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Currently reading: Foreign Bodies by Cynthia Ozick
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Children's Book of the Month - April 2012
Children's - April 2012: Wonder
Review: Follow Auggie Pullman’s first year at Beecher Prep as he learns to cope with people’s reactions to his unusual appearance. “Wonder” is the funny, sweet and incredibly moving story. An unforgettable read for all ages. Highly recommended. Carrie
Read More »Book of the Month - April 2012
April 2012: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Review: The Unlikely Pilgrimmage of Harold Fry is an exceptional book. Harold is an inhibited character who has (due to his past)found it difficult to show his feelings outwardly. His pilgrimmage allows him to come to terms with his past and enables him to start connecting with the world again. It is how he heals…
Read More »Book of the Month - March 2012
March 2012: The Thoughts & Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals
Review A brilliant debut novel set in rural Wales which captures the complexities and frustrations of 1920′s society. It is both romantic and tragic with lead character Wilfred embroiled in a complicated love triangle and a web of expectation. A pleasure to read. Carrie
Read More »Children's Book of the Month - February 2012
Children's - February 2012: My Mum and Dad Make Me Laugh
Synopsis: Mum is crazy about spots – spotty clothes, spotty wallpaper, spotty games like dominoes; Dad loves stripes – stripy suits and stripy ties, stripy humbug sweets. No wonder they make their son laugh – mind you, they think that he’s funny in his grey patternless clothes. When they go to the safari park, Mum…
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February 2012: Pure
Review: The Costa Booka of the Year 2011. Set around a crumbling Parisian graveyard in the years leading up to the French Revolution, Andrew Miller paints a vivid picture of the era, the city and its people. A pitch perfect historical novel which makes for a compelling read. I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to…
Read More »Book of the Month - January 2012
January 2012: The Art of Fielding
Review: Set against the backdrop of an American college baseball season, The Art of Fielding is big, warm hearted, absorbing and a truly rewarding read. The five main characters are all strong, but each vulnerable in their own way. The spiral of relationships between the characters develops as the season unfolds. Importantly, no knowledge of baseball is…
Read More »Children's Book of the Month - December 2011
Children's - December 2011: Another Night Before Christmas
Review: Carol Ann Duffy’s twenty-first-century reworking of the Victorian Christmas classic is filled with her characteristic warmth, wit and imagination and, illustrated by the sophisticated, romantic and truly original Rob Ryan. The perfect gift this Christmas! Carrie
Read More »Book of the Month - December 2011
December 2011: The House of Silk: The New Sherlock Holmes Novel
Review: With devilish plotting and excellent characterisation, Anthony Horowitz delivers a first-rate Sherlock Holmes mystery for a modern readership whilst remaining utterly true to the spirit of the original Conan Doyle books. Sherlock Holmes is back with all the nuance, pace and powers of deduction that make him the world’s greatest and most celebrated detective….
Read More »Children's Book of the Month - November 2011
Children's - November 2011: The Day Louis Got Eaten
Synopsis: When Louis gets eaten up by a Gulper, his big sister Sarah knows she has to act fast, and sets off in hot pursuit. But rescuing a boy from a Gulper’s tummy isn’t so simple – especially when other strange and scary creatures are looking for their dinner too…
Read More »Book of the Month - November 2011
November 2011: The Sense of an Ending
Review: Winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2011. The Sense of an Ending is the story of one man coming to terms with the past, his friendships and relationships, although things aren’t quite how he’d remembered them. Short, perfectly formed and precisely written, this sublime book is thought provoking and demands re-reading….
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