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Since the film adaptation is making so many headlines, our blast from the past this month is [[Room by Emma Donoghue ]]. It's the morning of Jack's fifth birthday, but Jack is no ordinary boy. He and his Ma have been imprisoned by the character known only as 'Old Nick' in a single room for all Jack's life. True he has a television, but his mother has convinced him that those people are not real. The room is all Jack has ever known - and in it he has developed his own attachment to things like Bed, Rug, Table, Skylight and Wardrobe where he sleeps. The first victim of incarceration, it seems, is the definite article. Narrated in the voice of five year old Jack, this is a haunting, innovative and brave story that will stay with you long after the final page. You should read it.
Good news! We have a competition to win both book and DVD! You have until 16 May [[http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=Competitions|to enter]]!
'''Books of the Month'''
And on to to the new...
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In fiction, Luke spent a wonderful afternoon racing through [[Everyone Brave Is Forgiven by Chris Cleave ]].An epic novel of war, love, and humanity, it is both a sweeping romance and an intimate look at the horrors of war on everyone caught in its path. Moving, shocking, and immensely gripping – the strong connections that the author has to the characters in this book make it his best novel yet.
Ruth was deeply moved by [[The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood ]]. It's the story, mostly of Miss Ona Vitkus, a one hundred and four year old lady who has a young boy scout come over to help her with jobs and how he ultimately ends up changing her life, and not at all in the way you might imagine since before we even begin the story the boy is dead. This is a book that has death and grief as its focus, yet manages to remain truly positive and uplifting and it found its way deep into Ruth's heart.
In non-fiction, John thoroughly enjoyed [[John Aubrey: My Own Life by Ruth Scurr ]]. Seventeenth-century antiquary and archaeologist John Aubrey was one of the earliest biographers, although his ''[[Brief Lives'' by John Aubrey|Brief Lives]] remained unpublished for more than a century after his death. Scurr's book is a fascinating work which combines biography and memoirs through arranging extracts from his writings to form a continuous journal telling his story from childhood to old age, with perceptive observations of the natural world around him, great events and the work of a scholar writing around the time of the restoration.
For teens, Jill recommends [[Chasing the Stars by Malorie Blackman ]]. Olivia - Vee - and her brother Aidan are trying to get back to Earth after a mystery virus killed everyone, including their parents, on their ship. It's been a lonely three years and a dangerous one, too, as they've tried to avoid the dangerous and xenophobic Mazons. But sometimes the Mazons can't be avoided and this is one of them. Riffing on Othello, this is a thriller and a love story combined, in true Malorie Blackman form. If Othello in space doesn't whet your appetite, nothing will!
For the little ones, Sue fell in love with [[Tidy by Emily Gravett ]]. Pete the badger likes ''tidy''. He does it very well. Well, perhaps it's a little bit ''too'' well. What looks initially to be a simple story of a rather over-fussy badger, delivers a very important ecological message. We can think of no better way to show children the virtues of the forests and the dangers of losing them and can't recommend this book highly enough.
'''Features'''
'''''All at Bookbag Towers'''''
See what we were doing [[April 2015 Newsletter|a year ago]].
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[[Category:Newsletters|* 2016 04]]