Difference between revisions of "Book Reviews From The Bookbag"

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'''Read [[:Category:Features|the latest features]].'''<!-- Remove -->
 
'''Read [[:Category:Features|the latest features]].'''<!-- Remove -->
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Lily Kunin
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|author= Miles Russell
|title=Good Clean Food: Plant-Based Recipes That Will Help You Look and Feel Your Best
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|title= Arthur and the Kings of Britain: The Historical Truth Behind the Myths
 +
|rating= 4.5
 +
|genre= History
 +
|summary= As the author of the Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), written in 1136, Geoffrey of Monmouth is commonly recognized as one of the first British historians. His book told – or is supposed to have told -  the story of the British monarchy during the Dark Ages, from the arrival of the Trojan Brutus, grandson of Aeneas, up to the seventh century AD when the Anglo-Saxons had taken control of Britain. Being virtually the only work of its kind at the time, it proved very influential, and became well-known throughout western Europe as one of the great works of medieval literature as the first retelling of the story of King Arthur, Lear and Cymbeline. Shakespeare was forever in his debt with regard to the two latter.
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1445662744</amazonuk>
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}}
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{{newreview
 +
|author=Denzil Meyrick
 +
|title=Well of the Winds (DCI Daley)
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Cookery
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|genre=Crime
|summary=Lily Kunin is a health coach and creator of [http://www.cleanfooddirtycity.com/ clean food dirty city site] and [https://www.instagram.com/cleanfooddirtycity/?hl=en instagram account]She'd always been a food lover but her attitude to the food she was eating changed when she began to suffer from migrainesA long (and bad) time later she tried avoiding gluten and her symptoms were alleviated within 48 hours.  From this she developed her food philosophy of seeing an intolerance to gluten as a creative opportunity.  I liked that she has ''a constant dialogue'' with her body rather than sticking to a restrictive regime.  That I can empathise with.
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|summary=It's not a happy time for DCI Jim Daley.  The woman he loved is dead - there are those who blame him for what happened - and his relationship with Liz, his ex wife, and his young son is deteriorating by the dayHe's finding solace in the bottom of a glass, whilst the man who used to do that all too often, his friend DS Brian Scott is off alcohol completely and has found exerciseThere's a new officer in charge at Kinloch - DS Carrie Simmington - and whilst she might look young, it's unlikely that she got to that position without having a core of steel.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1419723901</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846973724</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Ted Dewan
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|author= Nicole Dennis-Benn
|title=Something for Mummy (Bing)
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|title= Here Comes the Sun
 +
|rating= 4
 +
|genre= Literary Fiction
 +
|summary= You have to assume the team behind the cover sleeve for Nicole Dennis-Benn's debut novel Here Come's the Sun have a keen sense of irony. Either that or none of them read beyond the first page.
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178607124X</amazonuk>
 +
}}
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{{newreview <!-- remove 5/4 -->
 +
|author=W S Markendale
 +
|title=Owen Pendragon
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
|genre=For Sharing
+
|genre=Teens
|summary=Having a child gives you a glimpse into a world that you never knew even existed.  Unfortunately, this not a winter wonderland hidden in a wardrobe, but a world of children's TV charactersThe mainstays of the genre have still survived; Sooty, Noddy and Postman Pat, but who is RaRa or Mr Tumble? One popular show that takes some getting used to is Bing, a series all about a rabbit that seems to have a stuffed animal as a carerThere are seemingly no parents in the show as if the town is one giant crèche, so how come Bing and his helper Flop are making a gift for Mummy?
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|summary=Monsters are slipping through somehow from somewhere to kidnap children in Cornwall and the army seems powerless to do anything about it12-year-olds Owen and Mary assume they too are therefore powerless as they watch friends and neighbours disappear. Imagine their surprise when they realise that thanks to an ancient relative, they have more influence on what happens than they think and not just on what happens on EarthAnd their distant relative?  The former monarch and head of the round table, no less: King Arthur.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0008212015</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1524667579</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=John Preston
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|author=Jon Morris
|title=A Very English Scandal: Sex, Lies and a Murder Plot at the Heart of the Establishment
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|title=The Legion of Regrettable Supervillains: Oddball Criminals from Comic Book History
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=True Crime
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|genre=Graphic Novels
|summary=Jeremy Thorpe was the sort of person who was generally liked by othersHe was flamboyant and gregarious but could give the impression that meeting someone had made his day. He never seemed to forget a name and he was witty, charismatic and very charming. He appeared to be a decent man, with views with which I would have agreed on race, capital punishment and membership of the Common Market, as the European Union was then knownFor this was the nineteen sixties and Thorpe had entered Parliament at the age of thirty and by 1967 he would be party leaderOn the surface he was a man who had everything going for him.
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|summary=As much as I like comics – and I do, whether superhero ones or not – I have to admit one thing, namely that the villains in them are a bit pantsWhat is The Penguin but the world's worst Mafioso, with a hobby of waddling along like his pet birds? Where else do you win an Oscar of all things by playing a two-bit killer who just fell in a vat of random chemicals and changed colour, and got mardier as a result (although recently he's become a nanotech genius – but let's not go there)? And what is it with the gimp in the see-through plant pot because he is the embodiment of cold?  And that's just some of the better-known enemies of ''Batman'', one of the better goodiesYou can imagine how awful the baddies related to the bad goodies can be.  And if you can't, this is the perfect primer.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241973740</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1594749329</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author= Bill Nye and Gregory Mone
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|author= Stefan Mohamed
|title= Jack and the Geniuses 1: At the Bottom of the World
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|title= Stanly's Ghost: Book 3 (The Bitter Sixteen Trilogy)
|rating= 4.5
+
|rating= 5
|genre= Confident Readers
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|genre= Science Fiction
|summary=It's tough being a genius. There are few, if any, people you can talk about your interests to, and words like ''nerd'', ''geek'' and ''boffin'' get bandied around by folk who somehow think it's your fault your cleverness makes them feel a bit dim. But how does it feel to be the one surrounded by such geniuses all day every day? Fortunately, Jack is a resilient sort, and his common sense approach to life is going to be essential if he, Ava and Matt are going to survive their trip to Antarctica.  
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|summary= Cynical, solitary Stanly Bird used to be a fairly typical teenager – unless you count the fact that his best friend was a talking beagle named Daryl. Then came the superpowers. And the super powered allies. And the mysterious enemies. And the terrifying monsters. And the stunning revelations. And the apocalypse. Now he's not sure what he is. Or where he is. Or how exactly one is supposed to proceed after saving the world. All he knows is that his story isn't finished. Not quite yet …
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1419723030</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784630764</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author= Sherri Smith
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|author=Michelle Robinson and Emily Fox
|title= Follow Me Down
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|title=Monkey's Sandwich
|rating= 4
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|rating=4.5
|genre= Thrillers
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|genre=For Sharing
|summary= Mia is done with the small town she grew up in, but it only takes one phone call to bring her back. Her twin brother Lucas is missing and, worse still, has been implicated in the death of one of his students. Without him there to speak for himself it becomes her job to defend his reputation while trying to get to the bottom of everything that has gone on.
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|summary=Monkeys have been given the reputation of being cheeky, but do you also see them as petty thieves?  How can these cheerful chimps be seen as anything other than cute, but mischievous little monkeys?  Anyone who has driven through Knowsley Safari Park knows the truth.  A perfectly good car drives in the monkey enclosure only to be bereft of wing mirrors, hubcaps and windscreen wipers at the end. Rumour has it that the monkeys sell these parts wholesale at a lockup in South Kirby. The monkey in this tale may not be stealing car parts, but he is a little light fingered when it comes to making the ultimate lunch.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1785654047</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007580010</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author= Kate Beaufoy
+
|author=Yrsa Sigurdardottir and Victoria Cribb (translator)
|title= The Gingerbread House
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|title=The Legacy: Children's House Book 1
|rating= 4
+
|rating=4.5
|genre= General Fiction
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|genre=Thrillers
|summary=''The Gingerbread House'' is not a cottage from a fairytale where a wicked old witch lives but it is in a wonderful rural setting, perfect for getting away from it all. Or it would be, if it weren't for the lady who lives there who, while far from a witch, can be a bit of a b*tch. It's not entirely her fault. Eleanor has dementia and her fading mind makes her confused, angry and quite hard work to care for. With her current carer off to attend her daughter's wedding, Eleanor's daughter in law Tess steps up to assume this role in the interim, bringing her precocious daughter Katia with her.
+
|summary=What do you wish for in your murder mysteries?  An inventive death?  Well you couldn't go much further than the unusual murder by household device that Elisa suffers here.  She's a mother to a young family, whose husband was abroad at a conference.  Do you seek awkward, unusual and/or conflicted investigators?  Well, here we have a detective from the lower ranks, but the only one clean enough after post-financial crash investigations tainted all his superiors; and a woman who runs a home that investigates and recuperates child victims of sex abuse. She's here because the only witness to the murder was Elisa's very young daughter. And lo and behold, the two adults have history.  Do you require taunting clues as to why this crime will be repeated?  You can't do much better than the messages in numerals received by other characters and their untold threat. So it's tick, tick, tick – but what of the question marks left by the prologue, where another young family of children was separated as a best case scenario by the adoption agencies after a different nasty event in the past?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1785300865</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1473621526</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Dinah Jefferies
+
|author=Charlotte Guillain and Yuval Zommer
|title=Before the Rains
+
|title=The Street Beneath My Feet
|rating=4.5
+
|rating=5
|genre=Historical Fiction
+
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Eliza has tragically punctuated childhood memories of India that have feed her desire to returnTherefore in 1930, following the death of her husband, when the British government commission her to photograph scenes of Indian life, she jumps at the chanceWhat she doesn't realise is that not everyone she comes across is delighted with the ideaLiving within the Sultana's opulent palace complex is definitely an attraction for her, as is Jay, an Indian price who shows Eliza the real India.  However, attractions are sometimes dangerous and even deadly.
+
|summary=It's one thing for a non-fiction book for the young to show them something they themselves can explore – the pattern of the stars, perhaps, or the life in their back yard.  But when it gets to things that are equally important to know about but are impossible to see in real life, why, then the game is changedThe artistic imagination has to be key, in portraying the invisible, and presenting what can only come from the pages of a book.  And this example does it at its best, as it delves into the layers of the soil below said back yard, down and down, through all the different kinds of rock, until we reach the unattainable centre of the planetAnd there's only one way to go from there – back out the other side, with yet more for us to be shownIt's a fantastic journey, then – and a quite fantastic volume.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241287081</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784937312</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Pam Jenoff
+
|author= Alice Feeney
|title=The Orphan's Tale
+
|title= Sometimes I Lie
|rating=4.5
+
|rating= 5
|genre=General Fiction
+
|genre= Thrillers
|summary=Herr Neuroff's circus has a secret: as well as a much needed wartime source of entertainment, it's also refuge to Jews escaping uncertain concentration camp fates.  One such person, Astrid, a trapeze and high wire artist, lives a precarious life in which her possible discovery would be more dangerous than her nightly act. She's an expert who has perfected her art over time and therefore resents Neuroff demanding she teach Noa, a non-circus family new comer, quickly.  There's a reason behind the circus owner's demand though.  Noa arrives at the circus endangered by an act of kindness: a Jewish baby she stole from a Nazi train before leaving the Netherlands.  It was a spur of the moment decision that will bind her to Astrid and their future, no matter how long… or short… a time that may be.
+
|summary= Christmas is barely over but Amber doesn't have much to celebrate. She's in a coma, trapped with an active mind but an inactive body, able to hear and understand but not respond to what is going on around her. And her mind's a little fuzzy on a few things too, like how she ended up there, who else was involved, and what it all means.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848455364</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0008225354</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Brian McClellan
+
|author= Polly Clark
|title=Sins of Empire
+
|title= Larchfield
|rating=5
+
|rating= 5
|genre=Fantasy
+
|genre= Literary Fiction
|summary=The fantasy genre is home to some of the best books that I have ever read, but also some of the worst.  The very nature of epic stories that span generations means that few fantasy books rock up under 400 pages and many are part of long running series or trilogies. When done badly, fantasy books are bloated and boring affairs that rattle of every cliché the genre has had to offer since Bilbo exited Bag End, but done well they can be brilliant. They can be ''Sins of Empire'' by Brian McClellan.
+
|summary=I It's early summer when a young poet, Dora Fielding, moves to Helensburgh on the west coast of Scotland and her hopes are first challenged. Newly married, pregnant, she's excited by the prospect of a life that combines family and creativity. She thinks she knows what being a person, a wife, a mother, means. She is soon shown that she is wrong. As the battle begins for her very sense of self, Dora comes to find the realities of small town life suffocating, and, eventually, terrifying; until she finds a way to escape reality altogether. Another poet, she discovers, lived in Helensburgh once. Wystan H. Auden, brilliant and awkward at 24, with his first book of poetry published, should be embarking on success and society in London. Instead, in 1930, fleeing a broken engagement, he takes a teaching post at Larchfield School for boys where he is mocked for his Englishness and suspected - rightly - of homosexuality. Yet in this repressed limbo Wystan will fall in love for the first time, even as he fights his deepest fears.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>035650929X</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1786481928</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Yuval Zommer
+
|author=Pippa Mattinson
|title=The Big Book of Beasts (Big Books)
+
|title=Choosing the Perfect Puppy
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
+
|genre=Pets
|summary=One of the many issues people have with the TV nature programme, such as [[Planet Earth II by Stephen Moss|Planet Earth II]], is the obvious one of all the blood and guts it features – yes, in amongst all the cutesy, comical animal life are creatures eating other creatures (normally the cutesy, comical ones, what's worse)You'll be pleased to know, however, that this book is very light on death and destructionYes, here are lions sharing some chunks of meat (while the females that caught and killed it sit and wait their turn), here are salmon seemingly willingly flying towards brown bears, and here is a red fox stashing a dead mouse while in a time of plenty, but there is so little to make this even a PG book – it will be perfect for the home shelf or that in a primary school.
+
|summary=If you have ever, for even a fleeting moment, thought about getting a puppy, you really ought to read this book.  Too many people are carried away in the heat of the moment and ''must'' have a particular breed and go ahead without any thought about the consequences.  They then have to live with the problems which ''might'' have been avoided for a decade or moreThe puppy and the adult dog also has to live with an owner who might not be able to accommodate his needs.  [[:Category:Pippa Mattinson|Pippa Mattinson]] is my go-to author on matters dog related: she talks senseShe doesn't try to talk you out of getting a particular breed or any puppy: she simply presents the facts and allows you to make your own decisions.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>050065106X</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1785034375</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Ulf Nilsson and Gitte Spee
+
|author=Matilda Woods
|title=A Case in Any Case
+
|title=The Boy, the Bird and the Coffin Maker
|rating=4
+
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Confident Readers
 
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=The [[Detective Gordon: The First Case by Ulf Nilsson and Gitte Spee|last time]] we saw the toad called Detective Gordon at work he had a mouse colleague in the forest police with him, and in fact the two were so close they often shared a bed in the old prison cells together.  But now Gordon has practically retired, and the mouse, Police Chief Buffy, is doing all the work herselfIt's quite scary work, too, when something horrid, nasty and slightly smelling of toad is rootling around the police station at nightBut when the two are together there's no stopping them, and any crime can be solved – which is probably a very good thing when not one but two of the forest babies go missing…
+
|summary=Alberto is a carpenter, the very best in the town of Allora.  But after the plague sweeps through the town, taking many of the citizens and Alberto's wife and children, he turns his skills away from furniture and toys to making coffinsWrapped in sadness, and waiting only for the plague to come and claim his life too, Alberto lives alone, keeping company with the dead who are delivered to his house to await their coffinOne day, however, he realises that he must have a living visitor, as food starts to go missing. He begins to leave scraps of food, to try and discover who his mystery thief is…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1776571096</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1407178695</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{newreview <!-- remove 30/3 -->
|author=Kenneth Oppel and Jon Klassen
+
|author= Mark Aylwin Thomas
|title=The Nest
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|title= Blades of Grass
|rating=5
+
|rating= 4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
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|genre= Biography
|summary=Steven can narrate this book to us, but he can hardly ever mention the name of his newborn baby brotherThat's not down to a fault with Steven, although there are many of those – obsessive hand-washing, nightmares, anxiety attacks.  It's because there's something wrong with the new addition to the familyHis parents mutter behind closed bedroom doors of regretting trying for a new child so late in life, but whatever the reason there is something demanding a lot of medical care and attention, even if the child can more or less live in the family home.  But hope seems to be shining a light into Steven from the most unlikely source angels that come to visit him in his dreams, from within a pleasant, light-filled haven, with full knowledge of the family's troubles and an offer of a way outObviously, worried for the happiness of his family, and knowing this is just a dream, Steven will only say yes to the offer of help…
+
|summary= Any book that has me in tears at the end has been worth my timeAny book that has me hoping it will end differently to the way I know it must is worth the readingAny book that convinces me that maybe there is still hope in the world – that for all the mistakes made thus far, still being made right now, there is a common humanity which ultimately, eventually, must do some good – that is worth the writing and the reading and the timeBlades of Grass is one such book.  It's a forgotten story, an unknown story to most people.  It is one that should be told – and reflected upon.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1910200875</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1524676969</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Aino-Maija Metsola
+
|author= Lucy Jones
|title=My First Animals
+
|title= Foxes Unearthed: A Story of Love and Loathing in Modern Britain
|rating=4
+
|rating= 4
|genre=For Sharing
+
|genre= Animals and Wildlife
|summary=Get used to two simple words if you have a child, ''What's That?''  You will hear it over and over and over again. If you are lucky they are pointing at something that you actually know – chair, hat, my sense of regret.  Sometimes they will point at something that is not too familiar. Here the parental practise of making something up comes into play – it's a bird type thing. Books that show images of items, colours or animals may seem a little dull to an adult, but to a toddler learning about the world they are a who's who of what's that.
+
|summary=As one of the largest predators left in Britain, the fox is captivating: a comfortably familiar figure in our country landscapes; an intriguing flash of bright-eyed wildness in our towns. Yet no other animal attracts such controversy, has provoked more column inches or been so ambiguously woven into our culture over centuries, perceived variously as a beautiful animal, a cunning rogue, a vicious pest and a worthy foe. As well as being the most ubiquitous of wild animals, it is also the least understood. Here Lucy Jones investigates the truth about foxes – delving into fact, fiction, folklore and her own history with the creatures. Discussing the debate on foxes, Jones asks what our attitudes towards foxes says about us, and our relationship with the natural world.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847809677</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783963042</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{newreview <!-- remove 29/3 -->
|author= Quentin Blake
+
|author=Steven Anthony
|title= The Story of the Dancing Frog
+
|title=Isaac Montgomery for the Love of Beth
|rating= 4.5
+
|rating=3
|genre= Dyslexia Friendly
+
|genre=General Fiction
|summary= When Jo's Great Aunt Gertrude's sea captain husband is drowned at sea she is grief-stricken and, in despair, she goes for a walk alone. During this walk she notices a small frog on a lily-padBut he is no ordinary frog - he's a dancing frog and the two quickly become good friends. Soon the duo are touring the world with their routine, spreading joy and fun - and carrying out the occasional rescue - wherever they go.
+
|summary=There are words to describe the Isaac Montgomery we meet at the beginning of the story.  Unfortunately they're not words you usually use in polite company.  He'd worked for many years in stockbroking and had made a substantial fortune, but his life was devoid of much in the way of personal relationships.  When he required a woman as an escort, he paid.  He assumed that if he was having a good time, then she was too - if he even bothered to think about itHe had a friend whom he didn't see all that often and it was when he thought about Phil that a little ''jealousy'' crept into Isaac's heart. You see, Phil was engaged to Penelope and they were obviously happy.  Isaac began to wonder what love was - and how you went about finding someone to share your life with.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781125910</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>152466815X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Otto de Kat and Laura Watkinson (translator)
+
|author=Martin Edwards (editor)
|title=The Longest Night
+
|title= Miraculous Mysteries (British Library Crime Classics)
|rating=3.5
+
|rating= 5
|genre=Literary Fiction
+
|genre= Crime
|summary=Emma has a philosophy – ''let the dead rest, and love the living''.  The problem with that, as a 96-year-old, is that there are too few living left, and so while the love remains she will go through her memories, taking a woozy, diaphanous path through all the major events of her life. Starting in wartime Berlin with one husband, who gets snatched from her at work, fleeing to another place to wait for peace, and wait for him in vain, moving to Holland and finding new love, and so on – this wispy journey will show all the impacts of war, from rationing right up to exile, death and survival. The memories are coming strongly here and now, as Emma is waiting for at least one of her two sons to visit, and then she will die…
+
|summary=Consider the following scenario: a policeman hears someone screaming and runs to a house on a particular street, number 13, from where the noise is emanating. When he peeps through the letterbox he discovers a dead man in the hallway with a knife in his throat. He goes to fetch help, but upon returning, finds that the street does not have a number 13 and that the body and the room he saw have both mysteriously vanished...
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857056085</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0712356738</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Andrea Beaty and David Roberts
+
|author=Brian Moses
|title=Rosie Revere's Big Project Book for Bold Engineers
+
|title=Lost Magic: The Very Best of Brian Moses
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
+
|genre=Children's Rhymes and Verse
|summary=For a long time now, people have worried about females taking up STEM subjects – the sciences, engineering and suchlike.  But I know of at least two sources of role models in that regard.  One, most obviously, is ''Star Wars'' – let's face it, the latest main film had a girl who scavenged parts but could fly the ''Millennium Falcon'' with ease, and the likes of [[Star Wars: Ahsoka by E K Johnston|Ahsoka]] is adept at mending some sort of flying farming machinesIf you don't wish to go too fantastical, or are seeking role models for the younger audience, there is the output of [[:Category:Andrea Beaty and David Roberts|Andrea Beaty]].
+
|summary=For a poet with the very memorable name of [[:Category:Brian Moses|Moses]], I have to admit never having come across it before, nor having knowingly read any of his worksThis collection was the perfect place for me to come late to the party, as it takes the author's own favourites from several previous anthologies of his, and adds new verses.  I read them with very little clue as to which was which – and certainly couldn't tell having finished the book.  There is a lot here that will grab the young schoolchild, but the topics cover so much there really will be a universal appeal, meaning that a lot of people will have a definite favourite from these pages, even if the author himself cannot decide…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1419719106</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1509838767</amazonuk>
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Irvine Welsh
 
|title= The Blade Artist
 
|rating= 5
 
|genre= Crime
 
|summary=So. In the interest of honest disclosure I should tell you that I love Irvine Welsh's work and I must confess to a particularly gruesome fancy for Begbie, the notoriously violent, terrifying protector/tormentor of the Trainspotting gang. Whilst this means you are unlikely to receive an unbiased review, it does mean you will get a passionate one. It is fair to say that I loved ''The Blade Artist'' and my only critique would be that it was over too quickly. For those of you who may not be familiar with Welsh's earlier manifestations have no fear, you can pick up ''The Blade Artist'' and be transfixed by Jim Francis, artist, father, husband and elegant thug. For those of you with previous knowledge of Francis Begbie you'll be instantly drawn back into the world of a man previously defined by petty vengeance, violence and blood.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178470055X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Jonny Lambert
+
|author=Nina Laden
|title=Tiger Tiger
+
|title=The Night I Followed the Dog
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Until you spend a day hanging out with a child you will never know how exhausting it can beAs an adult you are used to peppering your day with little downtime treats; a cup of tea perhaps, a biscuits, or maybe even a cheeky nap? The kids I know have no end of energy and at best you will get a sip of cold coffee, have to give them most of the biscuit and a nap would consist of them jumping on your headHowever, although their enthusiasm and zest may be tiring, it is also infectious, just ask any old tiger you meet.
+
|summary=There's a Boy (who doesn't have a name) and a Dog (likewise) and in the beginning you get the feeling that the Boy would prefer to have next door's Dog who wins prizes in obedience classes and does clever things with the television remote controlThat is until one morning when Boy opens the door a little earlier than usual and spots Dog getting out of a limousine.  In a tuxedo. The he disappears into the back garden.  Boy's shocked but a few minutes later he goes to the back door and whistles for Dog, who comes dashing in, anxious to eatAt first Boy can't ''quite'' believe what he ''thinks'' he saw, so he determines to follow Dog the next night.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184869444X</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1452161348</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview <!-- remove 18/3 -->
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{{newreview
|author= Michael R Lane
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|author=Phil Earle
|title= UFOs and GOD: A Collection of Short Stories
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|title= SuperDad's Day Off
|rating= 4
+
|rating= 4.5
|genre= Short Stories
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|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=From stories of young people caught up in a Robin Hood style operation gone wrong, to a believer in God having her faith shaken by the arrival of aliens, author Michael R Lane has compiled a collection of fascinating and clever short stories here. From farm to urban, from World War II to the Digital Age, the places and times, people and events in ''UFOs and God'' spotlight the tender underbelly of the human condition in all its glory and despair on these varied stages of fiction.
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|summary= Stanley's dad is tired. It can be exhausting work being a Superhero. For six days of the week he saves the world from disasters and defeats the baddies as Dynamo Dan. Stanley decides his poor dad needs a day off and is determined to make sure that he gets a proper rest. So they head off to the park for some much needed Dad and Son bonding time. However people don't seem to understand that even Superheroes need time to recuperate. The requests for help keep on coming so what can poor Stanley do other than step in to save the day.  
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>163491712X</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781126844</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=DK
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|author= Andrew Cook
|title=What's Where on Earth? Atlas: The World as You've Never Seen It Before
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|title= The Murder of the Romanovs
|rating=4.5
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|rating= 4.5
|genre=Reference
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|genre= History
|summary=I dread to think how old the atlas we used when I was a child was, but at least we had one, and I didn't need to go to school or a library to check up on whatever bit of trivia I was seeking. I'm so old a lot of things about it now would be most redundant, but if you choose to risk your arm and buy an atlas for the family shelves that all generations will benefit from, as opposed to relying on electronic and updateable sources of information, then this is the one to have.
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|summary= The fate of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, his wife Alexandra and children, fuelled no end of rumour, misinformation and conspiracy theories for many years, even though the truth was known not long after the event. In the last few years, the advance of forensic science, DNA testing and the precise location of the bodies have allowed for confirmation of the exact truth and a dismissal of claims by a noted so-called surviving Grand Duchess. Even so, as Andrew Cook notes, straight after the deaths of the imperial family 'there would begin a ninety-year battle between science and superstition which is not over yet'.  
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241228379</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1445666278</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author= Sarah Bakewell
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|author= S L Grey
|title= At The Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being and Apricot Cocktails
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|title= The Apartment
|rating=4
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|rating= 4
|genre= Politics and Society
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|genre= Horror
|summary= You know that old saying about judging books by their cover?  Ignore it! I have found that by judging a book by its cover and getting it completely wrong is a great way to find yourself committed to reading a book that you'd never have picked in a million years and yet, somehow, being amazingly glad you did.
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|summary= Steph and Mark are in trouble. Mark is running from a grief he can't escape and Steph is anxiously juggling her joy at being a mother with her guilt at being a 'kept woman'. Add a brutal home invasion to the mix and you have a recipe for disaster. Desperate to save their once happy marriage the couple decide to take a romantic trip to Paris only to discover that some terror is inescapable and evil has a vice like grip.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099554887</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1447266560</amazonuk>
}}
 
{{newreview <!-- remove 16/3 -->
 
|author=Amanda Roberts
 
|title=The Roots of the Tree
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=General Fiction
 
|summary=The strength of a tree comes not from what you can see, not from the trunk, the branches and the leaves, but from what you can't see - the roots. Disturbance to the roots can be devastating.  It's similar in human beings.  Annie had lived for 63 years, secure in the love of her parents, Elsie and Frank.  She'd looked after them in her home in their final years and it was quite by chance that she came across their wedding certificate when she was sorting out their effects.  They had not been married until ''after'' her birth, but her birth certificate showed Frank as her father and that her mother was married to him.  Something didn't add up and there was one inescapable conclusion: the man she'd loved as her father all those years ''wasn't'' her father after all.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909716863</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Ian Graham and Stephen Biesty
+
|author=Zachary Leader
|title=Stephen Biesty's Trains
+
|title=The Life of Saul Bellow: To Fame and Fortune 1915-1964 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Art
+
|genre=Biography
|summary=Trains look imposing, but true fans (little boys, usually from about three years old and upwards) want to know what lies beneath the skin which you can see.  They want to know how it works.  Getting to grips with one in real life is quite a big ask, but the next best thing is ''Stephen Biesty's Trains'' which features trains from all over the world and spanning the early steam train (complete with cow catcher) right through to the trains of the future which can reach a speed of 430 kph and don't even run on rails. Once the train reaches a speed of 150 kph the wheels are raised and the train is held up by magnetic forces alone.
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|summary=At over eight hundred pages, 'The Life of Saul Bellow' is not a light book, but it is the most complete account of the life and work of America's most honoured literary figure. During the course of his life, a number of notable attempts were made to capture the essence of the man in biographical form. Zachary Leader benefits from this groundwork; he also has the advantage that his work has been compiled since Bellow's death in 2005. As a result, he has had access to sources, manuscripts and letters denied to previous biographers. Leader's research is exemplary and incredibly detailed. He not only looks at the life of the man but at the creative process that made him the colossus that he became and it's all written with a genuine passion, love and respect for his subject.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783704241</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099520931</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|title=Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World
+
|author=Lily Kunin
|author=Rachel Ignotofsky
+
|title=Good Clean Food: Plant-Based Recipes That Will Help You Look and Feel Your Best
|rating=5
+
|rating=4
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
+
|genre=Cookery
|summary=''Women in Science'' takes fifty prominent women in STEM fields and celebrates their achievements. There are women from the ancient world and women working today. Each of them is given a double page spread including a stylised portrait and infoboxes with factoids on one side and a page of text with a brief biography and outline of her achievements. These intrepid women are inspirational for their work and their discoveries but also for the barriers they overcame - barred from classes or employment because they were women or even barred from employment because they were black in racially segregated America.
+
|summary=Lily Kunin is a health coach and creator of [http://www.cleanfooddirtycity.com/ clean food dirty city site] and [https://www.instagram.com/cleanfooddirtycity/?hl=en instagram account].  She'd always been a food lover but her attitude to the food she was eating changed when she began to suffer from migraines.  A long (and bad) time later she tried avoiding gluten and her symptoms were alleviated within 48 hours. From this she developed her food philosophy of seeing an intolerance to gluten as a creative opportunity.  I liked that she has ''a constant dialogue'' with her body rather than sticking to a restrictive regime.  That I can empathise with.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1526360519</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1419723901</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Redress
+
|author=Ted Dewan
|title=Dress (with) sense: The Practical Guide to a Conscious Closet
+
|title=Something for Mummy (Bing)
|rating=4.5
+
|rating=3.5
|genre=Lifestyle
+
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Not too long ago I didn't have any problems with clothesThey were just about all black and I wore them until they dropped off my back - and then I used what I could of the material for other purposes.  I had this lovely little clothes shop in Ilkley (it says 'Oxfam' over the door) when I needed to restockClothes were simple.  Then I encountered the lovely [[:Category:Numba Pinkerton|Numba Pinkerton]] and suddenly I had colour in my life: not all of it could be had from OxfamSometimes I might even be buying ''new'' clothes.  I needed help and more advice, because it really isn't as simple as just walking into the nearest department store.
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|summary=Having a child gives you a glimpse into a world that you never knew even existedUnfortunately, this not a winter wonderland hidden in a wardrobe, but a world of children's TV charactersThe mainstays of the genre have still survived; Sooty, Noddy and Postman Pat, but who is RaRa or Mr Tumble?  One popular show that takes some getting used to is Bing, a series all about a rabbit that seems to have a stuffed animal as a carerThere are seemingly no parents in the show as if the town is one giant crèche, so how come Bing and his helper Flop are making a gift for Mummy?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0500292779</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0008212015</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview <!-- remove 16/3 -->
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{{newreview
|author=Marilyn Bennett
+
|author=John Preston
|title=Granny with Benefits
+
|title=A Very English Scandal: Sex, Lies and a Murder Plot at the Heart of the Establishment
|rating=4
+
|rating=5
|genre=Women's Fiction
+
|genre=True Crime
|summary=Thirty nine is a difficult age for a woman, particularly if she's not marriedHas she given up on the idea of having a family? Does her career mean everything to her?  On the other hand is she desperately looking for a man?  Grace found herself in a difficult situation when she first met Dale (or Heaven on Legs - HoL - as she thought of him).  She'd volunteered to sort out her late grandmother's home, but she couldn't resist the opportunity to do a little dressing upSo, wearing her grandmother's clothes, wig resting just above her eyebrows and heavy-rimmed glasses perched on the end of her nose she met the man of her dreamsOnly, rather than laughing and explaining what she'd been doing, Grace carried on the pantomime - and called herself Louise.
+
|summary=Jeremy Thorpe was the sort of person who was generally liked by othersHe was flamboyant and gregarious but could give the impression that meeting someone had made his day.  He never seemed to forget a name and he was witty, charismatic and very charming. He appeared to be a decent man, with views with which I would have agreed on race, capital punishment and membership of the Common Market, as the European Union was then knownFor this was the nineteen sixties and Thorpe had entered Parliament at the age of thirty and by 1967 he would be party leaderOn the surface he was a man who had everything going for him.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1785898736</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241973740</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=DK
+
|author= Bill Nye and Gregory Mone
|title=Forest Life and Woodland Creatures
+
|title= Jack and the Geniuses 1: At the Bottom of the World
|rating=4
+
|rating= 4.5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
+
|genre= Confident Readers
|summary=This book knows that if you're going to learn about forest life and the animals, plants and trees in it, then you're only going to be itching to go and explore the woods for yourself.  It's for a very young audience, so always expects an adult hand to guide you – but provides a warm companion itself through several quick and easy tasks, and a few lessons.  The balance between carrot and stick, or duty and reward, is great – but what exactly is the edutainment going to provide, and what will it demand of us?
+
|summary=It's tough being a genius. There are few, if any, people you can talk about your interests to, and words like ''nerd'', ''geek'' and ''boffin'' get bandied around by folk who somehow think it's your fault your cleverness makes them feel a bit dim. But how does it feel to be the one surrounded by such geniuses all day every day? Fortunately, Jack is a resilient sort, and his common sense approach to life is going to be essential if he, Ava and Matt are going to survive their trip to Antarctica.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241273110</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1419723030</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=DK
+
|author= Sherri Smith
|title=Sharks and Other Sea Creatures
+
|title= Follow Me Down
|rating=4
+
|rating= 4
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
+
|genre= Thrillers
|summary=Never before have I found much cause to point out the sort of lower-case, almost-a-subtitle wording on the front of a book. I say that because very little of this is about sharks – so if you have a youngster intending to come here and learn all their bloodthirsty imagination can hold, then they may well be disappointed.  If you take it on board that the 'other sea creatures' make up the bulk of the book, then all well and good. And even better, if you expect yourself to ''make'' the bulk of said creatures…
+
|summary= Mia is done with the small town she grew up in, but it only takes one phone call to bring her back. Her twin brother Lucas is missing and, worse still, has been implicated in the death of one of his students. Without him there to speak for himself it becomes her job to defend his reputation while trying to get to the bottom of everything that has gone on.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241274389</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1785654047</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}

Revision as of 08:16, 29 March 2017

The Bookbag

Hello from The Bookbag, a 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.

There are currently 16,084 reviews at TheBookbag.

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Reviews of the Best New Books

Read new reviews by category.
Read the latest features.

Arthur and the Kings of Britain: The Historical Truth Behind the Myths by Miles Russell

4.5star.jpg History

As the author of the Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), written in 1136, Geoffrey of Monmouth is commonly recognized as one of the first British historians. His book told – or is supposed to have told - the story of the British monarchy during the Dark Ages, from the arrival of the Trojan Brutus, grandson of Aeneas, up to the seventh century AD when the Anglo-Saxons had taken control of Britain. Being virtually the only work of its kind at the time, it proved very influential, and became well-known throughout western Europe as one of the great works of medieval literature as the first retelling of the story of King Arthur, Lear and Cymbeline. Shakespeare was forever in his debt with regard to the two latter. Full review...

Well of the Winds (DCI Daley) by Denzil Meyrick

4star.jpg Crime

It's not a happy time for DCI Jim Daley. The woman he loved is dead - there are those who blame him for what happened - and his relationship with Liz, his ex wife, and his young son is deteriorating by the day. He's finding solace in the bottom of a glass, whilst the man who used to do that all too often, his friend DS Brian Scott is off alcohol completely and has found exercise. There's a new officer in charge at Kinloch - DS Carrie Simmington - and whilst she might look young, it's unlikely that she got to that position without having a core of steel. Full review...

Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn

4star.jpg Literary Fiction

You have to assume the team behind the cover sleeve for Nicole Dennis-Benn's debut novel Here Come's the Sun have a keen sense of irony. Either that or none of them read beyond the first page. Full review...

Owen Pendragon by W S Markendale

3.5star.jpg Teens

Monsters are slipping through somehow from somewhere to kidnap children in Cornwall and the army seems powerless to do anything about it. 12-year-olds Owen and Mary assume they too are therefore powerless as they watch friends and neighbours disappear. Imagine their surprise when they realise that thanks to an ancient relative, they have more influence on what happens than they think and not just on what happens on Earth. And their distant relative? The former monarch and head of the round table, no less: King Arthur. Full review...

The Legion of Regrettable Supervillains: Oddball Criminals from Comic Book History by Jon Morris

5star.jpg Graphic Novels

As much as I like comics – and I do, whether superhero ones or not – I have to admit one thing, namely that the villains in them are a bit pants. What is The Penguin but the world's worst Mafioso, with a hobby of waddling along like his pet birds? Where else do you win an Oscar of all things by playing a two-bit killer who just fell in a vat of random chemicals and changed colour, and got mardier as a result (although recently he's become a nanotech genius – but let's not go there)? And what is it with the gimp in the see-through plant pot because he is the embodiment of cold? And that's just some of the better-known enemies of Batman, one of the better goodies. You can imagine how awful the baddies related to the bad goodies can be. And if you can't, this is the perfect primer. Full review...

Stanly's Ghost: Book 3 (The Bitter Sixteen Trilogy) by Stefan Mohamed

5star.jpg Science Fiction

Cynical, solitary Stanly Bird used to be a fairly typical teenager – unless you count the fact that his best friend was a talking beagle named Daryl. Then came the superpowers. And the super powered allies. And the mysterious enemies. And the terrifying monsters. And the stunning revelations. And the apocalypse. Now he's not sure what he is. Or where he is. Or how exactly one is supposed to proceed after saving the world. All he knows is that his story isn't finished. Not quite yet … Full review...

Monkey's Sandwich by Michelle Robinson and Emily Fox

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

Monkeys have been given the reputation of being cheeky, but do you also see them as petty thieves? How can these cheerful chimps be seen as anything other than cute, but mischievous little monkeys? Anyone who has driven through Knowsley Safari Park knows the truth. A perfectly good car drives in the monkey enclosure only to be bereft of wing mirrors, hubcaps and windscreen wipers at the end. Rumour has it that the monkeys sell these parts wholesale at a lockup in South Kirby. The monkey in this tale may not be stealing car parts, but he is a little light fingered when it comes to making the ultimate lunch. Full review...

The Legacy: Children's House Book 1 by Yrsa Sigurdardottir and Victoria Cribb (translator)

4.5star.jpg Thrillers

What do you wish for in your murder mysteries? An inventive death? Well you couldn't go much further than the unusual murder by household device that Elisa suffers here. She's a mother to a young family, whose husband was abroad at a conference. Do you seek awkward, unusual and/or conflicted investigators? Well, here we have a detective from the lower ranks, but the only one clean enough after post-financial crash investigations tainted all his superiors; and a woman who runs a home that investigates and recuperates child victims of sex abuse. She's here because the only witness to the murder was Elisa's very young daughter. And lo and behold, the two adults have history. Do you require taunting clues as to why this crime will be repeated? You can't do much better than the messages in numerals received by other characters and their untold threat. So it's tick, tick, tick – but what of the question marks left by the prologue, where another young family of children was separated as a best case scenario by the adoption agencies after a different nasty event in the past? Full review...

The Street Beneath My Feet by Charlotte Guillain and Yuval Zommer

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

It's one thing for a non-fiction book for the young to show them something they themselves can explore – the pattern of the stars, perhaps, or the life in their back yard. But when it gets to things that are equally important to know about but are impossible to see in real life, why, then the game is changed. The artistic imagination has to be key, in portraying the invisible, and presenting what can only come from the pages of a book. And this example does it at its best, as it delves into the layers of the soil below said back yard, down and down, through all the different kinds of rock, until we reach the unattainable centre of the planet. And there's only one way to go from there – back out the other side, with yet more for us to be shown. It's a fantastic journey, then – and a quite fantastic volume. Full review...

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

5star.jpg Thrillers

Christmas is barely over but Amber doesn't have much to celebrate. She's in a coma, trapped with an active mind but an inactive body, able to hear and understand but not respond to what is going on around her. And her mind's a little fuzzy on a few things too, like how she ended up there, who else was involved, and what it all means. Full review...

Larchfield by Polly Clark

5star.jpg Literary Fiction

I It's early summer when a young poet, Dora Fielding, moves to Helensburgh on the west coast of Scotland and her hopes are first challenged. Newly married, pregnant, she's excited by the prospect of a life that combines family and creativity. She thinks she knows what being a person, a wife, a mother, means. She is soon shown that she is wrong. As the battle begins for her very sense of self, Dora comes to find the realities of small town life suffocating, and, eventually, terrifying; until she finds a way to escape reality altogether. Another poet, she discovers, lived in Helensburgh once. Wystan H. Auden, brilliant and awkward at 24, with his first book of poetry published, should be embarking on success and society in London. Instead, in 1930, fleeing a broken engagement, he takes a teaching post at Larchfield School for boys where he is mocked for his Englishness and suspected - rightly - of homosexuality. Yet in this repressed limbo Wystan will fall in love for the first time, even as he fights his deepest fears. Full review...

Choosing the Perfect Puppy by Pippa Mattinson

4.5star.jpg Pets

If you have ever, for even a fleeting moment, thought about getting a puppy, you really ought to read this book. Too many people are carried away in the heat of the moment and must have a particular breed and go ahead without any thought about the consequences. They then have to live with the problems which might have been avoided for a decade or more. The puppy and the adult dog also has to live with an owner who might not be able to accommodate his needs. Pippa Mattinson is my go-to author on matters dog related: she talks sense. She doesn't try to talk you out of getting a particular breed or any puppy: she simply presents the facts and allows you to make your own decisions. Full review...

The Boy, the Bird and the Coffin Maker by Matilda Woods

4.5star.jpg Confident Readers

Alberto is a carpenter, the very best in the town of Allora. But after the plague sweeps through the town, taking many of the citizens and Alberto's wife and children, he turns his skills away from furniture and toys to making coffins. Wrapped in sadness, and waiting only for the plague to come and claim his life too, Alberto lives alone, keeping company with the dead who are delivered to his house to await their coffin. One day, however, he realises that he must have a living visitor, as food starts to go missing. He begins to leave scraps of food, to try and discover who his mystery thief is… Full review...

Blades of Grass by Mark Aylwin Thomas

4.5star.jpg Biography

Any book that has me in tears at the end has been worth my time. Any book that has me hoping it will end differently to the way I know it must is worth the reading. Any book that convinces me that maybe there is still hope in the world – that for all the mistakes made thus far, still being made right now, there is a common humanity which ultimately, eventually, must do some good – that is worth the writing and the reading and the time. Blades of Grass is one such book. It's a forgotten story, an unknown story to most people. It is one that should be told – and reflected upon. Full review...

Foxes Unearthed: A Story of Love and Loathing in Modern Britain by Lucy Jones

4star.jpg Animals and Wildlife

As one of the largest predators left in Britain, the fox is captivating: a comfortably familiar figure in our country landscapes; an intriguing flash of bright-eyed wildness in our towns. Yet no other animal attracts such controversy, has provoked more column inches or been so ambiguously woven into our culture over centuries, perceived variously as a beautiful animal, a cunning rogue, a vicious pest and a worthy foe. As well as being the most ubiquitous of wild animals, it is also the least understood. Here Lucy Jones investigates the truth about foxes – delving into fact, fiction, folklore and her own history with the creatures. Discussing the debate on foxes, Jones asks what our attitudes towards foxes says about us, and our relationship with the natural world. Full review...

Isaac Montgomery for the Love of Beth by Steven Anthony

3star.jpg General Fiction

There are words to describe the Isaac Montgomery we meet at the beginning of the story. Unfortunately they're not words you usually use in polite company. He'd worked for many years in stockbroking and had made a substantial fortune, but his life was devoid of much in the way of personal relationships. When he required a woman as an escort, he paid. He assumed that if he was having a good time, then she was too - if he even bothered to think about it. He had a friend whom he didn't see all that often and it was when he thought about Phil that a little jealousy crept into Isaac's heart. You see, Phil was engaged to Penelope and they were obviously happy. Isaac began to wonder what love was - and how you went about finding someone to share your life with. Full review...

Miraculous Mysteries (British Library Crime Classics) by Martin Edwards (editor)

5star.jpg Crime

Consider the following scenario: a policeman hears someone screaming and runs to a house on a particular street, number 13, from where the noise is emanating. When he peeps through the letterbox he discovers a dead man in the hallway with a knife in his throat. He goes to fetch help, but upon returning, finds that the street does not have a number 13 and that the body and the room he saw have both mysteriously vanished... Full review...

Lost Magic: The Very Best of Brian Moses by Brian Moses

4star.jpg Children's Rhymes and Verse

For a poet with the very memorable name of Moses, I have to admit never having come across it before, nor having knowingly read any of his works. This collection was the perfect place for me to come late to the party, as it takes the author's own favourites from several previous anthologies of his, and adds new verses. I read them with very little clue as to which was which – and certainly couldn't tell having finished the book. There is a lot here that will grab the young schoolchild, but the topics cover so much there really will be a universal appeal, meaning that a lot of people will have a definite favourite from these pages, even if the author himself cannot decide… Full review...

The Night I Followed the Dog by Nina Laden

4.5star.jpg For Sharing

There's a Boy (who doesn't have a name) and a Dog (likewise) and in the beginning you get the feeling that the Boy would prefer to have next door's Dog who wins prizes in obedience classes and does clever things with the television remote control. That is until one morning when Boy opens the door a little earlier than usual and spots Dog getting out of a limousine. In a tuxedo. The he disappears into the back garden. Boy's shocked but a few minutes later he goes to the back door and whistles for Dog, who comes dashing in, anxious to eat. At first Boy can't quite believe what he thinks he saw, so he determines to follow Dog the next night. Full review...

SuperDad's Day Off by Phil Earle

4.5star.jpg Dyslexia Friendly

Stanley's dad is tired. It can be exhausting work being a Superhero. For six days of the week he saves the world from disasters and defeats the baddies as Dynamo Dan. Stanley decides his poor dad needs a day off and is determined to make sure that he gets a proper rest. So they head off to the park for some much needed Dad and Son bonding time. However people don't seem to understand that even Superheroes need time to recuperate. The requests for help keep on coming so what can poor Stanley do other than step in to save the day. Full review...

The Murder of the Romanovs by Andrew Cook

4.5star.jpg History

The fate of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, his wife Alexandra and children, fuelled no end of rumour, misinformation and conspiracy theories for many years, even though the truth was known not long after the event. In the last few years, the advance of forensic science, DNA testing and the precise location of the bodies have allowed for confirmation of the exact truth and a dismissal of claims by a noted so-called surviving Grand Duchess. Even so, as Andrew Cook notes, straight after the deaths of the imperial family 'there would begin a ninety-year battle between science and superstition which is not over yet'. Full review...

The Apartment by S L Grey

4star.jpg Horror

Steph and Mark are in trouble. Mark is running from a grief he can't escape and Steph is anxiously juggling her joy at being a mother with her guilt at being a 'kept woman'. Add a brutal home invasion to the mix and you have a recipe for disaster. Desperate to save their once happy marriage the couple decide to take a romantic trip to Paris only to discover that some terror is inescapable and evil has a vice like grip. Full review...

The Life of Saul Bellow: To Fame and Fortune 1915-1964 by Zachary Leader

5star.jpg Biography

At over eight hundred pages, 'The Life of Saul Bellow' is not a light book, but it is the most complete account of the life and work of America's most honoured literary figure. During the course of his life, a number of notable attempts were made to capture the essence of the man in biographical form. Zachary Leader benefits from this groundwork; he also has the advantage that his work has been compiled since Bellow's death in 2005. As a result, he has had access to sources, manuscripts and letters denied to previous biographers. Leader's research is exemplary and incredibly detailed. He not only looks at the life of the man but at the creative process that made him the colossus that he became and it's all written with a genuine passion, love and respect for his subject. Full review...

Good Clean Food: Plant-Based Recipes That Will Help You Look and Feel Your Best by Lily Kunin

4star.jpg Cookery

Lily Kunin is a health coach and creator of clean food dirty city site and instagram account. She'd always been a food lover but her attitude to the food she was eating changed when she began to suffer from migraines. A long (and bad) time later she tried avoiding gluten and her symptoms were alleviated within 48 hours. From this she developed her food philosophy of seeing an intolerance to gluten as a creative opportunity. I liked that she has a constant dialogue with her body rather than sticking to a restrictive regime. That I can empathise with. Full review...

Something for Mummy (Bing) by Ted Dewan

3.5star.jpg For Sharing

Having a child gives you a glimpse into a world that you never knew even existed. Unfortunately, this not a winter wonderland hidden in a wardrobe, but a world of children's TV characters. The mainstays of the genre have still survived; Sooty, Noddy and Postman Pat, but who is RaRa or Mr Tumble? One popular show that takes some getting used to is Bing, a series all about a rabbit that seems to have a stuffed animal as a carer. There are seemingly no parents in the show as if the town is one giant crèche, so how come Bing and his helper Flop are making a gift for Mummy? Full review...

A Very English Scandal: Sex, Lies and a Murder Plot at the Heart of the Establishment by John Preston

5star.jpg True Crime

Jeremy Thorpe was the sort of person who was generally liked by others. He was flamboyant and gregarious but could give the impression that meeting someone had made his day. He never seemed to forget a name and he was witty, charismatic and very charming. He appeared to be a decent man, with views with which I would have agreed on race, capital punishment and membership of the Common Market, as the European Union was then known. For this was the nineteen sixties and Thorpe had entered Parliament at the age of thirty and by 1967 he would be party leader. On the surface he was a man who had everything going for him. Full review...

Jack and the Geniuses 1: At the Bottom of the World by Bill Nye and Gregory Mone

4.5star.jpg Confident Readers

It's tough being a genius. There are few, if any, people you can talk about your interests to, and words like nerd, geek and boffin get bandied around by folk who somehow think it's your fault your cleverness makes them feel a bit dim. But how does it feel to be the one surrounded by such geniuses all day every day? Fortunately, Jack is a resilient sort, and his common sense approach to life is going to be essential if he, Ava and Matt are going to survive their trip to Antarctica. Full review...

Follow Me Down by Sherri Smith

4star.jpg Thrillers

Mia is done with the small town she grew up in, but it only takes one phone call to bring her back. Her twin brother Lucas is missing and, worse still, has been implicated in the death of one of his students. Without him there to speak for himself it becomes her job to defend his reputation while trying to get to the bottom of everything that has gone on. Full review...