Tag Archives: book review

Refuge by Anne Booth My rating: 5 of 5 stars It’s hard to read ‘Refuge’ right now and yet, I think, this is perhaps one of the most vital books I’ve read this year. As I’ve watched the news over the past few days, weeks, I’ve become increasingly aware that there are moments in theContinue reading “Refuge : Anne Booth & Sam Usher”

A Reckless Magick by Stephanie Burgis My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’d heard a lot about Stephanie Burgis’ Kat series; a sort of magical spin on a Jane Austen-esque universe. I took a while to get to it, because it’s a premise which is very much out of my norm. I don’t really readContinue reading “A Reckless Magick : Stephanie Burgis”

Shackleton’s Journey by William Grill My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is craft, this book. It’s hard to know where to begin with Grill’s masterpiece; whether to talk about the palette of clear and clean colours, or his use of space on the page and that conscious decision to let the visuals work forContinue reading “Shackleton’s Journey : William Grill”

Remix by Non Pratt My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’ve no inclination to go to a music festival. I’ve never had an inclination to go to a music festival. I’ve gone to gigs of course, ranging from ceilidhs through to Wembley but the idea of a festival and me just doesn’t click. At all.Continue reading “Remix : Non Pratt”

A Dog So Small by Philippa Pearce My rating: 4 of 5 stars A slim, tight story that gives so much more than it suggests, A Dog So Small always feels rather Tardis like to me. I have written before on the thick, luscious stylistics of Pearce’s writing; the summer heat of Minnow on TheContinue reading “A dog so small : Philippa Pearce”

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness My rating: 4 of 5 stars I used to really hate the Richard and Judy book club. Every day, after Richard and Judy talked about in television, a thousand people would come into the library and ask for a copy of the book. The bookContinue reading “The Rest of Us Just Live Here : Patrick Ness”

The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson My rating: 5 of 5 stars There’s nothing quite out there that reaches Eva Ibbotson at her very best. She writes like buttery crumpets on a midwinter’s day; hot, fat moments that can be tasted on your tongue, warmth in every word and that magical storytelling quality that makesContinue reading “The Dragonfly Pool : Eva Ibbotson”

Blueberry Wishes (Rainbow Beauty) by Kelly McKain by Kelly McKain My rating: 4 of 5 stars The debut to this series of books set in and around a small beauty parlour in Totnes, Peppermint Kiss, was something quite refreshing to me after a long run of duds, and I’m so pleased to see that BlueberryContinue reading “Rainbow Beauty – Blueberry Wishes : Kelly McKain”

The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine My rating: 5 of 5 stars The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow is a book that, perhaps more than most, starts with that delicious front cover. It is genuinely one of the more beautiful books that I have come across recently; a perfectly balanced cover imageContinue reading “The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow : Katherine Woodfine”

Green Grass of Wyoming by Mary O’Hara My rating: 5 of 5 stars There is something all encompassing about that moment when somebody discovers that they can love; that they can truly, madly and wholly love somebody or something. It becomes the everything that they are, the everything that they do. It is the air,Continue reading “Green Grass of Wyoming : Mary O’Hara”

Don Quixote by Jennifer Adams My rating: 4 of 5 stars I love this. It’s a board book which introduces some of the key words in and around the story of Don Quixote, in both English and Spanish. Each spread deals with one particular moment ‘castle / el castillo’ and delivers a vibrant, chunky drawingContinue reading “Don Quixote (a Spanish language primer) : Jennifer Adams & Alison Oliver”

Doodle Lit by Jennifer Adams My rating: 4 of 5 stars Doodle Lit, the work of Jennifer Adams and Alison Oliver, is a book that I specifically requested to review and my thanks to the publishers for the review copy. I specifically requested it for several reasons: the boom in colouring in books currently hittingContinue reading “Doodle Lit : Jennifer Adams and Alison Oliver”

Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Alison Jay My rating: 5 of 5 stars Alice in Wonderland is a text that has been subject to a most phenomenal process of transformation from its original publication to date. I suspect that there are very few other children’s texts which have been integrated so wholly into our culturalContinue reading “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland : Alison Jay”

The Secrets of Sam and Sam by Susie Day My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’m going to start this review by talking about another book. Stay with me, there’s a reason for this. I nominated Pea’s Book of Big Dreams by Day as my pick for the Carnegie last year. The Carnegie, for thoseContinue reading “The Secrets of Sam and Sam : Susie Day”

Max’s Wagon by Barbro Lindgren My rating: 5 of 5 stars I don’t review that many board books. A lot of this is due to the fact that they’re just not really things that come across my radar. Some of this is due to the fact that they’re always fairly well beaten up in anyContinue reading “Max’s Wagon : Barbro Lindgren & Eva Eriksson”

Dog Ears by Anne Booth My rating: 5 of 5 stars As I read ‘Dog Ears’ I became increasingly aware of how Blytonian it felt to me. And not Enid Blyton at her worst, but rather Enid Blyton at her best – stories of children being children and trying to exist in a world thatContinue reading “Dog Ears : Anne Booth”

Fire Colour One by Jenny Valentine My rating: 3 of 5 stars Books like Fire Colour One make me realise the inadequacy of my rating scheme. So let’s make a pact for the duration of this review: ratings do not exist. This is a book which, quite fittingly, flares and fades and sometimes – justContinue reading “Fire Colour One : Jenny Valentine”

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd My rating: 4 of 5 stars It’s books like ‘The London Eye Mystery’ that make me consider how we use the word ‘good’. Good. It’s such a space of a word. It’s sort of phatic at points; things are good, we are good, everything is good, let’s moveContinue reading “The London Eye Mystery : Siobhan Dowd”

The River Singers by Tom Moorhouse My rating: 4 of 5 stars Rich, genuine and warm-hearted, ‘The River Singers’ is such a lovely book. Moorhouse, as evidenced by this book and also the talk I was privileged to hear him give at the FCBG Conference in 2015, knows the riverside world very well. In this,Continue reading “The River Singers : Tom Moorhouse”

Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill My rating: 4 of 5 stars I finished Only Ever Yours last night and laid there for a while, thinking about how I could review this book. There is a problem for me here, and it’s one concerning my own narrative. It’s taken me a long time to figureContinue reading “Only Ever Yours – Louise O’Neill”

Minnow on the Say by Philippa Pearce My rating: 5 of 5 stars It’s odd to be able to describe a book as thick and dense with summer heat; a sensation somewhat removed from the cold practicality of reading the printed page, but Minnow on the Say somehow achieves that. It is a story fullContinue reading “Minnow on the Say : Philippa Pearce”

Agatha Parrot and the Thirteenth Chicken by Kjartan Poskitt My rating: 4 of 5 stars I first came across Agatha Parrot at a conference I attended. This is the fifth title in the series but it’s immediately accessible to new readers. Two neat little illustrations at the start of the book, one of the schoolContinue reading “Agatha Parrot and the Thirteenth Chicken : Kjartan Poskitt”

One by Sarah Crossan My rating: 5 of 5 stars I admire books like this. No, I think, I admire writers and writing like this. I admire writing that is so resolutely of itself, so careful and crisps and precise and acute and heartfelt with every step it takes. I admire writing like this becauseContinue reading “One : Sarah Crossan”

The Last Wild by Piers Torday My rating: 4 of 5 stars I came to ‘The Last Wild’ a little blindly. I was conscious that it was a Carnegie nominee for 2014 and that I’d seen a lot of positive talk online about it. And that was pretty much it, and now that I haveContinue reading “The Last Wild : Piers Torday”

She Shall Have Music by Kitty Barne My rating: 3 of 5 stars I first came across ‘She Shall Have Music’ during my Masters when I started to collate a list of children’s books featuring gifted and talented characters. It’s a topic that still fascinates me; this balance of the incredibly unique individual with talentsContinue reading “She Shall Have Music : Kitty Barne”

Too Close to Home by Aoife Walsh My rating: 5 of 5 stars I described this on Twitter as one for the ‘I write this sitting in the kitchen sink’ crowd. And it is; it’s a book full of complicated and complex and Casson-esque characters, all of them bumping against each other in their complicatedContinue reading “Too Close to Home : Aoife Walsh”

Lyra’s Oxford by Philip Pullman My rating: 5 of 5 stars “This book contains a story and several other things.” So opens this slim and quiet little volume of Lyra’s Oxford, a book that truly contains a story and several other things, but maybe Other Things is how we should think of these latter objectsContinue reading “Lyra’s Oxford : Philip Pullman”

The Borrowers by Mary Norton My rating: 5 of 5 stars “It was Mrs May who first told me about them. No, not me. How could it have been me – a wild, untidy, self-willed little girl who stared with angry eyes and was said to crunch her teeth? Kate, she should have been called.Continue reading “The Borrowers : Mary Norton”

Starring Kitty by Keris Stainton My rating: 5 of 5 stars I was struck, very much, on reading this how adorable a book it is. The initial title in a new series from Stainton, Starring Kitty is a book about friendship and being who you are – and realising how important a bond true friendshipContinue reading “Starring Kitty : Keris Stainton”

Phoenix by S.F. Said My rating: 5 of 5 stars A brief diversion before I begin this review. Once, a long time ago, I went to see Persepolis in the cinema. For those of you who don’t know it, it was an animated adaptation of a wonderful graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi: –The Complete Persepolis.Continue reading “Phoenix : SF Said & Dave McKean”

I. Love. This. Book.

Five Children on the Western Front by Kate Saunders My rating: 5 of 5 stars I remember being quite concerned when this was first announced. I think it was the title, mainly, which worried me. It felt so bald somehow; this juxtaposition of E Nesbit’s glorious (and eternal) work against the awful bluntness of WorldContinue reading “Five Children on the Western Front : Kate Saunders”

The Whitby Witches by Robin Jarvis My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’ve written about The Whitby Witches before but never quite in the guise of a formal review. Upon the decision that I wanted to use this book in my PhD (and how, oh how could I not…), I knew it was time toContinue reading “The Whitby Witches : Robin Jarvis”

Arsenic for Tea by Robin Stevens My rating: 5 of 5 stars I was a little in awe of Stevens’ debut in this series, the rather glorious and as good as Christmas Murder Most Unladylike, and so when Arsenic For Tea came onto NetGalley, I did a tiny shriek of joy. And by tiny, IContinue reading “Arsenic for Tea : Robin Stevens”

Emma Hearts LA by Keris Stainton My rating: 4 of 5 stars A sequel, though happily not in that ‘you must have read and rememembered every inch of the first title in the series’ sort of way, Emma Hearts LA is rather delightful. It’s the story of the eponymous Emma who has moved with herContinue reading “Emma Hearts LA : Keris Stainton”

The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson My rating: 5 of 5 stars I was thinking about The Morning Gift this morning, this strange, heightened, musical book full of grace and elegance and wry sentences that curl in on themselves with sudden witticisms and side-remarks, and I was reminded about how good Eva Ibbotson can be.Continue reading “The Morning Gift : Eva Ibbotson”

Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan My rating: 5 of 5 stars The great grace of Crossan’s writing was made very clear with her debut, the quite beautiful The Weight of Water , and Apple and Rain is of a similar precise and graceful ilk. It is a very, very beautiful book. Elegant, subtle andContinue reading “Apple and Rain : Sarah Crossan”

A Little Princess; being the whole story of Sara Crewe now told for the first time by Frances Hodgson Burnett My rating: 5 of 5 stars Where to begin with Sara Crewe and her magical story of hope and dreams and imagination? Where to begin with this story full of richness, of sweetness, of grace,Continue reading “A Little Princess : Frances Hodgson Burnett”

Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer My rating: 3 of 5 stars It’s difficult for me this book, and it’s one that I’ve put aside for a good few days before writing this review. My feelings are complicated and I hope to understand the complexities and tensions of that response through this review. So, let’s begin atContinue reading “Belzhar : Meg Wolitzer”

War Girls by Adèle Geras My rating: 5 of 5 stars I begin this review by telling you that this compilation, this collection of stories about World War One is one of the better (if not the best) book I have read this year and I am greedy for more. The authors that have contributedContinue reading “War Girls : A Collection of First World War stories through the eyes of young women”

No And Me by Delphine de Vigan My rating: 4 of 5 stars It’s a strange book ‘No and Me’ as it’s one which didn’t really get me until the end. Written originally in French and translated into English, it is full of eloquent and heartbeat like moments that sort of somehow just are, untilContinue reading “No and Me : Delphine de Vigan”

Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver My rating: 5 of 5 stars “Torak woke with a jolt from a sleep he’d never meant to have” This, the opener to Paver’s stone age saga, sets the scene instantly and does so with a great and vivid grace. This sentence. This book. This story, this richness of story,Continue reading “Wolf Brother : Michelle Paver”

Worrals of the W.A.A.F. by W.E. Johns My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’ve heard a lot about Worrals over the years. It’s a title I’ve sort of brushed into contact with, having read a lot of Girlsown, and so, when I received an email telling me that it was being reprinted by IndieBooks LimitedContinue reading “Worrals of the W.A.A.F : W.E Johns”

Nevermore by Linda Newbery My rating: 4 of 5 stars I always feel with Linda Newbery that I read her stuff on a slightly different level. She has such grace with her writing, such precise and skilled use of tone and of shadow and of light, that sometimes it can feel like an education inContinue reading “Nevermore : Linda Newbery”

The Manifesto on How to be Interesting by Holly Bourne My rating: 5 of 5 stars As Joss Whedon so rightly said, “High school is, among other things, … always, always about power.” (From here.) And as ABBA said: “The Winner takes it all.” Two drastically different authorial voices but both, I think, bearing relevanceContinue reading “The Manifesto On How To Be Interesting : Holly Bourne”

A few quick words of introduction for this one. I’ve been looking at art books all this week and I wondered whether to include The Rights Of The Reader in that. And I think that I can (well, that’s self-evident what with this post existing and all) but to be more precise, I think thatContinue reading “The Rights of the Reader : Daniel Pennac”

How Artists See: Feelings: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Love by Colleen Carroll My rating: 3 of 5 stars ‘How Artists See Feelings’ covers a series of artworks separated under the headings of: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Love. Under each heading, Carroll presents a simple spread of the artwork on one side and a little piece of textContinue reading “How artists see feelings : Colleen Carroll”

Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce My rating: 4 of 5 stars I adore Frank Cottrell Boyce. Millions, to me, remains one of the great pieces of perfect children’s literature. It is the book that I would have written if I could, if it had not already been written to such perfection beforehand. Framed is aContinue reading “Framed : Frank Cottrell Boyce”

What Is Contemporary Art? a Guide for Kids by Jacky Klein My rating: 4 of 5 stars I didn’t know much about contemporary art for a long time. I didn’t know that it even existed, in a way. I tought art and I thought about the traditional images of art; the oil paintings on theContinue reading “What is Contemporary Art? A Children’s Guide : Jacky and Suzy Klein”

The Five Senses by Hervé Tullet My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’ve been unpacking a lot of my books recently from eternal storage and amidst the general delight of rediscovering old favourites and all the Angela Brazils that I couldn’t remember I had, was this beautiful little book. Tullet’s introduction to the five sensesContinue reading “The Five Senses : Hervé Tullet”

Dark Portal by Robin Jarvis My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’m on a bit of a Robin Jarvis kick at the moment, and it was when I reread ‘The Dark Portal’ (the first in the Deptford Mice series) that I came to realise something. I think that Jarvis taught me the concept of story,Continue reading “The Dark Portal : Robin Jarvis”

Before we start, I think you need to know two things. 1.  I think I’m a little bit in love with what Nosy Crow do with their picture books. 2. I am very much a fan of what Elys Dolan does. I loved Weasels and when I saw Nuts In Space, I shrieked and leaptContinue reading “Nuts in Space : Elys Dolan”

Three Indian Goddesses. Jamila Gavin by Jamila Gavin My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really love Jamila Gavin. I love the elegance of her writing, the quiet subtlety of it and the way she tells rich and layered stories that never quite do what you expect them to do. This slim compilation of threeContinue reading “Three Indian Goddesses : Jamila Gavin”

The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Bunker Diary won the Carnegie this year, and, almost immediately, got a lot of less than favourable media coverage. Articles ranged from calling The Bunker Diary‘vile and dangerous’, through to other critics ‘refusing to review it’. Vulpes Libris have an excellent roundContinue reading “The Bunker Diary : Kevin Brooks”

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell My rating: 5 of 5 stars I think I’m going to have to redefine how I approach a Rainbow Rowell book. There are some authors I come to when I’m in the need of something short, satisfying – brief, almost. When I know I need to fix something inContinue reading “Eleanor & Park : Rainbow Rowell”

Boy In The Tower by Polly Ho-Yen My rating: 4 of 5 stars Boy In The Tower appealed to me mainly through that instantly evocative title. It’s a rich one that, and one which speaks a lot about the instant power of titles. Note the lack of a ‘The’. It’s not The Boy In TheContinue reading “Boy In The Tower : Polly Ho-Yen”

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett My rating: 5 of 5 stars The Secret Garden is a glorious, wonderful book. For a book published over one hundred years ago (1910), I am surprised at how readable and how genuinely heartwarming it is. There’s a richness to this story that survives and thrives even withContinue reading “The Secret Garden : Frances Hodgson Burnett”

Binny for Short by Hilary McKay My rating: 5 of 5 stars It’s hard to write about family, I think sometimes. It’s a thing that a lot of people do for families, in their odd and pained and viciously real shapes, are part of all our lives and they are something which remain intensely personal.Continue reading “Binny for Short : Hilary McKay”

Olivia’s First Term by Lyn Gardner My rating: 4 of 5 stars Oh it’s taken me too long to get to this book. I first heard about Olivia’s First Term a fair while ago, reading descriptions and reviews which referenced the glorious heights of Ballet Schools (coughpetrovaruleseverythingcough) and I thought – I need to readContinue reading “Olivia’s First Term : Lyn Gardner”

Landline by Rainbow Rowell My rating: 4 of 5 stars I rather love Rainbow Rowell. I love the graceful quirks of her characters, and the way her literature is resolutely of itself. There is a palpable Rowell-ness (?) about her work, and I am falling in love with it more with every book I read.Continue reading “Landline : Rainbow Rowell”

Girl With a White Dog by Anne Booth My rating: 5 of 5 stars It’s always difficult reading and reviewing books by people that you ‘know’ and I do know Anne. I’ve talked with her a lot on Twitter about children’s literature, and I have a lot of time for her thoughtful articulacy. So youContinue reading “Girl With a White Dog : Anne Booth”

Hi So Much by Laura Dockrill My rating: 4 of 5 stars I keep coming across books which make me convinced that British children’s literature is experiencing a little bit of a golden age right now. Hi So Much, the second in the Darcy Burdock series, helped confirm that feeling. Vivid with voice and fullContinue reading “Hi So Much : Laura Dockrill”

Pea’s Book of Holidays by Susie Day My rating: 5 of 5 stars When I finished this, all I could think was: “I don’t read enough of Susie Day’s books.” These Pea books are glorious, wondrous things, full of heart and love and I am still glowing with the post-reading feeling several days later. IContinue reading “Pea’s Book of Holidays : Susie Day”

Only Remembered: Powerful Words and Pictures About the War That Changed our World by Michael Morpurgo My rating: 4 of 5 stars There are a lot of books out at the moment to do with the first world war. I’ve been privileged to review several of them, and when I saw this on NetGalley IContinue reading “Only Remembered : Michael Morpurgo”

The Case of the Exploding Loo by Rachel Hamilton My rating: 4 of 5 stars Reading and reviewing humorous books for children is always difficult. Reading and reviewing any humorous book is always different because humour is so intensely personal, and it’s always tempting to conflate your viewpoint with that of the intended audience. IContinue reading “The Case of the Exploding Loo : Rachel Hamilton”

Remembrance by Theresa Breslin My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book, this graceful slow burn of a book is rather glorious in how it creeps up on you. It is the story of two families and how their fortunes intertwine during the first world war. And it is a story of doubt, I think,Continue reading “Remembrance : Theresa Breslin”

See How They Grow: Foal by Mary Ling My rating: 3 of 5 stars As part of my aim to have a look at more non-fiction, I fell a little bit in love with this book from Dorling Kindersley. I have a lot of time for Dorling Kindersley and their approach. Their books are alwaysContinue reading “See how they grow: Foal”

Ash Road by Ivan Southall My rating: 4 of 5 stars Written in 1965, and winning several awards and being reprinted in a lovely edition by Text Classics, Ash Road is a visceral and brutally evocative story of the impact of an Australian bush fire on its rural community. It starts with a group ofContinue reading “Ash Road : Ivan Southall”

Viking Boy by Tony Bradman My rating: 4 of 5 stars Viking Boy is the coming of age story of Gunnar, whose peaceful life on his family steading is shattered forever by raiders. As his father dies, protecting his family, and his mother is taken prisoner by the raiders Gunnar swears a blood oath toContinue reading “Viking Boy : Tony Bradman”

Archie’s War by Marcia Williams My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’ve been planning to review more non-fiction on the blog for a while. A lot of it stems from inspiration provided by conversations with my peers both on and off, and the slightly uncomfortable awareness that non-fiction is something I very, rarely cover. AContinue reading “Archie’s War – Marcia Williams”

Stories of World War One by Tony (Comp) Bradman My rating: 4 of 5 stars I first heard of this compilation several weeks ago and the names of those involved made me sit up and pay attention. Anything which features Adele Geras is something great and joyful to me. Anything which features Adele Geras, JamilaContinue reading “Stories of World War One : (ed) Tony Bradman”

Dancer’s Luck by Lorna Hill My rating: 3 of 5 stars The second of one of Lorna Hill’s ‘other’ series, Dancer’s Luck is a fascinating read to somebody very much entrenched in the Well books. You’ll have to forgive me if I make any faux pas about this series as Dancer’s Luck is my introductionContinue reading “Dancer’s Luck : Lorna Hill”