Difference between revisions of "Book Reviews From The Bookbag"

Ashdown won the Observer Best Debut Novels of the Year with her book Glasshopper, an excerpt of which is given at the back of this book. I decided to read it first and I must say that I immediately warmed to Ashown's style of writing. She seems to have a knack for down-to-earth language especially with teenagers and young people. So, I was really looking forward to this book but I was also conscious of the fact that it had a lot to live up to. Will she be able to deliver? Full review...

Paddington's Guide to London by Michael Bond

Children's Non-Fiction

Some things are just a brilliant idea. Young Paddington Bear has written a guide book to his adopted home in the way that only he could do it. All his old friends are there – Mr and Mrs Brown and their children Jonathan and Judy along with their housekeeper Mrs Bird and of course we mustn't forget Paddington's old friend Mr Gruber who has an encyclopaedic knowledge of London. So, where is Paddington planning to take you? Full review...

Last Man In Tower by Aravind Adiga

Literary Fiction

Following a Man Booker winning book like The White Tiger is always going to be a daunting challenge for any writer, let alone one when that book was the author's first novel. In 'Last Man in Tower' Adiga perhaps sensibly turns to a proven structure that allows his story-telling skills to flourish. Gone are clever structural ideas, like 'The White Tiger's' letter format and instead we get a straightforward engaging story set in modern day Mumbai where a rich builder is seeking to force residents of an old apartment block to sell their flats to enable redevelopment. Full review...

Tarzan: The Greystoke Legacy by Andy Briggs

Robbie Canler is on the run. From what, it takes us a while to find out, but it's clear that it's something bad when the alternative is working for an illegal logging team in the jungle of the Congo. The work is tough at the best of times, and when things start going wrong for the team, it's definitely not the best of times. And then Jane Porter, his boss's daughter, disappears... Can she be found? And why do all these strange things keep happening to the loggers? It's almost as if there was a weird presence in the jungle. Full review...

The Hill And The Rock by David McKee

The Hill and the Rock is a very funny book that is based on one very quirky idea. Mr and Mrs Quest are an ordinary couple but their home gets many visitors as it is at the top of the only hill for miles around. Everyone admires the view, but as Mrs Quest spends much of her time in the kitchen, her view is blighted by the large rock that stands tall just outside the window. Mrs Quest is also extremely good at nagging and she pesters her husband every day until he agrees to dig the ground that surrounds the rock so that it eventually rolls down the hill. That night Mrs Quest is much happier but is puzzled by a hissing noise that stops her from sleeping. The next night they both hear it and it slowly dawns on them that now the rock is no longer in place, all the air is seeping out from inside the hill. Full review...

Lula Does The Hula by Samantha Mackintosh

Talullah Bird, otherwise known as Tatty, Lu, or Lula, has finally been kissed! She has a boyfriend! Frikkly frik! This is exciting! Except there is an evil woman lusting after her boyfriend! Hoooo no! And her dad is weird! Hooo no again! If you think this review is annoying so far with the exclamation marks and strange words, you may want to avoid the book! Full review...

The Bear and the Wildcat by Kazuni Yumoto and Komako Sakai

This lovely picture book dives in at the deep end with its opening sentence of 'One morning, Bear was crying. His best friend, a little bird, was dead.' I must admit I initially wondered what on earth I was reading to my four year old and regretted not skimming it first to check, but as we read on together we discovered a beautiful story of friendship and loss, grief and hope. Full review...

Leviathan Wakes by James S A Corey

Science Fiction

Humanity has managed to venture into the solar system and colonise Mars, various moons and some asteroids and stations in the (asteroid) Belt between Mars and Jupiter. Those inhabiting the Belt have evolved to be significantly thinner and elongated compared to Earthers and Martians, due the low gravity in which they live; their difference in appearance and a difference in attitude form the basis for a lot of the tension and uneasy relationships in the novel. Full review...

About Last Night by Adele Parks

Women's Fiction

I've noticed a trend in recent women's commercial fiction titles of rather dark subject matters. It seems that the light-hearted romps involving shopping and shoes are out and the subjects have grown up and become much more serious. This latest from Adele Parks certainly deals with some weighty issues. Steph and Pip have been best friends since they were at school together. They've supported each other through everything, and although they both find themselves living very different lifestyles they are still best friends. Or at least, that's what they think until Steph desperately needs Pip's help after one eventful night and Pip suddenly isn't sure if she can help her best friend. Full review...

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Katey Kontent works hard during the day as a typist at a big law firm in 1930s Manhattan, but at night she likes to sample the nightlife – jazz clubs in Greenwich Village. There on New Year's Eve 1937, she and her roommate Eve meet the charming Tinker Grey. This is the start of a year of many changes for Katey and her friends. Full review...

The Wide-Awake Princess by E D Baker

Princess Annie is Sleeping Beauty's younger sister. Her sister, Gwendolyn, was given various magical gifts at her birth making her graceful and beautiful, but then a bad fairy created the spell that Gwendolyn would prick her finger on a spinning wheel before she turned 16 and sleep for one hundred years. So far, so familiar. All of the upset over Gwendolyn's christening led to the King and Queen being very scared when their second daughter, Annabelle, was born. They invited only one fairy along and asked her advice. She cast a spell on Princess Annie that made her impervious to all magic. Although this seemed like a good idea it means that none of her family like to be too near her because her spell tends to affect their own magical enchantments, making them less beautiful, more wrinkled and aged. Annie does her best to please her parents and to try and protect her sister, but in the end the wicked fairy's magic spell comes true and Gwendolyn and everyone in the castle falls asleep. Everyone, that is, except for Annie... Full review...

A Different Sky by Meira Chand

We meet the first of the three main characters - Chinese Mei Lan on a trip with her devoted minder-nursemaid into town. The sights and smells intrigue the young girl as they are a far cry from her comfortable home and its surroundings. Rather than appreciating all that space and the beautiful objects in the family home, Mei Lan feels lonely (she's an only child) and even hemmed in. But perhaps she'll change as she grows up. Full review...

My Name Is Mina by David Almond

We first Mina in Skellig. A homeschooled, William Blake-loving, slightly precious child, she arrived in Michael's life with not a little whiff of the culture shock about her. Now, we can find out what really makes Mina tick as we read through her journal. Mina is full of contradictions. She likes to be different, individual, but she doesn't like being a misfit. She wants friends but she doesn't know how to make them or to keep them. She is both reflective and impulsive. Full review...

Out Of Range by C J Box

Crime

Will Jensen, a Wyoming Game Warden of many years standing, had long held the respect of the townsfolk of Jackson. Recently though he seemed to have been going off the rails. Not turning up for work on time; a couple of DUIs; his wife upped and left. Then one day he cooks himself 14lb of meat. No vegetables. And slowly eats his way through it, washed down with whiskey, before he goes to fetch his .44 magnum from the pick-up. Full review...

Loaded by Christos Tsiolkas

Literary Fiction

Ari is just nineteen, of Greek descent but living in Melbourne with his family. He's gay, unemployed and not in education. He wants to get away from the traditional Greek life of his parents and their friends but has no idea how to do it. He falls back on the only life that he knows: clubs, parties, anonymous sex, a cocktail of drugs and alcohol. But will even this be enough to dull the pain? Told vividly in the first person and sexually explicit it's a short book – a novella – which grabs you and has no intention of letting you go until it spits you out at the other end. Full review...

Empty Coffin: Envy by Gregg Olsen

A small town is stunned by the death of a young girl, Katelyn, and although the death is attributed to an accident, there are some who believe that suicide and homicide shouldn't be ruled out just yet. Although twins Hayley and Taylor Ryan weren't close to the girl at the time of her death, they used to be good friends and a combination of guilt and curiosity leads them to investigate the death and its true cause. They may just be teenagers, but combine the fact that they have a father who is a true crime author, with the mysterious supernatural abilities they share, the twins are more than well-equipped to discover the truth behind the death; however, they find themselves digging up more than they bargained for when tragic history, and revelations from the past begin to reveal themselves. Full review...

The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly

I read the back cover blurb with delight and couldn't help but applaud Donnelly for her ingenuity. I loved the book Little Women when I read it many years ago and television adaptations keep it fresh for new generations. So, before I'd even turned to chapter one, I was loving this book. But will it live up to my lofty expectations? Full review...

Operation Eiffel Tower by Elen Caldecott

Jack, Ruby, Lauren and Billy live in a seaside town. Jack helps out at the crazy golf course and he's got a mean shot or two up his sleeve. Lauren likes boys, Teen Thing magazine and looking down her nose at her younger siblings. Ruby's world revolves around winning a teddy on the grab-a-bear machine in the amusement arcade. Billy is just a baby so he doesn't do very much if it doesn't involve cuddling Teddy Volvo. Full review...

The Great Famine: Ireland's Agony 1845-1852 by Ciaran O Murchadha

History

In August 1845, reports began to circulate of the destruction of growing potatoes in the south of England, killed by a mysterious and so far unknown plant disease. As yet, the scientific aspects of what was given the name of 'blight' were not fully recognised, let alone understood. At the end of the month, small instances of failure in the potato crop in Ireland were reported, but there seemed to be no cause for alarm until the main crop was dug out in October. Only then did it become apparent that an 'awful plague' had appeared in several areas, with decomposing vegetables producing a strong, foul stench that assailed the nostrils of cultivators and passers-by alike. Full review...

The Ghost of Lily Painter by Caitlin Davies

When Annie Sweet buys a home with her family, she feels inexplicably bonded to it from first sight. As life brings unwelcome changes for her, she decides to uncover the history of her house to provide a distraction and to understand her feelings about her home. Full review...

David by Mary Hoffman

It's 1501 and Gabriele is in Florence without a penny to his name. As a greenhorn country boy, he managed to get himself robbed almost as soon as he arrived in the city. But he does have one big advantage: a renowned sculptor as a step-brother. Gabriele hopes this will be enough to find him work, but little does he dream that he will soon find himself the model for one of the world's greatest pieces of art - Michelangelo's David. Or that he'll become intimately embroiled in the deadly rivalries and politics of the city. As the statue of David is slowly created, Gabriele will have to walk the line between the republican faction and those supporting the return of the Medicis without being exposed by either. It won't be easy... Full review...

One World by Michael Foreman

In 'One World', a young girl is found staring up at the sun and watching it go down at the end of the day. She then watches the moon and stars come out. Although no further comment is made, she obviously finds it most awe inspiring. This makes the reader think about the sheer magnitude of the world we live in especially when we are reminded of all the creatures that share it with us. Full review...

Ox Travels by Michael Palin

Travel

Ox Travels is an anthology of travel writing compiled to raise funds for Oxfam, but it is well worth buying and reading in its own right. Its generous 432 pages offer the chance to meet 36 writers, including travel writers, journalists and novelists, with an introduction by Michael Palin and an afterword by Barbara Stocking, Oxfam's Chief Executive. Full review...

The Demon's Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan

Cynthia 'Sin' Davies is a Market girl through and through. Her whole life has been about the dance, the performance and the Market. But now the Market is at war with the magicians, Merris has pitted Sin against Mae – a tourist – for leadership of the Market, and everything is coming apart around her. Sin needs a plan, and fast. Unfortunately, Sin is more of a doer than a thinker. Thinking is where Mae excels, and the pink haired tourist is winning the race for leadership despite Sin's lifelong service to the Market. Full review...

DMD Life Art and Me by Ian A Griffiths

Autobiography

Ian Griffiths suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy - a form of muscular dystrophy which causes muscle degeneration. It begins in early childhood with difficulty in walking and progresses to cause problems with breathing and all the voluntary muscles. Ultimately it's fatal. Men and boys – it's linked to the X chromosome so affects only males – with the disease have a life expectancy of between the late teens and mid-twenties. Ian's in his mid-twenties now and he's written 'DMD Life: art and me' to explain what it really feels like to live with the disease. And when I say 'really feels like' I do mean that. Ian doesn't gloss over anything. Full review...

Newsflesh Trilogy: Deadline by Mira Grant

Horror

Ever since the untimely death of his sister, Shaun Mason has been alive, but not much more so than the zombies that populate his post-apocalyptic world. For the man who built a career on poking dead things with a stick, just for laughs, life's just no fun anymore. Full review...

The Golden Goose by Roberta Angeletti

The eldest of the three brothers set off to cut wood and on the way he met an old man who asked if he had any food. The brother refused as he would need what he had for his lunch. He gave the same answer when he was asked for water – but as he cut wood he injured his finger and had to return home, wondering all the time if the old man had anything to do with his injury. The next day the second brother went to cut wood – and much the same thing happened, only this time it was his toe that was injured. There was but one brother left and the two older brothers thought that he was too weak to cut wood. But when the brother met the old man he was happy to share what food and water he had and – well you don't really need to tell me what happened next, do you? Full review...

The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain

I feel that I've barely finished a Chamberlain review when up pops another of her books - such seems to be proliferation. The story opens with the build-up to the death of middle-aged midwife, Noelle. Her friends, all a little younger than herself and with families of their own, are busy getting on with their daily lives. But someone - suddenly - remembers they haven't heard from Noelle for some days. It's unusual as this group of chatty friends are forever phoning, texting or popping round to each other's houses. Full review...

One Two That's My Shoe by Alison Murray

We've met Grace and Georgie before, in the excellent Apple Pie ABC. She's the owner of the scampish dog, who then snaffled her apple pie and now is skedaddling with her shoe. As with the earlier book, Alison Murray takes a familiar rhyme (this time One Two Buckle My Shoe), tweaks it slightly, and tells a fresh story through her fantastic illustrations. Full review...

The Fearsome Beastie by Giles Paley-Phillips

When night comes, the fearsome beastie roams the streets, looking for children to eat. He's quite the monster and gobbles up some little 'uns, but doesn't notice little Pete, who enlists some help to do battle with the beastie. Full review...

The Summer of the Bear by Bella Pollen

Letty Fleming, recently widowed, is driving her three children hundreds of miles north to a new and hopefully happy life on a remote Scottish island. We get a peek at the personalities of the children straight away: Alba is opinionated and strong-willed, for example. Still young she's managed to acquire a list as long as her arm of her 'hates' in the world - fish, English teachers and doors which are ajar all feature and I didn't care as I couldn't help liking her. At least she knows her own mind. What will she be like when she's grown up, for heaven's sake? Full review...

The Foxes Come At Night And Other Stories by Cees Nooteboom and Ina Rilke (Translator)

Short Stories

There's a bold statement on the front cover from, as it happens, one of my favourite authors, A S Byatt saying that Nooteboom is one of the greatest modern novelists so I thought that I was in for a treat. But I didn't enjoy the first short story. Not the greatest of starts. I was disappointed to say the least and was wondering what all the fuss was about. Then I started to read the story entitled Thunderstorm and things started to pick up. I appreciated the sparse and elegant language. Lines such as 'Five people at an outdoor cafe: two women ... a solitary black man ... a couple at a table nearby. Enough for a film.' How lovely and evocative is that last line, I'm thinking. I read it twice as it was so good. Full review...

Shadow of a Thief by Celine Ibe

Obinna's childhood had been gloriously happy, living in the Nigerian village with Mama. But when he was fifteen years old Mama told him that she was not his mother, but his grandmother and that his mother and father were dead. Stunned and almost disbelieving he went to bed only to be woken by a loud noise in the night. It came from Mama's room but when Obinna went to her she was dead on the floor. The boy could have lived with neighbours who would have been only too glad to have him, but he set off as soon as he could to his only living relative, his Uncle Raffia. Full review...

Blossoms and Shadows by Lian Hearn

I see from the front cover that Hearn is already a best-selling author with her Tales Of the Otori so I was looking forward to a good read. However, I did slump a little when I opened the book and was presented with several pages of the story's characters - sub-divided into fictional and historical. Full review...

A Million Angels by Kate Maryon

Mima's father is the light of her life. She loves him more than anything. But he's also an army officer and this story opens with him leaving for a six month tour of Afghanistan. Her mother is heavily pregnant and her grandmother is spending all her time thinking about her childhood sweetheart. Her friend Jess is busily trying to make friends at school - army brats are forever having to make new friends. So nobody really has time to pay attention to Mima, who can't get her fears about her father being killed and injured out of her mind... Full review...

Moondance of Stonewylde by Kit Berry

Magus of Stonewylde left us at a crucial turning point with Yul receiving the Earth Magic at the Solstice instead of Magus. However, Moondance of Stonewylde begins with Stonewylde operating normally, and the population unaware of the significance of the previous festival. Nevertheless, even the Machiavellian Magus can't keep covering the cracks that are beginning to show in Stonewylde's community for ever, and there are subtle signs of a revolution brewing. However, things take a turn for the worse when Magus discovers a way to use Sylvie to rejuvenate his Magic, and it is up to Yul and his only other ally, the ancient Mother Heggy, to stop history from repeating itself and save the girl that he loves. Full review...

Good Little Wolf by Nadia Shireen

Rolf is a good little wolf. He always eats up his vegetables. He is kind to his friends, including Little Pig and Mrs Boggins - who looks a lot like Little Red Riding Hood's grandma. One day he runs into the Big Bad Wolf, who opens Rolf's eyes to the kind of shenanigans that most wolves get up to. Will Rolf give in to his lupine heritage, or will he stay true to his well-behaved self? Full review...

Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner

Women's Fiction

Sylvie Serfer married Richard Woodruff and from that day on made herself the perfect politician's wife. The senator came first in everything, even before their children. That's not to say that the girls were neglected – it's just that they never came first. The senator's image, his convenience, his schedule and his clothing were of paramount importance to Sylvie. There's a problem though – the senator has been having an affair and as with all such matrimonial earthquakes in political circles it broke on the national news rather than in the privacy of the matrimonial home. What's Sylvie to do? Full review...

Derby Day by D J Taylor

I read (and reviewed) Taylor's Ask Alice and took to Taylor's style straight away. Is this one going to be as good - or even better? Time to find out ... To set the tone we first meet a couple of no-gooders as they plot and scheme and it's all about horses and the Derby. And by degrees, Taylor introduces his main characters, chapter by chapter, to his readers. As this novel runs to over 400 pages, there's plenty of time for flesh to be heaped upon the bones of many of these characters. So, for example, we have a rather cold and calculating daughter living with her elderly father who appear right at the start of the novel. I got the sense that things were about to happen - and they certainly did. There's a strong sense of emotions just bubbling under the surface with this duo. Full review...

Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable

Biography

People's preconceptions about Malcolm X are vast. This is no surprise given his dramatic life, untimely death, and subsequent increased fame through the likes of Spike Lee's 1992 film. His autobiography is a must-read for anyone interested in his life, or the tumultuous race struggle in the US in the 1960s, but it must be viewed in context. It was completed after Malcolm X's death, by co-author Alex Haley, and many aspects were highlighted or played down, to suit Malcolm X's ends. Manning Marable's biography, years in the making, looks at his life with a new perspective. Full review...

Adventure Island: The Mystery of the Whistling Caves by Helen Moss