Author Archives: Daisy May Johnson

My Little Pony: The Ultimate Guide: All the Fun, Facts and Magic of My Little Pony by My Little Pony My rating: 5 of 5 stars I am very much here for the firmly feminist message that is the My Little Pony series, but I am also here for very nicely done media tie-ins. It’sContinue reading “My Little Pony : The Ultimate Guide”

The Murderer’s Ape by Jakob Wegelius My rating: 4 of 5 stars The titular Murderer’s Ape is Sally Jones and she’s also our narrator for this gently told story of murder, double-crosses and false imprisonment. It’s an interesting note to take for such a dramatic series of topics but then again, Sally Jones is anContinue reading “The Murderer’s Ape : Jakob Wegelius”

Why We Took the Car by Wolfgang Herrndorf My rating: 4 of 5 stars After spending time as a writer in residence for a road, I’ve been increasingly interested in the role of ‘roads’ in children’s and young adult literature. Young adult literature, in fact, has a perfect sort of marriage with the metaphor ofContinue reading “Why We Took The Car : Wolfgang Herrndorf”

An A to Z of Monsters and Magical Beings by Rob Hodgson My rating: 3 of 5 stars I like this. A joint production by Rob Hodgson, and Aidan Onn, it was Hodgson’s artwork that originally caught my eye, with its exuberant and definite renderings of creatures ranging from the Sphinx through to the WerewolfContinue reading “An A to Z of Monsters and Magical Beings : Rob Hodgson and Aidan Onn”

The Little Library Cookbook by Kate Young My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’ve been waiting for this book for a while, ever since I came across Kate Young’s work online and, in particular, the moment where she made breakfast rolls as inspired by The School at the Chalet by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer. What moreContinue reading “The Little Library Cookbook : Kate Young”

Ottoline Goes to School by Chris Riddell My rating: 5 of 5 stars It’s very easy for somebody who reads a lot of books to miss an author. And yet, equally, it’s also very easy to have a consciousness of who and what that author is and how they do what they do. This isContinue reading “Ottoline Goes To School : Chris Riddell”

The Princess and the Suffragette by Holly Webb My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’ve been really interested in Webb’s recent turn towards some of the classics of children’s literature. She’s not alone in this of course, Jacqueline Wilson delivered the delightful Four Children And It, whilst Kate Saunders wrote the powerful Five Children OnContinue reading “The Princess and The Suffragette : Holly Webb”

Here I Stand by Amnesty International UK My rating: 4 of 5 stars There’s a lot to love about this pained, poised collection of short stories and much of that comes from its careful and classy curation. The authors, ranging from Frances Hardinge through to Sarah Crossan, and Chris Riddell, sit alongside a foreword byContinue reading “Here I Stand : Amnesty International UK”

My Miniature Library: 30 Tiny Books to Make, Read and Treasure by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini My rating: 5 of 5 stars There’s been a bit of a delay in my reviewing of this because, to be frank, I’ve been too busy screaming with joy over it. Every. Single. Time. I’m not one for craft, really,Continue reading “My Miniature Library”

Looking for Enid: The Mysterious and Inventive Life of Enid Blyton by Duncan McLaren My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is possibly the strangest and yet, maybe, one of the most brilliant biographies of an author I’ve ever read. It’s an approach that I don’t think would have worked for anybody but Enid BlytonContinue reading “Looking for Enid : Duncan McLaren”

The Explorer by Katherine Rundell My rating: 4 of 5 stars A brief moment of context. I didn’t wholly connect with The Wolf Wilder as much as I did with the rhapsodic and blissful joy of Rooftoppers, and so The Explorer was a book that I read with a little bit of nervousness. Rundell isContinue reading “The Explorer – Katherine Rundell”

A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson My rating: 5 of 5 stars There’s a lot of books in the world I haven’t read (she says, channeling Franco Moretti) and one of them is A Wrinkle in Time. I’ve a strange antipathy towards classics, and fantastical classics tend to slide towards theContinue reading “A Wrinkle In Time : Hope Larson, adap. Madeleine L’Engle”

Stardust by Jeanne Willis My rating: 4 of 5 stars Let’s talk about confidence. Confidence is hard for big people, let alone little people, to maintain, let alone figure out if they even have it in the first place. The world is an intimidating space and circumstance conspires to place people in intimidating positions. WhetherContinue reading “Stardust : Jeanne Willis & Briony May Smith”

Diary of a Tokyo Teen: A Japanese-American Girl Draws Her Way Across the Land of Trendy Fashion, High-Tech Toilets and Maid Cafes by Christine Mari Inzer My rating: 4 of 5 stars There’s something immensely charming about this slender yet lovely memoir of a trip that Inzer took to Tokyo by herself at the ageContinue reading “Diary of a Tokyo Teen : Christine Mari Inzer”

Malibu Summer by Francine Pascal My rating: 5 of 5 stars It’s been a long while since I read a Sweet Valley book, and even longer since I’ve seen the TV adaptation, but I’ve got neither out of my head. There’s something about these books that I’ve grouped with something like The Babysitters Club, BugContinue reading “Malibu Summer – Sweet Valley High: Francine Pascal”

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene My rating: 4 of 5 stars It’s interesting to consider just how old this series is now. The Secret of the Old Clock, the first in the mythic Nancy Drew series, was originally published in 1930 with a substantial revision in 1959. That’s a fair while,Continue reading “The Secret Of the Old Clock : Carolyn Keene”

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon My rating: 5 of 5 stars When Dimple Met Rishi is a ferociously charming book. It’s also a book I heard about on social media and so, I suspect, might be my reposte to those critics who think that book-talk on social media is the death of everythingContinue reading “When Dimple Met Rishi : Sandhya Menon”

Listen to the Baby Animals by Marion Billet My rating: 5 of 5 stars So I need to tell you a little bit about this book that, I suspect, might appeal quite immensely to the adults amongst you who have Suffered From Noisy Book Syndrome. Come on, we all know what I mean. Those booksContinue reading “Listen to the Baby Animals : Marion Billet”

Piglettes by Clémentine Beauvais My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’m always a little wary when I get offered a book to review that’s been written by somebody I know in real life. One of the things that I’m very deliberate on is that when I review, it comes from a place of honesty. AndContinue reading “Piglettes : Clémentine Beauvais”

My name is not Refugee by Kate Milner My rating: 4 of 5 stars In this increasingly complex and difficult world we live in, I’ve been looking for books that help to explain and support younger readers. They have often proven of immense value to myself and the dual appeal of texts like this toContinue reading “My Name is Not Refugee : Kate Milner”

Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’ve been sitting on this review for a week or so, in that gloriously selfish phase of having read a Good Book but not wanting to talk about it. Sometimes I want to wallow in that sensation and just holdContinue reading “Things A Bright Girl Can Do : Sally Nicholls”

I Have No Secrets by Penny Joelson My rating: 4 of 5 stars There’s a lot to love about this potent and markedly well-told thriller, not in the least the vibrant delight that is the narrator Jemma. Unable to communicate, yet possessed of a quick-thinking and fiercely distinct personality, Jemma now needs to communicate moreContinue reading “I Have No Secrets : Penny Joelson”

Terms & Conditions: Life in Girls’ Boarding-Schools, 1939–1979 by Ysenda Maxtone Graham My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a delight. The second of two boarding school histories that I’ve breezed through recently, Terms & Conditions is an absolute delight. The first – Alex Renton’s Stiff Upper Lip: Secrets, Crimes and the Schooling ofContinue reading “Terms & Conditions: Life in Girls’ Boarding-Schools, 1939–1979 : Ysenda Maxtone Graham”

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is remarkable. The debut novel from Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give is a ferociously crafted and brilliant and startling novel. It’s hard to not exhaust myself of superlatives for it but it is something else. I’m often a little nervousContinue reading “The Hate U Give : Angie Thomas”

Troublemakers by Catherine Barter My rating: 4 of 5 stars It’s taken me a while to figure out how to write this review. I loved Troublemakers but I didn’t know how to write about it. It’s a curious thing, sort of not quite what I expected it to be and somehow more than that. It’sContinue reading “Troublemakers : Catherine Barter”

The Calling by James Frey My rating: 1 of 5 stars     The reviewer sat down. She opened up her laptop. She navigated to Goodreads. She typed in the title. She found the book. She rated it one star. She paused. She had not enjoyed The Calling. She had found it somewhat challenging, complex,Continue reading “The Calling – Endgame #1 : James Frey”

The Yellow Room by Jess Vallance My rating: 5 of 5 stars I didn’t know what to expect from this. I picked it up because of the cover, and for some reason came home from the library with a handful of yellow books. Perhaps colour-based selection will be my new method when I’m not sureContinue reading “The Yellow Room : Jess Vallance”

The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas My rating: 4 of 5 stars Grace, the titular heroine of The State of Grace, has Aspergers. She also has a horse, and a boy that she sort of likes but doesn’t quite know how to act with. Coupled with this her dad is on long work tripsContinue reading “The State of Grace : Rachael Lucas”

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë My rating: 2 of 5 stars It’s odd, sometimes, how a book holds a consciousness in your brain before you have ever read a single page of it. Wuthering Heights is embedded somewhere in there, somewhere near Kate Bush and somewhere near the moorland that turns to grey and steelContinue reading “Wuthering Heights : Emily Brontë”

A Library of Lemons by Jo Cotterill My rating: 5 of 5 stars It is a beautiful day and I would like to talk to you about beautiful things. I would like to talk to you about quiet and gentle and sympathetic and kind books and A Library Of Lemons is all of that andContinue reading “A Library of Lemons : Jo Cotterill”

Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman My rating: 2 of 5 stars Prisoner of Night and Fog is set in extraordinary, awful times. It’s 1930s Munich and Gretchen Müller has grown up under the protection of her Uncle ‘Dolf’. ‘Dolf’ is Adolf Hitler and Gretchen is his beloved pet. The daughter of aContinue reading “Prisoner of Night & Fog : Anne Blankman”

The Girl’s Companion by Mary A. Carson My rating: 5 of 5 stars It’s hard to tell you how much I love this book. I think we begin with what it this book is; it’s a fairly solid text split into a series of chapters, covering a range of things that Respectable Girls might likeContinue reading “The Girl’s Companion (ed.) Mary A. Carson”

Beck by Mal Peet My rating: 2 of 5 stars I’m catching up on my Carnegie reading for this year and Beck was always going to be near the top of my list. From its story of production where Mal Peet passed away whilst writing and Meg Rosoff finished the manuscript, through to its criticalContinue reading “Beck : Mal Peet with Meg Rosoff”

Evie’s Ghost by Helen Peters My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have a story to tell you about this. I was chatting with one of my lovely librarian colleagues about the books I was going to review and mentioned ‘Evie’s Ghost’. It turned out that her daughter had adored Peters’ The Secret Hen HouseContinue reading “Evie’s Ghost : Helen Peters”

The Jamie Drake Equation by Christopher Edge My rating: 5 of 5 stars There’s a lot to love about The Jamie Drake Equation. It’s not only a book that twists something quite classic and contemporary together, delivering a science fiction story driven by smartphones and astronaut dads, but it also sensitively and truthfully deals withContinue reading “The Jamie Drake Equation : Christopher Edge”

Orangeboy by Patrice Lawrence My rating: 4 of 5 stars Orangeboy is one of those books which begin a long time before you read it. Take a moment and look at that front cover, that stark brilliant splash of vibrant colour that spills against the white background. It is an amazing piece of design and,Continue reading “Orangeboy : Patrice Lawrence”

Fish Boy by Chloe Daykin My rating: 4 of 5 stars There’s a lot to love about this determined novel from Daykin. Fish Boy, her first book for middle grade readers, sings of something very peculiar and very distinct. Billy Shiel is a boy with a lot on his mind. Some of that centres onContinue reading “Fish Boy : Chloe Daykin”

Girl Online Going Solo by Zoe Sugg My rating: 4 of 5 stars This, the third in Zoe ‘Zoella’ Sugg’s series of young adult novels, solidified something for me. I’ve written about her her work before, and about the frustrating tendency for the media to leap onto her as a scapegoat for all that isContinue reading “Girl Online – Going Solo : Zoe Sugg”

Wing Jones by Katherine Webber My rating: 4 of 5 stars One of the first things to note about Wing Jones is the beautiful production values that surround it. There’s a lot to be said for noting how people publish a novel. A lot of them exist in the world. A lot. How do youContinue reading “Wing Jones : Katherine Webber”

Margot & Me by Juno Dawson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Sometimes it’s hard to write through tears and yet, here I am, pushing through and trying to capture what makes Margot and Me so rather utterly wonderful. It is wonderful. I have written a thousand sentences trying to capture the nuances of thisContinue reading “Margot and Me : Juno Dawson”

Dragon’s Green by Scarlett Thomas My rating: 4 of 5 stars Dragon’s Green is a really intriguing book and one that I sort of thought I wouldn’t like and then really rather did. It reaches in a thousand different directions, some more successfully than others, and when it hits, it’s utterly wonderful. So, a plotContinue reading “Dragon’s Green : Scarlett Thomas”

Inside, Outside, Upside Down by Yasmeen Ismail My rating: 4 of 5 stars There’s a lot to like about this charming sequence of activity books from Ismail and I think a lot of centres on the value of an unfinished line. Take a look, next time you’re somewhere bookish, at a similar book, maybe oneContinue reading “Inside, Outside, Upside, Down : Yasmeen Ismail”

Judith Kerr’s Creatures by Judith Kerr My rating: 5 of 5 stars It’s hard to define how beautiful a book this when you’re typing a review in that thick haze you get after crying, but I shall. I shall try. I love Judith Kerr. There are a handful of authors that I cling to inContinue reading “Judith Kerr’s Creatures : Judith Kerr”

Girl in Dior by Annie Goetzinger My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’ve been treating myself recently to a wallow in the things I love. (As everyone should do, no?). One of these has been reading about mid-century fashion and France; I am a Francophile and there is nothing better than nibbling the edge fromContinue reading “Girl In Dior : Anne Goetzinger”

A Brush With the Past: 1900 – 1950 The Years that Changed our Lives by Shirley Hughes My rating: 5 of 5 stars It was upon reading this that I came to realise something about Shirley Hughes and that is the great genuine humanity of her artwork. I have spoken before about how much IContinue reading “A Brush With The Past : Shirley Hughes”

Username: Evie by Joe Sugg My rating: 2 of 5 stars Created by the ‘Sugg Squad’, and led by Joe Sugg who ‘created the storyline and characters and directed the project’; Username: Evie is a complex and often frustrating read. Yet, it’s equally important to note that it is a graphic novel with its heartContinue reading “Username Evie : Joe Sugg”

Transformers: Robots in Disguise: Where Crown City Comes to Life by Caroline Rowlands My rating: 5 of 5 stars There’s something rather wonderful about a book which elicits a “Whoah” from everyone you show it to. Transformers : Robots in Disguse : Where Crown City Comes To Life is a non-fiction media tie-in with oneContinue reading “Transformers Robots In Disguise : Where Crown City Comes to Life”

What Is Red? by Suzanne Gottlieb My rating: 4 of 5 stars Recently republished by the blessed Bodleian Library, What is Red? is a charming and rather beautiful book. It’s a simple journey through a series of colours framed around a question and answer dialogue: “What is Red? / Red is the colour of manyContinue reading “What is Red? : Suzanne Gottlieb & Vladimir Bobri”

The Farmer and the Fairy: And Other Stories by Elizabeth Clark My rating: 3 of 5 stars ‘The Farmer and The Fairy and other stories’ is a beautifully produced volume of Elizabeth Clark’s folkloric stories. Drawn from a variety of cultures, these stories range from ‘Yogodagu and the Bees of Yamato’ through to ‘The TaleContinue reading “The Farmer and the Fairy and other stories : Elizabeth Clark”

No Virgin by Anne Cassidy My rating: 4 of 5 stars It’s taken me a while to figure out how to review this. Much of my thoughts find themselves settling on the cover, which I love. I do, genuinely, love this brilliant and blunt cover. It is unabashed and unashamed which befits the topic immensely.Continue reading “No Virgin : Anne Cassidy”

The Loneliness of Distant Beings by Kate Ling My rating: 3 of 5 stars Seren is part of a multi-generational intergalactic crew, on a mission destined to last as long as her life several times over. The ship is all that she knows and all she’ll ever know. But then she falls in love; dizzy,Continue reading “The Loneliness of Distant Beings : Kate Ling”

The Special Ones by Em Bailey My rating: 3 of 5 stars The Special Ones are chosen. They are four individuals who have been removed from their former lives to live in a remote farmhouse under the watchful eye of him because he believes that they are the reincarnated totems of a cult. They mustContinue reading “The Special Ones : Em Bailey”

The Liszts by Kyo Maclear My rating: 4 of 5 stars Beautifully complex and dark, The Liszts is a picture book that stands at the edge of a thousand different classifications. It’s poetry, it’s art, it’s story, and throughout all of that, it’s a quiet instruction to value the arrival of the unexpected and theContinue reading “The Liszts : Kylo Maclear, Julia Sarda”

The Butterfly Club by Jacqueline Wilson My rating: 4 of 5 stars It’s been a while since I read one of Jacqueline Wilson’s books. I went through a phase of them when I got access to a new library (I say that like I was a burglar, but trust me I was legitimate and hadContinue reading “The Butterfly Club : Jacqueline Wilson”