Roodica The Rude - Party Pooper by Margaret Ryan

Review by The Mole

Roodica, a Celtic princess, is planning a party when her plans are cancelled because her family must attend another party, at the same time, being given by the Romans. But Roodica is a girl of spirit and is not going to take this lying down. In fact if she can take advantage of it, then she will!

This is a story without a hidden meaning - it's one that is purely for fun and fun it certainly is. Yes, there are things in there to be learned but it can also just be enjoyed and perhaps that's the best kind of book - one that motivates its young reader on the promise of laughter. Although they may learn a bit about Roman life - but is that important?

Aimed at the 7+ audience and with lots of simple but amusing black and white drawings this is bound to delight at Christmas and there are three others stories in the series already to keep them laughing and reading.

Publisher - Catnip Publishing
Genre - Children's 7+ fiction,Comedy, Historical

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Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel

review by Maryom

Following on from Wolf Hall, Bring Up The Bodies follows the continuing fortunes of Thomas Cromwell from September 1535 to summer 1536 - as Henry VIII falls in love with Jane Seymour and tries to rid himself of his current encumbrance of wives. Cromwell, of course, is on hand to help and advise - believing the world to be a safer place for everyone, but particularly himself, if Anne Boleyn and her supporters are removed from the scene.

It's not the story that matters here - after all, if you didn't know already, a brief glance at a history book will tell you how it all ends. Mantel's skill is in bringing the movers and shakers of the Tudor Court to life on the page and in our minds. The reader feels themselves to be there, in that time and place, overhearing court gossip or Cromwell's family get-togethers.

I discovered after reading Wolf Hall that the world - or at least that part of it interested in books - was divided into two distinct groups; those who felt it captured the period, the workings of Henry's court in general and of Cromwell's mind in particular, so very well, who loved it and wanted more, more, more;  and those for whom it all fell flat. No prizes for guessing I'm in the first group! I could sing Hilary Mantel's praises for pages and pages but basically if you adored Wolf Hall, you'll adore Bring Up The Bodies - and if you found Wolf Hall wasn't for you, then this won't be either.

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Fourth Estate
Genre - adult fiction, historical

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Summertime of the Dead by Gregory Hughes

 review by Maryom

"Yukio's two best friends are dead. Tormented and blackmailed by the Japanese mafia - the notorious yakuza - they have taken their own lives. Overcome by heartbreak and fury, Yukio is determined to avenge their deaths.
  So begins a deadly mission that will take Yukio on a destructive path to the rotten core of Tokyo - and to his own dark heart."

I'd been putting off reading this book for a while as I expected it, from the title, to be yet another zombie story. So when I read the blurb - as above - I was pleasantly surprised and expecting a mystery thriller - a tale of a young teen taking on the might of the yakuza, tracking down the culprits and bringing them to justice. Unfortunately the story turned out to be far more of a bloodbath than I expected. Yukio sets off round Tokyo with his Samurai sword seeking out those he sees as responsible - a bit like Charles Bronson in Deathwish.

Taken as a whole I found this to be a very disturbing novel. At the end, the author comes down as very firmly AGAINST Yukio's behaviour - but only at the end. My concern is that a reader might not make it that far, might take it as approval of Yukio's actions and even try to imitate them. If this had been adult fiction, I would not have been so perturbed but Yukio is only 14 - and presumably the target reader is of similar age.


Publisher: Quercus
Genre: Teenage fiction

Stuart The Bug Eating Man by Calvin Innes

Review by The Mole

Stuart is a man who only eats bugs. His family find it revolting and he also spends his days hunting for bugs to eat and so his wife has to go out and earn the family's entire income. One way or another his whole family is affected in a bad way by his obsession. Until... one day...

The story is told as one poem and although 88 pages in length it is laid out with 4 lines to a page and so is very easy reading in simple rhyme. Each page has fun, clear, black and white illustrations which will make it fun to read for the early reader (7+). It also carries an important message that even some weird hobbies and pastimes can be put to good use.

Publisher - My Little Big Town
Genre - Children's early reader (7+), Picture book, Poetry

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The Healing of Luther Grove by Barry Gornell

review by Maryom

Luther Grove is a man who lives simply off the land - only on what he can grow and catch - keeping himself very much to himself on his private piece of Scottish hillside. Then the nearby cottage is sold and renovated by the new owners, city dwellers John and Laura Payne. To them this represents a dream-home and a chance to start over; to Luther it's an infringement of his privacy. Their arrival stirs up memories of his wife and daughter that he's spent many, many years trying to suppress. At first innocently but increasingly maliciously they trample all over Luther's feelings and desecrate places important to him.
When John's brother Frank arrives, he decides to deliberately antagonise Luther - and events take a downhill turn...

The Healing of Luther Grove is the sort of thriller that grips you on the first page so that you can't put it down till the very last! The situation is carefully set up and believable but then events spiral out of control, Deliverance style. I felt my sympathies dragged this way and that as the story evolved. Luther's story is heart-breaking and it's easy to see why he's become the person he is. At first, John and Laura appear to be just normal folk hoping for a better life but as their past is revealed the reader realises nothing is ever that simple. And Frank?... well, maybe the less said about him, the better!
An enthralling read with a cataclysmic ending, more thought-provoking than many thrillers, this is Barry Gornell's debut novel and I look forward to reading many more from him.

Maryom's review - 4 stars

Publisher - Freight Books

Genre - thriller, adult,

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Alien Schoolboy's Z-A Guide to Earthlings Ros Asquith

Review by The Mole

Flowkee has visited Earth, disguised himself as a schoolboy and tried to learn about Earthlings. He made some mistakes along the way and so has produced this guide for other Faathings who will follow. Sadly he didn't get the title quite right but he did manage to put the entries in the correct order - entries starting at "Aaargh" going through to "Zoo". With an introduction on how to prepare and a section at the back where the reader can add "Everything else...".

Shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny prize it carries entries like "Losing stuff" where it says "... When earthlings find something, they say 'It's always in the last place you look.' Are there really Earthlings who go on looking after they've found something?" and you can see why it achieved that prestigious accolade.

Laugh out loud funny with lots of hilariously captioned pictures throughout this is a book that is going to be loved by it's readers and is a valuable reference book for those who follow the "Alien Schoolboy" books. A great Christmas present for young readers and it includes some facts to be absorbed by osmosis.

Publisher - Piccadilly Press
Genre - Children's 8+,Sci-Fi(?), humour

Buy Letters from an Alien Schoolboy: Alien Schoolboy's Z - A Guide to Earthlings (Letters from/Alien Schoolboy) from Amazon

Crow Country by Kate Constable

 review by Maryom

Sadie Hazzard isn't happy when her mum Ellie decides to move from Melbourne to the small town of Boort in rural Victoria. Ellie has fond memories of the holidays she spent there with her grandparents but Sadie thinks it's just plain dull. Gradually she makes new friends -  Lachie and Walter - and discovers how her family fit into the area's history. But Sadie also finds herself talking to the crows that seem to follow her around and have a task for her. In a dreamlike state she slips into the past to find a mystery that needs to be cleared up.

Crow Country is an intriguing time-slip adventure set in rural Australia. The present day story of Sadie and Ellie moving to Boort mixes with the flash-backs to the 1920s discovering wrongs committed then and helping to put them right. Without being moralistic or preaching in any way, the story explores the relationship between white incomers and aboriginal peoples of the Boort area, their differing attitudes towards the land, the particularly difficult area of 'mixed-race' relationships - working towards a better understanding from both sides. Nevertheless, it remains at all times, first and foremost, an excellent story.

Maryom's review - 4 stars

Publisher - Allen and Unwin

Genre - teen, time-slip adventure, 

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