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 Ghost of the Mary Celeste by Valerie Martin
On 5th December 1872 the merchant brig Mary Celeste was found devoid of human life (or death), floating aimlessly in the Atlantic. Many, including Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, are intrigued by the mysterious absence of all crew and Captain Benjamin Briggs' family (keeping the Captain company for the trip). Meanwhile investigative journalist Phoebe Grant wants to reveal the charlatans behind the popularity of spiritualist mediums and chooses Violet Petra as her study sample. Does Violet have the powers she claims and why is she getting so upset about Conan Doyle's Mary Celeste story? Phoebe is determined to find out and, in doing so, will be pulled into a maritime conundrum that may never be completely solved. Full review...
Geek Inc: The Impossible Boy by Mark Griffiths
Weird things happen in Blue Hills High School and the surrounding area. Not just the typical behaviour of teachers driven demented by their pupils, or the secret ingredient we all know is stirred into every school cafeteria pudding in the country, but the Doctor-Who-meets-the-Wimpy-Kid type of weird. For starters there's a boy who can do magic tricks, and we don't mean those lame ones which involve bits of elastic up your sleeve, either. This is walking across water and disappearing in broad daylight stuff. Then there's the statue hidden in the bushes at the park, and the elderly gentleman who likes to hide teaspoons in his shoes. And once again, Geek Inc is on the case! Full review...
Vengeance by Megan Miranda
Vengeance is a follow-up to Fracture, in which Delaney almost died, drowned under the ice of a lake. Things never got back to normal after that. Delaney can sense death. She is irresistibly drawn to people who are about to die. And people take a long time to get over the accident. Delaney survived for 11 minutes under the ice - how was this possible? And Carson, the boy who pulled her out, is dead. There are mutterings that Falcon Lake is cursed. It wanted Delaney and, denied her, is now taking others in some kind of freakish revenge. Full review...
The Kept by James Scott
Elspeth and her 12 year old son Caleb have been beset by one of the worst types of tragedy. As a result, fuelled by Caleb's need for revenge and Elspeth's motherly love, they set out on a journey that brings them to the small Lake Erie town of Watersbridge. With their new setting comes a greater understanding of their past which is a mixed blessing that must be met head on before they have to face their future. Full review...
Letters to the Midwife: Correspondence with the author of Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth
Jennifer Worth, author of the bestselling Call the Midwife, sadly passed away in May 2011 following a short illness. Her books have gained a great deal of popularity in recent years with their mixture of warmth, sadness and humour based on her experiences working as a midwife in the East End of London. Letters to the Midwife features some of the treasured letters received by Worth from former work colleagues and fans of her books. The resulting book is a rich testament to a life lived fully and to a very special lady whose memories have managed to inspire and touch so many. Full review...
Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard
Prince Corin has been bewitched by the dragons, something he'll forget until the time is right for him to free the fire breathers from enslavement to Emperor Hadon of Mycene. It doesn't stop there though - that's not all he's been bewitched by. The commoner Tam happens to be attending the summer court at his palace; a house party for unmarried debs to find the husband of their parents' dreams. Tam isn't actually looking but Corin finds her anyway. However their world doesn't run as smoothly as their hearts: war is about to start, murderous treachery stalks the palace and Tam has visions she can't explain. Although as time goes on their purpose becomes clearer. Tam and Corin realise that their reason for being together extends beyond love – they've been brought together to save the world. Full review...
The Gospel of Loki by Joanne M Harris
Loki is a shape shifter and the most recent addition to the Norse gods in the halls of Asgard. He’s there to help the likes of Odin and Thor but sometimes things go wrong or his actions are misunderstood. Loki definitely doesn’t deserve his ‘Trickster’ nickname and will explain why to anyone who will listen. This is Loki's gospel, his long-overdue side of the story and it’s all here: how he arranged a mason to rebuild Asgard (shame about the horse), his marriage to Sygni, the problems fathering a werewolf and giving birth to a foal, what Freyja’s gold necklace cost mankind and, of course, that day Thor became a beautiful bride. (An occasion Thor has never spoken of since for some reason!) Indeed, Loki is there to help and facilitate - if anyone tells you differently, don’t believe them! Full review...
Give Me Everything You Have: On Being Stalked by James Lasdun
In the autumn of 2003 James Lasdun taught a fiction workshop as part of the graduate writing programme at a place he calls Morgan College. On all such courses the quality of the students is very variable but one writer stood out as having talent. He calls her Nasreen. He offered help over and above the course but Nasreen read a personal interest into this - which wasn't in any way reciprocated. An email correspondence which had been friendly turned nasty, with accusations that Nasreen's work had been stolen to sell to other writers, that he had had an affair with another student and that he had arranged for Nasreen to be raped. Anti-semitic comments were made. Obsessive love had turned to obsessive hate. Full review...
Jawbone Lake by Ray Robinson
Rabbit is a young woman with plenty on her plate and New Year’s Day brings her a lot more worries. Rabbit witnesses a car careen off a bridge into a lake (with fatal consequences) whilst being pursued and is then seen herself by the pursuer. The victim of the crash was a larger than life man called CJ and we follow his son Joe as he deals with the event and attempts to rediscover who his father was. Full review...
The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Means of Ascent by Robert A Caro
It's only a matter of days since I finished listening to The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power, the first part of Robert A Caro's definitive work on the President and despite having just spent over forty hours on the book I wanted to learn more. I was torn though - the second book in a series is not often as good as the first and it struck me that these might not be the most exciting years in Johnson's life. Was this book going to be the link which took us on to the more exciting times? Not a bit of it. Full review...
The Atheist's Prayer by Amy R Biddle
I don’t shy away from a book with a little edge, in fact Chuck Palahniuk is one of my favourite authors and his books can be so sharp you can shave with them. On the surface The Atheist’s Prayer would seem to be courting controversy; why else have such a provocative title? But, is it really that shocking? Nope. This is a story about how people deal with the modern world and what happens when dangerous ideals infect a vulnerable group. Full review...
The Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett
In a prosperous area of London during World War II the two Lockwood children, twelve year old Cecily and her older brother Jeremy, are dispatched, together with their socialite mother, to stay with family in the north to keep them safe. On their arrival, at Cecily’s insistence, they take in a young evacuee, ten year old May. As they wander the countryside close to Cecily’s Uncle Peregrine’s country estate the two girls find two strange boys hiding in the ruins of Snow Castle and do not tell the rest of the family about their discovery. As the children attempt to cope with their changed circumstances and the fear of an approaching enemy, each evening Uncle Peregrine tells the children a dark and sinister story of intrigue in the Royal courts of long ago and so begins the story within a story. This intriguing book then goes on to combine two periods of English history in an extraordinary adventure that is not only an historical novel but a moving coming of age story too. Full review...
The Forever Girl by Alexander McCall Smith
I have loved Alexander McCall Smith's books since I first picked one up, and so I have been waiting for the release of this, a standalone novel, ever since I first heard about it. It pains me, therefore, that I'm unable to shout about how marvellous it is to you all or how you should rush out to buy it immediately because actually, I found it disappointing. Full review...
The Fun Stuff and Other Essays by James Wood
The Fun Stuff and Other Essays provides, as the title suggests, a panoramic sampling of James Wood’s critical writing. A popular and oft-quoted writer, the essays collected here offer stimulating insights into Wood’s chosen subjects. Full review...
Mi and Museum City by Linda Sarah
Mi lives in Museum City, but he is lonely and bored. Most of the museums there are dull and grey and uninteresting. It is only when he meets Yu one day that he starts to have fun, and he wonders if the mayor will let them open up their own, new, fun museum? Full review...
It's a perennial problem for parents of little ones - how to get them to share. When my daughter was little she used to hover around the doors of the toy cupboard, hoping to be first in the queue to get her hands on a dolly pushchair... there are never enough dolly pushchairs it seems! Different parents react in different ways. Some see their little darling snatching a toy from another child and immediately leap in and start the 'share!' conversation. Others laugh and say 'well, they have to learn...' I think reactions differ depending on whether your child is always the one stealing the toys away, or if yours is the child weeping in the corner because someone took the yellow ball from her. Anyway, if you're having problems with the idea of sharing then try this sweet story! Full review...
Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan
When Kelly leaves the USA for a life-changing trip around the world, her goal is not to end up working as a nanny in suburban Sydney. And her goal is definitely not to turn into her mother in the process. She doesn’t realise it at the time, but as this memoir shows, there are worse things that could happen. Full review...
Tilly's Promise by Linda Newbery
Tilly often wished things would change in the sleepy little village she called home, but she gets more change than she bargained for when war breaks out. First her sweetheart joins up, then Tilly signs on a nurse and finally her brother Georgie is called up, despite the fact that he is completely unfit for service. Georgie is different, big and strong but with the mind of a child - how could he possibly survive the horrors of war? So many promises are made, Tilly promises her sweetheart Harry she will wait - Harry assures her he won't be away long - sure it will probably be over by Christmas (famous last words). When Georgie is posted to Harry's unit, Tilly extracts a somewhat reluctant promise from him to look after her brother. More promises will be made - but promises are hard to keep in wartime. As Georgie and Harry face the harsh reality of life in the trenches, Tilly finds herself near the frontline as a nurse. Everything seems to have changed. Will even love remain the same - especially in the aftermath of a broken promise? Full review...
Jake's Bones by Jake McGowan-Lowe
My oldest son has wanted to be a palaeontologist since he was three and both boys are fascinated by how things work. Last year my youngest saw some scientific anatomy drawings and begged for more, so I began looking for children's books on skeletons, and anatomy. There are very few available and this looked the best by far, I spent two days searching not only British but American booksellers before noticing that the book had not been released yet - so sadly we were forced to wait. It was worth waiting for though, this book is truly one of a kind. Full review...
No Regrets, Coyote by John Dufresne
You may or may not be aware that there is a style known as the South Florida Noir. The action tends to take place in daylight, in the glare of the Florida sun rather than in nightclubs or dark alleyways. If you’re not familiar with South Florida Noir, No Regrets, Coyote is a good place to start. And if you are, well, be assured that it is a perfectly crafted example of the genre. Full review...
No Man's Land: Writings From A World At War by Pete Ayrton (editor)
July 2014 marks the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War: a war that has become imprinted on the national consciousness of Britain (and plenty of modern nation-states), partly because of the large numbers of people (mostly men) writing about it. I don't mean journalists, who had been covering wars for the Victorian public, but artists: poets, authors, memoirists and painters. The poets especially have stamped World War One on collective memory, through countless poetry anthologies, recitals at memorials, and in school classrooms. Full review...
The Beatles by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom
The Beatles begins with the childhood of John Lennon at the end of the second world war. The first illustration seems to convey and infant John twisting and shouting on his way to the air raid shelter. The text and illustrations both paint a picture of mischievous but intelligent child. We especially loved an illustration that shows the mixed emotions of the passengers and driver as John plays an old harmonica for hours on the bus. Some of the passengers look desperate to escape, but the driver is so impressed he gives John a better harmonica. Full review...
Terms and Conditions by Robert Glancy
This is a slow bowl with a wicked curl! The hero, Franklyn wakes up in hospital; he discovers that he has had a car accident, but he can’t remember anything. Alice, Franklyn’s wife, and Oscar, his brother, are full of loving concern and his work colleagues are solicitous, but Franklyn soon senses a lack of authenticity in his family members and starts to sniff round to discover why. Full review...
The Perfect Hug by Joanna Walsh and Judi Abbott
Who doesn’t like a nice hug? Hugs and cuddles are something you know from birth are nice, and unlike with kisses you don’t have to worry about Aunty Florence’s smelly breath or wet slobbering. In this book, our unnamed, panda-shaped hero is out to find the perfect hug. Along the way he tries big hugs and small hugs and prickly hugs and tickly hugs, but none are quite right. Can he find the one he’s looking for? Is there a secret to the perfect hug? Full review...
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T S Eliot and Rebecca Ashdown (Illustrator)
It has always struck me to be the very definition of disappointment to think you're going to study Eliot's poetry at college or university, only to find it is some errant dross like 'The Four Quartets'. His book of Cats poems is in the strictest of verse, it's bursting with levity, it's surely great fun to share – what's not to prefer here? If I were you, I'd just ignore what kind of show these pages once inspired, and turn or return to them, Prufrock be damned. Full review...
The Executioner's Daughter by Jane Hardstaff
Moss, the daughter of the Tower of London's executioner, hates her life but has no way to leave it. She seems destined to catch heads in her basket forever - but then she finds a secret tunnel and a way out of the tower. Her long-awaited taste of freedom turns sour, though, when she finds out that her life is not what it seems and an otherworldly adversary is seeking her. Can she escape? And who can she trust to help her? Full review...
Who Framed Klaris Cliff? by Nikki Sheehan
Joseph is a thoroughly ordinary kid. He and his dad get on pretty well, in a teasing, blokish sort of way, and they both admit openly how much they miss Joseph's mother. She'd been suffering from depression on and off for ages and went away for a much-needed holiday a couple of years previously. Her postcards said she was feeling much better and would definitely be home before the end of the summer, but she broke her promise: she never came back. Joseph imagines every day what it will be like when she eventually returns. Still, there's a big untidy, unruly family next door including Joseph's best friend Rocky, so he never needs to be lonely. So far so good: a contemporary, cheerful story about a likeable young teen. But there's one sinister element in this everyday world. Full review...
Gretel and the Dark by Eliza Granville
Josef Breuer has never had a case such as this. For a doctor in fin-de-siecle Vienna, spurned by his ex-colleague Sigmund, and with some dark happenings in his marriage and his past, he gets as a patient a young, damaged girl, found naked and battered outside an asylum. She claims she has never come from there, however, and that she is of no father or mother besides a purpose. She says she is a machine, an automaton, a beautiful kind of golem, with the task of going to Linz and killing a monster. She has an unusual number design at her wrist. This story alternates with that of another young girl, a very impetuous and belligerent child, now that her favourite nanny-come-nurse-come-cook-come-storyteller has been drummed out, and living alone with her father, again a doctor, outside a zoo. But a zoo that doesn't strictly hold animals, nor allows for their conservation… Full review...