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. We can even direct you to help for custom book reviews! Visit www.everychildareader.org to get free writing tips and www.genecaresearchreports.com will help you get your paper written for free.
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My Life from the Beginning by Violet Prater
Violet Prater is 83 and she's decided to tell us her story. She knows that there are grammar and spelling errors, but she wants to tell the story her way without any interference from an editor. I can understand that and I recognise the honesty behind her words. Her story's important because it illustrates that child abuse can extend beyond beatings and sexual abuse. Full review...
Press Out and Colour: Birds by Zoe Ingram
Ten beautiful birds which start life as detailed line illustrations by Zoe Ingram are then coloured in by anyone of any age who is capable of having reasonable control of a felt-tip pen or a crayon. You've got to remember to do both the back and the front and whilst it would be nice if they matched it's in no way essential. If you're skillful, so much the better, but the designs are decorated with foil which catches the light and gives that sheen which you see on the edges of birds' feathers. When you've finished colouring you gently press the pieces out from the page. I experimented with pressing them out first and then colouring, but the pieces were easier to colour actually in the page. Full review...
Alpha by Bessora, Barroux and Sarah Ardizzone (translator)
It felt like there was boiling water inside my head. To cool it down, I had to leave… Those words aren't spoken by Alpha, the narrator of this graphic novel, but they might have been. Living in Abidjan, on the south coast of Cote d'Ivoire in Africa, he is determined to get out to go to Paris, and a relative's hair salon and a much better life. It's not just the boiling water that is causing him to jump out the frying pan into the unknown fire, but the fact that his wife and son went already, and he's trying to follow in their footsteps. Your feet become your head. Your body obeys them he observes at one point during the ordeal – but there are people smugglers galore, and blind chance to also obey along the way… Full review...
The Sands of Shark Island by Alexander McCall Smith and Iain McIntosh
The school ship Tobermory is off on another adventure! Well, I suppose really I should say it's open for another term of school, but this is a school unlike any other, so really, it is an adventure. Ben and Fee are back on board with their friends, and this time the ship is setting sail for the Caribbean. There are dangers to be faced along the way, and of course a band of pirates to be dealt with too! But in amongst the excitement are also issues recognisable to all children, such as bullying, forming friendships, and learning new things. Full review...
The Oldest Game by Sue Leger
Moving and eye-opening story of a Romanian woman trafficked into Amsterdam and forced to work as a prostitute. Sue Leger gives us all pause for thought here. Full review...
Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame by Mara Wilson
Mara Wilson has always felt a little young and a little out of place: as the only child on a film set full of adults, the first daughter in a house full of boys, the sole clinically depressed member of a cheerleading squad, a valley girl in New York and a neurotic in California, and an adult the world still remembers as a little girl. Tackling everything from how she first learned about sex on the set of Melrose Place, to losing her mother at a young age, to getting her first kiss (or was it kisses?) on a celebrity canoe trip, to not being cute enough to make it in Hollywood, these essays tell the story of one young woman's journey from accidental fame to relative obscurity, but also illuminate a universal struggle: learning to accept yourself, and figuring out who you are and where you belong. Full review...
The Ballroom by Anna Hope
Ella Fay does not know how a simple impulsive act landed her in the strict confines of a Yorkshire asylum. She does not know the stories of the other women there, or why the strange doctor plays them the piano, or where the patients go before they are never seen again. But there are two things she does know: she is not insane, and she will never stop struggling for freedom. Her spirit of escape ignites a spark of life within fellow patient John Mulligan, and a courtship flares into being as the couple are thrown together weekly in the ballroom for the Friday night dance. Yet with the odds stacked against them, and hope as fragile as the eggshells on which they have to tread, they find themselves in equal fear of what it is they are running away from, and what it is they are running towards. Full review...
The Watcher of Dead Time (Relic Guild 3) by Edward Cox
The Genii are winning and the Relic Guild is gradually being eradicated. Clara the changeling survives to fight but for how long? The trauma of what she's been through is taking its toll. However she's still Relic Guild so the fight goes on. Meanwhile elsewhere Samuel leads the search for the Nephilim who may be the key to good triumphing, but that's not straightforward either. Full review...
Triple Crown by Felix Francis
You couldn't say that Jeff Hinkley, a British Horseracing Authority investigator was having a midlife crisis, but now that he's not working as an undercover agent quite so much he's not getting the same satisfaction from the job. That was one of the reasons he was delighted to be seconded to the US Federal Anti-Corruption in Sports Agency where the Deputy Director is pretty sure that there's a mole in the organisation. Too many raids have been foiled by the target seeming to know what was going to happen and having the chance to clean up before the investigators arrived. There's not too much to keep Hinkley in the UK, apart from a sister with cancer who says that he should go. Full review...
Girl Detached by Manuela Salvi and Denise Muir (translator)
Manuela Salvi's books, including this one, have been banned in her native Italy. It is easy to see why when you consider the material in Girl Detached and the unflinching way she deals with pertinent issues facing vulnerable young girls. Full review...
The Little Pieces of You and Me by Vanessa Greene
Sometimes you know exactly what you want in life, can list it all quite easily. At the end of their first year of uni, Isla and Sophie make lists. Just one list each, but with a number of items on. Things they want to accomplish in their lives. Lofty goals and easier wins. Full review...
Playing FTSE by Penelope Jacobs
Melanie is something of a wunderkind, a graduate at an investment bank with brains to match her body. In a male dominated environment she's finding that one gets in the way of the other, but she's a smart girl and can learn to play this to her advantage. With her friend Jenny keen to lead her astray, Mel must learn the give and take of life in the City, and how far to push the limits to get ahead. Full review...
Death's Bright Angel (Matthew Quinton’s Journals 6) by J D Davies
Captain Sir Matthew Quinton of King Charles II's navy sets out for another day at work. He and his men are charged with helping to subdue the Dutch town of Westerschelling. It's only afterwards that the true consequences hit him, along with some other consequences that are and will be open to conjecture. For the year is 1666 and London is about to face a disaster that will be discussed and theorised over for centuries… Fire! Full review...
The House in Quill Court by Charlotte Betts
England 1813: When Venetia's father dies suddenly, Venetia receives a bigger shock than is customary on such occasions. The wonderful rural idyll and family life for Venetia, her mother and brother has been based on a lie. This means Venetia's family has to go to London to live with a half-sister and adopted brother she didn't know existed. No one is happy about it and now Venetia has to learn to live on her wits and her father's lessons in a position that not even her father had envisaged for her. Venetia's brother becomes more unruly among the temptations of the city while Captain Jack Chamberlaine, her father's step son, makes his annoyance at having Venetia around all too clear. But these will become the least of her worries… Full review...
The Cell: A Visual Tour of the Building Block of Life by Jack Challoner
I've always been mesmerised by micro-worlds and the fact that the tiniest things are made up of even smaller intricate parts. The first time I saw a picture of a human cell, I was fascinated by its complexity. The Cell is a visual marvel, filled with full-colour cell images taken by optical and electron microscopes, using phase contrast, fluorescence and dark-field illumination to colour and differentiate the individual components. The detailed text that accompanies each image explains how cells begin, reproduce, protect themselves and come together in extraordinary ways to create complex life. Full review...
Dodger of the Revolution by James Benmore
Once the undisputed 'Top Sawyer' and most artful of thieves, events have taken a sharp downturn for Dodger of late. His recent close brush with death has left him agitated and disturbed, seeking solace in the murky opium dens beneath the city. His dependence on the poppy has left him clumsy and shaky, no longer the light-fingered pickpocket he used to be. Even the local youths, who used to respect and emulate him, enjoy playing pranks on him and laughing behind his back. There is no doubt about it: Dodger is a mere shadow of his former self and at risk of becoming an opium fiend. Full review...
The Catchers by Stuart Kent
Twelve-year-old Jamie Ellebert is wandering along perfectly happily in his very normal twelve-year-old life, when a sprite suddenly appears in his bedroom. The sprite is followed by a door. Also suddenly appearing. Also in his bedroom. There's a knock at the door, so Jamie takes the sprite and opens it. Down a passage, Jamie finds an old man wearing a pointy hat who introduces himself, grandly, as Colin Gertrude Hillary Caterwhich, of the Magic and Mythical creature catchers department, of the Magical Ministry Teathorpe branch. Jamie is in Magictasium. After a brief magical interlude with Colin and Trixie, a teenage witch, Colin returns home... Full review...
The Snowman Strikes Back by Allan Plenderleith
It's not easy being a snowman, you know - particularly when you are made by Ernest Green-Bogle, who delights in tormenting you. Sometimes he'd make you upside down or looking like a pig (it's just plain undignified, you know). That's not the worst of it. He has been known to attack snowman with a hairdryer, feed his carrot nose to a rabbit and even encase him in a block of ice. The snow clown was not funny and the snow ice cream cone even less so. But one day everything changed when Ernest came home and there was a big boy with him. Ernest had a black eye and the big boy was threatening him. Full review...
Strange Victoriana: Tales of the Curious, the Weird and the Uncanny from Our Victorian Ancestors by Jan Bondeson
The Victorians, not surprisingly, had their own tabloid press. The most successful title of this nature was the 'Illustrated Police News', a weekly journal first published in 1864 and lasting seventy-four years. Not to be confused with the more upmarket 'Illustrated London News', its main stock-in-trade was weird, far-fetched and not always entirely genuine stories from Victorian life, generally in Britain but sometimes in Europe as well. This book is based on a recently-discovered archive of the paper. Prepare to be amazed, enthralled, sometimes horrified – and occasionally disbelieving. Full review...
Pushing Up Daisies (Agatha Raisin) by M C Beaton
'Allotments' sound as though they should be a haven of peace and tranquility, but it's surprising how often the reverse proves to be the case. The villagers of Carsley are up in arms because Lord Bellington has said that he's going to sell off the allotments for a new housing development. When he turns up dead, poisoned by antifreeze, no one is particularly sorry - and there's no shortage of suspects either. Lord Bellington's son, Damian, employs Agatha Raisin and her detective agency to discover who murdered his father. Full review...
Little Monster and the Spooky Party by Nick Sharratt and Pippa Goodhart
There are spooky things happening in the world of books for children that can only mean one thing; Halloween is around the corner. There are books for Christmas, Easter and the August Bank Holiday, so why not some for the scary holiday? After all, themes such as ghosts and skeletons are far easier to write about than traffic jams on the M6 and spending time with your in-laws. One little monster has been invited to the type of spooky party that may just entertain your own little monster. Full review...
How I Became a Drifter by Christmas Philip
Fictionalised autobiography told in a stream-of-consciousness style. An unconventional voice speaking of the universal search for love and acceptance. Full review...
100 Simple Paper Flowers by Kelsey Elam
100 Simple Paper Flowers is an easy-to-follow guide to creating impressive floral artworks that could almost be mistaken for the real thing. Whether it is a craft project, something to brighten up a room, or a full-on display for a big event, the book has plenty of styles and designs to fit the occasion. And unlike real flowers, your paper creations will never die. Full review...
Mr Gandy's Grand Tour by Alan Titchmarsh
Timothy Gandy lost his wife unexpectedly. One minute she was reaching up for the perfect serve and the next she was lying dead of a massive heart attack on the tennis court. It hadn't been the perfect marriage: the two had little in common, but Tim had stayed with his wife firstly for the sake of the children, then eventually for Isobel's sake and eventually because he realised that he would feel guilty if he left her. After the shock of her death came the realisation that he was 55, retired and could now do what he liked. And that was where the idea of the grand tour came from. He was going to take a leisurely trip around the cultural sights of western Europe and indulge himself. Full review...
The Crime and the Silence by Anna Bikont
Where was your father? Where was your brother, your mother, your uncle? These are the questions Anna Bikont struggles to ask during her investigation into a shocking act of violence committed against the Jewish community in Jedwabne during the summer of 1941. The Crime and the Silence weaves together journals, interviews and pictures to share the story of a community torn apart by hatred and intolerance. It is also a moving testament to the dedication of Bikont, who documents her struggle to find the truth with grace and dignity in the face of silence, rationalisation, and even anger, from members of the Polish community who would rather not stir up the crimes of the past. Full review...
50 Games to Play With Your Cat by Jackie Strachan
Cats love to play. It is written in their DNA. From kittenhood onward, an innate curiosity about the world around them spurs cats to view everything as a potential plaything. For cats, the desire to play helps them to hone their hunting skills. For cat owners, it provides an opportunity to bond with a much-loved pet and create special moments that are entertaining to both cat and human alike. If you are stuck for ideas for games to play with your cat, or would simply like to try something new, then 50 Games To Play With Your Cat provides plenty of inspiration. Full review...
An Eagle in the Snow by Michael Morpurgo
It's 1940 and Barney and his mum are on the train out of Coventry. They're escaping to the country having lost everything in the city's bombing. Sadly trouble seems to follow them and their train is attacked by German fighter planes. The train manages to find shelter in a tunnel but that only makes matters worse for young Barney because he's terrified of the dark. Luck is, however, finally on their side and the stranger in their carriage is able to provide a much needed distraction. The stranger tells the story of a young solider in World War One, including the moment when he could have prevented the Second World War. Full review...
