Reviews

  A timely novel about truth and deception in our digital lives by the award winning author of Boy 87 which was a huge hit with young adult readers. Imagine a world where your only friends are virtual, and big tech companies control access to food, healthcare and leisure. This is Jess’s world but when she turns fourteen, Jess can go to school with other children for the first time. Most of them hate the ‘real’ world, but Jess begins … Read more

  Shadowlands is an exploration of places in Britain which have disappeared – by plague, economic change and development and, most dramatically, by flood.  Matthew Green tells the stories of well known examples such as Dunwich and St Kilda as well as lost places whose histories are less familiar. They are all poignant; ruins only become ‘romantic’ long after the people have left and losses in living memory are still felt deeply by those affected.  Green writes vividly giving the … Read more

  A welcome re-issue of an iconic classic of 1950s poetry. “It is easy to be beautiful; it is difficult to appear so. I admire you, beloved, for the trap you’ve set. It’s like a final chapter no one reads because the plot is over.” Made famous in recent years due to the TV series of both Mad Men and Normal People, Frank O’Hara’s beautiful collection survives the test of time as more than just a fashionable prop. The quiet, … Read more

  Westcountry-based nature writer Tom Cox’s first full-length novel is full of treats and surprises, and touches on the inter-connectedness of us all. Villager follows the history and fortunes of a fictional Devon village, spanning from its distant past to the near future. Seamlessly woven into the landscape and personalities is the influence of an obscure musician called RJ McKendree, whose talent permeates through the fabric of Underhill and resonates long after his death. Flavoured with the folklore, nature and … Read more

  An outstandingly powerful coming-of-age novel about chance encounters and how the choices we make create our future. The worlds of three 16 year olds, Chantelle, Jackson and Marc, collide when they witness the stabbing of 14 year-old Shaq outside of a busy shopping centre in Manchester. The three teenagers, from very different walks of life, are unexpectedly brought together when they’re the only ones who stop to help. In the aftermath they find themselves turning to each other for … Read more

  Juvenile lust, desire and greed are laid bare in this quietly powerful Booker International longlisted novella. Bored teenage gardener Polo works in the ‘Paradais’ complex and in his downtime hangs out with Franco Andrade, a porn-obsessed loner who fantasises about his glamorous neighbour. When a plot is hatched to fulfill his dream, Franco enlists the drifting Polo to be his wingman…with deadly results. Told in short and arresting prose, this stark novel serves as more than just a shocking … Read more

  Between bullies at school and changes at home, Charlie Challinor finds life a bit scary. And when he’s made guardian of a furry fox cub called Cadno, things get a whole lot scarier. Because Cadno isn’t just any fox, he’s a Firefox; the only one of his kind and a sinister hunter from another world is on his trail. Swept up into an unexpected adventure to protect his flammable friend, Charlie needs to find the bravery he never thought … Read more

  Luke and his big brother Ben spend the summer on the banks of Cabbage Tree Creek. Quiet Luke sketches birds, while Ben leaps off the Jumping Tree. The boys couldn’t be more different, but they share a special bond. When a local competition to win a boat is announced, the brothers spring into action, dreaming of exploring the creek together. But then Ben starts high school, bringing unfamiliar changes into their lives. Slowly, the boys start to drift apart … Read more

  A charming and informative meander around graveyards that Jean Sprackland has known – to uncover some of the extraordinary stories of those at rest, and reflect on the changing customs of burials and memorials. Wherever she has lived, Sprackland has visited graveyards. In ‘These Silent Mansions’ she re-visits these special places to learn more about some of those buried and commemorated; not the famous who “can look after themselves” but people now forgotten whose stories still have meaning for … Read more

  In English for the first time, this story of love and friendship resonates far more deeply than expected. When a striking young girl enters her school, Sylvie is immediately drawn to her. Andree is clever, confident and everything that Sylvie wishes to be. Yet as they grow older, their relationship changes and what began as simple infatuation unfolds into something deeper, which will ultimately end in tragedy. This, Simone de Beauvoir’s ‘lost’ novel from 1954, hasn’t seen an English … Read more