Tag Archives: book review

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”

Mistletoe and Murder by Robin Stevens My rating: 5 of 5 stars Long term readers of my reviews will know that I adore what Robin Stevens writes. The Wells and Wong series are that delightful thing: a series which continues to get better with every book published. And that’s not easy; series are hard works.Continue reading “Mistletoe and Murder : Robin Stevens”

Binny Bewitched by Hilary McKay My rating: 5 of 5 stars Binny Bewitched returns to the Cornwallis household and sees the family in disarray. Binny herself has misplaced something that wasn’t hers to start off with. James and his new best friend are engrossed in their own adventures, whilst Clem is acting particularly oddly. CoupledContinue reading “Binny Bewitched : Hilary McKay”

Blue & Other Colours: with Henri Matisse by Henri Matisse My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a wonderful book. Genuinely. It’s rare to find board books that slip into non-fiction but do it so deftly, so unconsciously, so ‘without getting massively educational in the process and whoah yes I’m bored and I’m threeContinue reading “Blue & Other Colours with Henri Matisse”

This Is Not A Book by Jean Jullien My rating: 5 of 5 stars Shall we start the week off with a very good book indeed? Yes. Of course we should. This is Not A Book by Jean Jullien is an outstanding thing; a board book that defies conventions and expectations by resolutely refusing toContinue reading “This Is Not A Book : Jean Jullien”

Girl Online: The First Novel by Zoella by Zoe Sugg My rating: 4 of 5 stars Penny, aka GirlOnline, blogs about her life and the panic attacks she suffers from. Following a chain of circumstance, she ends up spending Christmas in New York with her family. Whilst there she meets Noah and the two ofContinue reading “Girl Online : Zoe Sugg”

Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam : The Spooky School by Tracey Corderoy My rating: 4 of 5 stars The thing about Nosy Crow books is that they, fairly uniformly, have a really high standard of design. It’s almost an unimportant skill, this, because when we read a book, we read a book and we don’tContinue reading “Shify McGify and Slippery Sam : The Spooky School by Tracey Corderoy and Steven Lenton”

There May Be a Castle by Piers Torday My rating: 5 of 5 stars I suspect there may be awards in this book’s future. It is a bath-go-cold sort of book; a wheeling, soaring skim through a car journey that goes very wrong and then into somewhere else. Somewhere other. And it’s in this otherContinue reading “There May Be A Castle : Piers Torday”

Looking at the Stars by Jo Cotterill My rating: 5 of 5 stars Amina tells stories. She has an imagination, a powerful one, and it’s been her companion throughout the war that has ravaged her country. Her family have felt the impact of this differently, but they are together. That is enough. That is enoughContinue reading “Looking at the Stars : Jo Cotterill”

What’s a Girl Gotta Do? by Holly Bourne My rating: 5 of 5 stars “Activate yourself” That was the take-home quote from a talk I attended the other day. The speaker was Sandi Toksvig who was eloquent, smart and spoke painfully on the erasure of women from politics. Activate yourself. She started a political party.Continue reading “What’s A Girl Gotta Do? Holly Bourne”

No Castanets at the Wells by Lorna Hill My rating: 5 of 5 stars These are the most beautiful books I own. The hardback editions of the Chalet School come close to them (that is, when I can sell my liver to afford one) but somehow they never quite reach the great grace of theContinue reading “No Castanets at the Wells : Lorna Hill”

Are We There Yet? by Dan Santat My rating: 5 of 5 stars There’s something rather extraordinary about Santat’s latest picture  book which investigates the imaginative potential of the road trip. Road trips are boring, really, unless you’re doing something. And if you are, then you’re not in the car. You’re eating something or photographingContinue reading “Are we there yet? : Dan Santat”

Fifty Shades of Feminism by Lisa Appignanesi My rating: 4 of 5 stars Fifty Shades of Feminism is a collection of short, bitesize pieces from a range of “some of the most significant feminists of our time”. The list is impressive, juxtaposing Alison Bechdel with Elaine Showalter with Sandi Toksvig and Kathy Lette amongst manyContinue reading “Fifty Shades of Feminism : eds Lisa Appignanesi, Rachel Holmes & Susie Orbach”

Binny Keeps a Secret by Hilary McKay My rating: 5 of 5 stars Binny Keeps A Secret sees Binny join a new school. This doesn’t go terribly well, and Binny is thrilled when a bad storm hits the town and wrecks the roof of their house. They have to move to a rented property inContinue reading “Binny Keeps a Secret : Hilary McKay”

Tennis Shoes by Noel Streatfeild My rating: 3 of 5 stars Streatfeild season comes when you least expect it. For me, it came earlier this week with the sight of Tennis Shoes on a library trolley, and then, as I read it and the evenings started to twist around the end of Summer and thingsContinue reading “Tennis Shoes : Noel Streatfeild”

Hilda and the Stone Forest by Luke Pearson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Dynamism. Dynamics. They’re abstract concepts and yet, when I come to Hilda and the Stone Forest, they’re incredibly relevant. This latest episode in the rather lovely Hilda series is a book that thrives on movement and dynamic, swift lines and panels.Continue reading “Hilda and the Stone Forest : Luke Pearson”

Through the Mirror Door by Sarah Baker My rating: 4 of 5 stars I need to tell you a little bit about the background of this review. I was originally offered a review copy of Through The Mirror Door, which I declined. The reason for that is because I share an agent with Sarah BakerContinue reading “Through The Mirror Door : Sarah Baker”

The Brownstone Mythical Collection: Arthur and the Golden Rope by Joe Todd Stanton My rating: 5 of 5 stars From the golden foiling on the front cover, to that rich and thick paper used throughout, Arthur and the Golden Rope is an absolutely beautiful book. I was very thrilled to receive a review copy ofContinue reading “The Brownstone Mythical Collection: Arthur and the Golden Rope : Joe Todd-Stanton”

The Power of Dark by Robin Jarvis My rating: 4 of 5 stars I grew up near Whitby. It’s a gorgeous, wild place. It hinges on the great jaws of the West and East Cliff and when you stand there, on that bridge between the two sides of the town, you can feel the wholeContinue reading “The Power of Dark : Robin Jarvis”

An Island of Our Own by Sally Nicholls My rating: 5 of 5 stars Life for Holly and her siblings is hard. Ever since the death of their mother, they’ve been trying to survive together. But surviving is hard and living is even harder; money problems, family troubles, and keeping a two bedroom flat togetherContinue reading “An Island of Our Own : Sally Nicholls”

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling My rating: 3 of 5 stars It’s complex to rate Harry Potter and the Cursed Child because it’s a complex piece this. It is rather wonderful, rather strange, and rather odd all at once. I suspect it’s perhaps a little bit of a paradigm shift inContinue reading “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child : JK Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne”

My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord by David Solomons My rating: 4 of 5 stars It’s very hard to do funny in the world of children’s and young adult literature. It’s even harder to do funny that doesn’t shift over to being cruel. Louise Rennison was the queen at this, balancing her delicious andContinue reading “My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord : David Solomons”

Chloe Takes Control by Phyllis Matthewman My rating: 4 of 5 stars I first came across the name of Matthewman in reading about my beloved Elinor M. Brent-Dyer. In the last years of her life, Brent-Dyer shared a house with Sidney and Phyllis Matthewman. There’s a fairly prevalent theory that Phyllis assisted with the writingContinue reading “Chloe Takes Control : Phyllis Matthewman”

The Otherlife by Julia Gray My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Otherlife, the debut novel from Julia Gray, skates on the edge of worlds; it is a story about darkness and the thin space between ourselves and something other. For Ben, this is The Otherlife – a world populated by magic, Norse mythology andContinue reading “The Otherlife : Julia Gray”

Maid of the Abbey by Elsie J. Oxenham My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’m so intermittent with the Abbey Girls that it always takes me a moment to orientate myself and figure out where I am in the series. Is Maidlin old or young? Is Joy a muppet or vaguely appealing? Is Mary DorothyContinue reading “Maid of the Abbey : Elsie J. Oxenham”

Killing the Dead by Marcus Sedgwick My rating: 4 of 5 stars I recently picked up a batch of old World Book Day titles from my local second hand bookshop. World Book Day, for those of who are unaware of what that means, publishes a series of slim novella-esque titles each year for the princelyContinue reading “Killing the Dead : Marcus Sedgwick”

Little Bits of Sky by S.E. Durrant My rating: 4 of 5 stars I talk a lot about how we read books before reading them. There’s so much about the book that we read before getting anywhere near that front page, that first word. The position of it on the shelves. The front cover. TheContinue reading “Little Bits of Sky : SE Durrant”

Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell My rating: 4 of 5 stars The first thing that caught my eye about Frozen Charlotte is that deliciously stark and scary cover. Eyes, staring, and the eternally terrifying premise of dolls. It’s a brilliant cover and one that stood out, rather immensely, from the rest of the shelf. AndContinue reading “Frozen Charlotte : Alex Bell”

Jolly Foul Play by Robin Stevens My rating: 5 of 5 stars Sometimes I think back to that first moment I read Robin Stevens. Murder Most Unladylike ticked all of my literary boxes in a way I wasn’t sure was ever really going to happen. Of course there are books out there that I love,Continue reading “Jolly Foul Play : Robin Stevens”

My Brother Is A Superhero by David Solomons My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’ve had my eye on this for a while; this debut from David Solomons which is steadily racking up some very big award wins, and upon finding it in the library I leapt upon it with eager hands. I possibly shriekedContinue reading “My Brother Is A Superhero : David Solomons”

Sweet Pizza by G.R. Gemin My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have a lot of time for what GR Gemin does. His first novel, Cowgirl, was one of those great serendipitous delights; a book which sang of the unexpected and was so resolutely lovely in that singing, that I was in raptures over it.Continue reading “Sweet Pizza : GR Gemin”

The School in the Forest by Angela Brazil My rating: 4 of 5 stars “What! Go to school! To boarding-school! I won’t I tell you I won’t!” So begins The School in The Forest and the story of fourteen year old Jean Langton, a spoilt heiress who is both inevitably orphaned and inevitably romantic. HerContinue reading “The School in the Forest : Angela Brazil”

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling My rating: 5 of 5 stars So this is where it all begins. This is a slim, tight story about a boy who is a wizard, and it is a story which has come to provide a bedrock to contemporary children’s literature. Not just British, IContinue reading “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone : JK Rowling”

Unbecoming by Jenny Downham My rating: 5 of 5 stars I finished reading Unbecoming, and I exhaled; one of those great shuddering breaths that rolls from your toes to your throat, and I felt clean. Cleansed. Whole. Unbecoming. Not just unseemly, inappropriate, but literally un-becoming. A process of being dissasembled and remade; of unmaking andContinue reading “Unbecoming : Jenny Downham”

Wild Lily by K.M. Peyton My rating: 4 of 5 stars It’s hard, sometimes, to write about KM Peyton without descending into ‘ISIMPLYJUSTLOVEHERANDYOUSIMPLYJUSTSHOULDTOO’ and so, I’ve taken my time over this review of her latest: Wild Lily, a novel of the 1920s and beyond, and of airplanes, and of foolishness/bravery/lovelovelove. One of the most foremostContinue reading “Wild Lily : KM Peyton”

Asking For It by Louise O’Neill My rating: 5 of 5 stars I start, I stop, I start again. I’ve written this a thousand times and still I’m not quite sure what to say. Perhaps I’ll always be like this with O’Neill’s work, perhaps I’ll always be unmade by her language. O’Neill’s second novel afterContinue reading “Asking for it : Louise O’Neill”

Silence is Goldfish by Annabel Pitcher My rating: 4 of 5 stars “From now on, every girl in the world who might be a slayer…will be a slayer. Every girl who could have the power…will have the power…can stand up, will stand up. …every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to beContinue reading “Silence is Goldfish : Annabel Pitcher”

Max’s Bear by Barbro Lindgren My rating: 5 of 5 stars The board book is an odd beast and one that it’s very easy to get wrong. They’re books that revel less in the text and more in the experience; of the pushing, the pulling, the chewing and the tasting. Board books are the booksContinue reading “Max’s Bear : Barbro Lindgren & Eva Eriksson”

Mango & Bambang: The Not-a-Pig by Polly Faber My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’ve never been the timeliest of book bloggers. A part of that stems from the books that I love; those richly layered books that speak of a classical sensibility and timeless potency, and those books about girls at boarding schools inContinue reading “Mango and Bambang : Polly Faber & Clara Vulliamy”

A Song for Ella Grey by David Almond My rating: 5 of 5 stars I think sometimes that if I were asked to direct somebody to one author in all of British children’s literature, right here, right now, then that author would be David Almond. Sometimes, yes, the shifts of the question and of theContinue reading “A Song for Ella Grey : David Almond”

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge My rating: 5 of 5 stars A long time ago I promised myself I would read more Frances Hardinge. I had come across her work beforehand in the rather lovely short story compilation Under My Hat, and been beguiled by her writing. Hardinge is not in my comfort zoneContinue reading “The Lie Tree : Frances Hardinge”

The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’ve been thinking a lot about advance reviews and the timing of them. I worry, sometimes, about reviews being lost if I do them too early or lost if I do them too late. Noise. Volume. But then, as I think this,Continue reading “The thing about jellyfish : Ali Benjamin”

Wendy by Karen Wallace My rating: 2 of 5 stars I had time for Karen Wallace’s stiffly written, dark, and yet strangely intriguing Climbing A Monkey Puzzle Tree, and so I came to Wendy with some interest. A prequel of sorts to the deliciously complex Peter Pan, Wendy tells the story of the Darling householdContinue reading “Wendy : Karen Wallace”

The Many Worlds of Albie Bright by Christopher Edge My rating: 4 of 5 stars This eccentric, rather vividly compelling book is something that I think will mark its space very distinctly in the world. I’ve come across Edge before, most notably with his richly layered Twelve Minutes To Midnight series – Twelve Minutes toContinue reading “The Many Worlds of Albie Bright : Christopher Edge”

The Follyfoot Collection by Monica Dickens My rating: 5 of 5 stars The horsey phase is, I think, a phase that so many people go through in their life. It is a phase that I went through and that a part of me remains lost in, despite not being near a horse for too long.Continue reading “The Follyfoot Collection : Monica Dickens”

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander My rating: 4 of 5 stars I quite often think about dynamism and dynamics of space when I review books. I like books that revel in what they are; that bathe and wallow in their language, and push the spaces at the edge of where they are. A book isContinue reading “The Crossover : Kwame Alexander”

Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer: A Golden Treasury of Classic Treats by Jane Brocket My rating: 5 of 5 stars It was when I saw the recipe for ‘St Clare’s Eclairs’ that I knew something very clear about this book. I am going to marry it. I am in such love with Cherry Cake AndContinue reading “Cherry Cake And Ginger Beer : Jane Brocket”