Are We There Yet?: Enid Blyton's Complete Family Series Collection
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Join, Enid Blyton, one of the world's best storytellers on six fun-filled family holiday adventures!...
The Enchanted Wood
6.5
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The Enchanted Wood is the first magical story in the Faraway Tree series by the world's best-loved...
Cancer: A Very Short Introduction
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In 1961 John F. Kennedy pledged to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Nine years later,...
Ross (3284 KP) rated Tell Me Lies in Books
Jan 28, 2020
Ed James' new series takes place in Seattle rather than the UK-based series he has penned to date. There is also a change in subject, focusing on child abductions rather than the standard "murrdurr" fayre.
Special Agent Max Carter is tasked with tracking down a senator's abducted children. With the clock ticking, we see the action from the abductor's PoV as well as Carter's and the father's. The senator finds himself trying to help the abductor of his children to uncover a government conspiracy in which he may have been involved. The mix of different perspectives allows the story to flow with a good pace, with different angles of the emerging story adding up for the reader in way they wouldn't yet do for the characters. In the middle of the book the investigation did start to feel a little samey (both the FBI agents and the abductor/senator teams going through the same leads one after the other), but this didn't last long.
The change in location sadly comes with a change in writing style and this was a downside for me. I like James' flowing narrative and the American tone and style were quite jarring. I would say more American than genuine American authors. However once I accepted this it did not spoil my enjoyment of the book as a whole.
The ending of the story was mostly satisfying but with some loose ends that I hope to see addressed in subsequent books.
A departure for James' readers but worth the trip, and a good book for fans of Harlan Coben and David Baldacci.
Why Does E=mc2?: (and Why Should We Care?)
6.0
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This is an engaging and accessible explanation of Einstein's equation that explores the principles...
The Bar Handbook: 2013-2014
Nicholas Bacon and Simon Garrod
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The current landscape for practising barristers is changing rapidly, whether it be in relation to...
Teaching Geography Creatively
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This lively, thought-provoking edited collection is packed full of practical ideas for teachers...
Breach
Olumide Popoola and Annie Holmes
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In the refugee camp known as The Jungle an illusion is being disrupted: that of a neatly ordered...
ClareR (5726 KP) rated Lightseekers in Books
Feb 23, 2021
This isn’t a straightforward, easy investigation. There’s corruption at every turn, and the mob mentality and fear of being caught on the wrong side of that, radiates off the page. It was pretty difficult at times to work out who was on the side of ‘good’ and who wasn’t - the lines were so blurred. It was pretty obvious that social media in this case contributed negatively to what had happened, and how easily its users were manipulated - I’ve been seeing this a lot in books recently, and as a user of Social Media, I can see where these authors are coming from!
I really enjoyed reading this on The Pigeonhole, and I think Femi Kayode is going to be an author to look out for if this book is anything to go by. Thanks Pigeonhole for serialising this, and Femi for joining in the chat in the margins!
Hazel (1853 KP) rated I'll Be Home for Christmas in Books
Dec 7, 2018
Christmas can be a very difficult time for many people, especially if they are homeless. A selection of well known YA authors including Holly Bourne, Melvin Burgess and Marcus Sedgwick, have come together to produce an anthology of short stories that explore the idea of “home” during this festive period. Only a couple of the tales are about people living on the streets, however that does not mean those with a roof over their head necessarily have a home.
Once published, £1 of every copy of<i> I’ll Be Home for Christmas </i>sold will be donated to the British charity Crisis, an organization that offer their services to individual homeless citizens. They work all year round but advertise more heavily at Christmas. It is their hope that this book will increase awareness of homelessness and result in an increase of generosities this winter.
The fourteen short stories in this anthology all provide a different meaning of the word “home.” For some it is about having somewhere to live, for others it is about family, love and safety. The key connection between each author’s interpretations is the main character is unhappy or worried and does not feel a sense of home. A few tales result in a happy ending; unfortunately others are not fully resolved. Apart from a couple that take a sci-fi/fantasy direction, the authors have tried to keep their narratives as true to life in order to emphasise the problems many people in the UK, if not the world, face at Christmas and the year in general.
Being targeted at a young adult audience, most of the characters are in their late teens, dealing with issues that sadly many teenagers and children are faced with today. The same themes crop up in many of the stories, such as homosexuality, divorce, family or lack of, and the feeling of loneliness.
As stories go, the individual tales are nothing special. They are not exciting or gripping, as you would expect a novel to be, however some of the scenarios will stick with you long after turning the final page. Although set at Christmas time, these stories are not overly festive, largely due to the negativity the characters are facing. Even if you do not particularly enjoy the tales, it will not be a waste of time reading them. They will leave you with a greater awareness to the struggles of others during a time when “home” plays a vital part in people’s lives. Crisis hopes that the general public will become more mindful and willing to help out in the near future.