Difference between revisions of "Book Reviews From The Bookbag"
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| + | |author=Gill Lewis | ||
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| + | |summary=Tam's village in rural Laos must make way for a new highway. So Tam and his family move to a new village in the lowlands. They've been promised running water, electricity, and even a school. But the ground in the new village is scattered with bombs left over from America's war in Vietnam. And, while Tam and his father are preparing their field for the new rice crop, one explodes and everything changes again. Tam's father is dead and his mother and sisters won't be able to keep their house unless Tam goes to the city and earns money to send home. | ||
| + | |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192793535</amazonuk> | ||
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Revision as of 13:58, 5 May 2013
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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Moon Bear by Gill Lewis
Tam's village in rural Laos must make way for a new highway. So Tam and his family move to a new village in the lowlands. They've been promised running water, electricity, and even a school. But the ground in the new village is scattered with bombs left over from America's war in Vietnam. And, while Tam and his father are preparing their field for the new rice crop, one explodes and everything changes again. Tam's father is dead and his mother and sisters won't be able to keep their house unless Tam goes to the city and earns money to send home. Full review...
Dead Boys' Club by Geoffrey Malone
Sam wakes up one morning at dawn. It's strangely quiet. Outside his hut, the village is absolutely silent. No cockerels are crowing. Something is horribly wrong. Stepping outside, Sam's worst fears are realised. A line of children, all armed with AK-47s, are rushing at him, yelling like crazy. It's God's Freedom Army. Full review...
Winning Without Losing: 66 strategies for succeeding in business while living a happy and balanced life by Martin Bjergegaard and Jordan Milne
It's a common assumption that if you're a serious entrepreneur then you're going to have to dedicate your life to making money, passing up on the good things (apart from those which can be bought, obviously) such as a happy family life, the world outside of work and quite probably your health too. But what if there was a way to have it all? Winning Without Losing' doesn't give a blueprint which will enable you to go out and make your first million and have a wonderful life outside work - but it does give you sixty six ideas for ways in which you could adjust your working life to make the most of it without ruining everything else. Full review...
The Black Russian by Vladimir Alexandrov
Until I read this book I had never come across the story of Frederick Bruce Thomas, 'the Black Russian', before. It is a remarkable tale of rags to riches, tragedy, success against the odds and subsequent failure. Full review...
Geekhood: Mission Improbable by Andy Robb
Despite his efforts with Sarah at the start of term, fourteen-year-old Archie is still as geeky and as clueless about girls as ever. Then he meets Clare, a sixteen-year-old who has relationship problems of her own, and they create a fake relationship to try and get their crushes to notice them. What could possibly go wrong? Full review...
Diary of a Wimpy Vampire by Tim Collins
Nigel is a fairly typical teenager in many ways. He suffers from spots, he is awkward and uncomfortable around girls, he is moody, irritable and constantly feeling bitter and resentful of his parents. Worst of all, he just doesn't know where he fits in. But unlike most 15 year olds, this isn't just passing a stage. Nigel has the body, emotions and typical trials and tribulations of the average teenager, but he has been stuck in this stage of development for 85 years. As he nears his 100th birthday, he begins to wonder if he will ever fit in, ever find a date, and ever develop into a proper vampire. You see not only does he have all the difficulties of most teens, he also has to cope with the fact that despite being a vampire for nearly 85 years, he has developed none of the usual vampire strengths and talents. His little sister has all the speed, grace and power of a grown vampire, but he is still as helpless as an infant in the vampire world. His parents have to hunt for him, bullies torture him at school, and the worst torture of all is that he has finally fallen in love - but has no idea what to do about it. Full review...
Super Geek, Dinosaurs, Brains and Supertrains by Glenn Murphy
Super Geek, Dinosaurs, Brains and Supertrains is divided into eight sections. The first four sections are questions on dinosaurs and prehistoric life, the human brain, natural disasters and finally transport. The following four sections are much longer and provide not only the answers to the previous sections' questions, but a detailed, scientific explanation in clear easy to understand language that even my four year old can usually follow. These answers are very well written and quite interesting to both of my children, and even as an adult I found this both educational and entertaining. I have to admit, I learned a few things from this book as well, and we will certainly be brushing up on our knowledge of the human brain before bringing this out again. Full review...
A Darkness Descending (Sandro Cellini) by Christobel Kent
It was a new political party and it seemed to have caught the public's imagination, particularly the young and even some older people, embarrassed by the antics of their prime minister. Then the leader, Niccolo Rosselli collapsed at a rally - but there was worse to come. His partner, Flavia, disappeared leaving behind a devastated Niccolo - and a baby who was only a matter of weeks old. She was found in a down-at-heel hotel, where she'd ended her life in the bathroom. But why would she do it? Why did she not leave a note? Sandro Cellini was called in to investigate - but quite what was he investigating? Full review...
Tide by Daniela Sacerdoti
After her parents' deaths at the hands of the demons they fought against, Sarah Midnight was left reeling again by the revelation towards the end of book 1 that her 'cousin' Harry Midnight was actually Harry's friend Sean Hannay. Unable to trust Sean following his lies, Sarah turns to Nicholas, new on the scene. But Nicholas has dark secrets of his own - has Sarah placed her faith in the wrong person? And will she find out the truth about the Midnight legacy before the demons attack again? Full review...
Frogspell by C J Busby
Arthurian stories and settings never date, do they? I've been devouring them ever since I first learned to read and I'm still not tired of them [censored] years later. And hooray! Here's another.
Frogspell follows Max Pendragon, a peaceable little chap and without doubt the least bellicose of all Camelot's squires. He'd much rather be a wizard than a warrior. Full review...
Rescuing Gus by Melissa Wareham
Melissa Wareham was convinced that she must be adopted: how could someone like her who loved dogs have been born to parents who, well, wouldn't have them in the house? She wasn't even that convinced when her mother produced her birth certificate. Melissa wouldn't be able to have a dog until she had a home of her own but in the meantime she got a job at Battersea Dogs' Home and it was there that she met Gus. He wasn't in the first flush of youth and his breath was a weapon of mass destruction, but he and Melissa bonded and when he was very poorly - he had kennel cough - she took him home. Full review...
The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook
The Aftermath is set amongst the devastated ruins in the fire-bombed city of Hamburg in 1946. The British have occupied the ruined city and Colonel Lewis Morgan, an officer and a gentleman, is charged with overseeing the restoration of order. However, Colonel Morgan must first deal with the human cost of the bombing including remnants of fanatic Nazis, the trummerkind - children of the rubble, and the starving civil populace. He also, in 1943, lost a child due to a Luftwaffe bomb and he must support his deeply grieving wife, Rachel, when she arrives after months of separation with their surviving twelve year old boy, the impressionable Edmund. Full review...
If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch
In the middle of the forest, Carey and Jenessa live with their mother in a tatty old camper van. Cut off from civilisation, they scrabble to take care of themselves and each other, in a setting where every day is a fight for physical and mental survival. They just about make it through, but the girls’ mother is a drug addict with a habit of disappearing, and she’s done just that. It’s been more than a month since they saw her. Maybe more than two. Then, one day, summoned by a letter sent by the girls’ mother, strangers appear in the woods, looking for Carey and Jenessa. They have come to take them away from the woods, and back to the real world. Full review...
The Fate in the Box by Michelle Lovric
Venice is a place of contrasts, where poverty and extravagance jostle each other for space on the misty streets. But its inhabitants, poor or rich, have always been intensely proud of their city and its history. Ships arrive full of wonders from across the world, skilled glassblowers create magnificent artefacts, and magic is occasionally to be found in the oddest of nooks and crannies. Amneris, for example, knows that if she embroiders an exact copy of the fabulous patterns created by 'the dear creature' (as they call Uncle Annibale's kaleidoscope) each week, she and her family will always earn enough to live on. Full review...
Mr Gig by Nige Tassell
Born too late to remember the 60s and early 70s, music lover and journalist Nige Tassell, who has written for The Guardian, New Statesman and others, lived the life for some years as punter, reviewer, roadie, DJ and promoter. Then he married and became a father, and the most important gig (if the one with the least comfortable seats) was the kids’ primary school nativity play ten days before Christmas. Around 2010 the midlife crisis hit with a vengeance, and the urge to hit the road in search of what live music was all about these days came upon him. That does not just require private transport capable of taking roads the length and breadth of the land in its stride (and the car passed the test - just), it also requires a certain amount of courage. Full review...
Deadly Days in History (Horrible Histories) by Terry Deary and Martin Brown
Horrible Histories' catch phrase is History - with all the nasty bits left in. This is not completely true, Scholastic is not going to print a children's book with details which are too graphic for children, but this is without a doubt the nastiest and most gruesome of all of the Horrible Histories books we have read. While I am happy enough reading most of the Horrible Histories books to my 4 year old as well as my 8 year old, I do think this one is best for the older children, would recommend a minimum age of 7, and this only if the child is already aware of the Holocaust, or the parent is prepared to broach this subject in a sensitive manner and provide further information. Full review...
Coconut Chaos by Diana Souhami
Our anonymous narrator has a chaos-theory-theory about the mutiny on the Bounty. It can all be traced back to Fletcher Christian stealing a coconut. Armed with this thought and the intrepid spirit of many Britons before her, she sets off for Pitcairn Island, the isolated home of Christian and his band of dissenters 3,000 miles from New Zealand. She leaves behind a beloved but delusional mother, her partner and all the comforts of civilisation as she travels with hope and the inimitable Lady Myre. Meanwhile we listen to true stories about the mutiny, the aftermath and the fact that there weren't really many heroes, just a group of flawed individuals fighting for survival. Full review...
The Watch by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya
Nizam pushes a barrow up to a fortified US army base in Afghanistan. What is she doing there? How will the soldiers react? What do they believe: their experience, their training, their gut reaction or a young girl amputee in the middle of the desert who may be the last thing they ever see? Full review...
The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
As The Shining Girls’ tagline says, this is a thriller that breaks all the boundaries. It’s a vicious murder plot that’s based on science fiction concepts, a science fiction novel which leaves its central concepts barely, sparely explained. I haven’t read anything like it before, and in a strong and crowded crime fiction field it stands out like a searchlight. But beware. If you’re sitting comfortably as you begin reading The Shining Girls, you won’t be for long. This book sets out to cut you up inside. Full review...
The Detective's Daughter by Lesley Thomson
Terry Darnell - formerly Detective Inspector Darnell - came out of the Co-op in a village on the south coast, with the makings of an impromptu breakfast in a carrier bag and died of a heart attack on the way back to his car. He hadn't see a lot of his daughter in the last few years, but the death saddened Stella. She ran a cleaning company - Clean Slate - and was obsessive about cleaning and cleanliness, with her life based on order and it wasn't long before she began clearing her father's house. Hidden away in the attic were case papers relating to the Rokesmith murder, which had occurred some thirty years earlier and which had never been solved. Full review...
Traitor's Field by Robert Wilton
It's 1648 and the embers of Charles I's reign start to fade as Britain slowly turns the monotone colour of Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth. However, Royalist passion still exists and it's up to Sir Mortimer Shay, the Comptrollerate-General for Scrutiny and Survey, to gather the intelligence, maintain his spy network and fan the embers towards the Royalist victory for which he longs. He's a wily veteran so not easily stopped but among the confusion and brutality that tears Britain in half, former lawyer Cromwell's spymaster John Thurloe is the man charged with the task. Full review...
How I Killed Margaret Thatcher by Anthony Cartwright
What motivates someone to become a killer?
When the reader first meets Sean Bull, he is nine years old, living a seemingly carefree and happy existence surrounded by his family and friends in a close-knit community in Dudley, West Midlands. He loves Star Wars and playing football with his school friends and adores his teenage uncle Johnny, who tells him stories and creates the most wonderful pieces of art. Full review...
Come Home by Lisa Scottoline
You divorce a partner, not a child, so although Jill and William’s split meant she was no longer legal step mum to his daughter Abby, in some ways she never stopped seeing her as a daughter. Now, years after they last met up, Abby shows up on Jill’s doorstep with some devastating news about Jill’s ex-husband. News that will unsettle both their lives, and the lives of Jill’s new fiancé Sam, and of her own biological daughter. While Abby wants to pull her into untangling a mystery, Sam is reluctant to encourage this investigation, and the family reunion it will bring, leaving Jill torn between her new family and her old one. Full review...
Red Sky In Morning by Paul Lynch
It’s 1832 and Coll Coyle and his humble family are to be turfed out of their home in Donegal and Coll is just angry enough to confront the landowner’s son who is responsible. The repercussions of Coll’s actions are huge and Coll is forced to go on the run. He attempts to escape across the unforgiving and desolate landscape of North West Ireland, the brutal Atlantic Ocean and the plains of North America, all the while stalked by the incredibly dangerous and violent John Faller. Red Sky in Morning is Paul Lynch’s debut novel and it is a real hit. Full review...
Quicksilver by R J Anderson
Before I say anything else, I must warn you. Quicksilver is billed as a companion novel to Ultraviolet with the implication that you could read either first. You can't. You mustn't. So if you haven't read Ultraviolet, go no further.
Quicksilver picks up where Ultraviolet left off. But this time, synaesthete Alison is left behind and the story is told from the point of view of Tori Full review...
The Desert of Souls (The Chronicle of Sword and Sand) by Howard Andrew Jones
Place: Baghdad Time: 8th century Arabian-Nights-Time A dying man gives Dabir, tutor at the Caliph's palace, a precious artefact, making him promise to look after it. Unfortunately it gets stolen before he has the chance to. Jaffar the son of the Caliph's vizier realises that it has magical qualities that make it even more precious than it appears and isn't too well pleased. He gives Dabir a chance to redeem himself, sending him and Asim, Captain of the Caliph's guard, to find it. The men set out on their quest facing danger, death, sorcery and someone whose presence could get them into even deeper trouble. Full review...
The Satanic Diaries by Krister Jones
We travel with Satan through a morose time in his lengthy existence. His wife has divorced him and his Chief of Security (Himmler) seems to be going even madder. To top it off, his therapist is insisting that his anger issues need to be dealt with and is forcing him to keep a diary. Following a disastrous holiday and an even worse attempt to get back into dating, he takes the diary with him as he goes on the lam in disguise and lives for a while paycheck to paycheck as a security guard for a cash and carry. Full review...
Penguins Can't Fly! by Richard Byrne
Gregory the Gull and Hudson the penguin were both born on the same day and have been great friends ever since, doing everything together. In the lovely illustrations, we can see them having a bath, fishing, sledging, skating and giving each other thoughtful and special gifts. However, when Gregory sees some other some gulls having fun flying over the beach, he naturally decides to join in. So does Hudson but of course there is a problem! However hard Hudson flaps his little wings, he just can’t fly. He tries everything but the result is always the same; he never manages to leave the ground. Naturally, he is very sad especially when all the gulls laugh unkindly. Just when he is feeling very low though, something happens to Gregory when he dives deep into the water and gets caught up in a fishing net. Hudson may not be able to fly but he can swim and this means that he is the best bird to help his friend. After this, it never seems to matter that he can't fly. Full review...
