Book Reviews From The Bookbag

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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Unmanned by Dan Fesperman

Thrillers

Unmanned, the title of Fesperman's latest thriller, refers to the drones, the Predators, that Captain Darwin Cole flew over Afghanistan, from a shed somewhere in Nevada.

It also refers to the state that those missions left Cole in, after one of them went badly wrong. A poor call-down led to a misidentified target, a house destroyed, civilians killed, including two kids lying out in the open running away, and a girl, not dead but wounded. Cole could see her from his thousands of miles away, moving, agonising, separated by a considerable distance from the arm she would never use again.

A one-armed girl would haunt his dreams for a long time to follow. Full review...

Question Everything: 132 science questions - and their unexpected answers by New Scientist

Popular Science

For years now the New Scientist magazine has had a column whereby people submit questions they want the answer to, and it's up to correspondents from all walks of life to submit the answer and explain the solution. It's nothing new – the Guardian had it for years, then the Daily Mail probably had Britain's most popular variant, what with it being daily, but none were purely science-based such as that under perusal. It's a simple format for a book – not only does it create a fun kick-back at the close of an at-times hard-going science read, it generates a book full of fun and intriguing Q&As almost every year. Chances are that, by relying on the interests of their audience, the editors have allowed themselves to publish books that will appeal to many people who have never looked at their weekly edition – certainly they have been incredibly popular, and massively boosted the magazine's public recognition. And this volume will not be any different. Full review...

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

Teens

I know that some publishers send packs of tissues with seriously emotional books. I believe I'm right in saying Bloomsbury did it with Sarah Crossan's heartbreaking Apple And Rain. As far as I'm aware, Scholastic didn't send them with this, unless they got lost in the post between the Bookbag and me. Really, Scholastic? You think that's fair? You send a book that had me crying by page 40 and utterly destroyed before the page numbers hit triple digits, and you can't at least throw in a pack of tissues? Good grief! Full review...

Rupert Brooke: Life, Death and Myth by Nigel Jones

Biography

Rupert Chawner Brooke’s reputation as one of the greatest or at least best-remembered war poets rests largely on his sonnet The Soldier. Perhaps it was English literature’s abiding loss that his output was so slender, as his career was cut short so suddenly. Had he lived longer he would surely have developed into a notable writer. Full review...

The Kennedy Wives: Triumph and Tragedy in America's Most Public Family by Amber Hunt and David Batcher

Biography

The Kennedy dynasty is mainly known for the men who have come to political prominence: Jack Kennedy, the president who was assassinated in November 1963, his brother, Bobby, Jack's Attorney General who would be assassinated in June 1968 and Senator Edward Kennedy the youngest of the nine children - the only one of the brothers who would, as they say, live to comb grey hair. Not quite so much is known about the women who were brave enough to marry into the family and Amber Hunt and David Batcher have set out to give us some background on five of these women: Rose Kennedy the matriarch of the family and wife of Joe Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of Jack, Ethel, wife of Bobby and Joan and Vicki, the first and second wives of Teddy Kennedy. Full review...

The Iceberg: A Memoir by Marion Coutts

Autobiography

'Something has happened. A piece of news. We have had a diagnosis that has the status of an event. The news makes a rupture with what went before.' With these plain, unsentimental words Coutts begins her devastating yet mysteriously gorgeous account of her husband Tom Lubbock's decline and death from a brain tumour. Shortlisted for the Costa Biography award and longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, it was also a finalist for the Samuel Johnson Prize. Full review...

The Lion's Mouth by Anne Holt

Crime

This is the first Anne Holt novel that I have read and I am going back for more. Jo Nesbo is quoted describing Holt as 'the Godmother of modern Norwegian crime fiction' and judging only from identikit cover design – grey mist, loneliness, treacherous ice, snow-encrusted gun, red typeface to hint at fresh blood – readers could be forgiven for expecting another volume of semi-standardised Scandinavian noir. Full review...

The Matchbox Mysteries (Wings and Co 4) by Sally Gardner and David Roberts

Confident Readers

This was my first introduction to the Wings & Co fairy detective agency. It's certainly the sort of book I really should have come across sooner since it's wonderfully odd! With Emily working alongside of Fidget, the talking cat, as well as a lot of keys and an overly talkative, egotistic magic lamp this isn't the sort of book you read as a bedtime story and drift off half way through! In this book there is trouble in Podgy Bottom. Someone is stealing cars, shrinking them down into a matchbox, and there is also a crazy purple bunny and a troublesome broomstick. Will the detective agency be able to figure out what on earth is going on? Full review...

The Queen Alone (Chronicles of the Tempus) by K A S Quinn

Confident Readers

Katie is back, and once more she's back in Victorian England. This time, however, she isn't quite sure who called her back in time or for what purpose and, unfortunately, something went wrong as she came and she brought someone else along with her! In the final episode of the Chronicles of the Tempus we see Katie trying to save Prince Albert's life, trying to prevent Britain messing up the outcome of the American Civil War, and rescuing Queen Victoria from an asylum! Full review...

Frog is a Hero by Max Velthuijs

For Sharing

Always a sucker for a story with a hero, I thoroughly enjoyed this book with Frog as the unlikely hero. It's a very rainy day. At first the rain, for Frog at least, is lovely and he goes outside dancing. But then it starts to get a little bit too heavy even for him. Worried about how his friends are coping with the adverse weather, Frog decides to go and see them and with everyone's houses leaking, a plan must be formed! Full review...

Shiver the Whole Night Through by Darragh McManus

Teens

Aidan Flood's life is miserable; he's not only bullied but he lost his girlfriend to someone who works at the local carnival and even heard that from someone else. Life is just rubbish and needs ending totally. This is something he almost manages to accomplish as well if it wasn't for a do-gooder passer-by. The next morning while coming to terms with the fact he's still alive, he hears that Slaine McAuley, a girl he knows vaguely, has killed herself. The only thing is that Aidan knows she hasn't – she told him herself after she'd died. What did happen to her and why does she choose to tell him, of all people? Aidan is on a mission: he will find out. Full review...

A Dancer in the Dust by Thomas H Cook

Thrillers

A man that risk management consultant Ray Campbell knew a lifetime ago is found dead on the streets of New York. It's not just the fact that Ray knew him that's intriguing, it's where Ray knew him from: the African country of Lubanda where Ray once worked for an NGO. This death reminds him of another that happened out in Africa: that of a native Lubandan named Martine Aubert whom Ray loved and still loves. There must be a connection and Ray will investigate till he finds it, no matter what he finds or what he remembers along the way. Full review...

The Wonder by Faye Hanson

For Sharing

Don't judge a book by its cover, they say. It was the beautiful cover that made me want to try this gorgeous book and still I was not prepared for the stunning illustrations that make up the journey into the imagination of the little boy in this thoughtful story. Full review...

The Boy Who Lost His Bumble by Trudi Esberger

For Sharing

A little boy loves his garden and he particularly loves the bees that visit it each day. He is so fascinated by his buzzy friends that he gives them each names and records their habits and characteristics. Then the weather changes, it grows cold and his bees disappear. Where can they be? Will they come back? The boy is puzzled and saddened by their departure and tries hard to encourage his missing friends to return. Full review...

PathFinder (TodHunter Moon Book One) by Angie Sage

Confident Readers

Twelve year old Alice TodHunter Moon, who prefers to be known as Tod, is a Pathfinder, a member of a fishing tribe with a mythical history of travelling across the stars. She lives a nice life in her Pathfinder community until her father, her only surviving parent, doesn’t come back from a fishing trip and Tod is left alone with her horrid step-aunt Mitza. Full review...

That's Racist: How the regulation of speech and thought divides us all by Adrian Hart

Politics and Society

Adrian Hart has a long history of campaigning against racism, not least because he was subjected to racial abuse when he was at school. With jet-black hair and a complexion that was just slightly darker than was normal he was the closest that his school had to someone who might be of Pakistani origin. It was only name calling from a group of boys but the experience stuck and he's put much of his working life where his mouth is. So, you might expect that he would be a devotee of the zero tolerance approach to racist speech, but he's far from certain that this is the right way to go and believes that this might be causing more divisions in society than racism itself. Full review...

Rush Hour by Iain Gately

History

Rush Hour.

500 Million commuters go through it every day, and it's hard to avoid - whether like me you're a jaded Londoner stuck in someone's armpit whilst attempting to read on a cramped tube, or trying to navigate busy country lanes in order to do the school run and get to work on time, we've probably all experienced it. But have you ever thought about the history of it? Full review...

Deadly Pole to Pole Diaries by Steve Backshall

Children's Non-Fiction

Dear Diary, today I really woke up on the wrong side of the bed. For most people that means waking up in a grumpy mood, but for me it literally means the wrong side of the bed. I stepped straight into a pool full of viscous fish and then I climbed out, only to be chased by a bear. I am either eating too much cheese before I go to bed or partaking on a magnificent journey from Pole to Pole visiting dangerous animals on the way. Full review...

The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide

Literary Fiction

The Guest Cat had me at the cover. The reflective green material makes the cat's eyes glow and glint eerily in the light. There is something ethereal and otherworldly about this novella and that is before I've even read a single word. This simple story about a Japanese couple and the cat that decides to adopt them has become an international best-seller and I was keen to find out why. Full review...

The Baron Next Door by Erin Knightley

Historical Fiction

Charity is hoping to enjoy a relaxing break in Bath, attending the music festival with her beloved grandmother, Lady Effington. Charity doesn't just love music, she lives music; it is an intrinsic part of her very being and she is never happier than when playing her latest compositions on her pianoforte. She cannot understand why anyone would hate music, so when her new neighbour Baron Cadgwith turns up on her doorstep, demanding that she keep the infernal racket to a minimum, she declares war on the insufferably rude Baron next door. The result is a light-hearted and sweet Regency romance that sees the most unlikely pair begin to bond, despite their differences. Full review...

The Pink House at Appleton by Jonathan Braham

General Fiction

When we first meet Boyd Longfellow Brookes he's musing over the fact that - however much you might wish otherwise - sounds, smells or small details can evoke the most painful of memories in full Technicolor. On this particular afternoon it was the music - Saint-Saens Violin Concerto No 3 in B minor - which brought back the scene which regularly invaded his dreams and his waking hours. Once again he was the eight-year-old boy whose father was thrashing him with a leather strap whilst his mother wept and Papa demanded to know if Boyd had molested the young daughter of a neighbour. He didn't even know the meaning of molest but the expressions on the faces of those around him told him all he needed to know. Full review...

The Boy from Aleppo who Painted the War by Sumia Sukkar

General Fiction

This is a book about colour against the grey backdrop of the Syrian civil war. Adam, the 14-year-old narrator, is an artist who describes emotion, people and things in colour. Through colour, he makes sense of the world. So his sister, Yasmine, 'is usually ruby' although at times she is grey or green. Adam’s views are simple, uncomplicated – he says ‘Lying is bad’, ‘I don’t like the war’ and ‘[Paintings] always say the right things’. Full review...

Rita's Rhino by Tony Ross

For Sharing

Rita really wants a pet, but when she asks her Mum for one she isn’t so keen. They’re smelly and greedy and take lots of hard work. Eventually she relents, and gives Rita a jar with a flea in it, his name is Harold. Obviously, Rita isn’t happy with this so she decides to take matters into her own hands. What will she do, and how will she manage to hide a Rhino from her pet-fearing mother? Full review...

The Brockenspectre by Linda Newbery

Confident Readers

Tommi lives up in the mountains with his parents and his baby sister. Mamma is artistic and paints beautiful designs on chairs and stools and planters for tourists to buy. Pappi is a mountain guide and Tommi's hero - brave and fearless and a lover of his wild mountain home. Tommi wants nothing more than to be like Pappi. But things aren't peaceful at home. Pappi is only truly happy by himself, out amongst the peaks. After just a day or two at home without guiding work, he becomes irritable and critical of Mammi and his children.

After an argument one day, Pappi strides out of the house and onto the mountain. And he doesn't return. Full review...

The Super Amazing Adventures of Me, Pig by Emer Stamp

Confident Readers

Hello.

I is Pig and I has one book out already. In it I tells you in diary form about how I ends up on a spaceship that EVIL CHICKENS make out of a tractor. I cannot speak human but I knows the bookbag really likes my first book. So now I has a second. In the past I has problems with an evil farmer who wants to put me in a pie but now all I has is happiness and peace. I even has a new best friend called Kitty the Cat. But my old best friend Duck is telling me Kitty is not the best new best friend I can have. How is Duck right and how is I wrong? Full review...

Black Sheep by Susan Hill

General Fiction

Mount of Zeal is a mining village, and no mistake. Three concentric semi-circular streets align across the side of a hill, like the rows of seats in an amphitheatre, with little thought at all allowed for the life above the crest of the hill, and a lot of effort and dreams focused on the coal mine at the village's core. The Howker family (and how evocative that name is, so akin to the noise of hawking coal dust from one's lungs), and Ted and Rose, the youngest of the clan, in particular, will face the destiny the environment they grow up in gives them – with only the merest glimmers of hope and the faintest of sparks to latch on to as regards a likeable future. But if that is a faint spark, then how safe is it so close to the tinderbox of a coal mine? Full review...

A Work of Beauty: Alexander McCall Smith's Edinburgh by Alexander McCall Smith

Travel

It might be simplest if I begin by telling you what this book is not. It's not a book of beautiful photographs (with some supporting text) of the places you'll almost certainly want to visit if you're visiting Edinburgh as a tourist. If that's what you want then there are dozens of such books available all over the city at a fraction of the cost of A Work of Beauty. This might have the look of a coffee table book (and it would certainly look impressive there) but it has a lot more depth and interest than you might expect. This is a book of Alexander McCall Smith's Edinburgh, the city he walks around every day, constantly seeing something new, something else with a story to tell. Full review...

The Quayside Cat by Toby Forward and Ruth Brown

For Sharing

Sometimes it's good to be wrong. I'd been keen to review The Quayside Cat almost entirely because of the beautiful colour palette of the front cover – and also because I spend quite a lot of time hanging around on quaysides. But then I began to get cold feet – had I been guilty of the classic adult sin, choosing a book because it appealed to me and with no thought of whether the children would like it? Full review...

The Night Falling by Katherine Webb

Historical Fiction

In the summer of 1921, Leandro returns to his birthplace in Italy. He has made his fortune, and his aim is to transform a crumbling palazzo into an opulent mansion. But the outside world is still reeling from the Great War, and Leandro’s nephew, Ettore, is one of those most in need of help. Reluctantly, Ettore asks his uncle for assistance. But Ettero could not have foreseen what was to come from that request… Full review...