Book Reviews From The Bookbag
Hello from The Bookbag, a book review site, featuring books from all the many walks of literary life - fiction, biography, crime, cookery and anything else that takes our fancy. At Bookbag Towers the bookbag sits at the side of the desk. It's the bag we take to the library and the bookshop. Sometimes it holds the latest releases, but at other times there'll be old favourites, books for the children, books for the home. They're sometimes our own books or books from the local library. They're often books sent to us by publishers and we promise to tell you exactly what we think about them. You might not want to read through a full review, so we'll give you a quick review which summarises what we felt about the book and tells you whether or not we think you should buy or borrow it. There are also lots of author interviews, and all sorts of top tens - all of which you can find on our features page. If you're stuck for something to read, check out the recommendations page.
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Ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley
Charlotte Usher is desperate to be popular. She has spent the entire summer break transforming herself to try and fit in with the 'in' crowd all in an attempt to try and attract the attention of Damen, a popular and handsome jock. Yet even after all her hard work she still remains invisible at best, despised at worst. Finally, in a moment of tragic bad luck, Charlotte chokes on a gummy bear, alone in a classroom, and dies. This isn't the end of the story however, it's actually just the beginning, because Charlotte isn't going to let the little inconvenience of being dead get in her way... Full review...
Crocodile Tears (Alex Rider) by Anthony Horowitz
Fans of Anthony Horowitz' Alex Rider series have had a two-year wait for this installment of our young hero's escapades and they are not going to be disappointed. He's fourteen year old now and not only is he being targeted by a hitman, he's also being pursued by a journalist who wants to tell the nation all about the fact that MI6 are using one of his tender years to do their dirty work. The trouble is that he can't be positive that it was a sniper that caused the car he was in to skid off a Scottish road and land at the bottom of a Loch. And MI6 don't seem all that bothered about the journalist, unless, that is, Alex might be willing to find some simple information from a GM crop research centre, in which case they might be able to have a quiet word with the gentleman. Full review...
Bad Penny Blues by Cathi Unsworth
Step into the seedy underbelly of London on the cusp of the Swinging Sixties. 'Bad Penny Blues' is the story of the hunt for a brutal serial killer targeting prostitutes in the west of the city, at the time a melting pot of immigrants from the Caribbean and Ireland, bohemian artists and media types, and even peers. Carnaby Street was just becoming the fashion centre of London and a new decade promised exciting possibilities. Full review...
The Wings of Wrath (The Magister Trilogy) by Celia Friedman
The first part of Celia Friedman's Magister trilogy was a wonderfully dark piece of fantasy. It contained some beasts you wouldn't be surprised to come across in a horror novel and stretched the idea of magic being a draining power to an interesting place psychologically. The second part, Wings of Wrath is more of a straight fantasy novel, lacking some of the horror elements that made the first part such a draw for me, but it's still a very good read. Full review...
The Lighthouse by Bernard P Morgan and Rikin Parekh
Bob the lighthouse keeper tries to warn the village of Quark that there's a big storm on the way. They don't listen to him, so Bob just sets about making preparations anyway. When the storm comes, the villagers are in a lot of trouble, but thankfully Bob is on hand to save the day. Full review...
The Secret Symbol: The Original Masonic Documents Behind Dan Brown's Latest Bestseller by Peter Blackstock
Pop Quiz. What links Scott of the Antarctic, Jim Davidson, Churchill, and Rabbie Burns? Where and when might you come a cropper trying to spell Boaz, but starting with the B? And what has three stages - unless it's thirty-three, or even ten by the York system? Full review...
Contact by Jonathan Buckley
Dominic Pattison's life began to veer off course badly on a Tuesday in May. It's a fairly banal Tuesday. The kind of Tuesday that Dominic probably experiences quite frequently. He feels the need to tell us about it.
In detail.
And, sadly, not in a particularly engaging style. Full review...
Sicilian Sunset by Jessica Porter
Sarah Livingstone's jewellery business was struggling but she was still annoyed when her father called James Ross for help. Sarah and James had had a relationship some ten years earlier and Sarah really didn't want to work with him, particularly after her marriage. Most people thought that her husband's death in a plane crash had been the cruel end to a good marriage. Only a few knew that he had been about to leave her to live with another woman. It's left Sarah very reluctant to get involved with any man. Full review...
Daisy: The Lives and Loves of the Countess of Warwick by Sushila Anand
Born Daisy Maynard in 1861, the Countess of Warwick lived a colourful life by any standards. She was notoriously promiscuous, a spendthrift who did not hesitate to try and provoke a royal scandal to shore up her parlous finances, and although she relished her lifestyle to the full, she spent several years fighting wholeheartedly for the pioneer socialists in Britain. Full review...
The Littlest Detective in London by Suzy Brownlee
The Littlest Detective in London is the first in this series of children's books by Suzy Brownlee and will soon be followed by the continuing story of Clementine Cordelia Bird's exploits in Paris. The books are aimed at young girls, aged between around eight and fourteen.
Clemmy (as she is known) is nine years old, but looks younger, due to her being rather small. However, she makes up for this by being brave and inventive. We learn early on that her mother disappeared in mysterious circumstances and the books have the underlying theme of Clemmy trying to find her mum again. Full review...
Guilt Trip: From Fear to Guilt on the Green Bandwagon by Alex Hesz and Bambos Neophytou
Did you know that Horlicks, that great sleep aid, is sold in India as a start-the-day energy boost? Not another concoction under the same brand, but the Exact Same Product. Full review...
Tempted (House of Night) by P C and Kristin Cast
Last time we left Zoey, she'd just banished Kalona, an ancient fallen immortal, from the Tulsa House of Night, along with evil High Priestess Neferet. Stevie Rae's Red Fledglings were regaining their humanity, but Stark, second ever Red Vampire, was badly injured. Her official boyfriend was Erik, but she's re-Imprinted with Human, Heath, and Stark had pledged a Warrior's Oath to her. Full review...
Emily and the Big Bad Bunyip by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley
The author-illustrator partnership that created the 'Diary of a Wombat', Pete the Sheep and 'Josephine Wants to Dance' bring all their Aussie characters together in a Christmas book with a Antipodean twist. Full review...
The Group by Mary McCarthy
'Given the attention paid to relations between the sexes, it would be tempting to call The Group a forerunner of today's chick lit. It's not.'
So writes Candace Bushnell, the writer behind the TV series Sex and the City, in the introduction to this new Virago Modern Classics edition of The Group by Mary McCarthy. First published in 1963, this novel is about the lives of a group of young women after leaving college in 1933, including careers, relationships, sex, babies, parents, and money. Full review...
My Dead Body (Joe Pitt Casebook) by Charlie Huston
Joe Pitt's New York is one riddled with Vampyres, infected by a Vyrus that makes them drink blood and die in the sun. It is also a wasteland of lawless tribes of Vampyres, gang warfare carving up Manhattan into territories, each with their own leaders, specialist workers, fighters, animosities. As we start book five, Joe's New York is actually a subterranean one, as he hides from everyone in the sewers and tunnels, until the enterprise of a top dog character flushes him out, and tells Pitt to find his daughter - a messianic poster girl for the future of the city. Full review...
My Father's Places: A portrait of childhood by Dylan Thomas' daughter by Aeronwy Thomas
Aeronwy Thomas was six years old when she and her family came to settle after a nomadic existence at Laugharne, on the Welsh coast, in 1949. Dylan used to broadcast regularly on the BBC, and while he continued to travel to London regularly for the purpose (as well as to carouse with friends in his old haunts), somewhere off the beaten track was a more suitable working environment. Full review...
The Church Mouse by Graham Oakley
Arthur the church mouse lives in peace with Sampson the meek church cat, but he gets lonely from time to time. He hits on a great idea: he'll invite all the other mice of the town to come and live with them. The parson agrees, as long as they agree to do a few odd jobs around the place. Then one day, a burglar breaks in and there's no-one around to stop him but Arthur, Sampson and the mice... Full review...
Bangers and Mash by Keith Hern
Keith Hern found a small lump in his neck and when the results of the tests came through he tried to put the appointment off as he had something more pressing to do, but the doctor was insistent. He knew then that he had cancer. The lump in his neck was, in fact, a secondary tumour with the primary being in the back of his tongue. But for the secondary tumour the discovery of the primary might have been too late for successful treatment. Keith takes us through the discovery of his cancer, his reactions to the diagnosis, his treatment and the titular meal of bangers and mash – the first solid food which he had attempted for some time. Full review...
The General by Janet Charters and Michael Foreman
General Jodhpur keeps his soldiers busy, polishing their boots and practising shooting. He wants to become the most famous general in the whole world. One day, he's thrown off his horse, and discovers the joys of lying in the grass. On his walk home, he gets a chance to smell the flowers, and soon sets about putting his soldiers to more peaceful activities. Full review...
Desert Rose by Alison Jackson and Keith Graves
Desert Rose is mucking out the pig stalls, when she stumbles across a giant gold nugget. She decides to buy the fattest hog in Texas, so she can win first prize at the state fair - a gal's gotta have a dream. However, she gets one highfalutin hog who won't do as it's told, so she ropes in all the other inhabitants of Laredo to help her out, and win the prize. Full review...
Mysterious Messages - A History of Codes and Ciphers by Gary Blackwood
There's something utterly cool about codes and ciphers. It's not just the spies with their secret world, it's the mystery of an ostensibly random set of letters or pictures. It's being able to unravel them and see what they're hiding. It's a combination of geeky riddle solving (and geeks are cool, so there) and uncovering the unknown meanings. Gary Blackwood treats us to a history of codes and ciphers, looking at their creation, the stories behind them, and how to crack them. Full review...
Dog by Daniel Pennac
Dog was the runt of the litter. Unwanted. Half-drowned and left to die on a rubbish tip, you can imagine better starts in life for this scruffy-looking little puppy. But it's not so bad. Black Nose takes him under her wing and gives him a little of her milk and a lot of her love. More importantly, she teaches him the rubbish tip ropes and gives him as much advice about doghood and ownerhood as she possibly can. And then... there's an accident. The last thing Black Nose says to Dog is If you go to the town, watch out for the cars. Dodge, little one, remember. Full review...
Make New Year's Resolutions and Keep Them Using NLP by Donna Blinston
It's coming up to that time of year again – you know it's the one where you make resolutions about going on a diet, getting more exercise, stopping smoking or losing weight. If they last a week into the New Year you're probably doing well – and then you're left with a feeling of failure. Donna Blinston offers advice on how to make your resolutions and how to keep them – and I needed this advice as much as the next couch potato. Full review...
Cars - A Pop-Up Book Of Automobiles by Robert Crowther
Robert Crowther tells the story of the car, from Cugnot's steam engine, Trevithick's road locomotive and Benz's Motorwagen, right through to the record-breaking Thrust SSC and to future cars, like the biodegradable Eco One. There are plenty of pop-ups and pull tabs to bring it all to life, and it's packed with detail. Full review...
Daughter of Fire and Ice by Marie-Louise Jensen
Welcome to Viking times. The land is ruled by a pitiless and greedy Chieftain, Bjorn Svanson, who always gets what he wants. And what he wants is Thora. She is a healer – very useful when you're going to set out on a voyage, and also very pretty. The Chieftain's destination is the land of fire and ice, also known as Iceland. Impatiently, the Chieftain kidnaps Thora, but what he doesn't know is that Thora has powers. Yes, a historical fantasy where the heroine has powers – didn't see that coming did you? She can read auras and at times, see the future. And what she sees is her new master's murder. Before you know it, he has been stabbed and Thora and a mysterious male slave are free. What is their destination still? The land of fire and ice. Impersonating Bjorn Svanson, the male slave commandeers his ships and they sail away to Iceland, where a precarious future awaits. Will Svanson's men follow them across the oceans for revenge? Can they live with what they have done? Will they ever get a chance to be together? Full review...
Betrayals: A Strange Angels Novel by Lili St Crow
To start, I have to cover the ground of the mythology of this series. Humans, vampires and werewolves all live in this world, and both species of 'the other' have people halfway turned. Vampires and werewolves aren't exactly the sort to mix with each other - one liking to spill blood, the others going into feeding frenzies every time they smell it. In a previous book, our heroine Dru, has realised her best friend can become semi-wolf in a shape-changing way, and she's tending to the vampire side of things. She's also discovered a very strong threat against her life. Full review...
The Hudbrax Hoard (Sabrax Clyke Series) by James Fitzsimmons
Meet Sabrax Clyke. Not allowed to sit around in the hole in the dry-stone wall he and his family call home, and admire the pretty girl who's just moved in next door, he's persuaded by an urgent message from distant relatives to go to their aid regarding some unmentionable, awful predicament. His journey there and the task itself will involve metal dragons, odd standing stones, earth-shattering movements, and unearthly nasties. Full review...
Snow White by Jane Ray
Jane Ray has taken the classic fairy tale of Snow White, the dwarves and the wicked queen, and created beautiful three-dimensional tableaux. It's a much-loved story that everyone is familiar with, and this is a great opportunity to rediscover a classic in an interesting new way. Full review...
The Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen
When a circus ship sinks off the coast of Maine, the animals escape and make their home in a nearby town. They soon enchant the locals, who in turn decide to protect the animals from the greedy circus-owner. Very loosely based on the sinking of the Royal Tar in 1836, The Circus Ship is a fun picture book that animal-lovers will enjoy. Full review...
Sins of the Angel by Wayne J Harris
Dr Gideon Matthews, a shouty hellfire and damnation preacher, has just delivered a sermon all about the evils of women being allowed into the church hierarchy and, on his way home afterwards, he is murdered. The following day however he wakes up in hospital or, actually, an angel called Gabriel finds himself inside Dr Matthews' body, able to recall Dr Matthews' memories and thoughts and feelings but acting now as himself. Gabriel goes a little bit wild, finding himself overwhelmed by the new feelings and desires he experiences in this body, sinning left, right and centre and causing scandal at his every move. He is also wondering for what purpose he has been brought into this body and finds that he is dreaming about a demon, someone who is persuading an unknown monk to commit murders in God's name and who seems to be getting closer and closer to Dr Matthews in order to kill him too... Full review...
The Making of Modern Britain: From Queen Victoria to V.E. Day by Andrew Marr
This book, and the BBC TV series which complements it, must confirm Andrew Marr's status as one of the most entertaining and compulsive historian-cum-presenters working today. His previous project, on postwar Britain, was hard to fault, and anyone who enjoyed that will certainly relish this. Full review...
The Walrus and the Carpenter and Other Favourite Poems by Children's Trust
Celebrities, including Richard Hammond, Paul O'Grady, Sienna Miller, McFly and Lorraine Kelly, have chosen their favourite poems for this anthology. All proceeds from the book go to The Children's Trust. It's a fantastic charity, who help disabled children, and I urge you all to buy a copy of The Walrus and the Carpenter to support them. Full review...
I Drink Therefore I Am by Roger Scruton
Roger Scruton is a conservative philosopher and composer, best known for his work on philosophy and music, but who shares Plato's belief that 'nothing more excellent or valuable than wine was ever granted by the gods to man' and in this book seeks to combine his two interests of philosophy and the fruits of the vine. Full review...
The Darkening by Stephen M Irwin
This book has the 'S' word written all over it. No, not sex - supernatural. So, it's got all things a bit spooky, not-quite-right, strange coincidences. They are sprinkled throughout like rock salt. I must admit that when I read the blurb on the back cover with its supernatural theme, I gave an inward groan. Not really my cup of tea. But I'm open-minded and I'll read anything once. I'm glad I did. Irwin is Australian. For some reason I haven't read too many books by Australian authors, so I was keen to get reading. Full review...
The Head is Dead (Poppy Fields Murder Mystery) by Tanya Landman
Meet, once again, Poppy Fields. When tasked to create a murder mystery experience for a school fete she is only surprised to find the headmistress - a newly employed battleaxe that no-one seems to like - a real-life victim of an assassin. And there is only a school field full of suspects. Can she and her best friend, brainbox George, solve the day and make the staff room a safer place to be? And where does the invisible sheepdog come in?! Full review...
The Rough Guide to Tuscany and Umbria by Jonathan Buckley, Mark Ellingham and Tim Jepson
There's a general Rough Guide to Italy, but revisiting again this regional guide in the process of writing up our trip to Tuscany two years ago, I was reminded of how good indeed this particular Rough Guide is. I bought it because I wanted to supplement the general Rough Guide to Italy I had with more detailed coverage of the region in which we were going to spend the whole trip - and I was extremely happy with the result. Full review...
Wasted: Why Education Isn't Educating by Frank Furedi
It seems the more problems the school-aged generation pose to society, the more responsibility schools have to take, teaching not simply English and Maths, but Personal Thinking and Learning Skills, Happiness Classes, and Emotional Education. The duty to raise a child well is taken out of the apparently 'incompetent' hands of parents, and given over to the education system, where values can be regulated and controlled. Full review...
Flirt Diva - For Women Who Want to be Bold and Sassy and have a Fabulous Life! by Susan Ostler
There are lots of timetabled books on the market, that promise to transform everything from your employability to the size of your thighs in a certain number of weeks, if you commit to their programme, and this book is really just another one to add to the 'scheduled self-improvement' pile. Except we're not talking here about dropping a dress size in time for Christmas, or sailing through that oh-so-important interview to land the job of your dreams...for this book is a 6 week guide to Getting Loved Up that promises to put its participants (and as you'll learn, you're more than a mere reader with this title) on the fast track to romance. Gosh. Full review...
The Kites are Flying by Michael Morpurgo
Said lives on the West Bank. He herds his family's sheep, spends a lot of time talking in his head to his absent brother Mahmoud, and he makes a great many kites, which he sends across the wall to the girl in the blue headscarf who lives in the occupiers' settlements. What Said doesn't do, is talk out loud, even to his new friend Mister Max. Max is a Western journalist who wants to make a documentary about how the Palestinian/Israeli conflict affects ordinary people on both sides of the wall. Max is entranced by Said, and his dozens of kites, all bearing the message salaam or peace. He can see that Said has a dream, but he's not sure what it is. Will the dream come true before Max has to leave? Full review...
Dying to be Famous (Poppy Fields Murder Mystery) by Tanya Landman
Meet Poppy Fields - an inquisitive young lass, keen on exploring her world - in a slightly different way to her geeky, walking-encyclopaedia of a best friend, Graham. So keen is she to explore the phenomenon that is the latest seen-everywhere, snapped-at-all-hours celebrity, she makes the pair of them go to audition for bit parts in the Christmas production of The Wizard of Oz the star is starting to rehearse. Unfortunately for her, she apparently hasn't noticed she's in the third book in a series of young reader murder mysteries, and deaths more unexpected than having a house land on you might just be on the playbill... Full review...
Mma Ramotswe's Cookbook by Stuart Brown
I expect there will be a few people who spot this book on the shelves and wonder who Mma Ramotswe is, but Alexander McCall Smith's legion of fans certainly won't be amongst them. This cookbook is a nice tie-in to the books, written with a foreword from AMS himself, and full of flavoursome recipes that are spoken of in his series of books about Mma Ramotswe and her Number One Ladies Detective Agency. Illustrated with beautiful photography, lots of quotes from the books, and lots of information about Botswana's rich variety of food it's a wonderful mix of being both a cookery book, a reference book and a companion work to the Mma Ramostwe books. Full review...
The Book of the Alchemist by Adam Williams
The Book of the Alchemist is a story within a story. It opens in 1938 during the Spanish Civil War. Pinzon, a Spanish politician who resigns for moral reasons, is taken hostage by a group of Republican soldiers, along with his young Grandson. A group of villagers are also taken captive and locked in a cathedral as part of the soldiers' desperate plan to protect themselves from the Fascist forces that are hunting them. A cavernous mosque built inside the mountain under the cathedral's crypt is discovered, and in it, a book. As Pinzon reads the book, another story unfolds, set in the eleventh century. This is the story of Samuel the Jew. Full review...
Me and Orson Welles by Robert Kaplow
Richard Samuels sees everything in terms of a performance, through the rose-tinted lens of the theatrical celebrities he listens to on the radio. So when he stumbles onto the Broadway stage through a chance encounter with Orson Welles, it seems as if all his dreams may be about to come true. He goes from being the guy that all the girls see as a friend, one of the bookish kids at school, to the glamour of mingling with stars of the stage. We follow Richard's struggle to balance this newly discovered wonderland and his school life, not to mention his disapproving mother. Full review...
Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years by Michael Palin
Never meet your heroes, goes the old adage. Never read their diaries might be equally sage advice. That's probably why I didn't tackle Michael Palin's collected daily journals until now. Along with the rest of the Monty Python team, he was without doubt a hero of my teenage years. Full review...
Robert Crumb's Book of Genesis: All 50 Chapters by Robert Crumb
In the beginning was the picture. Just think of all the countless religious images, both inside and outside religious establishments, designed to convey the message to those who could not read. Art and religion have always been linked, which is probably one of the main reasons I stayed an atheist - I hated art at school, and drawing a man on a donkey, something way beyond my skills, was not a task I appreciated, hence my dislike of both subjects. Full review...
Animals by Keith Laidler
Animals is described as a visual guide to the animal kingdom, but please don't think of it as a picture book as it's far more than that. Don't think of it as a coffee table book either – despite the fact that its size – midway between A2 and A3 – might tempt you to think that way. It's a journey through the complex diversity of the animal kingdom based on sound scientific principles. Full review...
A To Z - The Best Children's Poetry From Agard To Zephaniah by Michael Rosen
Michael Rosen has picked the best modern children's poetry, from John Agard through to Benjamin Zephaniah. It stemmed from Rosen performing in schools and libraries with many of the poets, and as children's poetry anthologies go, it's amongst the very best. Full review...
The Man on the Moor by John Van der Kiste
In the summer of 1913 relations with Germany were deteriorating steadily, but there didn't seem to be any connection with the international situation when a London clerk, George Stephens, was found dead in a country lane on the edge of Dartmoor. The moor had been his passion and he'd always been keen to escape London and return to Devon. It was an odd death but in all probability it would have been put down as an accident if George's mother had not announced that George was the son of the Kaiser. Despite her fondness for gin the story she told was oddly compelling and when it was linked up with the fact that two German officers had been staying at a nearby farm George's death seemed less and less like an accident. Full review...
