Difference between revisions of "Book Reviews From The Bookbag"

Lauren has spent a tumultuous couple of years, finding her birth mother and working out ways to stay in the lives of both of her families. To make things unbearably harder, her father Sam has died suddenly, nine months before the beginning of this story, and the constant hostility of her older sister shows no sign of abating. Shelby, understandably, resents the constant attention paid to this sister who turned up out of the blue one day, and feels she is being ignored in consequence. Full review...

Villain by Shuichi Yoshida

Crime

Well, I suppose I'd better begin with the bad which was there were moments at the start of this novel when I thought I couldn't possibly read it right to the end. It's written in such a stilted, factual style with details about the road networks of the local area and exactly how much anyone pays for anything they eat or buy or rent! Faced, for example, with the paragraph cars setting out from Nagasaki that take the pass road to save money take the Nagasaki Expressway from Nagasaki to Omura, then to Higashi-Sonogi and Takeo, and get off at the Saga Yamato interchange. Intersecting this east-west Nagasaki Expressway at the interchange is Route 263 I thought I'd never manage to read more than a couple of lines before falling asleep! Still, I persisted and actually, I'm glad I did. Full review...

The Generation Game by Sophie Duffy

Do you remember The Generation Game TV show, with old Brucie and then Larry Grayson managing the mayhem? Where were you when Charles and Di got married? What about when Diana died? There's plenty of reminiscing to be done in this book as Sophie Duffy takes us from the 1960's to 2006 through the life of her character, Philippa, in a book that fleets from funny, heartwarming moments to real sadness. Full review...

The Zoo Crew Play Ball by Judy Bee and Little Pink Pebble

On the second weekend of every month the zoo keepers plan special activities for the animals and this time the San Carlos Beavers are going to show them how to play ball. Helga the Hippo hopes that she won't have to run because all she wants to do is wallow in the mud – which would make a bit of a mess of the lovely red-and-white outfit which she's wearing. Eddie the Elephant is keen to get all the animals together to make plans and discuss strategy. Lenny the Lion organises training sessions – but Helga really isn't that enthusiastic. Full review...

Mistress Masham's Repose by T H White

Ten year old Maria is an orphan. With a venal Vicar as her Guardian and a horrible governess, Maria lives in a corner of her practically ruined stately home, with only the cook, Mrs Noakes, and an absent minded Professor as her friends. One summer's day she takes a leaking punt out on the ornamental lake in the grounds of the house, and on an artificial island, in a Folly (the Mistress Masham's Repose of the title), she discovers a community of Lilliputians, the People. At first she treats them like playthings, desperate to own them as she owns nothing else, but the Professor helps her to see them as people worthy of respect. Full review...

The Ugly Sister by Jane Fallon

Women's Fiction

Abi hasn't really had much of a relationship with her sister Cleo since Cleo was discovered on the street and morphed into a successful and well known model. It's now more than 20 years later, and the sisters are hardly what you'd call close. But, with a summer to kill and nowhere really to kill it in, Abi takes up her sister's offer to move into her plush Primrose Hill pad and spend some 'quality time' with the family. Except...Cleo's idea of quality family time is to go to the gym. Or the spa. Or a comeback casting. Anywhere really, as long as it's away from them all. And with brother in law Jon at work during the day, Abi quickly starts feeling like the hired help, shuttling her nieces around town and seeing to their every need. Full review...

The Ascent of Isaac Steward by Mike French

Isaac is married to Rebekah. They have sons, Esau and Jacob, naturally. There is a half-brother Ishmael and a back-story of marital betrayal and the out-casting of sons. Full review...

Discover the Extreme World by Camilla de la Bedoyere, Clive Gifford, John Farndon, Steve Parker, Stewart Ross and Philip Steele

Children's Non-Fiction

In my day it would have been called 'an encyclopaedia'. It would have had a lot more text, been rather dull – and remained largely unread by those who received it as a worthy present. For 'Discover the Extreme World' you need to start at the opposite end of the scale. It's about visual impact. A fact is linked to a picture and the more striking the better – and only then is it explained. The text is as simple as possible – clear, unambiguous wording which drives the point home as quickly as possible. The layout encourages you to move the book so that you see the pictures better and can read the words. It's fun and (say it quietly) it's educational. Full review...

The Beautiful Torment of a Dream by A Portsmouth

This is a beautifully presented book with its enigmatic front cover and equally enigmatic title. After reading the blurb on the back cover I was left with a feeling of wishy-washiness however, as regards the storyline. Unfortunately, the contents confirmed this for me. Full review...

Dork Diaries: How to Dork Your Diary by Rachel Renee Russell

The clue is in the title. This is volume 3 and a half in the ongoing series of adventures for Nikki Maxwell. Here she gets her knickers into a right twist because her diary, which of course contains three books of adventures lusting after the school hunk, hating the school bitch and copious amounts of embarrassment, seems to have got lost at school. Her search for it takes her into places you wouldn't expect, closer to her BFFs, and into a major discussion about the merits and style of creating your own diary. Full review...

We're Going to a Party! by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross

The animals are going to a fancy dress party! But what is everyone going to dress up as? Can you guess who's inside each costume? This lift the flap book allows you to take a peek beneath the costume to see exactly who's inside! Full review...

Future King by Larry Pontius

It's the near future and King Charles III has ascended the throne of the United Kingdom with Camilla as his Queen Consort. The country is in a mess with rampant inflation, unemployment, a crumbling infrastructure and riots: the people have taken to calling this time The Troubles. Such situations breed power-hungry politicians and Prime Minister Alistair Saxon has plans to become the dictator of the country. When the King refuses to give his assent to the Emergency Powers Act, Saxon and his fellow-conspirators kidnap the Royal family to prevent Charles speaking against the EPA. Full review...

The Legacy by Kirsten Tranter

This is quite a chunky book so Tranter has given herself plenty of space and time to build up a nice level of suspense here as well as putting some flesh on the bones of her central characters. The book opens - towards the end of the story. So we have firm, but platonic friends, Julia and Ralph both very concerned about their mutual friend, Ingrid. She supposedly died on 9/11 - but with no remains, no burial, their grief hasn't an outlet. They need (to quote that much used word) closure. Full review...

The Sound of Gravity by Joe Simpson

Patrick is climbing in the Alps with his girlfriend. They are taking an unusual and difficult ascent, and it is winter. A storm blows up. Whilst they are camping overnight, Patrick's girlfriend loses her footing. He manages to catch her hand, and then she slips through his fingers and falls into a chasm. The novel details the days and hours in the run-up to this tragedy, and the aftermath, both immediate and long term. Full review...

Noo-Noos! by Carol Thompson

Almost everyone has had a noo-noo at some point in their lives; an object that brings comfort and solace like a dummy or a blanket or a favourite bear. Amongst friends and family I've seen a variety of such objects ranging from your typical teddy through to a mummy's satin bra (it has that lovely silky feel to it) and even, in one case, a bathroom sponge! This book depicts a variety of noo-noos and looks at their attributes (big, small, shiny, knitted...) and also what one does with them. Full review...

The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson

Annie Fang and her brother Buster are back living at home with their parents - where they never thought they'd ever be again. But it has come to this - her film actress career is on the rocks with the kind of self-destruction so much enjoyed by tabloid writers, and he - well, he's here because of a jumbo spud gun. Neither want life back at home, as throughout their childhood they were used by their parents - without much planning, without any consideration of feelings, or consent - in a whole career of performance art pieces, designed to enact a point of life or just cause havoc. Full review...

The Dispatcher by Ryan David Jahn

Crime

Ian Hunt works as a dispatcher taking 911 calls in rural Texas. One day he takes a call from his 14 year old daughter. That would be enough to ruin your day in itself, but the daughter in question was kidnapped seven years ago, presumed dead. They have even held a funeral for her. That's really going to mess with your mind. What ensues is a desperate chase to find her once more before the kidnapper can escape or worse. Full review...

No Police Like Holmes by Dan Andriacco

Crime

At the 'Investigating Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes' Colloquium (in the UK it would probably be a conference) the St Benignus College in Erin, Ohio is due to receive a donation of the third largest collection of Sherlockiana in the world – including some rare pieces of substantial value. The plan is that there should be good publicity for the college and that the attendees have a good time – deerstalker hats not being compulsory. But even the best-laid plans are derailed by theft and murder. Jeff Cody is the public relations director at the college and he's determined to solve the crimes before his eccentric brother in law, Professor Sebastian McCabe. Full review...

A Lost Lady of Old Years by John Buchan

Historical Fiction

While I normally start with a plot description I'd better justify the summary first. (Translated, it reads - Warning - you must understand Scots dialect really well if you hope to like this book from the start. Well worth reading though, it's such a good story.)

Basically, this is a tale set during the Jacobite Rising of 1745-6 with authentic dialogue of that time; which is to say, rather hard to follow if you're anything like me. Most books, I can read in a couple of days maximum, this took me nearly a month and at some points I was reduced to asking my Scottish colleague to translate it for me. Full review...

Muddle Earth Too by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell

It takes courage, and a lot of skill, to write a book which parodies not one but dozens of popular stories, and it is fortunate that Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell are just the guys for the job. They take on wizards, handsome vampires, fairies, princesses, dragons and flying carpets, and jumble the whole lot up together. The result is one hilarious, silly and thoroughly satisfying story. Full review...

War: Stories of Conflict by Michael Morpurgo

Throughout history, war has blighted society and had long lasting impacts on not only those directly involved but the innocent bystanders too. This collection of stories, edited by the magnificent Michael Morpurgo himself, looks to explore the impacts of war on individual soldiers, families and especially children. Every story approaches conflicts from a different angle and this ensures that even though there are a good number of short stories in the book, you will never feel as if it is becoming repetitive or dull. The stories do a good job of conveying just how multi-faceted and complex the concept of war is. Full review...

The Other Side of the Night: The Carpathia, the Californian, and the Night the Titanic Was Lost by Daniel Allen Butler

History

It's now almost a century since the loss of the Titanic and although much has been written about almost every aspect of that dreadful night one point has remained a mystery. When the wireless operator on the 'unsinkable' Titanic radioed that the ship had hit an iceberg, had too few lifeboats for all passengers and was sinking fast there were two ships in the vicinity. Captain Arthur Rostron on the Carpathia responded to the distress signal and hastened to the Titanic's aid. But Captain Stanley Lord of the Californian did not respond. The ship's radio officer had retired for the night and Lord failed to take decisive action later that night when told about distress flares from the Titanic. The controversy as to why the two captains should have acted so differently has raged across the intervening years. Full review...

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Teens

When Kate's mother makes a dying wish to return to her home town, Eden, Kate drops what's left of her life and goes with her. She doesn't want to make friends – she's here for her mum and nothing else – so she's not very interested when popular girl Ava, with her jock boyfriend Dylan, invites her to a party. Full review...

Nemesis by Philip Roth

1944, Newark, New Jersey. Summer. Hot. Bucky Cantor, a young Jewish man, is gym teacher and playground attendant-cum-sports instructor for the district, helping all those interested become fit young men, able to do what his eyesight prevents him from doing - serving in the forces. Things would be fine if his girlfriend were closer at hand, if it were cooler, and if there were no polio epidemic happening. But there is, and nobody knows what is causing it. Is it flies? Is it a gang of taunting Italian kids spreading it from neighbourhood to neighbourhood? Is it blacks, germs on money - is it in fact Cantor himself, draining all the youthful vigour from his charges under a blistering sun? Full review...

Wave Hunter: The Book of Water by Beth Webb

Teens

As the Iron Age comes to a close, Romans are sweeping across the British countryside destroying anyone who stands in their way. The druids are a particular target - the Romans understand all too well that the society they seek to subdue revolves around its religion and its sacred places. Tegen is determined to stop them. As the Star Dancer, the young druid girl's destiny is to avert a great evil, and she believes that evil is the Roman invasion. Full review...

The Empty Nesters by Nina Bell

With their children all off to university (most from the same school year, plus an erroneous one who took a handy-for-the-sake-of-the-story gap year), it's all change for the parents in this book – for Clover and George, and Laura and Tim, and Alice. Though some of the fathers are present, as you'd expect this is a tale told mainly from the eyes of the mothers. Clover and Laura have been friends forever, while Clover and Alice's relationship is more recent. As for Laura and Alice, well they really don't get on, making life a little tricky at times for Clover, stuck somewhere in the middle. Full review...

Far Rockaway by Charlie Fletcher

Teens

Cat Manno and her grandfather Victor have a long-held ambition: to one day take the subway and ride it right the way to the very end, to Far Rockaway. Just for the sheer hell of it. But when the day comes, Cat's brother doesn't show. This is more than a disappointment to Cat - it's an utter betrayal. She needed Joe on the trip because she has a guilty secret. She hasn't read the latest book Victor gave her - he sends her a classic adventure every year on her birthday - and she knows he'll want to discuss as it they ride the train. Without Joe, Cat has no chance of concealing her sin. Full review...

A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe

I'll hold my hands up right now and say that no, I haven't read Wolfe's much-acclaimed The Bonfire of the Vanities. I've heard a lot about it, over the years, in newspapers etc that I almost feel that I have read it, mind you. So I'm really pleased to have the chance to read this much-awaited novel. At a stonking 700+ pages most of which are packed tight with Wolfe's particular style of prose, It's a veritable feast for readers. Full review...

You, Me and Thing: The Curse of the Jelly Babies by Karen McCombie

At the bottom of Ruby's garden there lives a Thing. He's a strange creature, a little like a squirrel (only don't suggest that to him because you'll make him very angry! But he has wings, and huge bush baby eyes. Ruby and Jackson discover him together and decide to keep his existence secret which is all well and good until the magic starts, and then there's the curse and a bit of a problem with jelly babies! Full review...

The Lore of the Playground: The Children's World - Then and Now by Steve Roud

Home and Family

Like many reviewers of the hardback edition, I thoroughy enjoyed reading this book, a nostalgic excursion into my own childhood games and rhymes. It's quite fun to identify the regional context of childhood lore. It cleared up for me, as a South-East Londoner, the exact nature of a hitherto mysterious game called tag. If you have already delved into the classic The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren by Iona and Peter Opie (1959), you might find this book adds little for a general readership. For the specialist, I'm sure this book will take its rightful place in the scholarly literature on childhood culture. Full review...

The Haunted by Niki Valentine

Horror

Valentine's novel opens with a sinister tale that has nothing to do with haunted boths – but everything to do with rotting relationships. Susan and Martin are attempting to have a second honeymoon but the dynamic between them is clearly flawed from the very start. Susan seems to be experiencing feelings of seemingly hysteria-driven love, continually alternating with resentment. The opening scenes are played out in the relative calm of a smart hotel, but the tension and irritations between the couple are painfully clear. Full review...

Velvet by Mary Hooper

The opening chapter of this book is a roller-coaster of a read. Velvet has fainted while doing back-breaking, gruelling work in a laundry, and risks being sent to the workhouse. Quick thinking saves her job, and the reader relaxes, only to learn a shocking and shameful secret about the heroine we have already begun to like. Her fortunes soon change, in true Dickensian style, but her troubles are not over: this same secret will come back to haunt her (please excuse the pun) and put her in the power of one of the other characters. Full review...

The Edinburgh Dead by Brian Ruckley

Crime (Historical)

The phrase 'jack of all trades and master of none' can apply to writers as well as anything else and I've always been suspicious of authors who switch genres, as they often prove less effective when they do so. Sometimes, however, it does work and having enjoyed Brian Ruckley's fantasy writings such as Fall of Thanes, I found that he's equally as enjoyable when writing a crime thriller. Full review...

The Story of the Olympics by Richard Brassey

Children's Non-Fiction

It's the story of the Olympics from earliest times – 776 BC and the first Games at Olympia right through to the 2012 Games in London and even a few hints about how things might be different for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. It's told in the form which seems to appeal to every child – the comic strip – but don't be mislead into thinking that this is light-weight or superficial. It's anything but. Full review...

Scenes From Provincial Life by J M Coetzee

'Scenes from Provincial Life' is a compilation of JM Coetzee's three fictionalised memoirs: 'Boyhood' first published in 1997, 'Youth' published in 2002 and Summertime published in 2009. In one sense they clearly belong together in this single edition and yet they were initially published separately. What strikes the reader of this compilation is the change in style and focus of the third book in the series. Full review...

The Haunting by Alan Titchmarsh

Women's Fiction

We don't know whether or not Harry Flint was a good history teacher – but we do know that he's disenchanted with the job and determined to make a change. His marriage to a lawyer only lasted a few months and Harry feels – rightly or wrongly – that he needs a complete change. He buys a ramshackle cottage, determined to spend some time restoring it as well as investigating his family history and the lives of the saints. Honestly – I know what you're thinking – he is rather more fun than all that sounds. Well, he is - some of the time. Full review...

Darth Paper Strikes Back: An Origami Yoda Book by Tom Angleberger

In this follow up to The Strange Case of Origami Yoda there is a new paper finger puppet in school. Harvey has made himself a Darth Vader (Darth Paper) and it is, of course, turning him to the dark side! I hadn't read the original story to begin with, so I must admit that there were times when I wondered quite what was going on! It seems that one of the boys at school, Dwight, made an Origami Yoda finger puppet and this puppet gave his classmates amazing advice, advice that helped them in their school relationships and resolved various problems. Origami Yoda was, undoubtedly, using the force! Full review...

Orla Kiely Numbers by Orla Kiely

This counting book (from one to ten) makes a nice partner to Orla Kiely's book about colours if you're looking for a pretty gift to give to a new yummy mummy. The fabric cover is rather lovely to touch and feel, and the board book feels well constructed and able to withstand a bit of a chew from a teething baby. Full review...

Orla Kiely Colours by Orla Kiely