|summary=Karl is seventeen and hopelessly caught in the throes of first love. The object of his affections is Fiorella, a girl who seems above him so many ways. Fiorella's family is both healthy and wealthy, while Karl's father is dead and his mother gets by but not much more. Fiorella is a bright girl on her way to university, while Karl is dyslexic and has left school to work as a blue collar apprentice plumber. Fiorella is articulate, while Karl is reserved.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0370332369</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Molly Carr
|title=A Sherlock Holmes Who's Who (With of Course Dr.Watson)
|rating=2.5
|genre=Entertainment
|summary=Given the amount written about Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, even the most dedicated of Sherlockians must sometimes require a refresher on the characters. As I'm certainly not the most dedicated of anything, although I love Holmes and have read the entire canon, I was eagerly anticipating the chance to remind myself of those within. Sadly, this book has done little to quench my anticipation.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780920822</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Marshall Moore
|title=The Infernal Republic
|rating=2
|genre=Short Stories
|summary=''The Infernal Republic'' is a collection of short stories containing a mixture of general fiction, horror and fantasy published by Signal8Press, an imprint of author Marshall Moore's own publishing company Typhoon Media Ltd. Now normally I wouldn't pay much attention to who publishes the books I read, but in this case I'm making an exception because I can't honestly believe that any traditional publisher would have put out this book in this form. The whole collection is so badly crying out for a good editor that it actually ended up making me angry in places.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>9881516404</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Evelyn Eaton
|title=Go Ask the River
|rating=5
|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=In ninth century China, Hung Tu was almost unique as a woman breaking into the restricted male preserve of education, particularly the fields of poetry and calligraphy, and becoming a highly respected and renowned writer. Eaton constructs a fascinating narrative around her poems, imagining Hung Tu’s idyllic childhood which turns to potential chaos as she is sold into prostitution, followed by her rise to Official Hostess for the Governor.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848190921</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Jill Hathaway
|title=Slide
|rating=4
|genre=Teens
|summary=Everyone thinks Vee suffers from narcolepsy. The truth, however, is much stranger than that. She 'slides' into people's bodies when she touches an object they were emotionally attached to, becoming a helpless observer and leaving her body at risk. It's bad enough normally when this happens, as she sees the mean things people do to each other - but it gets much worse when she slides, and finds herself holding a knife and standing over a young girl's body. While everyone else thinks it's suicide, Vee knows Sophie's death was murder - but can she work out whose body she was occupying before the killer strikes again?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007446373</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Cathy Farr
|title=Moon Chase
|rating=4
|genre=Fantasy
|summary=When Wil dreams, it's as if he is inhabiting someone - or something - else's body. And when he wakes one morning after dreaming of a terrible crime and a desperate Fellhound, he knows the dog that he can hear howling is that very Fellhound. Following Farrow to try to rescue her injured master, Wil is captured by the Saranians, who believe he is the one to have tried to murder young Seth Tanner. His sentence is harsh - track and kill the Wraithe wolves in the Moon Chase and return alive and unharmed and go free, die in the attempt, or return injured and be hanged.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1907652868</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Toni Morrison
|title=Home
|rating=5
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Toni Morrison's ''Home'' is simply a beautifully crafted novella. Set in post Korean war America, it features some familiar Morrison characteristics. Veteran Frank is suffering from what we would now call post-traumatic stress disorder, but is released from service with no treatment as so many were, especially if they were black no doubt. But at least he has survived unlike his two friends whom he grew up with. Frank is troubled and has his flaws, but also has dignity. He finds himself returning to the Georgia home, Lotus, he longed to escape from as a child, another typical Morrison settlement with nothing going for it apart from the goodness and dignity of the people who live there. What draws him back is the news that his younger sister, Cee, is suffering from the aftermath of some medical experimentation. It sounds grim stuff, but while life is hard, it's not a traumatically difficult read.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0701186070</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Nelle Davy
|title=The Legacy of Eden
|rating=3.5
|genre=Historical Fiction
|summary=Much as I hate to appear to be on the fence about this book – I’m on the fence about this book!
All the seeds of a great saga appear to be present - strong characters, an engaging setting in the form of Aurelia, the family farm, and an inciting incident early on. All this is backed up with some superb description in the early part of the novel, with the period and the handful of characters we meet at the start all being carefully drawn.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848450931</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Tom Bradman and Tony Bradman
|title=Titanic: Death on the Water
|rating=4
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=I'll let you in on the end of this story - she sinks. Of course it would be a travesty if she didn't, and insulting to the 1,517 who died in the disaster. But this is a story of some historical characters, and some invented ones, and of course there's high drama in seeing who is destined to survive. The main invented character is young Billy, who joins up as a bellboy to abandon an apprenticeship at the same shipyards where his own dad died. He's too conscientious, too polite and too brave for one of his more rough 'n' ready colleagues, but when push comes to shove, is it enough?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408155818</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Lloyd Alexander
|title=The Black Cauldron
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=A year after the defeat of the Horned King, Taran the Assistant Pig-Boy has returned to Caer Dallben. The time has come, however, for a brave band of allies to try to stop the birth of the Cauldron-Born warriors by destroying the infamous Black Cauldron. Gwydion calls allies to a council held by Dallben, and forges a team of companions to go on this perilous quest. In addition to Taran's friends from the first book, he's joined by Adaon, son of the chief bard, and Ellidyr, a brave but arrogant prince. Can they overcome terrible danger to triumph against all odds?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1409515060</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Enid Blyton
|title=Five on a Treasure Island - Famous Five
|rating=3.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Julian, Dick and Anne can't go on their usual holiday this summer and to make matters worse their mother tells them that their father wants her to go on holiday to Scotland with him and without the children. (No. Don't say it. Please.) She's no idea what she's going to do with the children until their father has the idea of sending them to their Aunt and Uncle at Kirrin Bay. Apparently the Aunt and Uncle need the money and they have a daughter, Georgina, who doesn't have many friends a refer to be known as George. In fact - she won't answer to anything else. Surprisingly the children are excited and the family sets off on the long journey from London.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444908650</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Simon Barnes
|title=How to be a BAD Birdwatcher
|rating=4.5
|genre=Home and Family
|summary=''Look out of the window.''<br>
''See a bird''<br>
''Enjoy it.''<br>
''Congratulations. You are now a birdwatcher.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780720866</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Angela S Choi
|title=Hello Kitty Must Die
|rating=5
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=It all started with a missing hymen. If you think that’s an odd way to start a review, bear in mind that’s exactly how this book starts. Very first line in fact. Fiona Wu is a 28 year old lawyer living in San Francisco. Successful, self assured but still living at home thanks to her Chinese roots and her over protective parents. She’d rather hang out with her pet parakeet than nice Asian boys, but since her parents are desperate to get her married off to one of the latter, she doesn’t always get her own way. An appointment at a doctor’s office with a view to sorting out the aforementioned missing hymen leads to a chance reunion with a criminally-minded old school friend (last seen setting another pupil on fire), and then the fun really begins.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099570491</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Richard Parry
|title=People Who Eat Darkness: Love, Grief and a Journey into Japan's Shadows
|rating=5
|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=Just over a decade ago, 21-year-old Lucie Blackman went to Japan in search of adventure, excitement, and a way to pay off her debts. A couple of months later, her disappearance set in motion a high profile investigation which would see her face plastered over the news for some time in this country. As so often happens with the media, though, there was a huge amount of interest in her plight, and her family's desperate search for her, and then, with the mystery looking less and less likely to be solved, the papers found something else to report on. Just over half a year later, there was a tragic end to the tale as her dismembered body was discovered.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099502550</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Brett Cohen
|title=Stuff Every Dad Should Know
|rating=4
|genre=Home and Family
|summary=For an object lesson in how important the little things are, consider this book's title. This is not one of those collections of trivia or whimsies for fathers to appear cool to their children (ten great variations on tag; 6,000 good records with which to ween your daughter off Justin Bieber), it's not that kind of knowledge on offer. Here instead is practical information on rearing your own little thing, and in a quiet way this pocket diary-sized volume has the cojones to expect to stick around being useful for a generation, as it starts at budgeting for children in the first place, and goes from the actual birth to marrying them off.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1594745536</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Olen Steinhauer
|title=An American Spy
|rating=5
|genre=Crime
|summary=The Beijing Olympics approach and Xin Zhu has every reason to be proud: a high ranking position in China's espionage system, a beautiful new young wife and the satisfaction of having wiped out 33 American agents and so closing down their department. But the spy business is not a place for resting on laurels, especially when American Alan Drummond wants to avenge the death of his entire department. Meanwhile survivor of the massacre, Milo Weaver, just wants time to recover and space to be with his family. The unlikelihood of that happening is pretty high; however, it becomes a lot more remote when Alan disappears.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848876025</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Elizabeth Wilson
|title=The Girl in Berlin
|rating=4
|genre=Crime
|summary=Set in 1950s 'Austerity Britain', with detour or two to Berlin, Elizabeth Wilson's ''The Girl in Berlin'' is a stylish tale of espionage with a backdrop of the disappearance of Maclean and Burgess in a world where no one knows who to trust. Jack McGovern works at Special Branch but when Colin Harris, a known member of the Communist Party returns to the UK, MI5's Miles Kingdom draws Jack into investigate his intentions. Add in the fact that the wife of one of Harris's friends, Dinah Wentworth, works part time at the Courtauld Institute of Art where Dr Anthony Blunt is the main man, neither Jack, nor the reader, knows who is working for whom.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846688264</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Chris Van Allsburg
|title=The Chronicles of Harris Burdick
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Meet Harris Burdick - not that many people ever did. He was a fictional entity, produced by [[:Category:Chris Van Allsburg|Chris Van Allsburg]], and in the 1980s [[The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg|his output]] was a dozen odd but beautiful pictures with, for each, a single caption and the name of the story they were designed to illustrate. Burdick, allegedly, disappeared - but his pictures stuck around to inspire a Stephen King short story. Now we get a lavish, yummy hardback of all the pictures, and now, through the agency of a great editor, they all have their appropriate short story.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849394083</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Bruno Portier
|title=This Flawless Place Between
|rating=4
|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=If you fancy reading something a bit different, writer and filmmaker Bruno Portier may have written just the book.
Americans Anne and her partner, Evan, leave Anne's small daughter with the grandparents so that the couple can go on a 3 week motorbike tour of Tibet. Whilst away, things go awry for the two holidaymakers and so ''The Flawless Place Between'' traces their respective onward journeys.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1851688501</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Nicholas Blake
|title=A Question of Proof
|rating=4
|genre=Crime
|summary=Wemyss was that boy - and all schools have them, even now - who is universally hated. Neither masters at Sudeley Hall, nor his fellow pupils could stand him and to make matters worse he was the nephew and ward of the headmaster, the Rev. Percival Vale. When the boy was found strangled on the school sports day there wasn't exactly universal rejoicing but it was more because of the knowledge of the problems which this would cause for the school than because of any sorrow. The prime suspects were Michael Evans, the English teacher and Hero Vale, the young wife of the middle-aged headmaster who had been kissing in the haystack where the boy's body was found. Evans has one hope and that's his friend, Nigel Strangeways, nephew of the Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard and a renowned private investigator.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099565358</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Stieg Larsson
|title=The Expo Files: Articles by the Crusading Journalist
|rating=4.5
|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=[[:Category:Stieg Larsson and Reg Keeland (translator)|Stieg Larsson]] would not have known Anders Breivik, but if they'd coincided you can be damned sure he knew all there was to know about him. Larsson and his journalist colleagues were working to condemn the far-right activities throughout Europe, and open the truth about the right-wing Swedish parties to his audience, and here is constant proof he knew an awful lot about his awful subject. In just the first two, powerful, short essays here he brings terrorism in the UK, Italy and Oklahoma to his home audience, and discusses Swedish extremism in its light; showing the liberal laws in Sweden that allowed the extremists to be seen as too much on the straight and narrow, too mainstream, and even able to enter parliament. The idea of 'it couldn't happen here' gets blown out the water, and as we've seen that is relevant to us everywhere.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857051342</amazonuk>
}}