Monday 18 March 2024

The Teacher Who Knew Too Much by Rob Keeley - #bookreview

 


A robber was running.

Dressed from head to foot in black, the shadowy figure came hurtling through the streets. Right across the town centre, shoving early shoppers and dog-walkers out of the way, with only one thought - to escape ...

***

Seventeen banks and a jeweller’s have been raided. The police are baffled, but only Ben knows the truth – his Maths teacher, Miss Judson, is really a safecracker!

With police and her gangster boyfriend Al on their trail, Miss Judson and Ben go on the run. But Al needs them for one last job...

This new novel from award-winning children’s and YA author Rob Keeley is a quick and breathless read, a comedy crime thriller that will enthral the young reader and keep the pages turning! Perfect for confident readers, reluctant readers or as a holiday gift.

***

When I was a girl at school, many moons ago, I often wondered what my teachers were like outside of school. For Ben, the main character in the book, he discovers that his Maths teacher is a bank robber!

Such a delightful premise for this book, and I enjoyed every word. It is humourous in the style in which it has been written, and middle grade children will love this story. 

It is a fun and fast paced story that even the most reluctant of readers will enjoy. There is so much to grab their attention. Not only discovering that his teacher is a bank robber, but he goes on the run with her, encounters a gangster and joins a circus. I cannot imagine the child that will not revel in such a wonderful plot.

My own sons would have loved this when they were young. It's short chapters and comedic quality, along with it's pithy plot will appeal to most children in the middle grade age range. A super book which I highly recommend for the intended age range.

ISBN: 978 1805141877

Publisher:  Matador

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  80 (paperback)


About the Author:

Rob has been writing stories and plays since he was a kid and used to lie on the hearthrug and write with a smudgy pen. In March 2011 Troubadour published his first book, The Alien in the Garage and Other Stories, a book of short stories for children. He has now published thirteen books for children and they have been honoured with a win at the Georgina Hawtrey-Woore Awards and have been longlisted for the inaugural Bath Children's Novel Award and the International Rubery Book Award, Highly Commended for the Independent Author Book Award and nominated for the People's Book Prize. His first novel for adults, a murder mystery called Death At Friar's Inn, was published in 2022.

His first ever published work was an article for a local magazine for the disabled (he's a wheelchair user) when he was fifteen, and his first broadcast work was for Chain Gang and Newsjack on BBC Radio 4 Extra. In 2016 and 2017 he was a judge for the IGGY and Litro Young Writers' Prize.  He is a patron of the Children's Media Foundation. In 2019 his one-act stage comedy, Mr Everyone, was listed for the Alfred Bradley and Kenneth Branagh Awards.  During lockdown he was Children's Writer in Residence at the Stay at Home Literary Festival, and held online school workshops as part of Liverpool Writes.

He studied Law at university and has worked in offices and done voluntary work in schools, including storytelling and helping kids with their reading.  He offers author workshops and has a Certificate and a Master of Arts degree in Creative Writing from Lancaster University.  He lives in Wirral, Merseyside and his hobbies include reading, quiz nights (as a competitor or hosting), doing magic tricks (quite badly), playing the odd bit of keyboard (worse), theatre, TV and going out with friends.



(book and media courtesy of the author)

Sunday 17 March 2024

A Swift Return by Fiona Barker & Illustrated by Howard Gray - #bookreview #blogtour

 


Aria had her feet in the clouds.

Yusuf had his feet on the ground.

***

Aria has her head in the clouds. Yusuf keeps his feet on the ground. But when they work together to save a bird who has lost her way, something magical happens. When Swift loses her way on her epic migration. Aria and Yusuf come to her rescue and are inspired to think big about looking after the sky above their city. Inspired by Fiona and Howard’s love for wildlife of all kinds, A Swift Return is the follow-up to Setsuko and the Song of the Sea. Howard’s beautiful illustrations evoke a strong sense of place, strengthened by the beautiful Arabic text distilled by Maysoon AbuBlan.

***

This is a lovely picture book which is ideal for sharing with little ones. It has much to say about the environment and the importance of us eaching playing a small part to protect it. Consequently, there are discussion points that are triggered by both the text and the illustrations.

It is the story of how two children, Aria and Yusuf become friends when they rescue a bird who is weak and suffering due to the pollution of the unnamed city in which they live. They attempt to help the bird and in doing so realise that in their own small way they can work towards helping the natural world  survive.

This is the strong message running throughout the book; that we each have a small part to play in protecting the world in which we live. 

Early readers will also enjoy reading the text in this book, and each line is shadowed by Arabic script, opening this book up to a whole other group of children.

ISBN:  978 1913230494

Publisher: Tiny Tree

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  27

***

About the Author:

Fiona is a middle-aged, married mum of one. She is positively potty about picturebooks; reading them and writing them. When writing, she longs for alliterative loveliness but is reluctant to rhyme. When reading, she looks for a marriage of words and artwork and loves anything that is fun to read aloud.

Fiona loves doing school author visits and speaking to adults about picture books and children's publishing.

Visit www.fionabarker.co.uk for details of forthcoming events.




(book and all media courtesy of The Write Reads)

(all opinions are my own)

Friday 15 March 2024

At the Stroke of Midnight by Jenni Keer - #bookreview #blogtour

 



Before time completely stopped for Pearl Glenham, she was more concerned with stealing it.

And yet, paradoxically, the very reason for stealing it was an attempt to hold on to a moment that had long passed...

***

It’s 1923 and in a decade that promises excitement and liberation, Pearl Glenham and her father are invited to a mysterious country house party on the Dorset coast, by a total stranger.

Her father claims not to have any prior association with Highcliffe House, but upon arrival, it is apparent that he has a shared history with several of the guests, although he won’t admit it. Belatedly discovering that her father was blackmailed into attending, Pearl’s worries are compounded when their host fails to arrive… 

Intimidated by everyone at the party, she escapes to the nearby cove and stumbles upon a mysterious mercury clock hidden in a cave. This strange encounter sets in motion a series of events that will culminate in an horrific house fire, claiming the lives of all the guests, including Pearl herself.

But then Pearl wakes up back in the cave, seemingly destined never to live past midnight. She can repeat the day. But can she change its outcome?

***

I was introduced to the work of Jenni Keer last year when I read her novel, No. 23 Burlington Square. If you would like to read my review, you can find it by clicking here. I loved that book and so when I was offered the opportunity to read At the Stroke of Midnight for the blog tour I was very keen to do so.

The book has a familiar premise, the opportunity to relive a single day several times over. In fact, it reminded me a little of Kate Atkinson's Life After Life although it focuses on just one day rather than a lifetime. 

Indeed, it was it's familiarity which made this book so easy to read and enjoyable, and enabled me to really focus on the details of the story. And what a fabulous story it is.

The main character, Pearl, was a wonderful depiction of a mousy young woman who is dominated by her father, and who presents more as his servant than his daughter. She is very easily intimidated and retreats into her shyness when faced with the apparently indomitable characters who have been invited to this mysterious dinner party at Highcliffe House.  Observing her personal growth during this time made for wonderful reading and I was absolutely rooting for her all the way.

There is secrecy surrounding both the characters and the house itself running throughout the story. Little by little, the author reveals the mysterious background that the characters appear to share, as well as the mystery of the house and I was kept guessing throughout.

Add to this a love interest and a time travel element and Jenni Keer has produced a riveting and engaging novel. Without doubt, she is a marvellous storyteller and having now read two of her novels I am extremely keen to read more of her back catalogue.

This is a well written and compelling story which I highly recommend.


ISBN: 978 1785139697

Publisher:  Boldwood Books

Formats:  e-book, audio, hardback and paperback

No. of Pages:  338 (paperback)


About the Author:


Jenni Keer is a history graduate who lives in the Suffolk countryside. Her lifelong passion for reading became a passion for writing and she had two contemporary romance novels published in 2019. She has now embraced her love of the past to write twisty, turny historicals, and The Legacy of Halesham Hall was shortlisted for the Romantic Historical Novel of the Year in 2023. 



(ARC and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

Thursday 14 March 2024

Time Waits for No One by M.W. Arnold - #blogtour #spotlight

 


Today I am shining a spotlight on Time Waits for No One by M. W. Arnold, as part of the blog tour. It is the fifth book in the Broken Wings series, and I am definitely thinking this is a series I would enjoy.

The Blurb

It's April 1944, England is preparing to take the war back into Europe and the girls of the Air Transport Auxiliary Mystery Club become mixed up in a desperate fight to save a dear friend from forces who would threaten the very existance of the country.

The girls find solace in their deep friendship, even though the presence of a Nazi spy ring threatens their essential war work and their very lives.

Can love blossom through a fortunate meeting, and will they survive a period where life seems determined to put them in mortal danger? The girls find the strength to battle through all the war throws at them, whilst still keeping a stiff upper lip, a witty repartee, and unbreakable spirit.


ISBN: 978 1509255009

Publisher:  The Wild Rose Press

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  380 (paperback)


About the Author:


Mick is a hopeless romantic who was born in England and spent fifteen years roaming around the world in the pay of HM Queen Elisabeth II in the Royal Air Force before putting down roots and realizing how much he missed the travel. This, he’s replaced somewhat with his writing, including reviewing books and supporting fellow saga and romance authors in promoting their novels.

He’s the proud keeper of two cats bent on world domination, is mad on the music of the Beach Boys and enjoys the theatre and humoring his Manchester Utd supporting wife. Finally, and most importantly, Mick is a full member of the Romantic Novelists Association.

His previous books published with The Wild Rose Press include A Wing and a Prayer, Wild Blue Yonder, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, and In the Mood, all part of his Broken Wings series on the ATA of WW2, and The Lumberjills.





(all media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)
(all opinions are my own)

Wednesday 13 March 2024

Dark Clouds Bring Waters by I.R. Ridley - #bookreview #blogtour

 


Dear Billie,

I'm sorry it's come to this after ten years. I once loved you deeply but now that love has been overshadowed by what's happened and all that we've become, sad to say. I just couldn't go on like that nor live under the same roof as you any longer. Drama, sound and fury have become too tiresome and overwhelming for this ageing stick-in-the-mud, as you described him...

***

Comedy writer Luke Jessop's life is in stasis. He hasn't written a word since his wife, Billie, died almost three years ago and on finding a pile of old letters from her ex, Adam, he has begun to wonder how well he really knew her. Embarking on a pilgrimage to Italy, Luke determines to piece together the full story about his wild and sometimes secretive love. But with Adam refusing to answer his questions and a flame-haired hotel guest threatening his fragile calm, can Luke finally face the truths of the past and learn to live again?

***

Sometimes it is the cover that initially attracts me to a book. Other times, it might be the blurb or reviews that I have read. What initially intrigued me with this book was it's title. I guessed it was a quote from somewhere, but I could not identify it. 

However, one of the characters explains in the book,

"Dark clouds bring waters,"... It's a line from The Pilgrim's Progress. You know, by John Bunyan? It's saying how soothing the rain can be after oppressive heat."

And that sums up the experience of the main character perfectly. Luke's wife, Billie, passed away three years ago.  Upon discovering some letters which she had kept from her first husband, Luke becomes consumed by the need to understand her life before he met her.

This is a short book at 146 pages, and its principal theme is grief and bereavement. Admittedly, not the jolliest of topics but it is so eloquently written that it was a pleasure to read. It reads as contemporary literary fiction and I was drawn into this by the beautiful descriptions of Italy.

The author lost his own wife in 2019 and he clearly draws on the rawness of his own experience, and has thus created a moving and heartfelt novel. My heart went out to Luke; his need to understand and have questions answered was visceral and made for an emotive read.

It also made for positive reading. We accompany Luke on his journey to find out more about his wife but we also observe his personal growth throughout the novel. 

Ultimately, it is a story of love, loss and personal growth and I highly recommend this excellent novel.


ISBN: 978 1739639624

Publisher:  V Books

Formats:  e-book and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages: 146 (paperback)



About the Author:


IAN RIDLEY is a writer and journalist who spent 35 years on national
newspapers, including 18 on The Guardian and The Observer. DARK CLOUDS
BRING WATERS is his third novel, and a move into literary fiction after his two
crime thrillers, OUTER CIRCLE and DON’T TALK, in the ‘Jan Mason
investigative journalist’ series.

Ian has also written 14 non-fiction books, including two shortlisted for the
William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. Addicted, written with the former
Arsenal and England captain Tony Adams, was a Sunday Times No. 1
bestseller while The Breath of Sadness: On love, grief and cricket is a poignant
account of coping with the death of his wife Vikki Orvice, a trailblazing sports
journalist, in February of 2019 at the age of 56.





(book and media courtesy of Random Things Tours)
(all opinions are my own)

Monday 11 March 2024

Library Loans - 9th March 2024



 It has been a while since I posted about a library visit. Well, I went this weekend and enjoyed browsing around. I love my local library. It is a fantastic place and I love going there.

Do you visit your local library? Tell me what you love about it.


From Crime to Crime by Richard Henriques

Sir Richard Henriques has been centre stage in some of the most high-profile and notorious cases of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. After taking silk in 1986, over the course of the next 14 years he appeared in no fewer than 106 murder trials, including prosecuting Harold Shipman, Britain's most prolific serial killer, and the killers of James Bulger. In 2000 he was appointed to the High Court Bench and tried the transatlantic airline plot, the Morecambe Bay cockle pickers, the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes, and many other cases. He sat in the Court of Appeal on the appeals of Barry George, then convicted of murdering Jill Dando, and Jeremy Bamber, the White House Farm killer.

In From Crime to Crime he not only recreates some of his most famous cases but also includes his trenchant views on the state of the British judicial system; how it works - or doesn't - and the current threats to the rule of law that affect us all.


A Judgement in Stone by Ruth Rendell

'Eunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she could not read or write.'

Eunice, the Coverdales' housekeeper, guns down four of her employers in the space of fifteen minutes one Valentine's Day. None of them suspected anything. Her motive remained hidden.

As the police investigate, Eunice schemes to escape the blame - desperate to preserve the terrible secret of her illiteracy.

But Eunice's blindness to a crucial aspect of the world throws her plans into jeopardy...


The Silent Stars Go By by Sally Nicholls

Three years ago, Margot’s life was turned upside down when her fiancé, Harry, went missing in action on the Western Front. Worse, she was left with a devastating secret which threatened to ruin her life and destroy the reputation of her family. As a respectable vicar’s daughter, Margot has had to guard that secret with great care ever since, no matter how much pain it causes her.

Now it’s Christmas 1919, and Margot’s family is gathering back home in the vicarage for the first time since the end of the Great War. And miraculously Harry has returned, hoping to see Margot and rekindle their romance. Can Margot ever reveal the shocking truth to the only man she has ever loved?


The Vintage Shop by Libby Page

One dress. Three women. A lifetime of secrets.

Among the cobbled streets of Frome in Somerset, Lou is about to start something new. After losing her mother, she knows it's time to take a chance and open her own vintage clothes shop.

In upstate New York, Donna receives some news about her family which throws everything she thought she knew into question. The only clue she has to unlock her past is a picture of a yellow dress.

Maggy is in her seventies, newly divorced and all alone in an empty house. Visiting the little vintage shop in Frome, with its rows of beautiful dresses, brings back cherished memories she'd long put aside.

For these three women, only by uncovering the secrets of the yellow dress can they unlock their next chapter...

Friday 8 March 2024

Snack, Please! by Georgie Birkett - #bookreview

 


When she was a baby, Gertie LOVED food. She would eat mashed-up veg, mushed-up fruit...smooshed-up anything really...

As Gertie got older, she would still eat most things... and once she even ate a slug! (Yuck!)

***

Tired of chopping fruit, cubing cheese, fishing rice cakes out of a backpack and generally fielding incessant snack requests? Then Snack, Please! is the book for you – all about the joy of making and sharing food, together!

Gertie LOVES snacks: sofa snacks, bath snacks, bedtime snacks … it’s a snack life! She abandons almost every mealtime in favour of snacking. Her daddy can’t help but feel frustrated – how can he convince her to try new food? Or to even talk about something other than snacks? A day in Granny's allotment might just provide all the inspiration that's needed. In this funny, warm companion title to Carry Me!, Georgie Birkett explores small children’s exasperating eating habits and, once more, through a very endearing father-daughter mouse duo, she perfectly captures the ups and downs of parenting life.

***

When the lovely people at Walker Books sent me a copy of this book, I was instantly attracted by the title. The reason being that "snack" was my grandson's first word. He completely skipped "mama, dada" and "nana" and went straight in at "snack." Clearly a boy who knows his own mind.

As you will see from the quote above, Gertie, the main character in the book, eats a slug! This brought to mind a slightly horrific occasion when my son did the same thing when he was little. Thankfully, I had got to him before he actually swallowed!  So, you can understand why this book resonated with me. 

It is such a lovely book too. It's characters, Gertie and her Daddy are delightfully portrayed, both in words and illustration. There is so much that children will find in the artwork to support the text as it is shared with them.

The book is aimed at a pre-school audience, but early readers will enjoy reading this too. It is amusing to read, and I think most little ones will identify with Gertie and her love of snacks.

I cannot wait to share this with my grandson, who is two. It is delightful book which I highly recommend.


About the Author:



Georgie Birkett is an illustrator and writer of many children’s books, she won the Booktrust Early Years award with Is This My Nose? and was longlisted for the Kate Greenaway medal. She lives in Lewes in Sussex with her one husband, two sons and two cats. She absolutely loves working in her garden cabin with one of the cats sleeping by her side.


(book and media courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)