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.
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The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Cassie Hobbes doesn't feel like an average teenager. Average teenagers don't lose their mothers to unsolved murders. Average teenagers can't profile other people within minutes of acquaintance. Average teenagers aren't headhunted by the FBI to train as specifically-talented crimefighters. Cassie Hobbes is special. Full review...
ZOM-B Baby by Darren Shan
WARNING! If you haven't read the first book in this series, STOP READING NOW! NOW! Spoilers ahoy!
Gone? Good.
The story so far Full review...
Horrid Henry's World Records by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross
My son chose this book because he does like Horrid Henry, and he especially loves books with facts. As a parent, I have tried to supply my children with a wide choice of reading material, but I have to admit, I have leaned more towards fiction than non fiction simply because I mistakenly assumed it would be more fun. Girls do tend to prefer fiction, so I based my choices upon my own childhood reading habits. But when my sons began to beg for books a bout real things, I saw the error of my ways. Full review...
The Reindeer Girl by Holly Webb
Lotta is enjoying the holiday of a lifetime: a Christmas family get-together with her Mormor, Morfar and Oldeforelde in Norway. Nestled cosily by the fireside, watching the candles flickering on the Christmas tree, Lotta cuddles up to her beloved Great-Grandmother and listens to her fascinating stories of life as a reindeer-herder. Lotta loves the stories and can almost imagine herself there. Almost... Full review...
Education Under Siege: Why There is a Better Alternative by Peter Mortimore
Peter Mortimore's thoroughgoing analysis of the absurdities of current educational practice and prescriptions for finding a far better alternative deserves a wide readership. It is not just an organisation which is under siege but as his personal anecdotes indicate, more vigorously than his rigorously argued statistics, people are suffering. Parents are anxious, teachers badly led and burdened with confused policies and worst of all pupils are pressurised from early infancy. Reading his book you might be forgiven for wondering a) why so many young students are being abused by such distress and b) as Cicero might have asked, Cui bono, to whose benefit? Professor Mortimore outlines the positive alternatives suggested by international comparisons especially with Scandinavian methods. He argues that their procedures are more effective, that support students and produce a fairer, harmonious society. Full review...
The Good House by Ann Leary
Hildy Good has reached a strange stage in her life. She's entering her seventh decade (that's one of the few phrases that make sixty feel good) and divorced. Most people - Hildy included - would have said that she had a lot of friends, but the reality is a little different. Her daughters had staged an intervention because they thought that her drinking had got out of control and after a period in rehab Hildy found social occasions a little difficult. Evenings spent at home - on her own - were no fun. Full review...
I Love You Father Christmas by Giles Andreae and Emma Dodd
This is a rather lovely letter to Santa style book, told entirely in verse. It starts off with the title words, I love you Father Christmas and works through why the gentleman in question rocks:
Your beard looks amazing
And yes, you’re rather fat
But you probably just like eating
And there’s nothing wrong with that
Full review...
How to Love by Katie Cotugno
Katie Cotugno's debut novel How to Love is, unsurprisingly, all about love. It has at its centre Reena and Sawyer, a gritty portrayal of first love. But it also has family love, friendship, and all those other kinds of loves. Full review...
The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher
Popular girl Ashlee is dead. They’re saying the father of her less-popular classmate Emily is responsible. She cannot accept this, cannot accept that her own father could do something like that, but all the evidence points that way. Emily can’t stop thinking about it. She starts investigating what really happened in the woods that night, but the more she uncovers, the more uneasy she feels. Could her father actually be the one who killed Ashlee? And should she stop digging before she unearths something really unpleasant? Full review...
The River Singers by Tom Moorhouse
There is a rumour spreading along the length of the Great River. It warns of a new danger that will threaten them all. But for now life continues as normal for Sylvan and his brother and sisters on the riverbank. But sometimes rumours can be true and one dreadful day Sylvan and the others have no choice but to abandon their burrow and go in search of a safe, new home. Together the family of young water voles embark on an epic journey along the river during which they will encounter many dangers and challenges but discover friendship too. Full review...
She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick
Laureth is used to her father's writerly obsessions and enthusiasms. She's accepted the fact that he will hare off across the world in search of some obscure information for a story, and the fact that he rarely asks her about herself and her life at school, preferring to lecture her instead about his latest theory. He even pays her to answer the fan mail on his website for him. And, like it or not, there's nothing she can do about the barely suppressed hostility that has grown in recent years between her parents. Full review...
Fishy Tales by Rob Scotton
Even cats have to go to school too, y’know? And Splat is no exception. Today they’re going on a school trip to the aquarium, though, which is a bit exciting if you’re a cat, even if your teacher (the fabulously named Mrs Wimpydimple) is very clear on the ground rules: look with your eyes, not with your hands. And absolutely no eating of the fish! Full review...
Gabriel's Clock by Hilton Pashley
Jonathan is the only child ever, in the whole of creation, to be born to one angelic and one demonic parent. Having lived his life thus far in ignorance of the fact it comes as a nasty shock when the Corvidae (the most unpleasant denizens of hell) attack his family and try to capture him. Badly injured and suddenly bereft of his father, he is deposited by his mother in the village of Hobbes End in the care of the former Archangel Gabriel (his paternal grandfather) before she heads off to petition Lucifer for protection from the Archdemon Belial. Whether or not she’s successful we never find out, but Belial and the Corvidae find Jonathan and will stop at nothing to turn him into the weapon they want him to be. What they haven’t quite reckoned on is the opposition from the residents of Hobbes End (which is itself sentient), where all the weird, the wonderful and the well-intentioned but outright dangerous find refuge. Not to mention Jonathan himself. Full review...
Premier League: A History in 10 Matches by Jim White
I go back to the days when the pinnacle of footballing achievement was to be in Division 1, but the stadia and the stands were downmarket. Standing - pushing, shoving and fighting - was the norm and it wasn't the place for a family outing. You could get into a match for less than a fiver and top footballers earned less than four times the average wage. All that changed in 1993 with the birth of the Premier League. This was the brainchild of - amongst others - Greg Dyke who saw the potential for turning football at the highest level into a business. Twenty one years on the top footballers earn more than thirty five times the average wage. Full review...
The Twistrose Key by Tone Almhjell
Lin and her family are living in a rented house in the city because Lin's mother has been given her dream job as professor of traditional songs at the university. Lin's novelist father doesn't mind: he can write and play at riddling in the city as well as anywhere. But Lin hates it. She misses the farm where she was brought up and she misses playing at troll-hunting with her friend Niklas. But most of all, she misses her pet vole, Rufus, who is buried under a rosebush. Full review...
Goat Mountain by David Vann
The eleven-year-old boy, his father, grandfather and Tom, a family friend, were on their annual hunting trip to the family's 640-acre ranch in northern California. Strictly the boy wasn't old enough to hunt but family lore said that this time he would be allowed to kill his first buck. On the way to their camp they spotted a poacher and the boy's father set up his rifle and loaded it - hoping that shooting the bolt would tell the poacher that he'd been spotted. The boy - we never know his name - was allowed to look through the rifle site, but he pulled the trigger. Nothing would ever be the same again. For any of them. Full review...
Simon Hopkinson Cooks by Simon Hopkinson
Simon Hopkinson loves to cook: it’s not just his profession but his passion and not a day goes by but that he cooks. I’m always nervous when I pick up books by professionals: so often they forget that the amateur cook rarely cooks for eight, ten or twelve people, but Hopkinson is wise. Most of his recipes are for four people - some you could divide or scale up if that was what you required - and they’re all designed on the basis that they’re going to be enjoyed by the family or a group of friends. So, what’s in the book? Meals - a dozen of them. Full review...
Wibbly Pig Picks a Pet by Mick Inkpen
Big Pig's sister's friend is choosing a pet, but Wibbly and Scruffy can't wait to meet. They imagine all sorts of pets she might choose. Could it be an elephant, a polar bear or a dinosaur? They think of all sorts of fun choices, while hoping she chooses anything at all except a rabbit. Rabbits are boring according to Wibbly and Scruffy - at least until they see one. Full review...
Home Sweet Horror Scary Tales 1 by James Preller and Iacopo Bruno
As far as Liam and his sister Kelly are concerned, things couldn't get any worse. Their mother died less than a year ago, and their father has decided they need a fresh start. He has packed them off to a falling-down house out in the country, away from all their friends. To make matters worse, no repair men will set foot in the house, the locals seem terrified of it, and one repairman even rings and warns them to get out. Not exactly the welcome they were looking for. At first only Liam can hear the strange voices or see messages left by an unseen hand such as mine, but when Kelly and her best friend try to call a spirit through the mirror - they get more than bargained for. Will anyone believe the children? Or will it be written off as homesickness? And even if their father does believe - will it be too late? Full review...
Over My Dead Body by Hazel McHaffie
The mother of a patient in dire need of a heart, and a pair of lungs, ceases to pray for the survival of her son for the following uncomfortable reason: 'Feels like you're asking for somebody else to die.' Though merely an extra in the main plot of McHaffie's Over My Dead Body, the situation of this mother quite successfully conveys just how complex the ethics of organ donation are. Full review...
Toucan Can by Juliette MacIver and Sarah Davis
If you’ve ever wondered what a toucan can do, this book will tell you. The answer, in a nutshell, is EVERYTHING!. Some are typical things – dancing and singing and sliding and swinging. Some are more random – banging a frying pan, doing the cancan. But they all look like a lot of fun, and the question remains: can you do what Toucan can? I bet, I bet, I bet you can! Full review...
Dead of Winter by Elizabeth Corley
Inspector Louise Nightingale is investigating a series of sexual attacks which are becoming increasingly violent. The latest victim is in hospital and Nightingale sees something of her younger self in the girl in the bed. Jenni has been sleeping rough. It's not her real name, but she's very insistent about the i. Superintendent Andrew Fenwick is brought in to investigate the disappearance of seventeen-year-old Isabel Mattias, the daughter of an artist and a rock star who died five years ago in a car crash. She disappeared from her exclusive boarding school, but has she run away or been abducted? Her friends seem unwilling to provide much information and even the teachers feel that respecting Issie's privacy is important. Full review...
The Complete Short Stories: Volume One by Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl’s name on a book has for me always meant I was in for a fun and imaginative read. His children’s books are the pinnacle of children’s literature and combine fantastic ideas with wordplay and some of the most amusing characters and situations. The stories for a younger audience always managed to thrill and entertain both adult and child and reading them aloud is a joy. In short I believe Roald Dahl was a true master of storytelling. I have however only actually read one of his adult books before reading this collection of short stories. Full review...
The Machines of Sex Research: Technology and the Politics of Identity, 1945-1985 by Donna J Drucker
I'll start bluntly – this is a very academic, specialised tome, and is not really for the curious reader to flick through. Given that, you probably can work out exactly what this book is like, and therefore move on from this review, but should you stay with me you'll find that if you didn't know much about sex research equipment then the subject might actually manage to fire a curious synapse and leave you with some interest. It is, after all, not a topic to be ignored easily – as I read and write about this book in September 2013 I'm weeks away from Channel 4 making one of the featured scientists a historical figure in a drama, which is only part of a season that controversially includes something like the science of fifty years ago – namely filming copulating couples. Conversely, if you did know something on the topic, this book will be on your shelves quite imminently. Full review...
Young Sherlock Holmes: Knife Edge by Andrew Lane
All Sherlock's deductive powers are called into play as he struggles to find out exactly what is happening in a remote castle on the coast of Galway. How did the servant die, and why did she lose her shoes? Is there really a Dark Beast roaming the local beaches and caves as the villagers claim? And more significantly for world peace, is the self-proclaimed psychic Ambrose Albano a fraud, or can he really find out, and thus reveal, the secrets of international espionage from those beyond the grave? Full review...
The Adventures of Shola by Bernardo Atxaga
You can approach Bernardo Atxaga, one of the most renowned Basque-language writers currently working, from two ways. Either start at the literate end, finding out if his voice is unique, his content exotic or universal enough for your tastes, and see if his Basque roots make him special in any way. Or you can just approach him as a wordsmith, and enjoy him enjoying himself, such as with these small children's stories put into this most handsome anthology. From the original, where the title character is spelled Xola, Atxaga has himself translated them into Spanish – even if the fourth is yet to appear there – and this is a fine English language version of all four tales. Full review...
Smart Read Easy by Margaret Henderson Smith
Reading has always been one of my great pleasures and it's one which has been passed down in my family. It's the key to so much: without an easy grasp of the skill employment opportunities are limited, there's always going to be social embarrassment lurking around the corner and there's the loss of so much fun and enjoyment. It's well over half a century since I learned to read and in that time I've seen numerous schemes for teaching children to read come and go, some discredited, some no longer fashionable. It's always struck me though that no one system will work for all children; reading will click for some using one method, some another and occasionally what's needed is a combination just to slot all the bits of the jigsaw into place. Full review...
Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? by Andrez Bergen
In search of entertainment, Jack crosses over from real world Melbourne to Heropa, where he becomes (dah daaah!) Southern Cross. However there's not much time for him to acclimatise to his new lycra-clad role or his super-power. As the new addition to The Equalizers he has work to do. The heroes of Heropa are starting to die in a totally unprecedented manner so Jack joins forces with the quartet starting with an 'e' (but with a symbol looking suspiciously like a 'z) in an attempt to restore law and order and to remain alive. For the rules have changed in this once-virtual world: death in Heropa now means death in real life too. in Heropa now means death in real life too. Full review...
The Garden of Burning Sand by Corban Addison
A little girl named Kuyeya is found in Lusaka, Zambia abused, deeply shocked and badly injured. American lawyer Zoe Fleming is over there when her friend and local police officer Joseph receives the call and so her involvement begins. She's determined to help Joseph track down Kuyeya's attacker but the trail takes some surprising turns through the underbelly of Zambia, alarming Zoe with the extent of the crusade she's taken on. Full review...
Great Britain's Great War by Jeremy Paxman
Throughout the nineteenth century, Britain was regularly at war with one or more overseas nation, be it France, Russia, South Africa or elsewhere. These conflicts generally passed the public by, except for families who had loved ones serving overseas. When the declaration of war against Germany was announced to the crowds in London in August 1914, it was assumed that once again most people would not be affected, and that it would probably be over by Christmas. This was proved wrong on both counts. A weary conflict dragged on for four long years, and nobody in Britain escaped from the long shadow which it cast. Full review...
The Manny by Holly Peterson
Jamie Whitfield is married to Phillip and has three children - although, if truth be told, she has four children, but shares a bed with one of them, who also happens to have a highly paid job. Well, most people would think that he has a highly-paid job, but Phillip is resentful that he's not one of the super-rich. Just nicely getting into seven figures is simply not enough. Living in New York's Grid is not enough - he wants one of the massive apartments. Jamie works too, but she's only a part-time television news producer, so obviously her needs - and rights - are going to be secondary. Full review...
