Reviews

  Lying on the ground at the edge of a ripe wheat field, John Lewis-Stempel describes in loving detail all the life he observes: flowers, insects, birds, a field mouse even a toad waddles past; he is mesmerised and stays there for hours. For 30 years from 1930, Lewis-Stempel’s grandparents ran Woodston farm. It was primarily a hop farm but mixed with sheep, milking cows, wheat and other crops for animal feed.  ‘Poppop’ was hired because he was a good … Read more

  Nick Hayes’ The Book Of Trespass shocks, challenges and informs our understanding and acceptance of land ownership and the law in England.  William the Conqueror began the process of exclusion, defining the royal forests as spaces from which commoners were barred then parcelling up huge areas to gift to his barons who assumed ownership and exclusive power over use of the land. The following centuries saw almost all the remaining common land claimed piecemeal by acts of enclosure as powerful landowners … Read more

  Rob Biddulph is an award-winning author and illustrator of picture books, but this is his first published novel and we can easily see it garnering more awards for him! Peanut Jones is miserable because her beloved artist father has gone missing but whilst looking through the collection of illustrated post-its he drew for her, she discovers a secret compartment in the box with a worn down pencil. Peanut can’t believe her eyes when she draws a quick sketch only … Read more

  A thrillingly ambitious novel that spotlights the cruelties and injustices of child migration from Central America to the USA. Telling the stories of one family’s road trip to the deserts of Arizona to find the homeland and memorials of the last free Apaches and the desperate train journey taken by some ‘illegal’ child migrants, Luiselli creates compelling drama and confronts the shocking hypocrisies of America. The narrator and her husband met and married during a long sound archiving project. … Read more

  Past mysteries and present crises collide in a whirlwind adventure that explores family, friendship, and standing up for what you believe in. The Quinn Family Circus is in need of a new headline act. Ever since Bastjan’s mother died in a terrible aerobatic accident, ticket sales have been declining. Now, in desperation, the ruthless ringmaster is looking to Bastjan to revive his mother’s act. Far away and a long time ago, Ester disobeys her parents to explore the mysterious … Read more

  Jane, somewhere around a mid-point in life, finds herself at a moment of reckoning. A creative writing tutor, she suffers from both an unsteady sense of conviction in her task and acute, shifting physical pains that strike at unpredictable moments. Reflecting on the formative relationships in her life, she recalls the conflicts and currents of childhood and family life – stumbling attempts at intimacy, and in particular an early, shattering encounter that lead to a life-long connection with a … Read more

If you’ve been suffering from a reading slump, this is the ideal book to get you back on a reading roll. Featuring the same cast of characters that stole our hearts in Dear Mrs Bird, Yours Cheerfully continues the tale of the spirited Emmeline Lake and her best friend Bunty as they navigate their way through 1941. This is Number 2 in the Emmeline Lake Chronicles but you do not need to have read Dear Mrs Bird to enjoy it. And if … Read more

  Scarlet’s mum has moved out, and taken Scarlet with her. Of course, no-one is telling Scarlet the whole story. Is she expected to just accept this massive upheaval to her life without complaint? The adults in her life seem outraged if she expresses even the smallest amount of dissatisfaction or even curiosity. They’re treating her like a little kid, and she’s got every right to be angry. Fuming, in fact. At least, that’s how it feels to her. Anne … Read more

  Klara is an Artificial Friend (AF) intended to be bought for children as a companion. She spends her days staring out of a store window observing the humans and surroundings, dreaming of the life outside. When she is eventually purchased for an ill teenage girl and uprooted to the remote countryside, her unique and questioning nature is put to the test under challenging circumstances. Probably most in in common with one of his previous novels, Never Let Me Go, … Read more