Families Book Reviews

Filter: 

  • The Baby

    The Baby

    Name: Clare Humphreys
    23 September 2015;

    Genre: Real life

    I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I first picked up the book, but once I started reading, I just couldn't put it down! It starts at Olivia's seventeenth birthday party, her best friend, Nicola subsequently gives birth to a baby girl, Eliza on the bathroom floor, much to the surprise of her...

  • A Brush with Danger

    Fox Investigates: A Brush with Danger

    Name: Lizi Coombs
    20 September 2015;

    Genre: Adventure

    This is an animal based, humourous crime book.... how do you categorise that?! Adam Frost has written a series of Fox Investigates , and I've read two of them - this one and A whiff of mystery. I found them both fast-paced, witty and funny whilst also being easy for children to access. The stor...

  • The Curious Tale of the Lady Caraboo

    The Curious Tale of the Lady Caraboo

    Name: Carol Williams
    16 September 2015;

    Genre: Adventure

    This novel is all the more fascinating for being based on a true story. Mary Willcox, a poor mixed-race girl in Regency England, experiences dreadful hardship, and is next seen as the mysterious Lady Caraboo, taken in by the wealthy Worrall family. Mrs Worrall is fascinated by anything exotic, an...

  • What the Ladybird Heard Next

    What the Ladybird Heard Next

    Name: Jennifer Niblett
    15 September 2015;

    Genre: Adventure

    The sequel to the fabulous What the Ladybird Heard. Julia Donaldson's story telling is engaging and Lydia Monks's illustration again brings it all to life, with the added sparkle drawing in even the most reluctant of children. We see the return of Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len, who come up with a pla...

  • Greenling

    Greenling

    Name: Jennifer Niblett
    15 September 2015;

    Genre: Adventure

    From the award-winning illustrator, Levi Pinfold, comes a modern fable about natures power, Greenling. Previous credits include Django and Black Dog. 'Mr and Mrs Barleycorn live a quiet life, alone and quite forgotten by the world. But something is growing on Barleycorn land. Something that Mr Ba...

  • The Memory Hit

    The Memory Hit

    Name: Catherine Purcell
    15 September 2015;

    Genre: Adventure

    At the heart of this fast paced thriller is a drug, Nostalgex. The ultimate memory hit. Nostalgex, or rather the effects of Nostalgex, appear to be highly addictive; the desire to relive an event, drawing a person back, encouraging them to inhabit a past that has, well, passed. We're introduced...

  • Railhead: shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2017

    Rail Head

    Name: Jennifer Hambleton
    07 September 2015;

    Genre: Adventure

    As the title suggests, this is a thrilling train ride of a book which hurtles along a track fuelled with imagination and suspense. The wheels turn slowly at first but as the journey takes off with ever more tantalising twists and turns the suspense builds into a thrilling climax. Petty thief Zen...

  • The Accident Season

    The Accident Season

    Name: Caroline Mitchell
    07 September 2015;

    Genre: Adventure

    The accident season has been part of Cara's life for as long as she can remember. Towards the end of October, foreshadowed by the deaths of many relatives before them, Cara's family becomes inexplicably accident-prone. Mum accident proofs the house and each child - but injuries follow wherever th...

  • Clariel: Prequel to the internationally bestselling Old Kingdom fantasy series

    Clariel

    Name: Clare Wilkins
    03 September 2015;

    Genre: Adventure

    Clariel is the long-awaited prequel to Garth Nix's hugely popular Old Kingdom series. Clariel is sixteen and forced to move from her beloved Great Forest to the bustling city of Belisaere. There she finds a city in tumultuous transition - a King unwilling to rule, Abhorsens absent from their duti...

  • All Sorts of Possible

    All Sorts of Possible

    Name: Lorraine Ansell
    02 September 2015;

    Genre: Adventure

    I loved this book! Yet another great read from Rupert Wallis although completely different from his first book, The Dark Inside. This story follows Daniel as he and his father are swallowed suddenly into a sinkhole in the road. Without giving too much away, Daniel has to face further trauma whil...