My Mum Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson - #BookReview

"I look very like my mum (apart from my glasses) but my mum's loud and funny and isn't scared of anything. I'm much quieter and I worry about things."

Jacqueline Wilson's bestselling, ultra famous and TOTALLY BRILLIANT Tracy Beaker is BACK!! 

Tracy has returned, hand in hand with her daughter Jess, she’s ready to make her childhood dreams come true. Jess and Tracy Beaker are the perfect team. They do everything together.

Jess thinks Tracy is the best mum ever, even when she shouts at her teachers!

Tracy has made the perfect home for Jess, leaving The Dumping Ground far behind her. Yes, their flat’s a bit mouldy. It’s only just big enough for two. And the Duke Estate is a bit scary.
But it’s their happy home. 

Until Sean Godfrey, Tracy’s rich boyfriend, whisks them away to his mansion, life of fast cars and celebrity stardom. Will Jess’s brilliant mum turn into a new person altogether? 

***

As yesterday was Mother's Day in the US and many people were unable to see their mother this year I thought I would let you know about this book, which features the wonderful Tracy Beaker, which I read fairly recently.

This book has been categorised as being suitable for eight to ten year olds. However, anyone who grew up with Tracy Beaker, whether in her books or from the very popular television series, will love this book. I first came across Tracy with my children when they were young and reading this book felt like bumping into an old friend who I haven't seen in years. Tracy is just as funny and fiesty as she has ever been.

I totally loved this book.  I was so pleased to find that this was written from the viewpoint of Tracy's daughter, Jess, as it was important that this book is accessible for young readers (as well as grown up children, like me, who love Tracy too.)

This also gave us real insight into the adult Tracy and Jess is an equally lovable little girl, although with the exception of the curly hair, is very different to Tracy. She is a shy and quiet girl who always sees the best in Tracy.

This is a wonderful book. Well done Jacqueline Wilson. It was lovely to be reacquainted with Tracy.

ISBN:  978-0440871521

Publisher: Yearling

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About the Author:

Jacqueline Wilson is an extremely well-known and hugely popular author. The Illustrated Mum was chosen as British Children's Book of the Year in 1999 and was winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Award 2000. Jacqueline has won the prestigious Smarties Prize and the Children's Book Award for Double Act, which was also highly commended for the Carnegie Medal. In June 2002 Jacqueline was given an OBE for services to literacy in schools and in 2008 she was made a Dame.

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The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd - #BookReview

"I am Ana. I am the wife of Jesus ben Joseph of Nazareth. I called him Beloved and he, laughing, called me Little Thunder. He said he heard rumblings inside me while I slept ............ That my husband bent his heart to mine on our thin straw mat and listened was the kindness I most loved in him. What he heard was my life begging to be born."

Ana is a rebellious young woman, a gifted writer with a curious, brilliant mind, who writes secret narratives about the neglected and silenced women around her. Raised in a wealthy family in Galilee, she is sheltered from the brutality of Rome's occupation of Israel. Ana is expected to marry an elderly widower to further her father's ambitions, a prospect that horrifies her. A chance encounter with the eighteen-year-old Jesus changes everything: his ideas and his passion are intoxicating.

Taking Ana on a journey she could never have imagined, The Book of Longings is a glorious evocation of a time and a place where astounding events unfolded, and of one woman's fate when she fights to make her voice heard.

***

This is a work of fiction and in my review I will not be commenting on it's accuracy to either the Christian Bible or the Jewish Torah. The author presents Jesus in an historical light as opposed to a religious one, other than within the Jewish community in which he lived.

This book is about Ana, his fictional wife, rather than about Jesus himself. Jesus is portrayed only in as much as he impacted her life and is not the main character. She is fourteen at the beginning of the book and unlike most girls of the period is literate. In many ways that is the main theme of the story. The author gives a voice to women of the time who have been silenced through history. As interesting as that is, I could not help but feel that Ana was a 21st century woman transplanted into history and with a modern feminist attitude.

That said, I loved reading about how strong these women were. At a time when nothing more than marriage, and that of their fathers choice, would have been expected for them. Ana in particular, has quite other ideas. She is headstrong, resolute and determined to live life through her own choices. She makes for a compelling character.

The meticulous research needed for this book has clearly been well done and has resulted in a book which is carefully told. The chapter in which the crucifixion is described has been movingly portrayed  not only by the way the author describes the brutality of such an execution, but she brought alive how it must have felt to stand at the foot of that cross watching their husband, son, friend die in such an horrific manner. 

The book is rich in atmosphere and imaginatively written. She evokes the sights, sounds and smells of the period which made for a captivating and compelling read.

I have read Ms  Kidd's novels The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings, (you can read my review here) both of which were equally well written. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

ISBN:  978 1472232496

Publisher: Tinder Press

About the Author:

Sue Monk Kidd was raised in Georgia. She graduated from Texas Christian University in 1970 and later took creative writing courses at Emory University, as well as studying at Sewanee, Bread Loaf, and other writers’ conferences. In her forties, Kidd turned her attention to writing fiction, winning the South Carolina Fellowship in Literature and the 1996 Poets & Writers Exchange Program in Fiction.

When her first novel, The Secret Life of Bees, was published by Viking in 2002, it became a genuine literary phenomenon, spending more than 2½ years on the New York Timesbestseller list. It has been translated into 36 languages and sold more than 6 million copies in the U.S. and 8 million copies worldwide. Bees was named the Book Sense Paperback Book of the Year in 2004, long-listed for the 2002 Orange Prize in England, and won numerous awards. 

In her forties, Kidd turned her attention to writing fiction, winning the South Carolina Fellowship in Literature and the 1996 Poets & Writers Exchange Program in Fiction. Her short stories appeared in TriQuarterly, Nimrod, and other literary journals and received a Katherine Anne Porter award and citations in Best American Short Stories’ 100 Distinguished Stories.

When her first novel, The Secret Life of Bees, was published by Viking in 2002, it became a genuine literary phenomenon, spending more than 2½ years on the New York Times bestseller list. It has been translated into 36 languages and sold more than 8 million copies worldwide and was named the Book Sense Paperback Book of the Year in 2004, long-listed for the 2002 Orange Prize in England, and won numerous awards. For over a decade, the novel was produced on stage by The American Place Theater, and in 2008 it was adapted into a movie by Fox Searchlight, which won the People’s Choice award for best movie and the NAACP Image award for best picture. The 2019 off-broadway production at The Atlantic Theater won the AUDELCO VIV award for best musical. The novel is taught widely in middle school, high school, and college classrooms.

Kidd serves on the Writers Council for Poets & Writers, Inc.  She lives in North Carolina with her husband, Sandy, and dog, Barney.

Reading in May

The merry month of May is upon us. Actually, life doesn't feel very merry at present, does it? We are living in anxious and troubling times and the best we can do is stay home and keep ourselves and others safe. I know that we are not all able to do that. Like so many of you my husband is an essential worker and does not have the capacity to work from home so I understand how scared and uncertain we all feel.

It is all the more reason that we need a bit of escapism into our books. Here is a list of the books I am hopefully going to read this month. I use the word 'hopefully' as the list is subject to change. I only need a pretty sparkly cover to catch my eye and then something has to give. You know how it is!

What books are you planning to read? Whatever you choose, keep safe and well, my friends.

Sew Cute Quilts and Gifts by Atsuko Matsuyama

The Tunnel by A.B. Yehshua

The Book of Lights by Chaim Potok

Found by Erin Kinsley

The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton

The Revolt by Clara Dupont-Monod

Sing Me a Secret by Julie Houston

Books to Finish

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

A Stash of One's Own by Clara Parkes

April Roundup

As some of you know, I do not post reviews of all the books I read. I tend towards writing reviews of those that I have enjoyed the most and want to recommend. That is not to say that I have not liked those other books, only that for one reason or another I have not reviewed them. So, I thought that you might be interested to see what books I have read this past month. 

Have you a book to recommend that you have read? I would love to hear about it.

Tomorrow I will be back with a sneaky peek of the books that I want to read during May. 

Read in April

The Skeleton Road by Val McDermid. This is the third book in the lovely Karen Pirie series.

The Green Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock. I read this as research for something I am writing.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. This was April's choice for my book group. It really wasn't my cup of tea but several of our members enjoyed it very much.

My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin. This was the first book that I have read from The Virago Book of 20th Century Fiction. You can read my intentions for this book here.

Big Sky by Kate Atkinson. This is the fifth in the Jackson Brodie series which is one of my favourites. You can read my review here.

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. This was much more enjoyable than the film although Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman were perfectly cast.

The Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier.  This was my favourite book this month and you can read my review of this wonderful book by clicking here.

Books I am Partway Through

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

A Stash of One's Own by Clara Parkes. This was gifted me by my son and is wonderful for all yarn lovers. My review of this book will follow.

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd. Review to follow.

A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier - #Book Review

"'Shhh!' Violet Speedwell frowned. She did not need shushing; she had not said anything. The shusher, an officious woman sporting a helmet of grey hair, had planted herself squarely in the archway that led into the choir, Violet's favourite part of Winchester Cathedral."

1932. After the Great War took both her beloved brother and her fiancé, Violet Speedwell has become a "surplus woman," one of a generation doomed to a life of spinsterhood after the war killed so many young men. Yet Violet cannot reconcile herself to a life spent caring for her grieving, embittered mother. After countless meals of boiled egg and dry toast, she saves enough to move out of her mother's home and into the town of Winchester, home to one of England's grandest cathedrals. There, Violet is drawn into a society of broderers--women who embroider kneelers (kneeling cushions) for the Cathedral, carrying on a centuries-long tradition of bringing comfort to worshippers.

Violet finds support and community in the group, fulfillment in the work they create, and even a growing friendship with the vivacious Gilda. But when forces threaten her new independence and another war appears on the horizon, Violet must fight to put down roots in a place where women aren't expected to grow. Told in Chevalier's glorious prose, A Single Thread is a timeless story of friendship, love, and a woman crafting her own life.

***

We are living in extraordinary times - times of anxiety, worry and uncertainty. My reading tastes are currently inclined towards the lighthearted and humorous. However, this book was neither of those things but it was absolutely the best thing I could be reading right now. I loved it, loved it, loved it.

The pacing of this book was perfect. It is sedate and gentle and I felt as though I was being swept along in the gentle current that was Violet's life. Ms Chevalier's writing is consistently engrossing across all of her works and is very apparent in this novel.

Violet is a wonderful character. Set between the wars we see how she is able to adapt to a life that was unexpected before the Great War. Like many women of the period, Violet finds herself living a life that was unanticipated when her fiance was killed in battle and she faced life as a spinster. However, we see her grow and develop into a woman who was brave, courageous and who  paved the way for generations of women to come.

A book that combines two of my favourite things, reading and needlework, was a 'must read' for me and I enjoyed every word. I have previously read most of Ms, Chevalier's books and have enjoyed them all. I highly recommend this book.

ISBN: 978 0008153847

Publisher: The Borough Press

About the Author:

Tracy Chevalier is the author of ten novels, including At the Edge of the Orchard, Remarkable Creatures and Girl with a Pearl Earring, an international bestseller that has sold over five million copies and won the Barnes and Noble Discover Award. Born in Washington DC, in 2984 she moved to London, where she lives with her husband and son.

Big Sky (#5 Jackson Brodie series) by Kate Atkinson - #BookReview

"Jackson had been following Gary and Kirsty for several weeks. He had sent enough photographs of the in flagrante to Gary's wife .... for her to have divorced him several times over.... but everytime he said [this] to her she always said, 'just stay on them a little longer, Mr. Brodie."

Jackson Brodie has relocated to a quiet seaside village in North Yorkshire, in the occasional company of his recalcitrant teenage son Nathan and ageing Labrador Dido, both at the discretion of his former partner Julia. It's a picturesque setting, but there's something darker lurking behind the scenes.

Jackson's current job, gathering proof of an unfaithful husband for a suspicious wife, seems straightforward, but a chance encounter with a desperate man on a crumbling cliff leads him across a sinister network - and back into the path of someone from his past.

Old secrets and new lies intersect in this breathtaking new novel, both sharply funny and achingly sad, by one of the dazzling and surprising writers at work today.

The Jackson Brodie series is one of my current favourite series. I have read the previous four books in this series Case Histories (#1), One Good Turn (#2), When Will There Be Good News? (#3), Started Early, Took My Dog (#4). which you can read my review of here. 

Jackson is such a great character. He is something of a modern dinosaur and his internal ponderings are what elevate this book. He is humorous and cynical in his outlook on life but without being comical as Ms. Atkinson deals with some serious themes in this book.

However, at no point did I find it difficult to read and the author handled the more serious aspect of the book with intelligence and sensitivity. 

I was completely engaged with this book; both the characters and plot and I highly recommend it. In fact, this series has made me want to read the author's entire back list as she is an excellent writer with great understanding of what makes people tick.

ISBN: 978 0857526106

Publisher: Doubleday

About the Author:

Kate Atkinson was born in York and now lives in Edinburgh. Her first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and she has been a critically acclaimed international bestselling author ever since.

She is the author of a collection of short stories, Not the End of the World, and of the critically acclaimed novels Human Croquet, Emotionally Weird, Case Histories and One Good Turn.

Case Histories introduced her readers to Jackson Brodie, former police inspector turned private investigator, and won the Saltaire Book of the Year Award and the Prix Westminster.

Kate was born in York and now resides in Edinburgh.

Magpie Lane by Lucy Atkins - #BookReview

"They are waiting for an answer. What do they want me to say? Perhaps they think I am a stalker, targeting the president of an Oxford College on his early morning jog. I have an urge to laugh which is inappropriate. There is nothing funny about this, nothing whatsoever. Felicity is missing. The whole country is looking for her."

When the eight year old daughter of an Oxford College Master vanishes in the middle of the night, police turn to the Scottish nanny, Dee, for answers.

As Dee looks back over her time in the Master's Lodging - an eerie and ancient house - a picture of a high achieving but dysfunctional family emerges: Nick, the fiercely intelligent and powerful father; his beautiful Danish wife Mariah, pregnant with their child; and the lost little girl, Felicity, almost mute, seeing ghosts, grieving her dead mother.

But is Dee telling the whole story? Is her growing friendship with the eccentric house historian, Linklater, any cause for concern? And most of all, why was Felicity silent?

Roaming through Oxford's secret passages and hidden graveyards, Magpie Lane, explores the true meaning of family - and what it is to be denied one.

This fabulous book ended up being a quick read for me as I could not put it down and sprinted through it to get to the books conclusion. Mostly told retrospectively during a police interview, the narrative goes back and forth with the recollections of the main character, Dee, coupled with the immediacy of the interview.

The characters were excellently portrayed.  Nick and Mariah were difficult to like and this opinion did not change throughout the book. Equally, both Felicity and Dee were engaging characters and I suspect most readers will love Felicity for her innocence and vulnerability. The main character, Dee, had a combination of strength and weakness and as the book progressed I did come to wonder how reliable she was as a narrator.

The house itself felt as though it was a character as the Masters Lodging is a focal point of the novel and much of the story is linked to the house. The author did a brilliant job of making the house come alive as she did with Oxford itself. Highly atmospheric I felt completely immersed in the setting of this novel.

It is a sensitive, eerie and excellently written novel and I can hardly wait to read another book by Ms. Atkins. Have you read any of her other books? I would love to hear about them. 

Keep safe and well through these difficult days my friends. Thank goodness we have our books to keep us company while we are isolated and socially distanced. 

ISBN: 978 1786485571

Publisher: Quercus

About the Author:

Lucy Atkins is an award winning author, feature journalist and Sunday Times book critic. She has written for newspapers including The #Guardian, The Times, The Sunday Times and The Telegraph as well as many UK magazines. She teaches on the Masters in Creative Writing at Oxford University and lives in Oxford.

Some of her other books are, The Missing Ones, The Night Visitor and The Other Child.