Difference between revisions of "Book Reviews From The Bookbag"
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| + | |summary=Matt, a wildlife film maker is reported to have perished in a fierce fire that sweeps through the first nation Alaskan village in which he's working. All that's left of him is his wedding ring. This is a huge shock to his wife Yasmin who has flown to see him with their 10 year old daughter Ruby. Yasmin has come to talk to Matt to see if they still have a relationship worth saving. Some would say that his death is an answer to that question but Yasmin doesn't accept that. She doesn't even accept he's dead and will search the frozen Alaskan wastes to prove it. | ||
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|summary=Simon Dawson has met something he cannot beat. He can't come to terms with it either. It's called Getting Older: not the 'getting older' which we all do day by day, but that moment when you realise that you've moved on to an entirely different stage in your life - and no one actually asked you if you wanted to go on the journey. For Simon it's Middle Age that's taken him by surprise: bits of the body have stopped working as they ought to and he's realised that if he's going to look in the mirror, bare-chested, then he shouldn't do it when he's standing next to a fit teenage boy. | |summary=Simon Dawson has met something he cannot beat. He can't come to terms with it either. It's called Getting Older: not the 'getting older' which we all do day by day, but that moment when you realise that you've moved on to an entirely different stage in your life - and no one actually asked you if you wanted to go on the journey. For Simon it's Middle Age that's taken him by surprise: bits of the body have stopped working as they ought to and he's realised that if he's going to look in the mirror, bare-chested, then he shouldn't do it when he's standing next to a fit teenage boy. | ||
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Revision as of 13:24, 2 July 2015
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.
There are currently 16,119 reviews at TheBookbag.
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The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton
Matt, a wildlife film maker is reported to have perished in a fierce fire that sweeps through the first nation Alaskan village in which he's working. All that's left of him is his wedding ring. This is a huge shock to his wife Yasmin who has flown to see him with their 10 year old daughter Ruby. Yasmin has come to talk to Matt to see if they still have a relationship worth saving. Some would say that his death is an answer to that question but Yasmin doesn't accept that. She doesn't even accept he's dead and will search the frozen Alaskan wastes to prove it. Full review...
Worrying: A Literary and Cultural History by Francis O'Gorman
‘’Worrying: A Literary and Cultural History’’ begins with a familiar scene for anyone who experiences that persistent feeling of fretful panic: lying awake in the early hours, unable to switch off, thoughts turning over in your head. If this common situation hits home, ‘This book’, its author Francis O’Gorman writes, ‘is for you.’ Full review...
The Seventh Miss Hatfield by Anna Caltabiano
Cynthia is a simple, All American girl who whilst generally happy – she’s fed and watered with a roof over her head - and relatively care free, she is somewhat bored of her existence in Suburbia. Miss Hatfield is Cynthia’s mysterious and rarely seen neighbour. What an enigma she is and how compelling and irresistible it is for Cynthia to attempt to discover more about her. Ever hear the phrase Be careful what you wish for?. Full review...
Dead End Kids: Heroes of the Blitz by Bernard Ashley
It's London in 1940. Most of the men have been conscripted and the East End is populated mainly by women and children. Josie and her friends are carrying on much as usual, though, grouping into little gangs and arguing over turf via mud fights along the Thames. But then comes a terrible night of bombing. It's the start of the Blitz and 57 consecutive nights of bombing for the East End. The fire service is stretched way beyond its capacity and the lucky ones make it out of the shelters in the morning, while the unlucky ones don't see another sunrise. Full review...
The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle
For a month in every year, the month leading up to Halloween, Cara's family are susceptible to accidents. There are cuts and scrapes and bruises. Sometimes there are broken bones. And sometimes, the accidents are even fatal...
... it's a curse, right? What else could it be? Full review...
How to Be Happy (or at least less sad): A Creative Workbook by Lee Crutchley
I gave up hoping for happiness many years ago and settled instead for enjoying contentment when it arrived and trying to make the most of it. 'Happiness' seemed to be rather like 'privileges' - something which you shouldn't expect as of right. Most of the time it works well, but just occasionally an extra boost - a new approach - is needed. Lee Crutchley has suffered from depression and he knows that this book is not going to help when you're clinically depressed, but those of us who have been down that road know that there are certain laybys where you stop and possibly turn around. Full review...
In Darkling Wood by Emma Carroll
In the early hours of the morning Alice’s mum receives the phone call they have been waiting for. The long awaited heart transplant that may save her sick brother, Theo’s, life is now possible. Alice finds herself sent to stay with a grandmother she doesn’t know, miles away from her friends and the life she knows. There is no TV, no phone signal and no internet but Alice feels drawn to the mysterious Darkling Wood surrounding the house despite her grandmother’s wish to have it chopped down. Meanwhile back in 1918 a young girl desperately waits for news of her brother’s safe return from the front. Her mother doesn’t like her playing in the nearby wood but it is there that she discovers secrets and magic that give her hope for the future. Full review...
Fire Colour One by Jenny Valentine
Iris has never known her father. He didn't want her, her mother has always said. He threw them out years ago. But now she's about to meet him again. Her father is rich, you see, and dying, and Iris's mother and stepfather have worn out their welcome in LA. So they're running away from debts and towards a rich, terminally ill old man, ripe for exploitation. There's also the small matter of some of Iris's own bad behaviour. But the less said about that, the better Full review...
The Potion Diaries by Amy Alward
Samantha is a mixer of potions extraordinaire. Which is just as well, because someone has to save a princess who has fallen in love with herself. Yes, you heard right! You might not think this is the most enormous problem - princesses are so spoiled and pampered, is it any wonder they fall in love with themselves? But this isn't what's happened. Princess Evelyn has taken a love potion meant to make someone else fall in love with her. And the resulting havoc caused by the wrong person taking the right potion leads to some very unstable magic that could threaten the very kingdom itself.
Hence the Wilde Hunt, a national quest to find the ingredients for a cure. Full review...
Thirteen Days of Midnight by Leo Hunt
Luke Manchett really isn't that upset when he gets the news that his father has died. You might think that's a tad harsh, but Luke has been estranged from his father for years. His primary concern is his mother, who is disabled by crushing cluster headaches. So, rather than worry her, Luke heads off to a lawyer's office to deal with the reading of his father's will by himself. And he gets a shock. Luke's inheritance adds up to six million dollars. SIX MILLION! Full review...
Half a World Away: Surviving the Move to a Land Down Under by Alistair McGuinness
Sometimes you read about a particularly exciting time in an author's life but later you find yourself wondering how they're doing, how life worked out for them. Since I read Round the Bend: From Luton to Peru to Ningaloo, a Search for Life After Redundancy by Alistair McGuinnessabout eighteen months ago I've often wondered how he and Fran were doing in Australia and I was delighted when Half a World Away landed on my desk. When we left Ali and Fran they'd had an exciting and eventful year during which they'd travelled through Central and South America and then on to Africa, but they were planning to settle down in Australia. Don't worry if you haven't read Round the Bend as both books read well as stand alones and you can always go back to the first book later, can't you? Full review...
Hibernia Unanimis: "Pro Deo, Rege et Patricia, Hibernia Unanimis" (For God, King and Country, Ireland is United) by John Piper
Benedict Plunkett calls a meeting of a small but select and distinguished group of Irish and US politicians, clergy and business men to whom he explains his plans for Hibernia Unanimis – a united Ireland. It will be raised up by and for the Irish in response to the new UKIP government in London. Before the great and the good leave Benedict's mansion they are asked to sign contracts if they want to be part of his future. Some sign, some don't but all think he's deluded and nothing will come of it. Then the accident happens and everyone takes Benedict a little more seriously as, in time, will the English government. Full review...
Foretold by Thunder by E M Davey
A university professor is randomly killed by a thunderbolt after posting a package of history texts to journalist Jake Wolsey. Was his death really that random? Jake doesn't have long to ponder that before he's off to Turkey with archaeologist Florence Chung to investigate the ancient religion of the Etruscans. He's not the only one interested; MI6 are tailing him for a reason even the agents concerned don't know. As history starts to reveal its secrets and connects with names centuries after the Etruscans died, Jake and Florence realise this is as much a fight for their lives as it is for knowledge. Full review...
Hearts of Stone by Simon Scarrow
Wars are often written about and the further back you go the more unreal they feel. The description of a Roman Soldier being killed seems to have little impact on our lives today, but, what about Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam? How far must one go back before we feel detached from events? World War Two ended 70 years ago, but it still ripples through to today. There are stories still to be told from this time, but they must be written well and sensitively. Full review...
Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face and the Bees of Stupidity by John Dougherty and David Tazzyman (illustrator)
We've been here before. The lovely children whose name is in the title of all these books – handy when they make time to try and check if they're in this one or not – are woken up in a ridiculous way by a blackbird making his usual cameo. The Army of Great Kerfuffle is asleep – all single cat of it. The King is wearing a badge that allows him to pretend to not be the King – this time he's thinking of keeping bees, although he has four animals that go 'quack' in a hive instead. Oh yeah, and the evil badgers are in prison having been naughty. But they will never follow the pattern and be evil and naughty and break out in order to be eviller and more naughty, will they? Full review...
Ghosts of Shanghai by Julian Sedgwick
Shanghai, 1926. The city is heavily divided between the natural, national areas, and the enclaves of the foreigners – Russian, French, American, British. Several of the younger international youths have formed the Ghost Society gang, after the principal character, Ruby, found another divide cleaving Shanghai in two – that between the living and the dead, the 'real world' and the Otherworld. Her brother dead, she seemed to become the conduit for a poltergeist in her apartment, and recently the gang have even managed to lock a spirit into a bottle and cast it down a well. But the gang is immediately falling apart – the lad she loves, Charlie, and his sister are diverting themselves from, or have been warned off, any further such activity. Rose knows she has to find the source of the problem – and cross any untold divides in her city to find the truth… Full review...
Trollhunters by Guillermo del Toro, Daniel Kraus and Sean Murray
West Coast USA in the 1960s, and the city is wracked and wrecked by a slew of missing children reports. The parents with their new anguishes, and new rules against playing out after dark, have no idea of the horrors in their vicinity – literally under their feet lies a city of trolls, guilty of snatching the children. Last to go, Jack Sturgess. Cue the modern era and Jack's younger, now grown-up brother Jim, and Jim Jr live a sheltered life in the most barricaded and secure home imaginable, and Jim Jr's life is as exciting as you'd expect. Unfortunately, however, the trolls are about to make a return to their nastiest of ways – and their intentions are a lot more surprising than Jim Jr could ever predict… Full review...
Murder on the Minneapolis by Anita Davison
Governess Flora Maguire is sailing from New York to England on the SS Minneapolis, entrusted with the task of returning her teenage charge, Eddie back home to boarding school. Unfortunately for Flora, the ship is first-class only, so she spends the first night aboard stowed away in her cabin, acutely aware of her lower social status. Her intention to stay out of the limelight is thwarted when, during a solitary stroll along the deck, she discovers a dead body at the bottom of the companionway. The ship staff hastily conclude that this is a tragic accident, but Flora has other ideas and decides to conduct her own investigation. Is there a murderer aboard ship? And if so, is Flora making herself a prime target by poking her nose into other people's affairs? Full review...
Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase
At Black Rabbit Hall, time goes syrupy slow. None of the clocks work properly, but an hour at Black Rabbit is said to last twice as long as a London one, and you don't get a quarter of the things done. Every holiday, the Alton family swap the hustle and bustle of London life for this secluded Cornish retreat, a place that is theirs and theirs alone. Full review...
The Just City by Jo Walton
Urged on by her brother Apollo, goddess Pallas Athene founds the Just City of Atlantis – a city based on Plato’s republic. Filling it with an assortments of adults collected from throughout time, as well as ten thousand ten year olds, (one of whom is a disguised Apollo). Whilst the city flourishes, the arrival of Socrates may prove to be a fly in the ointment… Full review...
The Case of the Bogus Detective by Caroline Lawrence
Howdy folks! Welcome to Virginia City, bustling and busy home to prospectors, dancing girls, lawyers, gamblers and newspapermen. It's 1862, and our twelve-year-old pal Pinky is continuing the quest to become a successful detective and eventually join Uncle Allan in the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency in Chicago. But for the moment there's so much crime right here in Nevada, thanks to the untold wealth being found daily in the nearby silver mines, that Pinky and financial partner Ping are soon busy day and night, chasing desperados, solving crimes and righting all manner of wrongs. Full review...
Fairest: The Lunar Chronicles: Levana's Story by Marissa Meyer
Meyer’s dedication in this prequel to The Lunar Chronicles is to her fans, The Lunartics. This book is especially for voracious readers who have devoured Cinder, Scarlet and Cress and are desperately awaiting Winter, though it works as a standalone too. According to the publisher’s note Queen Levana is a ruler who uses her glamour to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet and Cress, Levana lived a very different story- a story that has never been told… until now. Full review...
The Seymours of Wolf Hall: A Tudor Family Story by David Loades
In medieval times Wolf Hall or Wolfhall (or even Wulfhall), the long-since-demolished family seat in Wiltshire, was the home of the Seymour family. Their greatest triumph, followed by a speedy decline and fall, was part of Tudor history, and is thus the focus of this book. Full review...
Car-Jacked by Ali Sparkes
A boy genius who speaks Mandarin and Latin and a criminal who’s just robbed a bank and stolen a car: it’s an unusual pairing but, it turns out, a perfect team. ‘‘Car-Jacked’’ leads us through the twists and turns of 12-year old Jack’s adventure when his parents’ car is hi-jacked with Jack still inside. Full review...
Best Friends by Kim Hyun
Teaching your young child new words is one of the wonders of parenthood, but once you have grown tired of teaching them mildly rude words, what is next? Thankfully, like with most thing in modern living, there is a book to help you that is full of popular and useful phrases to use in everyday situations. I mean who else is going to teach you to say Pardon Me, if you have an accident? Full review...
The Snake Trap: Travis Delaney Investigates by Kevin Brooks
Teen private investigator Travis Delaney is still looking for the people who killed his parents. He needs more than anything to find out why they died. And, fresh from a narrow escape from death at the hands of a criminal mastermind, Travis now suspects that there's a traitor in the camp. This third installment in the Travis Delaney series has a barnstorming opening. Travis is abducted by terrorists and held captive alongside Winston, the security officer gone bad who Travis suspects is the person guilty of his father's death.
Travis has a lot of questions. But will he get any answers? And can he get himself out of this horribly dangerous situation? Full review...
Lady: My Life as a Bitch by Melvin Burgess
Sandra is a naughty kid. Fed up with the pressure of exams, a lovely but slightly boring boyfriend and an overbearing mother, she's gone a bit wild. She's thrown over the boring boyfriend and the worthy best friend, done pretty badly at her GSCEs, and is running with some exciting but unreliable new pals. She's done a bit of shoplifting and slept with a few boys, and caused her mother a good few hair-tearing moments.
On this particular day, she's getting off with Wayne and cheesing off Michelle, and just generally being rebellious, when she runs slap bang into a homeless alcoholic man, causing him to spill his can of Special Brew. The homeless guy is furious and chases her and Sandra is furious too, because he's ruining her day and HOW DARE HE? And then, everything changes for Sandra. The homeless guy has changed her into a dog. Yep. You heard. A dog. Full review...
Bear Counts by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
If a bear approaches you in the woods and asks you for help counting, the only numbers you will need to be aware of are the steps you take pegging it in the opposite direction. Thankfully, the bear of this story is a friendly creature and he hangs out mostly with his woodland pals and not terrified humans. Can he help us count to five before the terror grips us? Full review...
The Underwriting by Michelle Miller
Todd Kent is young, rich, stupidly handsome, and well on his way to the top of Wall Street. When a new dating app called “Hook” decides to go public, Todd is handpicked by Hook’s eccentric founder to lead the project team. Taking brainy analyst Neha, spoilt party-boy Beau, and old flame Tara Taylor with him – the team find themselves thrust into the hectic circumstances of a $14 Billion deal. As Silicon Valley and Wall Street clash, the death of a young girl will find the team at odds with each other – and spinning wildly out of control. Full review...
Dark Run by Mike Brooks
For any sane person Space is not a place you would want to go. Yes, there is the great unknown, planets to visit and the potential to meet alien life, but all that sits between you and the endless void is a few inches of metal – no thank you. To make things even worse, the future of space travel also appears to have pirates, terrorism and petty bureaucracy. I think I will stick to getting my astronaut-based thrills vicariously through the medium of the novel. Full review...
The Sty's the Limit: When Middle Age Gets Mucky by Simon Dawson
Simon Dawson has met something he cannot beat. He can't come to terms with it either. It's called Getting Older: not the 'getting older' which we all do day by day, but that moment when you realise that you've moved on to an entirely different stage in your life - and no one actually asked you if you wanted to go on the journey. For Simon it's Middle Age that's taken him by surprise: bits of the body have stopped working as they ought to and he's realised that if he's going to look in the mirror, bare-chested, then he shouldn't do it when he's standing next to a fit teenage boy. Full review...
