Book Reviews From The Bookbag
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.
There are currently 16,117 reviews at TheBookbag.
Want to find out more about us?
New Reviews
Read new reviews by genre.
Read new features.
Diary Of Dorkius Maximus In Egypt by Tim Collins
Having enjoyed the first book in this series we were quite keen to try the sequel. Although this is part of what I hope will be a very long series, it is not necessary to have read the first book to enjoy this one. This book sees Dorkius Maximus rewarded for his activities by being asked to accompany Caesar on an important visit to Egypt. Ceasar hopes young Dorkius may be able to help negotiate a deal with the odious King Ptolemy, who happens to be about the same age as our hero. Full review...
Apocalypse Now Now by Charlie Human
Baxter Zevcenko is a sixteen year old student in South Africa who believes everything in life is business related and for the sole purpose of increasing his own power. Baxter deals porn at his school and is the leader of a gang of misfits who have carved a niche within the school’s hierarchy out of the student populations need for smut. The group is called the Spider and Baxter believes himself to be the arachnid at the centre of an impressive web with the ability to manipulate and scheme his way to power and riches. His heroes are Rasputin and Machiavelli and we are made aware very early on that as well as being a despicable power hungry megalomaniac he is also quite possibly insane. Full review...
The Last Winter of Dani Lancing by P D Viner
There’s no good way to deal with the death of a child. When Dani Lancing is killed her parents react in different ways, but neither way is particularly helpful or healthy. And of course neither way will bring their daughter back. It’s now 20 years later and the mystery of whodunnit is still looming over Jim and Patty’s heads, though they’re no longer together. The murder of a child will do that to a marriage. Full review...
Counting Sheep: A Bedtime Adventure! by Kathryn Cave and Chris Riddell
Tom is supposed to be asleep. He’s been tucked up in bed for ages, so long in fact that it’s now mum and dad’s time to go to sleep, but he’s still wide awake. Just count some sheep, his mum says finally. But what should be a calming, boring, wind down activity that would put any sane person to sleep does not work for Tom. Because when the sheep come, they steal him off for a bedtime adventure. Full review...
The Crooked Timber Of Humanity by Isaiah Berlin
The Crooked Timber of Humanity is a collection of essays by philosopher Isaiah Berlin, born in Riga, to, later in life, become an Oxford student and one of the institution's more notable alumni, continuing to influence the university by, among other things, cofounding Wolfson College. Altogether, the collection presents Berlin's observations of Western thought. The history of morals in the West was of particular interest to Berlin, as well as how these morals informed the more obvious changes in philosophy, literature, culture and much more. Full review...
A Very British Murder: the Story of a National Obsession by Lucy Worsley
The British are an illogical race. Short of genocide, murder is the worst, most shocking crime an individual can commit, yet it has become a kind of commodity which over the last years has been endlessly packaged as a mass market entertainment industry. We buy newspapers and magazines with blow-by-blow accounts of dreadful true life cases, we read thrillers, watch TV drama series and documentaries, and we can take part in murder mystery evenings and weekends at pubs and hotels. Full review...
The Night Flower by Sarah Stovell
Fourteen-year-old Miriam Booth is a Romany gypsy from the Newcastle slums who, like the titular waif in Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist, is an orphan who lives by her wits but becomes drawn into a ring of house-breaking crime. In 1842 she is caught and sentenced to seven years' transportation to a convict colony in Australia. Full review...
Chosen by Benedict Jacka
Alex Verus, seer and London magic shop owner, has had a year of crowded uncomplication since we last caught up with him. Crowded because he now shares his small flat with unqualified but adept mages Anne and Variam as well as his apprentice Luna. Uncomplicated because his biggest problem seems to be progressing Luna's training and finding someone to pick up Anne and Variam's apprenticeship; not huge when his normal kind are a matter of life or death. However all is about to change. You remember that way back in his youth Alex worked for a dark mage? Well he was hoping to forget that. Was? Yes, past tense, for now Alex's past has invaded his present and is in danger of curtailing his future. Full review...
Bad Little Falls by Paul Doiron
Bad Little Falls, set in the wilds of rural Maine in midwinter, shows the unravelling mystery of a man stumbling out of a blizzard to the front door of an unsuspecting elderly couple. The man is frozen half to death and soon begins raving about a friend lost in the storm, which quickly causes a frenzied rescue mission. Soon Mike Bowditch, a game warden and Doiron’s protagonist, uncovers the missing man under a snow drift, turning the hunt into a murder investigation. Whilst this initially powerful mystery becomes gradually overshadowed by Doiron’s portrayal of Bowditch’s love interest, and at least one too many descriptions of her anatomy, it is still an interesting and baffling mystery to be unravelled. Full review...
Out of Print: Newspapers, Journalism and the Business of News in the Digital Age by George Brock
At about the turn of the century most people on the street where I live had a morning paper delivered and a good number also got an evening paper. The queue at the newsagent in the village would be out of the door each morning as people picked up a paper on their way to work. I can't remember when I last saw a newspaper boy (or girl) on their rounds and we only buy the weekend papers as an indulgence with a more leisurely breakfast. Times have changed - and there's no sign that the situation is likely to settle in the near future. Full review...
Mr Lynch's Holiday by Catherine O'Flynn
Having read and enjoyed both of her previous novels, What Was Lost and The News Where You Are I was looking forward to this latest book. The story tells us of a father who surprises his son, living in Spain, with a visit. The father is recently widowed and the son's long-term partner has very recently left him, although it's some time before he admits that to his dad. What begins as a holiday turns into something of a pschological rescue mission as Dermot begins to see the problems depressing Eamonn and the ways in which he might be able to help. There's a lot about familial relationships in the book, as well as ideas about living at home and abroad. Full review...
Too Many Hats (My First Reader) by Hilda Offen
It can be difficult, sometimes, to find a good story that an emerging reader can try to read themselves. I know some of the books my daughter has brought home from school to read have had the most boring plots ever! This is an example of a good early reader however. It's a funny story about princesses and hats and a cat. Full review...
Bob the Bursting Bear by Michael Rosen and Tony Ross
I knew from the title this would be a good book. All that alliteration couldn't be for nothing, surely? Then I saw the cover, with a delightful bear wearing round wire-rimmed glasses and an oversized bowtie. 'Better and better,' I thought to myself. And you'll be relieved to hear that the story does not disappoint. This is one of my favourite books this year, and I have read it repeatedly with both my six year old and my one year old, both of whom enjoy it in different ways! Full review...
Tempting Fate by Jane Green
Sometimes people make mistakes. It only takes a moment to do something wrong and if you’re lucky, it only takes a moment to put it right. Or it can take months or years. Some mistakes you just have to live with, forever. Gabby has made one of those mistakes. The sort you can never really come back from. Full review...
Looking for Bear by Holly Webb
Young siblings Ben and Cassie have just moved into a new house with their dad. Their new world is exciting to explore, but they wish that dad wasn’t so busy all of the time. They have lots of things that they want to tell him, like how Ben is being excluded by his friends at school, how they discovered that the new builders are actually pirates, how Ben designed his own football comic strip and best of all, how they both discovered a bear living at the bottom of the garden... Full review...
Breaking the Spell: Stories of Magic and Mystery from Scotland by Lari Don and Cate James
I love folk tales and fairy tales and have a vast collection from many countries and cultures. Finding ones from Britain however is surprisingly difficult. I must have at least ten Asian folktales for every British one I own. Of course we love learning about other cultures, but children should learn about their own heritage as well. While we live in Northern Ireland, the cultures of Northern Ireland and Scotland have intertwined from the first human settlements in Scotland. In fact I would argue very strenuously that one of these stories is Northern Irish, originating in the Tain Bo Cuailnge, but in fact, many of these stories are told in more than one place, and I do feel that the stories of Scotland reflect a part of our heritage as well. Whether you live in Scotland, or simply have an interest in the heritage of this country, this book would make an excellent addition to a child's book shelf, and should be required reading within the Scottish schools. Full review...
The Skull in the Woods by Sandra Greaves
Dartmoor wasn't exactly Matt's first choice as a place to spend his school holidays. He barely knows his Uncle or cousins, and there was obviously some bad blood between members of the family. But his father was away for the summer, as were most of his friends and he couldn't stand another day in the house with his mother's new boyfriend, especially as their relationship was dashing any hopes Matt might have held of his parents ever reuniting. But whatever the trouble may have been between Matt's mother and his now dead Aunt Rose, his Uncle Jack has welcomed Matt into his home and treated the boy with all the kindness one might expect for a prodigal son. His youngest cousin Kitty seems delighted to have a new member of the family to play with as well, but Tilda, who is near his own age can't stand him and is determined to have this interloping city dweller out of the way as quickly as possible. Matt treats Tilda with same contempt, with the two children carrying on where their feuding parents left off. Full review...
Goth Girl: and the Ghost of a Mouse by Chris Riddell
It all starts with 'sigh, soft and sad and ending in a little squeak'. But while some mice can end up roaring, so this book soon escalates from just meeting the ghost of a dead mouse to something much bigger. Through exploring the country pile Goth Girl Ada lives in with her father, alongside the ghost mouse, she finds an albatross, a Polar Explorer who might be a monster, and then a compact club of young people her age she had no idea existed. There's even more to be found after that, as Ada discovers how malevolent the party season's plans are going to get, with a nasty indoor hunt having some remarkable prey… Full review...
Top 10 For Boys 2014 by Paul Terry
OK, I'll admit – sometimes there comes a time when it would appear terribly easy to post a review of a book, when something so self-explanatory pops up that a description of it hardly seems necessary. And you can judge the contents of this book similarly easily too – it takes the Top Ten of Everything format developed by the late Russell Ash, and makes it funkier, smaller, more brashly colourful, and apparently, suitable for boys. There are unofficial, opinionated lists, and bits where kids can scribble their own content and ratings. But despite how easy it is to get a handle on the book, I do hereby solemnly swear etc that I read almost every word, and just as I should, even no longer being a boy I learned a lot. Full review...
The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer
Twins Alex and Connor Bailey have had it tough recently. Their father was killed in a tragic accident and their mother has to work all hours to make ends meet. They even lost their house, as the family could not afford to live there anymore. Things are not completely hopeless though. They have a wonderful grandmother who always seems to be there when they need her most and a special birthday gift from her is about to send them on an adventure that they will never forget: a trip to the enchanting Land of Stories. Full review...
Eminent Elizabethans by Piers Brendon
Eminent Elizabethans is in effect a descendant of the author’s Eminent Edwardians. The latter, a volume of short biographies of four British iconic figures of the early twentieth century, was in turn inspired by Lytton Strachey’s barbed 'Eminent Victorians', published in 1918, a debunking of four Victorian heroes whom the iconoclast Strachey wished to demonstrate had feet of clay. Full review...
The Waking World (The Future King) by Tom Huddleston
'Many tales have been told of the boy who became our greatest king. Very few have spoken of the future...'
Aran is the son of one of the Island's wealthiest Laws. He lives in the underground farmstead of Hawk's Cross. He wants for nothing. But Aran is not entirely happy. Rumours are everywhere and the Island is under threat. Bands of fierce men known as Marauders are beginning to attack further and further inland, burning homes and taking slaves. Aran wants to join the fight against them but that task has been given to his older brother. Aran's future lies in overseeing the farmstead and it's not a future he wants. Full review...
Best Word Book Ever by Richard Scarry
Richard's Scarry's Best Word Book Ever was first published in 1963. Over the years it has had a few minor revamps. Some adults have applauded these as improvements to the original, and others have bemoaned the changes as pandering to political correctness. I for one like the inclusion of female characters in traditionally male jobs and, knowing the actual definition of squaw, I am more than happy to see it removed. Most of all I appreciate the inclusion of Hanukkah and a menorah under Holidays, as I believe this will keep some children from feeling that their culture is left out. Full review...
Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw
China is a booming economy for people in a position to take advantage; people like Gary the pop star who once won a talent show, Yinghui the lingerie magnate or her childhood friend and property developer Justin who feels the weight of his family's expectations. Then there's Phoebe, moving to Shanghai from the country on a promise and a belief that to attract success one must act as if one already has it. Life will bring them into each other's orbit but it won't leave any of them the same as when they started. Full review...
1912: The Year the World Discovered Antarctica by Chris Turney
If you read those products designed to make you a published author, one way to start according to so many of them is to look ahead for a pertinent anniversary, research or know your subject well, and write well in advance and as popularly as you can on whatever the subject is. Make no mistake, however – Chris Turney, even if he would appear to have followed that dictum to the last, is no chancer with the eye to the temporary relevance. Full review...
Do Dogs Dream?: Nearly Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know by Stanley Coren
If you love dogs this book is an absolute gem. It's not going to explain to you how to feed or train your dog. There's no advice on first aid or when you should seek advice from the vet. What you get are seventy two essays on subjects which dog lovers ponder on, each one just two or three pages long and written in terms which the layman can understand. I've opened the book at random and found 'Why Do Dogs Touch Noses?', 'Do Dogs Recognize Themselves in a Mirror?' and 'Why Do Puppies Sleep in a Pile?' There's nothing there that you absolutely have to know so that you can keep a dog as he should be kept but by the time that you've finished you will know him a lot better. Full review...
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
Subhash and Udayan Mitra are brothers growing up in an India growing into its post-independence status. Subhash goes along with Udayan's ideas but it's Udayan who's the radical, fighting against the injustices of an elitism that remains once the British have left India. Eventually they go their separate ways, one studying abroad to avoid conflict and the other becoming more deeply embroiled. Life can't go on like this forever and it doesn't but the reverberations seem to, affecting generation after generation as Subhash realises that the search for peace isn't always an external thing. Full review...
TransAtlantic by Colum McCann
In 1845 ex-slave, black American Frederick Douglass visits Ireland for a lecture tour about freedom and emancipation only to discover he's not preaching to the converted after all. In 1919 Alcock and Brown climb into a rickety aircraft to fly the Atlantic and land in Limerick. In 1994 Senator George Mitchell also travels to Ireland watched by a world that's about to see a miracle of negotiation. Meanwhile through it all Lily and her descendants are also there, not only watching history but living it on both sides of the Atlantic. Full review...
