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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The Very Grumpy Day by Stella J Jones and Alison Edgson

For Sharing

Happiness is contagious, but did you ever consider that grumpiness might be too? If you look at Bear, it's quite plain to see. He's not having a good day, and when he takes it out on Mole, it spreads quickly through the forest, with Hedgehog and Fox and the squirrels and the owls all getting a taste. What a horrible, grumpy day for everyone. Full review...

Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother Too? by Eric Carle

For Sharing

Babies have mothers, mothers who may well be reading these books with them. And their mothers have mothers, or they used to at any rate. But what about other animals. Does a kangaroo have a mother? How about lions and dolphins? Full review...

Bookshelf (Object Lessons) by Lydia Pyne

Lifestyle

Could you imagine a whole book dedicated to a single lump of wood, or a few sections of metal? I can't assume it would be great – with or without said item being an object with physical, historical and psychological components. But shove some distorted tree by-products on to said wood or metal, and lo and behold you have a bookshelf. Now you're talking – but could you even now imagine a whole book dedicated to it? Full review...

Little Red by Bethan Woolvin

For Sharing

We all know the story of Little Red Riding Hood, yes? Like many fairy tales, it's a little dark, so when you hear of a version that reimagines the story, your mind starts to wonder how they may have done this. Maybe a happy ending? That would be nice. Full review...

The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly by Luis Sepulveda, Satoshi Kitamura and Margaret Sayers Peden (translator)

Confident Readers

In the world of this book, danger brings people together, but adversity brings them together even more firmly. On the one hand we have Zorba, the big fat black cat, who was once swallowed by a pelican as a kitten, and now has been abandoned – well, temporarily, as his human child owner is away for a long time. But we also have a seagull, busy fishing when the alarm rings out and therefore left alone to be swamped by an oil slick. Trying to take her last flight, she crashlands on Zorba's balcony, and promptly delivers an egg – and with her dying breath procures the promise of the cat to look after the hatchling until Zorba can teach it to fly. But surely a lesson in flight from a cat is beyond even the binds of adversity? Full review...

Stork Mountain by Miroslav Penkov

General Fiction

A young man, his grandfather and a stork with a broken wing are the company of rebels at the heart of this lively tale set in Bulgaria's Strandja Mountains. The storks that return to the mountains each spring are migrants, like so many of the people that have passed through the region over the centuries. The young narrator is also in transit, born in Bulgaria, but raised and educated in America. The story opens with his return to Bulgaria in search of his grandfather who has broken off contact with his family in America. But the young man's motives are not as clear cut as first appears. Full review...

On the Trail of the Yorks by Kristie Dean

History

Just when you wondered whether there was room on your shelves for another book on the Yorkist dynasty, here comes a very enterprising addition. Part biography, part travel guide, this is a guidebook comprising a tour of various places at home and abroad associated with the major figures. Full review...

The Ancient Greeks: Ten Ways They Shaped the Modern World by Edith Hall

History

Reading Edith Hall's book on the Ancient Greeks, develops a deep respect for the power of poetry. No poet was more effective in this regard than Homer recounting the sea adventures contained in the The Odyssey. It shaped the self-definition of a nation and engendered self-confidence. The mariners set out in their beautiful ships across the Aegean and established colonies to the West, in the Mediterranean as far as the Pillars of Hercules, to the East as far as the Levant and built trading cities in natural harbours along the fertile edges of the Black Sea. They were, as Plato wrote in the Phaedo, around the sea, like frogs and ants around a pond. They were encouraged by Delphic oracles and inspired by the company of diving dolphins. Full review...

After Birth by Elisa Albert

Literary Fiction

This book is definitely not for anyone who has a rosy picture of new motherhood. In fact, I would probably avoid it if you are contemplating giving birth in the near future. For any woman who has ever struggled through the first few months of motherhood, however, or a partner of somebody who is going through it, it is an astounding and revelatory read. Never before have I read a more searing, honest and open discussion of the emotional upheaval a woman often goes through after giving birth. Full review...

Outstanding by Kathryn Flett

Women's Fiction

Ivy House is a preparatory school with an 'outstanding' Ofsted report. Eve Sturridge is the head teacher and she puts heart and soul into making certain that it's the best that it can possibly be - well, as far as she's allowed to by the owner. But it looks as though she's getting into the big time when Stefan and Anette Sorensen (A-list billionaires) choose Ivy House for their son and daughter. There's another bonus too: the Sorensens run a hedge fund and Eve's seventeen-year-old daughter Zoe is keen to have a career in finance. What could be more natural than that some work experience could be on offer? Full review...

The Ugly Duckling by Mara Alperin and Sue Eastland

For Sharing

There are certain fairy tales that you need to know as a child, not only because they are fun stories themselves, but because they inform other stories too. How are you going to know what is happening in future books when they play off a classic; unless you know the classic? Therefore, before embarking on Meta novels that reimagine old stories, get the basics down pat first. How about the story of an unfortunate duckling who was incredibly ugly? Full review...

Eeyore Loses a Tail (Winnie the Pooh Classics) by A A Milne and E H Shepard

Emerging Readers

Eeyore, the Old Grey Donkey stood in the thistly corner of the forest and thought about things. He was quite a philosopher in his own way, but his most profound thought occured when Winnie-the-Pooh came along and enquired as to how he was.

Not very how, he said. I don't seem to have felt at all how for a long time. Full review...

When We Collided by Emery Lord

Teens

Jonah's father died. His mother has locked herself away in grief, leaving Jonah and his two older siblings to not only run their own lives but also take care of their three younger siblings. It's a lot and Jonah is grieving, too. Unsurprisingly, he has fallen into the fog of depression. And then Vivi comes along. Vivi and her artist mother are spending the summer in Jonah's town. And Vivi is bright and beautiful and vivid and amazing and ever-so-slightly eccentric. She bursts into Jonah's life like a shower of meteors and changes everything. But Vivi has her own problems... Full review...

Penguins and Other Sea Birds by Matt Sewell

Animals and Wildlife

I've always been fascinated by Penguins: I think it's because they look so smart and striking, yet survive in extreme conditions, so the opportunity to review a book which contains fifty penguins and other seabirds was too good to miss. Just the pictures would have been enough - the minimalist watercolours of street artist and ornithologist Matt Sewell - but Sewell's whimsical wit and ability to teach without being preachy makes this a book to treasure. Full review...

Brief Lives by John Aubrey

Biography

John Aubrey was a modest man, an antiquarian and the inventor of modern biography. His lives of the prominent figures of his generation include Shakespeare, Milton, and Sir Walter Raleigh. Funny, illuminating and full of historical details, they have been plundered by historians for centuries. Here Aubrey's biographical writings are collected, painting a series of unforgettable portraits of the characters of his day – all more alive and kicking than in a conventional history book. Full review...

Nancy Parker's Diary of Detection by Julia Lee

Confident Readers

Nancy is a bit of a dreamer. At fourteen years old she's happy to leave school (although she never quite mastered the fine art of spelling) and finds herself as a lowly housemaid to the very modern Mrs Bryce– a far cry from her plan to star in the movies, solve mysteries or even, if the worst comes to the worst, work in a shop that sells interesting things. Full review...

Song of the Skylark by Erica James

Women's Fiction

'Song of the Skylark' has quite a cast of characters, and I found it a little difficult, at first, to keep track of everyone. Lizzie is the main protagonist; we meet her trying in vain to apply for new jobs after losing her previous one. We quickly learn that she was sacked for rather blatant immoral behaviour with her boss, a married man. Full review...

The Voyage of the Dolphin by Kevin Smith

Historical Fiction

Dublin 1916: Among the unrest and anti-British feeling worsened by the threat of conscription into a war seen as nothing to do with the Irish, Trinity College faculty has other distractions. They'd like a trophy; the skeleton of an Irish 'giant' to be precise. The only glitch is that the main trophy contender, Bernard MacNeill's skeleton, is somewhere difficult to access and all seasoned explorers are otherwise engaged. There may be hope though. They turn to Fitzmaurice, a student not good enough for anything else. Fitzmaurice agrees, picking his friends Crozier and Rafferty to go with him. So… Gentlemen, lace up your strongest boots and pack your warmest underwear – we're all off to the bloody Arctic! Whether battle cry or epitaph, three men and a dog… and an iguana… are going anyway. Full review...

Waking Lions by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen

Literary Fiction

If the point of literature - as opposed to the less exalted though just-as-worthwhile forms of writing - is to force you to think about the real world, the political world, the painful life-as-we-know-it world, whilst catching you up in a story about something that never really happened, but, you know, might well have done so…and if you think that matters, then you must read this book. Full review...

A Man of Genius by Janet Todd

Historical Fiction

Ann St Clair is determined not to follow the ways of her Georgian contemporaries into marriage. She earns enough as a writer of Gothic romances to keep the wolf from the door and believes that's how it will always be. Then she meets Robert James, writer, self-acclaimed genius and popular raconteur, becoming totally besotted. However Ann still thinks she can retain her independence, even when she goes to Venice with Robert to escape the boredom of English life. However there's a darker side to this man, the unforeseen consequences of which will unlock the mysteries of Ann's own childhood. Full review...

The Four Books by Yan Lianke

Literary Fiction

The Four Books is a difficult, challenging novel and not for the feint hearted, or for someone looking for a page-turner. It really challenges the reader's perceptions and opens up a gateway to an era that is difficult to imagine for anyone brought up in a western culture. Set in Maoist China it tells the story of four protagonists and a memorable antagonist. The four, found guilty of anti-revolutionary crimes are undergoing re-education in a work camp governed by the child. With an Orwellian feel, The Four Books will come to be regarded as an undoubted masterpiece. Full review...

Mango and Bambang: Tapir All At Sea by Polly Faber and Clara Vulliamy

Emerging Readers

Mango is a sensible, resourceful little girl who is good at a great many things including playing the clarinet and karate. Most importantly she is good at being kind, especially to her best friend, Bambang, a slightly timid Malaysian tapir. In this second book in the series Bambang learns to become a little braver. He has to really, as he becomes involved in a series of daring escapades involving dancing classes, a diamond ring, time spent behind bars and a particularly dangerous enemy. Throughout all of this Bambang is accompanied by his faithful friend, Mango. Sometimes, even the closest friendship may be taken for granted. Will Bambang remember what matters most? Full review...

Zom-B Goddess (Zom B 12) by Darren Shan

Teens

REPEATING STANDARD WARNING!

If you haven't read the first book in this series, STOP READING NOW! NOW! Spoilers ahoy!

Go on. Run along Full review...

John Aubrey: My Own Life by Ruth Scurr

Biography

John Aubrey, the seventeenth-century antiquary, writer and archaeologist, occupies a peculiar, even unique place in English literature. When he died, the work for which he is most famous, 'Brief Lives', was a disorganised collection of manuscripts which remained unpublished for over a century. Only in the last hundred years or so has be become more widely recognised as an interesting character and perceptive commentator on society, scholarship and on his contemporaries during the post-restoration era. Full review...

Under Ground by S L Grey

Thrillers

When a devastating super-flu hits, a collection of the paranoid and super-wealthy decide to hole up in a state of the art, luxury underground bunker complex. It doesn't get off to a great start. The separate families don't gel together, the 'luxury' isn't at all what they'd been promised and soon they realise that they would be safer on the outside. When the owner dies mysteriously, the residents of the sanctum are locked in and are being picked off one by one ... but is it a series of fluke accidents, or is there a killer among them? They are trapped together, with no outside communication and with no choice but to rely on those they mistrust. With tension high and food and water low, luxury civilisation has turned into the rules of the jungle. The question is, who will survive? (If anyone ...) Full review...

The Oxford Dictionary of Original Shakespearean Pronunciation by David Crystal

Reference

Language changes, not only in the way that it's written, but also in the way that it's pronounced. I've seen changes over my lifetime and even more substantial changes have occurred in the four hundred years since Shakespeare died. For someone watching or reading a play the differences are not usually material: we can generally understand what is being said, but occasionally we're going to miss jokes which rely on a certain pronunciation, or the fine nuances of what is being said. What's required is a dictionary of the original pronunciation and that's exactly what David Crystal has provided. I'm only surprised that it's taken so long for such a book to appear. Full review...

The Home-Made Cat Cafe (Poppy's Place) by Katrina Charman

Confident Readers

Eleven year old Isla is cat crazy. She longs for a pet cat but her mum works as a veterinary nurse and has no desire to bring her work home with her. Luck, however, is on Isla's side when they find the cat sanctuary is full and Mum reluctantly agrees that unwanted cat – Poppy – can stay with them on a temporary basis. Only it turns out to be a little less than temporary and Poppy is soon joined by Roo, Benny and a litter of kittens. Isla's thrilled but she's going to have to do some quick thinking if she's going to persuade mum to let the cats stay. Full review...

Too Close to the Edge by Pascal Garnier and Emily Boyce (translator)

General Fiction

Meet Pascal Garnier. Normally, in starting a review that way, I'm on about the main character of the book, but it could be said the biggest character of any Pascal Garnier book is Pascal Garnier, not that that's a flaw. Over a half-dozen titles I've come to know the pattern of his output, and it's fair to say this example fits it very well. Again, not a fault. His thrillers have a small cast list of characters, trapped somehow in a small community, cut off by weather, season or remoteness. Here we are with Eliette, and just a handful of others, and watching her as she celebrates the return of spring to her remote home, an ex-silk farm in southern France. All characters have a darkness about them, including Eliette – she had wanted to retire to the place with her loving, long-term husband, but he died of cancer months before retirement. And the final piece of the Garnier pattern is that that darkness, the black surrounding the night stars to use one of the more memorable lines here, is that things – said situation, other people, life itself – cause people to do some equally black and stupid acts… Full review...

How Music Got Free: The Inventor, the Music Man, and the Thief by Stephen Witt

Business and Finance

In the digital age, new technology made recorded music a free-for-all. It was good news for the consumer, but dealt a major blow to the beleaguered music industry. Where people once amassed physical collections, they now had the choice of file-sharing instead. This book describes how everything changed from the mid-1990s onwards. It is however written more with the computer enthusiast or business student than the music lover in mind. Full review...

Worlds Elsewhere by Andrew Dickson

Reference

From the sixteenth-century Baltic to the American Revolution, from colonial India to the skyscrapers of modern-day Shanghai, Shakespeare's plays appear at the most fascinating of times in the most unexpected of places. But what is it about Shakespeare – a man who never once left England, which has made him an icon across the globe? Travelling across four continents, six countries and 400 years, Worlds Elsewhere attempts to understand Shakespeare in his role as an international phenomenon. Full review...

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat

For Sharing

A child's imagination can be a powerful tool, so their imaginary friend could be absolutely anything. How about a giant panda or an octopus that likes to build sandcastles? But what of those forgotten creatures; if an imaginary friend sits in the dark and no one thinks about them, do they exist? An audacious animal may just buck up the courage to stop waiting around for someone to imagine them and instead seek out their friend. Full review...