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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Mad in the Back by Michael Rosen and Richard Watson
Mum is setting off on a long car journey with two kids in the back - did I hear you groan? Mum groaned too because she knew what was going to happen. She told the kids before she set off that they had to behave because she couldn't drive properly if the kids were going mad in the back. The kids told her not to worry - and off they went. Then the kids started The Moaning. Every parent will know exactly what this means: requests for drink, food, windows open... Then the squabbling starts: accusations that HE has got my book, ears are bitten by HER. Mum tries diversionary tactics: look out of the window - there's a lamp-post. (Yes MUm - we know desperation when we hear it.) And it gets worse. And worse. Then Mum snaps. Full review...
Hare by Zoe Greaves and Leslie Sadlier
Some animals feature large in mythology and the hare is one of these. The hare we're going to meet is O'Hare - well, we hope we're going to meet him: hares are well known for being elusive and this one is no exception! We'll be following him through the churchyard on a moonlit night - see him leaping in front of the moon - and through a summer meadow, where we only catch sight of his hind legs and his ears. Look on the riverbank - is that him in the water? Then he's in amongst the cabbages - the farmer is not going to be pleased about that. Is he in the foxglove patch? We can see the fox, but it looks as though O'Hare has gone. The best sighting we have of him is on the corn field, where he's leaping through the stubble. Full review...
Divorce Turkish Style (Kati Hirschel Istanbul Murder Mystery) by Esmahan Aykol
Kati Hirschel still owns Istanbul's only crime book shop while still supplying bed and board to her former lover, Spanish lawyer Fofo. When Fofo dramatically points out the news report surrounding a young political activist's natural death, Kati doesn't pay much attention. But then she realises that the face of victim Sani is familiar, she double takes. There again this is nothing compared to Kati's next realisation: this death may not have been that natural. Full review...
I'll Meet You In Heaven by Jill Thrussell
Rebecca and Gideon were made for each other. They've been married for 10 years and, apart from their unfulfilled desire for children, all is perfect, love remaining at the centre of their relationship. Well, all was perfect until their 10th anniversary dinner and that fatal a fatal car crash. The next thing they know, they arrive in a garden to be told that they'll be sent back to Earth for 3 months to live separately as a test. Why? More importantly, would they be able to find each other again afterwards? Full review...
The Labrador Handbook: The definitive guide to training and caring for your Labrador by Pippa Mattinson
In 2014 about 16% of all pedigree puppies registered with the Kennel Club were Labradors - and that's with over 200 breeds to choose from. They're one of the most respected breeds and with good reason - great as gundogs, brilliant in the show ring and a wonderful part of the family to boot. Author Pippa Mattinson is a zoologist and founder of The Gundog Trust. She supports modern, science-based dog training methods - but her passion is about helping people to enjoy their dogs. If you're looking for advice about Labradors, she is going to be difficult to better. Full review...
Queen & Country: A Hew Cullan Mystery (Hew Cullan Mystery 5) by Shirley McKay
It has been three years since Hew was banished from Scotland and manoeuvred into working for Elizabeth I's spymaster, Walsingham. His loyalties remain with the Scottish Queen Mary but he must hide them as well as he can lest he becomes a victim of the conspiracy fever cutting through England and keeping the hangman busy. There's also another fever cutting through Scotland – the plague, providing even more reason for Hew to worry about the wellbeing of his sister, brother in law and nephew. If he could but go home he'd have a surprise for them. When he gets there, there's a surprise for him in the form of a death prophesy picture, followed by a murder. Full review...
Reign of Iron (The Iron Age Trilogy) by Angus Watson
Spoilers ahead for Books 1 and 2. Lowa and Spring both mourn the deaths of Dug in their own ways, each having reminders of the warrior they loved: Lowa carries around his baby while Spring carries around… well… Dug. They don't have time to brood though. The Romans may be taking their time but they haven't given up on the invasion idea. Meanwhile Ragnall, still in Rome with Caesar, is being given a good reason to join them. And so it begins as both sides gather troops and galvanise assistance ready for the mater of all battles. Full review...
Counting Lions by Katie Cotton and Stephen Walton
There are counting books, good counting books and ones where the pictures blow you away, whether you are an adult or a child. Counting Lions falls into the last category. Just have a look at that lion on the cover: that's not a black and white photograph - that's a drawing and you're going to see another nine of the same glorious quality. In her foreword to the book, Virginia McKenna says that with pictures like these words almost seem unnecessary as we can see all that we need of the unique form and beauty of each creature. But there are words too. Full review...
Ten Spooky Skeletons by Garry Parsons, Patricia Hegarty and Annette Rusling
With All Hallows' Eve approaching isn't it about time that you thought about some scary books for kids? Nothing quite says 'I Love You', more than making your toddler burst into a flood of tears. Perhaps you should get them a fun book about something a little worrisome – a set of smiley skeletons for instance, rather than completely terrifying them? Full review...
The City Stained Red by Sam Sykes
This story follows a ragtag team made up of murderers and misfits. Through with adventure and being paid to kill, Lenk leads the gang into the grand silk city of Cier'Djaal to hunt for the man who was yet to pay them for their service. Lenk is determined to live a normal human life and may be willing to leave his friends behind in order to do so, but soon they become tied up in a religious war that wreaks chaos upon the city and their plans for peace. Full review...
The Gift of Failure: How to step back and let your child succeed by Jessica Lahey
Lahey's introduction claims today's over-protective failure-avoidant parenting style is responsible for the caution and fear she witnesses in young people every day in her job as a secondary school teacher, causing them to dislike learning. She goes on to claim that, through this parenting style, we have inadvertently taught our kids to fear failure at all costs. Full review...
How to Train Your Dragon 12: How to Fight a Dragon's Fury by Cressida Cowell
A relentless battle. Human against dragon. On the Doomsday of Yule, the battle will end and only one side can be victorious. If the dragons win, the human race will be annihilated. If the humans win, they will unlock the secret of the dragon jewel, with the potential to destroy all of the dragons. The only hope is a human boy called Hiccup, an unlikely hero who has a wish to unite human and dragon once more. Unfortunately, Hiccup is lying unconscious on a beach at Hero's End, lost and alone with no boat. What is more, Hiccup has no memory; no idea who he is and why he is so important. He also has two poisonous fangs embedded in his arm; the ticking teeth of a Vampire Spydragon which serve as a tracking device for the vicious beast, who is closing in as we speak. Suffice to say, things aren't going well for Hiccup and they can only get worse... Full review...
A Book of Feelings by Amanda McCardie and Salvatore Rubbino
Happy, shy, sad, jealous, angry, loved, grumpy…not the names of little dwarves, but just some of the powerful feelings and emotions that affect everyone from time to time. Sam and Kate live with their mum and dad and a dog with a name that I just adore: Fuzzy Bean. They have a typical family life with all the ups and downs and warmth and fun and the occasional chaos that comes with the territory. Full review...
Police at the Funeral by Margery Allingham
When Andrew Seeley, a member of the well-known Faraday family of Cambridge disappears, gentleman adventurer Albert Campion agrees to look into it as a favour to a friend. He finds a dysfunctional family living in its glorious past, with no-one at all sure they want to find their missing relative who can be a bit trying, to say the least. Before long the bodies start piling up, and both Campion and his old friend Inspector Stanislaus Oates of Scotland Yard are as baffled as each other. Until, naturally, Campion figures it all out. Full review...
The Sea Between Us by Emylia Hall
To her parents, the move to Cornwall was an escape to a better way of life. For city-girl Robyn, it was wet, remote and miserable and she was counting down the days to University and her return to civilization. Desperate for something to do to entertain herself, Robyn takes a wetsuit and surfboard and makes her way to a secluded cove. An inexperienced surfer, she soon gets into difficulty, but is rescued from the sea by a young local man called Jago. From that moment on, the two lives are intertwined by an invisible bond; a bond that will be tested and stretched during the years that follow. Full review...
Churchill's Rogue: Volume 1 (Rogues Trilogy) by John Righten
Sean Ryan grew up in Ireland during the 20th century's first quarter and so understands death and loss. He learnt to defend what he felt right during his time as a bodyguard for Michael Collins. Therefore when Winston Churchill called upon his services in 1937 to bring a mother and child out of Germany, Ryan doesn't say no. However Ryan soon discovers this is no easy escort duty. The mother and child in question are for some reason being hunted by an elite German force led by Cerberus, a code name for a sadist incarnate. On the plus side, Ryan soon discovers he's not alone. There are more like him across Europe; those with pasts that forged them into violent defenders of the vulnerable in an increasingly dangerous world. These are the Rogues and, this time, Ryan needs their help. Full review...
The Largest Baby in Ireland After The Famine by Anne Barnett
She was all colour and sway, and as far away as imaginable from the local women. Pale, pale skin and strong dark auburn hair falling free to large wide hips. She wore a purple shawl. That night Felix, a bachelor, aged 43, living in the house he was born in, dreamt of purple. Purple in the shape of a woman. And just like that, things change. I love this passage. It shows how strong the human pull is. Even when men and women are surrounded by great events - war, political upheaval, famine, depression - individual human desires can change the picture in an instant. Full review...
Zom-B Fugitive (Zom B 11) by Darren Shan
REPEATING STANDARD WARNING!
If you haven't read the first book in this series, STOP READING NOW! NOW! Spoilers ahoy!
Full review...
The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich
Carly Johnson and Kaitlin Johnson are best friends; they go everywhere together. One might call them two halves of a whole, quite aptly, as they share a body. Carly gets the day, Kaitlin gets the night. That's how it has always been, until now; when Kaitlin awakens to find herself in sunlight. She must work with her rival, Naida, to delve deep into Scottish magic, discover where her sister is, and to defeat the sinister forces working against them… Full review...
Aliens! (Dirty Bertie) by Alan MacDonald and David Roberts
For my sins I have never met Bertie before now – something that from the merits of this book I now think should have been corrected a long time ago. He's a friendly young chap, and we meet him in friendly, short episodes. Here are three of them, which I have to assume is the norm. One shows him quite gullible if well-meaning, the next has him stuck in a situation he dislikes where he still gets the upper hand, and the third is a sustained look at what happens when he starts a hole for himself with a simple, poor decision. He's a lad such as you probably have close by you, he's amiable, he's not too smart, and he's really quite likeable – even if he does apparently have a very snotty nose… Full review...
Divorced, Beheaded, Died...: The History of Britain's Kings and Queens in Bite-Sized Chunks by Kevin Flude
History lives. Proof of that sweeping statement can be had in this book, and in the fact that while it only reached the grand old age of six, it has had the dust brushed off it and has been reprinted – and while the present royal incumbent it ends its main narrative with has not changed, other things have. This has quietly been updated to include the reburial of Richard III in Leicester, and seems to have been rereleased at a perfectly apposite time, as only the week before I write these words the Queen has surpassed all those who came before her as our longest serving ruler. Such details may be trivia to some – especially those of us of a more royalist bent – and important facts to others. The perfect balance of that coupling – trivia and detail – is what makes this book so worthwhile. Full review...
Breakdown by Sarah Mussi
From the start of "Breakdown" Mussi painfully grips the reader by the hand and doesn’t let go. She uses short, sharp, savage sentences to urge them to follow her protagonist Melissa on a terrifying odyssey into a relentlessly brutal world where only the meanest, smartest and toughest survive. It is a horrific vision of a post-apocalyptic, lawless society devastated by nuclear radiation, set 100 years after Orwell’s bleak "1984", driven feral by food shortages, frenzied fear, poverty, corrupt militarisation and anarchy. Ravenous dogs roam the streets and the stench of violence and sexual slavery is never far away. Melissa is blessed with beauty which some might consider a curse. Will she emerge into the light or be trapped in Hades forever? Full review...
The Dress by Kate Kerrigan
In 1935 a young man left his cruel father, stealing from his kindly schoolteacher to fund his trip to Dublin. Years later he left for New York. He'd never dreamed of being rich, but hard work brought wealth his way. He'd never thought about a wife either, but it seemed the right thing to do and Frank Fitzpatrick married Joy. She may well have been the most beautiful woman in New York, but she adored Frank. He was, well, ambivalent about her. For her thirtieth birthday Joy decided that she was going to throw a party at the Waldorf and for this she required the most stunning dress ever made. The Dress. She hoped that it would bring Frank back to her. Full review...
Have You Seen Elephant? by David Barrow
Elephant wants to play hide and seek and Boy agrees that he Elephant should hide first. Elephant is completely fair and warns Boy that he's VERY good. Boy's fair too - he says that he'll try his best - and off Elephant goes to hide. Dog is looking slightly bored - actually he's having a good scratch - as Boy counts to ten and shouts Coming! Ready or Not! in the tradition of all hide and seek games and Boy and Dog go in search of Elephant. Now Elephant wasn't joking when he said that he was good, because he doesn't so much hide as disguise himself within the rooms. Boy doesn't spot him, but watch Dog! He spots Elephant every time, whether he's an armchair, a duvet, television stand, standard lamp or a shed. Full review...
BOO! by Jonathan Litton and Fhiona Galloway
Creating a fun book for a young toddler or older baby appears easy, but is actually tricky to pull off well. Just shoving a few animals or shapes into a cardboard BOO!k is not going to capture the imagination; there needs to be colour, fun and a certain je ne sais quoi to stand out from the many other baby booksks on the market. Setting a book around Halloween and all things spooky may not seem to fill these criteria, but a little fear can sometimes make a small child surprisingly happy. Full review...
The Time Of The Clockmaker by Anna Caltabiano
The Time Of The Clockmaker is not so much a sequel to 'The Seventh Miss Hatfield, rather it's more like The Seventh Miss Hatfield : Part Deux. Cynthia (who is now the aforementioned Seventh Miss Rebecca Hatfield and from this point we shall refer to her as such) has just seen her predecessor and mentor, the somewhat intimidating Sixth Miss Hatfield, murdered in the only way it is possible for an immortal to die – she has been slain by another immortal. Forced to flee for her life (with the clock that governs Rebecca's ability to travel through time), Rebecca is stunned to find herself back in the Court of King Henry VIII. It seems that the hands of her mysterious clock have somehow inadvertently been moved, during the course of a break-in, and Tudor England is the backdrop for Miss Hatfield's fight for survival. Full review...
Why the Dutch are Different: A Journey into the Hidden Heart of the Netherlands by Ben Coates
I know Holland in the way everyone does. Pancakes and windmills and Pot, oh my. But it's one of the few European countries I've never lived in for any period of time, and so I was intrigued to know more. Full review...
I Used to Know That: History by Emma Marriott
I've picked up a few things over the years, most notably from English language text books while TEFLing abroad (there's nothing like an exciting lesson on Guy Fawkes to have a classroom of Mexicans wondering why we so love to celebrate a terrorist attack that didn't happen). But I have gaps, of this I am sure, and I thought to get a basic understanding of, well, the basics that we all should know, a quick read of this book wouldn't hurt. Full review...
Fusion: Volume 4 (Tesla Evolution) by Mark Lingane
(By the way there are spoilers ahead – this is definitely a series to be read in order, starting from Tesla 1 ). Alone again now that Melanie has been killed, Sebastian makes it to North America. Far from it being the land of promise it used to be, the country is now an apocalyptic ruin, full of people scavenging for their survival and the Infected forging a path of worse-than-death and destruction. Sebastian needs to focus on his ultimate challenge as foreseen in a rather scary way but there's a small matter distracting him: who's firing rockets at him? Full review...