander and the Wind Up Mouse by Leo Lionni
When I saw Leo Lionni's name on this book, I couldn't snatch it up quickly enough. Leo Lionni began writing children's books in the early 60's and many of his were childhood favourites of mine. After having spent a fortune tracking down two out of print books of his, I am overjoyed to find one of his wonderful books is once again in print. Lionni had perfectly captured the magic of collage style illustrations years before Eric Carle came onto the scene, and has such beautiful, timeless stories. His stories are always fun and entertaining, but they carry messages of hope and kindness as well. They seem to have captured all the yearning for peace of the era in which they were written, and the very best of human emotions without every being preachy or twee. In my opinion Lionni was one of the best children's authors of all time. He wrote books that fed the soul. Full review...
Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan
Kami Glass' hometown is about to become ground zero for a sorcerer fight for supremacy. And the sorcerers aren't bothered about humans becoming collateral damage - in fact, one faction wants a human sacrifice to increase the power of their magic. Full review...
Save Our Shop by Michael Roll
William Bridge was a talented artist - just a little too talented, as it turned out because the sub-editor could see exactly who the cartoon character was meant to be and that was why he ceased to be a journalist rather suddenly. He wasn't exactly spoiled for choice when it came to his next employment and that was how he found himself helping his Uncle Albert in the village shop, but there were pluses and minuses about the job. The biggest plus was that he met and fell in love with Sally, who was also helping Uncle Albert. The first of the minuses was that there was more than a little opposition to the match from Sally's stepmother, the redoubtable Lady Courtney. And then there was the armed robbery, the arrival of Albert's brother Neil who for urgent and perfectly valid reasons needed to be known as Aunt Isabel, the American security expert and his daughter whose expertise was in an entirely different area and some dodgy dealings about the future of the shop. No real problems there, then. Full review...
A Naked Singularity by Sergio De La Pava
You probably know that when you start a review of a book by quoting someone else that you are not really going to have anything original to say about it. Sometimes that's because it's already been lauded to the skies and you agree with every published word.
Sometimes it isn't.
Casi's voice is astonishing is one of the blurb quotes. I agree. It's just that you can still get tired of hearing it.
And I did. Full review...
The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett: An Origami Yoda Book by Tom Angleberger
What is out there that can make a wimpy kid less, er, wimpy? Why, a paper finger puppet of the Star Wars universe's Yoda character, that's what. One kid in school has taken the Origami Yoda persona on through several other books and adventures, and he's going to be useful here, as he, our chief narrator Tommy and all their friends despair at changes in the school. In a rash move, the principal has banned all the semi-educational but fun classes, like music, drama and, er, Lego Robot Club, and replaced them with horrendously boring and patronising, shrill TV programmes and rote filling-in of worksheets, just so collectively the school's exam marks bounce back from a one-year dip. But how can one little paper Yoda inspire such a large scale retraction, and get the changes reversed? Full review...
Star Wars Jedi Academy by Jeffrey Brown
Roan has dreamed of going to pilot school his whole life, so it comes as a bit of a shock when he doesn’t quite make the grade. The next best alternative, unfortunately, is Tatooine Agriculture Academy, and a life as a farmer on his dusty, desert homeworld. Luckily, fate steps in and Roan receives a letter from Master Yoda, inviting him to train at the Jedi Academy on Coruscant. It may not be pilot school, but Roan realises that it may be his ticket to a better life. He just needs to get to grips with the Force, lightsabers and of course...girls... Full review...
The Ghost Prison by Joseph Delaney
Meet Billy Calder. The young orphan has got a job, which is lucky as he's nearly too old for the Home for Unfortunate Boys. Unluckily it's a job at the local spooky castle, which is the town prison. It's sat looming above everyone and has generated a whole host of legends and ghost stories among the people below. More unluckily, the truth behind those ghost stories is even worse than the public imagination. Even more unluckily, Billy has been singled out for the night shift. And we find out just how Billy's luck runs out completely when we learn who requested him to work nights… Full review...
Eat Up, Little Donkey by Rindert Kromhout and Annemarie van Haeringen
Little Donkey won't eat his lunch. He really, really doesn't want to eat at all. So, without a fuss Mama Donkey packs him into the pushchair and off they go to the park. I wonder what she has in mind? Full review...
It's Not Yours, It's Mine! by Susanna Moores
Presents are always special but Blieka’s new present is extra special. It is a lovely red ball and Blieka is sure that it is most definitely not for sharing. This ball belongs to Blieka and no-one else! Time passes and the lovely red ball is not quite so lovely anymore. Blieka needs help but what can Blieka do now? Will Blieka’s friends be prepared to come to the rescue? Full review...
The Weasel Puffin Unicorn Baboon Pig Lobster Race by James Thorp and Angus Mackinnon
I really enjoyed this book, but it is pretty clear from the outset, that this book will not be everyone's cup of tea. I'm just waiting for it to make an appearance on the banned or challenged books lists ( I read them regularly and get many of my best books from them). Curious George has been challenged more than once for being having a pipe in one illustration, but Weasel in this book is never without his. Coupled with the surreal, psychedelic images and the dream like quality of this book - there are sure to be complaints, but I don't think the author or illustrator will mind. I can't imagine this book being written or illustrated by anyone who gives a fig about political correctness. And in all honesty, there is nothing in this book that children are going to take the wrong way. The illustrations in this book are not going to make a child smoke a pipe anymore than they will make them try to go swimming in the fish tank. But if you prefer more mainstream children's books you might want to give this one a miss. Full review...
Out of the Clouds of Deceit by David Canning
On his way to begin training to be a pilot in the RAF, Aiden met Dennis in a railway station buffet. As luck would have it they were both on their way to the same place, for the same reason and would find themselves sharing a room. Trained and mentored by older serving officers in what was the immediate post-war period they came to understand - and to some extent feel - the sense of betrayal which burdened the pilots from bomber command who had taken part in the Allied bombing campaign in the World War II. Flying was in Aiden's blood and he was at home in the air and in the mess - the comradeship of men suited him and he understood the nuances. He was less at home with women, never completely understanding the different needs a woman has in a relationship. Full review...
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
In the future, vampires exist, and everyone knows it. To try and deal with the problem of vampirism, cities have been given to the monsters and designated Coldtowns – walled cities where people can enter, but hardly ever leave. With these cities broadcast on TV 24 hours a day, they look glamorous – but those just watching can’t see the deadliness behind the glitz. Seventeen-year-old Tana is about to find out. Along with her ex-boyfriend Aiden, who’s just been infected by a vampire and has to go without drinking blood for eighty eight days or turn into one himself, and a mysterious vampire named Gavriel, she’s headed for the largest Coldtown of them all. Can they get there – and if they do, will any of them survive? Full review...
Haunted by William Hussey
Emma Rhodes is haunted by the memory of her younger brother Richie, whose death has torn apart her family and left Emma plagued by intense guilt. But when the arrival of a mysterious boy, Nick Redway, heralds the arrival of spirits of the dead to Milton Lake, Emma finds herself being haunted by altogether more dangerous entities. The 'unmade' are spirits of people who died violent, unexpected deaths, now corrupt and desperate to possess living flesh. A necromancer is calling the dead back to the world using the fabled Ghost Machine. The more the machine is used, the weaker the gates between life and death grow, until nothing can stop the unmade being unleashed upon the town. Only Nick seems to know how to fight the ghosts, and Emma must help him to find the necromancer operating the Ghost Machine, before all hell breaks loose. Full review...
We Love You, Hugless Douglas by David Melling
We first met Douglas when he was simply a bear wanting a hug. Since then he’s been to a sleepover and had a few little issues in Don't Worry, Douglas. Now he’s returning back to his original sort of set up. This time, instead of a hug, he’s after someone to call his best friend. Full review...
Things You Never Knew About Dinosaurs by Giles Paley-Phillips and Liz Pichon
The idea of a dinosaur on a trampoline or playing football is just plain silly. After all, everyone knows dinosaurs died out yonks ago…didn’t they?
Nope.
No, they did not. Full review...
Monkeys in my Garden: Unbelievable but true stories of my life in Mozambique by Valerie Pixley
Valerie Pixley and her husband O'D live in Mozambique, amidst its rapidly disappearing forests. Monkeys in my Garden tells the story of what life is like in the Nhamacoa Forest and how they came to be there. It opens with a terrifying scene: armed bandits in their bedroom in the middle of the night. Full review...
Elmer and the Whales by David McKee
Elmer and Wilbur are spending some time with Grandpa Eldo, something lots of children will identify with. He tells them that in his youth, this was the time of year he’d go down to the coast for some Whale watching and, well, that sounds like a marvellous idea, so Elmer and Wilbur decide to try it for themselves. But it turns out there’s more to Grandpa Eldo’s story than he’s telling them, and Elmer and Wilbur soon find themselves on a wild adventure. Full review...
Animal Noises by Nicola Killen
Sometimes a picture book comes along that is so beautiful, it’s almost wasted on slobbering, grubby-fingered toddlers. This is one such book. Animal Noises is one of the prettiest board books I’ve ever seen. It is a lift-the-flap book of, you’ve guess it, sounds made by animals. Full review...
Celtic Warrior: The Legend of Cu Chulainn by Will Sliney
Queen Maeve wants the Brown Bull of Cooley and the lands of Ulster. With an army of 10,000 men, she marches to try to take them by force. The only man who stands between her and her goal is Cú Chulainn, the legendary hero. Can he save his country from the evil enchantress? Full review...
More Than This by Patrick Ness
Here is the boy, drowning.
And Seth does drown. He is alone; taken by the sea, arms and legs flailing and breaking, skull dashed against the rocks whilst the icy water constricts his muscles and breath. Seth is consciously aware of his final moments. His death consumes him with a heavy, confusing blur until… he awakens and finds himself in a desolate, shattered world; naked, alone, starving and alive. This place looks familiar. It looks exactly like the English village where he spent his early childhood before his brother’s accident and his family’s move to America, but it is now overgrown and devoid of human life. It is as if the whole place was simply abandoned one day. Full review...
The Lord of Opium by Nancy Farmer
At last! A long-awaited sequel to Nancy Farmer's acclaimed House of the Scorpion, in which she explored the life of a little boy who was created solely to provide organs for the failing body of a drug lord. Matt's story was exciting and heartbreaking - would you want to find out you were a clone? It was also incredibly thought-provoking, exploring ideas of prejudice, power, courage, love and sacrifice. And it all took place in a dystopian future in which the drug trade was all but legitimised and in which people are enslaved by microchips in the brain. Full review...
Never Go Back by Lee Child
Jack Reacher is calling on a lady friend. He's never actually met her, they've just spoken on the phone, and he likes her voice. For a drifter like Reacher with nothing better to do, that's a good enough reason to head to Virginia and maybe buy her a coffee. Except when he arrives at his old unit's headquarters, the lady he wants to meet - new commanding officer Major Susan Turner - isn't there. Instead, he finds himself accused of homicide, and brought back into the army. Someone is going to be very sorry about this.
And does anyone really think it'll be Jack? Full review...
The 100 by Kass Morgan
Nuclear war has rendered the Earth uninhabitable for centuries. The remains of human society, a colony of people that managed to escape the cataclysm, live out their lives on massive city-like spaceships. Unfortunately, the spaceships are becoming unsustainable and as resources begin to run out, the Council is forced to introduce strict new plans and measures in an attempt to protect the remaining population. With options running out, a dangerous mission is conceived as a desperate roll of the dice: one hundred juvenile delinquents are sent to the Earth to test if the planet can once more sustain life. There is no telling what the remaining radiation will do to the teenagers, but in this hardened society, this is a risk worth taking. Full review...
Lockwood and Co: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
Sensing ghosts is a risky business, even if you're as talented as Lucy. And when one simple mistake leads to the death of several children, she sets off for a new start in London. Here there is an absolute epidemic of ectoplasm, icy air and bloodthirsty beings from beyond the grave. But ghost-hunting is big business down south, and the major firms won't hire an unknown. The only agency which will take Lucy is a down-at-heel place run, in the basement of their home, by two teenagers. Full review...