Difference between revisions of "Book Reviews From The Bookbag"

This very special anthology of story extracts and poems to share aloud is a wonderful idea from The Reader Organisation to encourage reading aloud to children by parents, teachers, grandparents, librarians, friends or even other children. The terrific and very varied selection includes something to appeal to all tastes. It should tempt the reader to seek out the original books from which the extracts are taken and maybe to try children’s fiction that they have not considered before. The book includes classics, tried and tested old favourites and newer titles too. Dipping into this anthology for the first time feels a little like meeting old and maybe long forgotten friends and making new ones along the way. Full review...

The Artist of Disappearance by Anita Desai

Anita Desai's The Artist of Disappearance is a collection of three novellas with several satisfying unifying features. All are set in modern day India, all involve some looking back in time and all three involve some consideration of the creative art - who it is for, what happens to it once it leaves the artist's control and who 'owns' it. Most of all, each one is beautifully written, with strong characters and evocative descriptions of personal loss. In terms of length each is relatively short - around 50 pages long - but after each one you feel that you've been engrossed in the story just as much as if you had read a novel of more conventional length. Full review...

In the Name of Love by Katie Price

Charlie Porter is a television sports presenter who's recently broken up with her footballer boyfriend. She and her friend Zoe now refer to him as TFB. The first letter is for 'total' and the last casts doubts on his parentage. I'm sure that you can work the rest out for yourself. On a holiday to Barbados (Zoe's footballer boyfriend forgot her birthday, you see...) she meets Felipe Castillo, a central figure in the Spanish Eventing team and hotly tipped for an Olympic medal. There's an almost immediate attraction - after Charlie has given him a piece of her mind because of his attitude to a waiter - but there are one or two difficulties in the way of their relationship. Full review...

The Painted Bridge by Wendy Wallace

Historical Fiction

Young bride Anna Palmer places her trust in all the wrong people. One choice that backfires spectacularly is her impulsive marriage to the Reverend Vincent Palmer. Less than a year after their marriage he tells her that they are going to visit some of his friends at a place called Lake House. But Lake House is a privately run asylum 'for genteel women of a delicate nature'. Once there Anna discovers that she is not allowed to leave without Vincent's approval. Full review...

Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon

Alice and William Buckle have been married for quite a few years and have two teenage children and a dog. With their busy lives, they end up having little time for each other and rarely get the opportunity to talk about the things that matter. In order to do something about her feelings of discontent, Alice googles 'happy marriage?' and although there seem to be no magic secrets for success, a little later she is invited to take part in an online survey about modern marriage. She is given the label, Wife 22, and is assigned to her caseworker, Researcher 101, who sends her questions periodically, and is also available through email to answer any queries. Alice soon enjoys being able to pour her heart out through the questions that she has to answer but also finds that she is becoming more than a little attracted to her faceless caseworker. They start chatting through facebook and Alice finds it quite exciting to mildly flirt with her new friend. However, the more she does so, the more disgruntled she becomes with her own husband. There comes a point though where Alice has to decide whether to take things further and if she does, what will become of her marriage? Full review...

Yucky Mucky Manners by Sam Lloyd

Down in the jungle we're taking a walk to meet the animals. Sadly their manners leave a lot to be desired. Gorilla is picking his nose, Zebra is eating with his mouth open and parrot is talking over all his friends. Are there any polite animals to be found? Full review...

Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling by Michael Boccacino

Fantasy

Widowed under tragic circumstances, Charlotte Markham needs an income and so she's employed by widower Henry Darrow as a governess for his sons James and Paul. Their home 'Everton' may seem a typical Victorian mansion but the town of Blackfield isn't your average English small town; the Darrow's Nanny Prum is found murdered in a particularly grisly manner. It's a mystery to the local police but Charlotte's friend Susannah has a clue if only they'd listen to her. Meanwhile the Darrow boys' nights are spent dreaming of a house in the woods where their mother still lives. Charlotte decides to treat this head on and takes them for a walk to show them there's no substance to it. However, in doing so they discover the nightmare that is The House of Darkling. Full review...

In Her Blood by Annie Hauxwell

Crime

Catherine Berlin is known to everyone simply as 'Berlin'. She's in her mid fifties, a civilian investigator with the Financial Services Agency - and she's been a heroin addict for more than twenty years. It's largely controlled by her GP - one of the few understanding ones left - who prescribes pharmaceutical-grade heroin on her weekly visit to his surgery. He's taught her to manage her addiction. Then two problems come together. On a pre-arranged meet with an informant who has information about a loan shark she finds the woman's body floating in Limehouse Basin - with the head nearly severed from the body. And when she visits her GP's surgery she finds another body. Then it's not just her job that's at risk. Full review...

On The Road to Babadag by Andrzej Stasiuk

Travel

Sometimes we should trust our instincts. When I saw Babadag on the Shelf I knew I would love it. When I sat in my garden on a hot sunny evening and struggled my way through the first chapter, I had my doubts.

Oh, ye of little faith...! Full review...

Codename Quicksilver 2: The Tyrant King by Allan Jones

Normal life for Zak was lots of running, lots of computer games, and idling his time away in London, either talking to his old homeless friend, or living at the care home. But how normal life has changed. Now he's a secret agent to do what Britain's adult spies can't, his friend has been replaced by the Crown Prince of a Monaco-type country, and his job is now bodyguard to royalty in ancient Mediterranean castles, and five star London hotels. But if he is as bad a bodyguard as first appears, you can guess that he'll still be doing a lot of running... Full review...

Second Time Around by Erin Kaye

When Jennifer and Ben first meet, they really like each other. It doesn't take long before they are dating and although there is over sixteen years difference in age, they get on so well that they can see that they do have a future together. However, as Ben is closer in age to Jennifer's children, Matt and Lucy, she is worried about what they will think. Ben's parents are equally unhappy especially as they feel that if Ben stays with Jennifer, she is not likely to provide them with the grandchildren they so desire. It seems that there's no way to keep everybody happy. Full review...

Mo Said She Was Quirky by James Kelman

Mo may have said that Helen was quirky - neurotic might have been a more accurate assessment of his partner though. Although not a first person narrative, James Kelman's latest is another dramatic monologue, although the first time he has placed a female as his main character. Helen is a single mother, working nights as a croupier in a London casino. Mo is her Asian boyfriend. In fairness to Helen, she has a lot to worry about - a damaged upbringing that has seen her older brother leave home without trace, a failed marriage, and a life of constant struggle. As usual with Kelman, his approach is tender, yet gritty and often gently amusing. He's always sympathetic to his main characters. However, if you are new to Kelman, be warned that he is a writer that is heavy on a distinctive style more than plot per se. Full review...

Muddle and Win: the Battle for Sally Jones by John Dickinson

Hear the name John Dickinson, and you expect something intriguing and original. And with this fascinating book for younger readers, you won't be disappointed. His premise? The struggle between good and evil, as embodied in the figures of angels and demons. So far, so traditional — a story as old as humanity itself, and done pretty well already by that Milton chap. Ah, but when did you see it portrayed as a series of skirmishes between a chisel-jawed angel wearing Ray-bans, and a tiny imp roughly fashioned from a grey, leathery wart? Oh, and please don't ask what happened to the previous owner of the wart. Just accept that it was painful. And really, really messy. Full review...

French Lessons by Ellen Sussman

There are six main characters in this book which is really three stories in one. Nico, Philippe and Chantal know each other, and Nico knows Josie, and Philippe knows Riley, and Chantal knows Jeremy, but Josie and Riley and Jeremy don’t know each other or anyone else. The first three are French tutors who have private lessons with their foreign students on the streets of Paris, using the city as a better backdrop for learning than a stuffy classroom. This week they each have Americans engaging their services, and over the course of one day the lives of students and teachers all change in ways they never expected. Full review...

Hammered: Heavy tales from the hard rock highway by Kirk Blows

Entertainment

Kirk Blows is the former editor of hard rock journal Metal Hammer. Just to confuse, he is also well known as a sports writer and an authority on 'the other Hammers', namely West Ham FC. However this book is nothing to do with sport. Instead it devotes its attention to a brace of his interviews with various hard rock luminaries. These took place for the journal some years ago, and have now been revised and updated for book publication. Full review...

Codename Quicksilver 1: In the Zone by Allan Jones

Zak's day is full of surprises. First his mate bumps into him when he's setting an arcade record at his favourite game, then he sees said mate plummet to his death in front of him. Then he adopts the friend's killers, who want to get their hands on him. Then he gets rescued - by a girl, who is a member of a secret agency - what on earth is happening?! Full review...

The Book Lover's Tale by Ivo Stourton

General Fiction

Matt will admit that his writing career failed, and so he had to join his wife in interior design, where he can use his love of books to arrange - at a cost - the contents, design and most importantly the colours, of upper class people's home libraries for them. He'll concede that it's a good way to get into the houses, and beds, of rich women, such as his latest flame, Claudia. But why is this, his confession, talking of murder? Full review...

The Perfect Present by Fiona Roberton

We first met Henry in Wanted: The Perfect Pet (a story I still love!) when he went in search of a dog but found, in the end, that a small duck named Spot was actually everything he needed in a pet. This time the two friends are looking forward to Henry's birthday. Spot has found Henry what he thinks is the perfect present: a fishing rod that Henry has been gazing at in a shop window for quite some time. Henry tries to guess what Spot has bought him, and Spot is so excited about seeing Henry's face when he opens it. When morning comes the pair rush down to see all the presents. Henry is saving Spot's present for last however, just as he is about to open it Henry's grandparents arrive with a box. They place it in front of Henry and inside it is a dog! Henry is so excited he forgets to open Spot's gift and rushes outside to play with the dog. Poor Spot! Will this change their friendship forever? Full review...

The Cage by Gordon Weiss

History

The history of Ceylon, and latterly Sri Lanka has at its centre an undeniable contradiction. A nation which espoused and proclaimed peaceful Buddhism was caught in one of the bloodiest conflicts in the recent past, a conflict peppered with suicide bombings, mass killings, rapes, torture and imprisonment, and more than a hint of genocide. Gordon Weiss was intimately involved as a journalist and as the United Nations Spokesman in Sri Lanka for two years of the almost 40 years conflict, and has produced a detailed account of the background and eventual denouement of this conflict. Full review...

Bullfighting by Roddy Doyle

Short Stories

I've often wondered what goes through an author's mind the next time they sit down to write after winning a major literary prize. Does it put undue pressure on an author, thinking that they will have to write something equally as good or better next time around? Some writers can wilt under the pressure and future offerings are derided by critics as 'not as good as (insert title here)'. But some thrive under the weight of expectation and continue to write wonderful stories. 1993 Booker Prize winner Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha falls firmly into this latter category. Full review...

Lace by Shirley Conran

Lili might be young but she's a superstar and she's used to getting what she wants. She's just summoned Judy, Kate, Maxine and Pagan to her suite in Manhattan's most exclusive hotel. They might be at the top of their professions - Fashion, PR and interior design but it's Lili who holds the whip hand here. She has a simple request:

Which one of you bitches is my mother? Full review...

The Silence by Alison Bruce

Crime

It seemed to begin when Joey McCarthy was stabbed to death in a pub car park. He'd arrived in his posh (if not quite new) car and lost his life in a random attack of violence. Charlotte Stone's mother died not long afterwards. There wasn't really anything suspicious about this (although her children thought that their father hadn't really done enough to help) and soon after two teenage friends committed suicide. Then DC Gary Goodhew found the body of another suicide victim and it brought to mind another investigation which had a profound effect on him - and a connection was made between him and Charlotte Stone. Full review...

Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy 2) by Deborah Harkness

Historical Fiction

Shadow of Night moves on from where A Discovery of Witches finishes. Matthew Claremont (vampire, intellectual and, even after centuries of life, still looking a pretty decent 37 years old) and Diana Bishop (historian and witch with a pedigree stretching back to the Salem witch trials) are married and have time-walked to 1591 to look for Ashmole 782, the ancient book that Diana let slip through her fingers in 2010. They also need to find Diana a tutor to help her control the powers that she's chosen to ignore for a lifetime. There aren't just supernatural items on the agenda though; Diana thought she knew all there was to know about her new spouse but there are secrets to be discovered, his connection to the historic 'School of the Night' being one of the less dangerous. Oh, and another thing, they discover that the 16th century isn't, perhaps, the best time to visit if you're a witch, especially if you need to advertise for a tutor. (I think we could have told them that if they'd asked!) Full review...

The Blessed by Tonya Hurley

Three girls all find themselves in the emergency room at Perpetual Help Hospital on Halloween. Agnes - the hopeless romantic -- has just tried to take her own life. Cecilia -- the runaway rocker -- found drowned, face down in a puddle. Finally, Lucy -- spoilt rich party girl -- overdose. These three girls have never met each other before, and have nothing in common, until they all meet the mysterious Sebastian. He brings the girls together, and gives each of them what they have been searching for. But in the fight for his heart, will they lose something more important? Full review...

Tarzan: The Jungle Warrior by Andy Briggs

Rokoff, the world’s most notorious hunter is in Africa, to snatch a baby gorilla from its family. When he does so, it’s left to Tarzan to chase across several countries to rescue the youngster, Karnath. But there may be danger closer to hand – can all of the wild man's friends be trusted? Full review...

Leopard Adventure by Anthony McGowan

For older readers, the name Willard Price will bring to mind classic wild-life adventures in exotic locations. The heroes were two brothers, Hal and Roger Hunt, and now, 125 years after the birth of the man who created them, we meet their children. Young cousins Amazon and Frazer are destined, like their fathers, to travel the world, rescue endangered animals and battle against the adult greed and thoughtlessness which threatens fragile eco-systems. The settings, the issues and the gadgets are completely up-to-date: what remain from the old stories are the excitement and the danger. Full review...

Sharps by K J Parker

Fantasy

Fencing - it's such an exotic, rarefied world with it's own language, that it's no surprise to remember the director of Alien, Blade Runner and Prometheus started his career with a fencing film. And it's all over this fantasy, but not in the usual sword-and-sorcery way of old, as a delegation of swordsmen and -women visit Permia from Scheria - two fencing-loving countries that until recently have been at war. But why exactly are they going - separately, and as a group? Who is playing what kind of diplomatic game between the two countries, and is a wielded sword the only danger they'll face? Full review...

The Jungle Run by Tony Mitton and Guy Parker-Rees

Here come the animals one by one,
all getting ready for the Jungle Run.

This is how we meet all the animals at the start of this fabulous book, all limbering up on the bank of the river preparing for their big race. There's Parrot who is the starter for the race as well as a whole menagerie of other animals such as Elephant, Hippo, Snake and Cub. Most of the animals laugh at the prospect of the little Cub taking part telling him that he is too small to race. Undeterred though, he does decide to take part and soon the race is under way. And what a race it is with a big vine net to scramble under, a creeper rope to swing across and a huge water slide at the very end. Unsurprisingly, some of these obstacles prove to be quite hazardous for some of the larger animals and all sorts of mayhem ensues. Not for all the creatures though as there's one little creature who negotiates everything perfectly but does he end up winning the race? You'll have to read this lovely book to find out. Full review...

Cassie's Crush by Fiona Foden

Cassie falls head over heels for the new boy at school from the first moment she sets eyes on him. The only problem is, her crush makes her so nervous she can barely even pluck up the courage to say hello, let alone ask him out. With a bit of help from her friends, can she convince Ollie she's the girl for him? Full review...

Rebel Heart (Dustlands) by Moira Young

Saba has retrieved her brother Lugh, kidnapped by the Tonton, but at great cost. She's haunted by dreams of Epona, the friend she killed during the battle so that she wouldn't fall into enemy hands. Lugh is clearly damaged - affected by captivity in ways he just won't discuss. And she misses Jack, who has gone to tell Molly that Ike is dead, with a deep, inconsolable desperation. Travelling through the Waste is difficult, made even more difficult by the ghosts that haunt Saba's dreams. Halting at the camp of a seer, the party is reunited with Maev, who brings terrible news. Not only is there a price on Saba's head, and a terrible new leader for the Tontons, but Jack has changed sides and joined the enemy... Full review...

Ancient Light by John Banville

The narrator in John Banville's Ancient Light is Alex Cleave, a stage actor in the curtain call of his career. For reasons that become clearer towards the end of the book, he is recalling his first relationship, when as a teenager in 1950s Ireland, he had a passionate affair with the mother of his best friend. However, his past is also blighted by recollections of his own daughter's suicide ten years previously. Full review...

Gods and Warriors (1) by Michelle Paver

Oh, I'm so glad this series has finally arrived! Paver's Chronicles of Ancient Darkness about Torak and Renn and Wolf is my absolute favourite middle grade sequence of recent years. Michelle has a such a way of writing. Her books are identifiably children's books - there's no diluting attempt at crossover fiction. Her research is impeccable but she uses it to flavour and colour her stories, never to be didactic. She writes from the point of view of animals but is never twee and anthropomorphic. Her characters - human and animal - are truly alive; vital and colourful and, as in all good children's books, called upon to show extraordinary courage. There's a little bit of magic but not enough to get in the way of the story or the characters, and it's all in keeping with prehistoric, superstitious societies. Full review...

Lemonade Sky by Jean Ure

Deborah Tindall has three children - Ruby, Tizz and Sam and she loves them to bits. It's just that she's a little bit fragile mentally and not what you would call a responsible parent. The last time that she went off and left the three girls to fend for themselves they were taken into care and it was months before the authorities felt that it was safe to let the girls go home. So when the girls wake up one morning and find that their mother isn't there they're determined that no one will realise. The have to keep going as normal: their mother was away for ten days last time so how will they manage? Full review...

Dark Thread by Pauline Chandler

Kate is an artisan weaver, like her mother. But she is so full of grief and guilt that she can't even think about returning to her craft. Because Kate's mother died in a road accident and Kate thinks it was all her fault. And, all of a sudden, everything gets too much - the kindly-meant but oppressive sympathy - and Kate collapses. She wakes, still at the mill, but in a long-past time. Here, Kate must learn to weave the dark threads of her life into its overall picture. Until she does, she can't return home... Full review...

The Caller by Karin Fossum

Crime

Lily's baby daughter was asleep in the garden when her husband came home and it was so peaceful that they allowed her to sleep on a little longer, but when they went to bring her in she was covered in blood. It seemed to be coming from her mouth - but when they got her to hospital there was no injury and it was apparently a practical joke. But that evening a message was left on Inspector Konrad Sejer's mat: 'Hell begins now'. It was the first in a series of such incidents. They weren't planned to cause physical harm but they left the victims shaken, feeling harassed and worried. Full review...

A Horrid Factbook: Food by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross

Children's Non-Fiction

For a horrid child our Henry has acquired a lot of facts, you know and the latest of his Horrid Fact Books is about food. It follows the usual format of quick-fire facts liberally accompanied by brilliant illustrations from Tony Ross. The book's divided into chapters which are just the right length to appeal to the emerging reader and to give a regular feel-good buzz when there's another chapter under the belt. With ninety-nine pages of text there's enough to give the sense of having read a book but without it being too much of a trial. It ticks all the boxes as an early reader. Full review...

Love at Second Sight by Cathy Hopkins

Jo is tired of being 'Miss Tag Along' as friends Effy and Tash hang out with their boyfriends. Jo has never had much luck in the love life department. Yes there's Owen, Effy's brother - but though they get on so well, and are so perfect for each other (according to everyone else) Jo's never really felt that special something with him, that spark. Full review...

The Road Not Taken: How Britain narrowly missed a revolution by Frank McLynn

History

Since the Norman conquest, there have been no successful invasions of Britain. Yet according to this book, during that era the country has come close to revolution on seven occasions. These were the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, Jack Cade's rebellion of 1450, the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536, the English Civil War in the 1640s, the Jacobite rising in 1745-6, the Chartist Movement of the early Victorian era, and finally the General Strike of 1926. In each case, social turbulence threatened the status quo but went no further. Why and how did they ultimately fail? Full review...

One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf

General Fiction

Mrs Oliver has spent her life in the classroom. Educating. Guiding. Nurturing. But on the last day of term all she really wants is to get to the afternoon bell without any drama. A gunman walking in to her classroom really does not fit in with her plans. Full review...

The Heat of the Sun by David Rain

David Rain is far too young to be writing this exquisitely. That's all I'm going to say.

Oh, you need me to justify that comment? Full review...

The Vintage and the Gleaning by Jeremy Chambers

Smithy, a retired sheep shearer, now works on a vineyard in the countryside of Victoria, Australia. Too poor to retire and too ill from the after effects of his former alcoholic lifestyle to return to the physically arduous world of shearing, he exists rather than lives amongst his mates and near his son and daughter-in-law. Meanwhile rumours abound about the deeds of local thug, Brett Clayton and, whether true or not, he's definitely someone to be avoided. However, when Brett's wife Charlotte leaves him and asks Smithy to take her in, he does so without a second thought. Sheltered under his roof and protection, Charlotte confides in Smithy, forcing him to remember his own past and dreams. Meanwhile the unspoken question remains: Brett knows where Charlotte is so what's he going to do about it? Full review...

A Witch in Love by Ruth Warburton

Anna has sworn off magic since she accidentally bewitched Seth into falling in love with her. He's convinced the spell has been lifted and his feelings for her are genuine - but she's not so sure. Anna might want to be finished with magic, though - but it keeps leaking out. When a visit to her old home reveals that someone placed a powerful spell which was the reason she didn't discover her abilities until coming to Winter, she's left wishing she knew more about her family history. As if that wasn't enough, the Ealdwitan are still taking an interest in her and she's also being threatened by a group of 'outwiths' who appear to have found out her secret... Full review...

On the Eve: The Jews of Europe before the Second World War by Bernard Wasserstein

History

The introduction to 'On the Eve' begins with the controversial statement, 'Nor is anti-Semitism, by itself, a satisfactory explanation of the Jew's predicament'. The author has written a history of the post-war Jewry called the Vanishing Diaspora but this book examines the collective failure by the Jewish people before 1939 'to attain at least some control over the threatening vagaries of fate'. It examines their failure to establish cohesive social links, political parties, hospitals, newspapers and schools. Jewish culture and religious practice weakened during the very period when they advocated loyalty to the states where they were citizens; the USSR, Poland, Germany and France. Their population too was in decline. Wasserstein, who is a master at pointing out intriguing and surprising detail, explains that on the brink of annihilation, there were actually more Jews held in camps outside the Third Reich than within it. Full review...

Grymm by Keith Austin

Mina and Jacob are step siblings. Unwilling ones. Mina thinks Jake is a mummy's boy. Jake thinks Mina is weird and witchy. In fact, the only thing these two can agree upon is that they both dislike new baby Bryan even more than they dislike one another. And who could blame them? Not only does Bryan take up all the attention of both parents, but he's also a colicky baby who cries from morning 'til night. And when he's not crying, he's farting and pooing and polluting the air with the foulest of smells. So when Dad takes a three-month contract at a mine on the edge of the Great Desert, neither Mina nor Josh are pleased to learn they'll be spending their summer in the back end beyond. With each other. And Bryan. Full review...

The Taliban Cricket Club by Timeri N Murari

We all know, or think we know, how oppressive life was for Afghans, particularly Afghan women, under the Taliban regime, but when you read this novel, boy do you get a sense of how tough it really was. Full review...

Inside by Alix Ohlin