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 Lady of Misrule by Suzannah Dunn
Elizabeth Tilney volunteers to accompany Lady Jane Grey to the Tower of London. Elizabeth would be attendant to the young deposed Protestant queen while Jane's husband Guildford Dudley is kept in an adjacent tower. Her feelings for him are less than devotional whereas he still feels a responsibility towards her, mixed with his fear and anger at what has gone before and what may lie ahead. However Jane is treated well by the new Queen Mary despite the difference in the new and old queens' faiths. Does Jane have anything to fear? Spending her time with Jane and as a messenger to Guildford, Elizabeth hopes not but she hears rumours... Full review...
William Shakespeare's The Phantom of Menace by Ian Doescher
Join us, good gentles, for a merry reimagining of `Star Wars Episode 1' as only Shakespeare could have written it. 'Tis a true Shakespearean drama, filled with sword fights, soliloquies and doomed romance…all in glorious iambic pentameter and coupled with gorgeous illustrations. Hold on to your midichlorians: The plays the thing, wherein you'll catch the rise of Anakin! Full review...
A War of Flowers by Jane Thynne
A War of Flowers is the third of Jane Thynne's thoroughly researched and beautifully written novels of Nazi Berlin from the female point of view. Reading them is an immersive experience; the joy of the book is in location, description, comment. The action does not rush but the ending expertly pulls plot strings together and has a wow factor that will leave the reader eager for more. Full review...
Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge
Marketed as a twisted fairy tale, Cuckoo Song is so much more. Hardinge’s lyrical style sets it apart from other fantasy reads. Such phrases as she was weeping spider silk lend it a melody all of its own. At the story’s heart is the sense of wanting to belong and connect with others. It revolves around Piers Crescent’s daughter Triss who wakes up after an accident to find that her world has changed. She doesn’t feel that she is herself and starts to exhibit extremely peculiar behaviour. She is ravenous and inexplicably binge eats. For some reason her little sister Pen appears to hate her, scissors act strangely around her and her parents are anxious for her to remain ill and cosseted. She has memories from the time before she nearly drowned but she can’t visualise the actual incident. Full review...
This is not a Love Story by Keren David
This is a perfect holiday read – but that doesn't mean you need to be on holiday to read it. This Is Not A Love Story will waft you away from your bed or your fireside or your tube train seat and relocate you to Amsterdam. Full review...
Daddy's Sandwich by Pip Jones and Laura Hughes
One day, a little girl decides to make her daddy a sandwich. It starts out well, with two slices of bread, but things soon slip and slide from there into culinary chaos as she searches through the house for all of his favourite things, like biscuits dunked in tea, and his favourite slippers, and even the remote control! Full review...
The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
Fans of Frances Hardinge will be familiar with the eerie, unreal atmosphere of her books. Mysteries lurk in the shadows, perplexing and sometimes menacing her characters, and the strange and the banal jostle each other for space on the page. A world both familiar and outlandish is offered to us, where once again a fallible but endearing heroine battles forces which threaten to overwhelm her at every turn. Full review...
Demolition Dad by Phil Earle and Sara Ogilvie
Jake's dad is a wrestler. Nobody knows however, because Jake's dad also insists that Jake keeps it a secret, so that no one realises that come the weekend he leaves behind the demolition sites that he works on, puts on his spandex suit and enters the ring as 'Demolition Man'! But Jake is so proud of his dad that his alter ego can't remain a secret for long, and he sets about trying to change his dad's life through the world of wrestling. Full review...
Notebooks of a Middle-School Princess by Meg Cabot
The author of the hugely successful Princess Diaries has written a brand-new series for younger girls, telling the story of awkward middle-school student Olivia Grace. She discovers that her father is actually the Prince of Genovia, making her...a princess! Not everyone responds well to the news, however, and poor Olivia is soon thrown into a world of jealous bullies, intrusive paparazzi, disgruntled relatives and a whole new family she never knew existed. Full review...
The Mountain Can Wait by Sarah Leipciger
Tom Berry is a quiet man - one who lives for and in nature, spending a half of his year running a small team in remote, isolated forests. The other half he spends tending to his family - a small group whom he brought up almost single handedly, following the departure of his wife. A good, determined man, we learn of Tom's life running forestry teams in remote wilderness, before an accident forces Tom to leave his routine and seek out his son - and both become troubled by the events of the accident, as well as ghosts of the past that may cause more pain than either man had anticipated. Full review...
Lottery Boy by Michael Byrne
Twelve year old Bully and his mongrel dog, Jack, have been living rough for almost six months – ever since Bully's mum died. The future holds no hope until, quite by accident, he finds the lottery ticket he purchased for his mum hidden inside the last birthday card she gave him. He checks the numbers and discovers he's won the jackpot. But there's only days left before the ticket expires and Bully's not old enough to claim the money. To make matters worse, word of his winning ticket has got out and every unsavoury character on the streets is now after him. Full review...
Panther by David Owen
Things have gone woefully wrong for Derrick. He's binge eating and his weight has spiralled. He's fallen out with his best friend. The girl he likes doesn't like him. He's in trouble at school. And if it weren't for his sister Charlotte, none of this shiznit would be happening. If Charlotte wasn't depressed, if she hadn't tried to... well, you know... everything would be fine, just like it used to be. Full review...
The Case of the Exploding Brains by Rachel Hamilton
You'd think, with one parent in prison and the other one hardly ever moving from the sofa, that middle school student Noelle Hawkins would have far too many problems on her hands already to start worrying about the occasional little explosion at the Science Museum. After all, that's the kind of thing that's bound to happen in a place littered with heaps of seriously wacky inventions, right? Full review...
The Fifth Heart by Dan Simmons
On a rainy night in March 1893 Henry James stands on a Paris bridge, about to end it all. Next to him sidles Sherlock Holmes, about to do the same. Instead of jumping, Holmes drags James off for a drink and decides that they will go to America to solve a 17-year-old murder case. The supposed victim, socialite Clover Adams, is believed to have committed suicide but that doesn't deter Sherlock. He's off, Henry James is going with him and that's that! Full review...
The It Girl by Katy Birchall
Anna is an awkward 14-year-old who is trying to fit in with people at her new school – and convince them that she wasn’t actually trying to set her popular classmate’s hair on fire, it just happened. Her dad is a well-known journalist who’s just written a book, and they get on well - until he falls for a famous actress. With the paparazzi buzzing over the news of the engagement, Anna becomes a new target for them – but can this shy, nerdy girl cope with the sudden attention? Full review...
The Mountain Story by Lori Lansens
Wolf’s mother is dead. His father is inept at best, a dead beat at worst. Wolf’s one joy in life is his best friend, Byrd. The two frequently escape their homes and hike up a nearby mountain, revelling in the freedom and closeness to nature. But Byrd dies, and a year later, on the date of his 18th birthday, Wolf decides to kill himself – heading up to the same mountain where he spent so much time happy. However, Wolf soon meets three women – Bridget, Nola and Vonn. Lost on the mountain, they will spend days fighting to survive and to escape the wilderness. One will not make it down alive. Full review...
The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham
Black Dudley was unprepossessing from the outside, but imposing, if rather uncared for on the inside. It was isolated in dreary landscape and the location for a house party which George Abbershaw was attending. He hadn't particularly wanted to go and was convinced of the necessity only by the fact that the woman he loved would be a part of the party. The host was an invalid but apparently determined that his guests should enjoy themselves and was happy to have them re-enact the ritual of the Black Dudley Dagger. All the candles were extinguished and the dagger was passed amongst the guests: the atmosphere was sinister but the game seemed harmless enough, except that they would shortly discover that their host was dead. Full review...
Squirrel Boy vs the Squirrel Hunter by Dave Lowe
Ten year old Walter Kettle is an ordinary boy until he eats a nut. Then he transforms into unlikely superhero Squirrel Boy whose only superpowers seem to be a large bushy tail, an ability to climb trees and run very fast, and a sudden understanding of ‘Squirrelish’ (the language used by squirrels). In his second adventure, we join Walter to find out whether these unusual powers will be enough to defeat the determined Squirrel Hunter and save the squirrel population in the local park. Full review...
No Place to Die by Clare Donoghue
It starts with a nightmare. Maggie Hungerford wakes out of one. Into another. She is awake, but this isn't her bed. This is the kind of place no-one should ever wake up. Full review...
Based on a True Story by Elizabeth Renzetti
Augusta Price, middle-aged, washed up, substance-addicted actress has just left rehab for the innumerable time. Her only friend in the world is her equally washed-up former mentor. Augusta has recently received a sudden upsurge of interest and income when her tell all memoir became a baffling best-seller. Frances Bleeker is an American journalist who came to London with high hopes, that were quickly dashed by the reality of the British magazine market. The two meet when Frances is sent to interview Augusta about her book where Frances realises there’s far more to the story of Augusta’s life than she’s cared to put in words. Needless to say, young, optimistic Frances and self-obsessed, drunk Augusta don’t exactly hit it off at once. But when Frances loses her job and Augusta needs a ghost writer for her new book, the two offer each other a lifeline ... or enough rope to hang themselves. As Frances will learn by delving into her past, people close to Augusta don’t come away unscathed. Full review...
Three Men and a Bradshaw by John George Freeman and Ronnie Scott (editor)
This book is quite the very time machine, and because of that some of its own history is needed in summary. A year or two ago, our presenter Shaun Sewell was buying some private documents from the descendants of John George Freeman, to complete a set of illustrated travel journals he'd met with when risking a punt on the first few at auction. He was intent on getting them published since finding them, and seemed to be the first person with that desire since they were first written in the 1870s. Back then they were well-written, educative and entertaining looks at the early days of the travel industry, when for example piers were novel(ty) ways for the rail companies to justify sending people to the ends of the country where previously there had been little for them to do. Here then is railwayana, travel and social history, all between two covers. So even if this doesn't find the perfectly huge audience of some books, it will certainly raise interest in many households. Full review...
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (150th Anniversary Edition with Dame Vivienne Westwood) by Lewis Carroll
Somewhere the book reviewing gods have a list of those classic titles that you cannot deny or begrudge their place in literary history, that are soon to have a 150th birthday party with my name on an invite. That means little, as I – and in fact most people – will of course be reading them on their unbirthday, but the list does include the current recipient of that honour, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It being long out of copyright anyone can put together a 150th birthday edition for it, but this is one of the more distinctive efforts, for it comes with the help of Dame Vivienne Westwood. And even though I have spoken before of how I don't take to the book, I can hereby declare this party was made all the better for being twice as long, all courtesy of the presence of Lewis Carroll. Full review...
How to Write your Best Story Ever! by Christopher Edge
Oh those feared words from my primary school days – just sit and write a story. The countless hours I spent, sifting my mind for what little I knew and what I had read before, and no real guide on hand to what to put down on the page and how. How times change. This volume, for all the vivid design and hyperbolic title, might have been the best companion to the budding author version of me, for it will easily sit alongside the junior scribbler wherever s/he may be from now on. It has a beginning, middle and end (and index), and can be counted on for some great, no-nonsense advice. Full review...
The Novice by Taran Matharu
The Novice, Taran Matharu’s Wattpad sensation has already received a staggering five million reads. This book doesn’t just survive the hype; it deserves it. Full review...
Boxes by Pascal Garnier and Melanie Florence (translator)
Meet Brice. He's an illustrator, who had picked an ideal house in the country with his journalist wife, only for her to disappear assumed dead on assignment abroad. Therefore he's having to make the move himself, which he does – but without her at the other end he finds it hard to kick his new life into gear. Yes, a cat adopts him, and he gets to know the names of some new people, but that's it. What's more, one of those people is Blanche, attired most suitably in all-white, who herself is missing someone – someone of whom Brice is the spitting image… Full review...
Last Night on Earth by Kevin Maher
Baby Bonnie is born in London in 1996 to Jay and Shauna but her traumatic birth and the aftermath causes the previously happy couple to separate. Jay looks back searching for how he got to this point and Shauna looks for answers in psychotherapy with a less than orthodox Danish analyst. Meanwhile both share Bonnie and worry about where they go from here. Full review...
Sword Of The North (The Grim Company) by Luke Scull
The heroes are scattered and seemingly powerless; the Age of Ruin is indeed upon the land as the new ruler may not be an improvement on the old. Back at the heroes, Emerul the half-mage is reduced to sending a messenger rather than acting upon it himself and Shanna is reduced to being that messenger. Davarus Cole is dying but it won't be the last time and what of the Sword of the North? He, Brodar Kayne, continues to seek someone he thought he'd never see again even though there's no guarantee of finding her. Meanwhile he has more pressing problems in the form of a Brick and a Grunt. Full review...
Pizza for Pirates by Adam Guillain, Charlotte Guillain and Lee Wildish
George has been exploring before. He’s taken spaghetti to the Yeti, marshmallows for the Martians, and doughnuts for Dragons. In his fourth adventure, he’s off in search of a pirate crew and he’s again armed with a tasty snack. Pizza! Full review...
Playtime Rhymes by Tony Ross
Great news! Your friends are having a baby! That pretty much means that everybody you know has at least one or two rug rats crawling around the place. It’s all well and good, but how can you possibly come up with another present for a baby? Thankfully, great books and wonderful nursery rhymes are always in fashion – combine the two and you have a gift that you may just want to keep for yourself. Full review...
The Silvered Heart by Katherine Clements
Katherine Ferrers is a young orphan – growing up in the turbulent period of the English Civil War, she has little choice but to marry for the sake of her family, and to trust her considerable inheritance into the care of her husband. As the war comes to an end, and those who supported the losing King are punished severely, Katherine finds herself with no money, few friends, and a house that has become a prison. Wishing for a life away from her cold, oft absent husband, Katherine meets a man who changes her life, with Katherine choosing to join him in a life that provides her with the excitement she craves – and yet may prove all too dangerous… Full review...
Akimbo Adventures by Alexander McCall Smith
I am, it must be said, something of an Alexander McCall Smith addict. I have handed out free copies of his books for World Book Night, I met him in Oxford at a literary festival, and I read pretty much everything he writes as he writes it! This time it’s a children’s book, with three stories in one volume all about a boy called Akimbo. He lives on the edge of a game reserve in Africa, and these stories are all about his rather amazing adventures with the animals who also share his home. Full review...
Granada: The Light of Andalucia by Steven Nightingale
Don't expect (as I did) a Parrot-in-the-Pepper-Tree type collection of comedic mishaps and tales about the joys -- and perils -- of joining a new community. This is, more than anything, a history book, albeit one in which the writer's deep love of his adopted home (Granada and, more specifically, the Albayzín, the district he lives in), his family and his neighbours makes every sentence sparkle. Even better, it's a history book that assumes no knowledge on the part of the reader. Steven Nightingale covers centuries of events in Spain, describing them with clarity and in a typically engaging style. He starts with the Moorish occupation of Spain in 711 and ends post-Civil War. Despite its vast chronological span, the book is more than a dry recounting of events and dates. Yes, that information is there, as befits any good history book. But Steven Nightingale's focus is more on the effects of these historical events, and the achievements of the times, particularly the ongoing legacy of the Moorish occupation. He writes in detail about Arabic poetry, the timeless nature of love, developments in maths, science and the arts, geometry in tiling, and much more. Full review...
Exposure (Virals 4) by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs
In the fourth book of this electrifying sci-fi crime thriller series the resourceful teen Virals pit their wits against a cunning villain when two of their classmates go missing. An exciting adventure with a shocking twist. Full review...
At The Animal Ball by Ella Bailey
The animals are having a ball. Join them as they 'dance and roar', 'flutter a fan' then 'tap your toes on the floor'. This is flip flap fun in the parlour game tradition of 'heads, bodies, tails'. On Midsummer's Eve a veritable menagerie of very cute animals in what appear to be a range of national costumes, are assembling to bounce, shimmy, swagger and stroll. You can mix the animals up by flipping the flaps but watch out! Moving the pages out of sequence also mixes up the dance moves. Join in and keep up! Full review...
Slug Needs a Hug by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
Growing up, my experience with slugs mainly revolved around spotting them in the garden and being sent out with the pot of salt to send them to a salty (and frankly, disgusting) death! My mum was forever waging war on these creatures that were hell-bent on eating everything in her garden that she loved best. Since those happy childhood moments, I have had other difficult moments with slugs including the one who dared to come into our house, into the lounge, and who I trod on in the dark one night. Yuck! All of which means that, to be honest, I wasn’t sure this book would be very enjoyable for me! Still, I’m never one to say no to something illustrated by Tony Ross, and he and Jeanne Willis make a reliably good team, so I put my salt pot away and sat down to read. Full review...