The One in a Million Boy by Monica Wood

Miss Ona Vitkus has - aside from three months in the summer of 1914 - lived unobtrusively, her secrets fiercely protected.

The boy, with his passion for world records, changes all that. He is eleven. She is one hundred and four years, one hundred and thirty three days old (they are counting). And he makes her feel like she might be really special after all. Better late than never...

Only it's been two weeks now since he last visited, and she's starting to think he's not so different from all the rest.

Then the boy's father comes, for some reason determined to finish his son's good deed. And Ona must show this new stranger that not only are there odd jobs to be done, but a life's ambition to complete . . . 

Put simply, this book is outstanding and I loved it from start to finish. In fact, even though I have read another book since (which was also very good) my mind keeps going back to this wonderfully and eloquently constructed book.

I think I would be fair in saying that this is unlike any other book I have ever read as it is constructed in three very different ways. First, the boy in the book is a list maker so we see several of the lists he makes (anyone like me who is a natural born list maker will really get this part of the book.) 

Secondly, some of the book is presented as an interview but we only see the answers and not the questions. I know that sounds a little strange but it really does work and  helps us to understand more about Ona and the boy.

Thirdly, the rest of the book is in prose form and is completely engaging.

The characters are all very well rounded, from the 104 year old Ona to the eleven year old boy. It is the story of the unlikely friendship between these two individuals and the families in which they each belong. But it is about so much more - it's about love, friendship and grief and it made me laugh out loud and cry at the same time. It is deeply moving and I think it will stay with me for a long time.

This book is due to be published on 5th April 2016 here in the UK and I encourage you to pre-order this from your favourite bookseller as it will not disappoint. It is a fantastic read from Ms Wood and whose back canon I am now determined to read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys excellent writing.

ISBN:  978-1472228352

Publisher: Headline Review

About the Author

Monica Wood is the author of four works of fiction, most recently Any Bitter Thing, which spent 21 weeks on the American Booksellers Association extended bestseller list and was named a Book Sense Top Ten pick. Her other fiction includes Ernie’s Ark and My Only Story, a finalist for the Kate Chopin Award.

Happy Easter

I just wanted to wish those of you who celebrate Easter a happy and restful few days.

I have been a little quiet on the blog recently. I have been on a lovely holiday with family to Somerset. What a beautiful part of the country it is. We were surrounded by farmland and woke in the mornings to the gentle sounds of sheep bleating and cows mooing. It was wonderful and an opportunity to catch up with family members who have been overseas for a while.

I managed to get in some decent reading times and I will be back with reviews on The Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths and the soon to be published The One in  a Million Boy by Monica Wood. Both excellent books that I am looking forward to sharing with you.

In the meantime, I send you all good wishes for the Easter holiday.

Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear

London, 1931. When controversial artist, Nick Bassington-Hope, is found dead the police believe it is an open and shut case and his death from a fall is recorded as 'accidental'. But his sister is not convinced, so she turns to Maisie Dobbs for help, drawn by the investigator's growing reputation for her unique methods of solving crimes.

Moving from the desolate beaches of the English coast to the dark underbelly of post war London, and full of intriguing characters, Maisie's new investigation entertains and enthralls at every turn.

I am enjoying reading the Maisie Dobbs series. I have previously read the first in the series, Maisie Dobbs, followed by Birds of a Feather, Pardonable Lies and now the fourth in the series, Messenger of Truth.

They have each brought a different story to the table and an opportunity to spend time with Maisie and the ever loyal, Billy Beale, is not one to be passed up. As ever, the characters are well portrayed and 1930's London well brought to life.

However, plotwise, I found this the least engaging of the four books as the story just didn't seem to have the air of mystery that the previous books have had.

Despite the fact that this was the weaker of the four novels I will be going on to read the next in the series and hope that it is a little more exciting than this one was.

ISBN:  978-0719568640

Publisher: John Murray

About the author:

Jacqueline Winspear was born and raised in the county of Kent, England. Following higher education at the University of London’s Institute of Education, Jacqueline worked in academic publishing, in higher education and in marketing communications in the UK.

She emigrated to the United States in 1990, and while working in business and as a personal / professional coach, Jacqueline embarked upon a life-long dream to be a writer.

A regular contributor to journals covering international education, Jacqueline has published articles in women's magazines and has also recorded her essays for KQED radio in San Francisco. She currently divides her time between Ojai and the San Francisco Bay Area and is a regular visitor to the United Kingdom and Europe.

Jacqueline is the author of the New York Times bestsellers A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, Among the Mad, and An Incomplete Revenge, and other nationally bestselling Maisie Dobbs novels. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha, Alex,and Macavity awards for the first book in the series, Maisie Dobbs, which was also nominated for the Edgar Award for best novel and was a New York TimesNotable Book.

The Story of Danny Dunn by Bryce Courtenay

In the aftermath of the Great Depression few opportunities existed for working class boys but at eighteen, Danny Dunn has everything going for him: brain, looks, sporting ability- and an easy charm. His parents run The Hero, a neighbourhood pub and Danny is a local hero.

Luck changes for Danny when he signs up to go to war. He returns home a physically broken man, to a life that will be changed forever. Together with Helen, the woman who becomes his wife, he sets about rebuilding his life.

Bryce Courtney is an author I have been meaning to try for ages and have finally got to it with The Story of Danny Dunn.

I have very mixed feelings about this book as there were some parts I loved and, quite frankly, other sections of the book I found as dull as ditch water although I still persevered to the end.

The book opens with this attention grabbing sentence:

"Danny Dunn returned to Balmain from the war understanding that he was no longer indestructible. When he'd joined up to fight at twenty he'd been bulletproof."

Indeed, the narrative of his war years was fascinating and I could hardly put the book down. The book then progresses through to his university education, marriage to Helen, the birth of his children, his career and so on and herein lay the problem for me with this book in that it just seemed to go on for too long.

I am the sort of reader who likes all the loose ends in a book to tie up neatly but this seemed to go on interminably as, in a book of this length, there were alot of things to tie up before the conclusion.

Add to that the fact that I found all of the characters a bit larger that life. Everyone was so successful in whatever they turned their hand to. Now, I think I speak for many of us when I say that the average reader has probably known some failure along the way in life - I know I have and so I found the characters rather difficult to relate to.

One thing is for sure is that Mr. Courtenay is a very successful author. So now I am left with a slight dilemma that I think you may be able to help me with. Should I try another of his books? You all know my reading tastes fairly well by now so is there another of his books that you think I might enjoy more or is this one very typical of his work? I would really appreciate your thoughts on this and you can let me know in the comments section below, on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads or to my email address.

ISBN: 978 0143203513

Publisher: Penguin

About the Author:

Bryce Courtenay was born illegitimately in 1933 in South Africa and spent his early childhood years in a small town deep in the heart of the Lebombo mountains.

He moved to Australia because he was banned from returning to his own country due to the fact that he had started a weekend school for Africans in the school hall of the prestigious boy's school he attended. One day the school hall was raided by the police who then branded him a Communist as they considered educating Africans a subversive act.

He met and married an Australian girl and they had three sons whilst living in Sydney ( a place he considered the nicest place on earth.) He became a very successful writer having published dozens of award winning books prior to his death in 2012.

The Ice Twins by S. K. Tremayne

After one of their identical twin daughters, Lydia, dies in an accident, Angus and Sarah Moorcroft move to a remote Scottish island, hoping to mend their shattered lives. But when their surviving child, Kirstie, claims they have mistaken her identity - that she, in fact, is Lydia - their world comes crashing back down.

They know one of their daughters died. But can they be sure which one?

When I began reading this I was not at all sure that this book was for me. Perhaps because the subject matter is so devastating; after all the death of a child makes for difficult reading. But then something strange happened. Suddenly, like a fish in a stream, I was completely hooked and I couldn't put it down.

This is one of the most eerie novels I have read and this is because the author has so excellently captured the atmosphere of the remote Scottish island that the family move to in order to begin afresh. I think it is this setting that lured me in every bit as much as the story itself.

Throughout the book the tension never lets up and I found myself really puzzled by what was going on. There are plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the final page and even now I still keep thinking about it and considering what I thought might be behind it all.

The characters in this book are brilliantly drawn and my sympathies were with each of the main characters in turn. The parents relationship is fragile and I felt heart broken at the loneliness of the surviving twin.

This is not a book that I will forget quickly. It is haunting and creepy and demonstrates extremely skilled penmanship from Mr Tremayne. I highly recommend this superb book and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

ISBN: 9780007563036

Publisher:  Harper

About the Author:

S. K. Tremayne is a bestselling novelist and award winner travel writer, and a regular contributor to newspapers and magazines around the world. He also writes under the pseudonym, Tom Knox.

Born in Devon,the author now lives in London. He has two daughters.

Secrets of the Singer Girls by Kate Thompson

1942 and sixteen year old Poppy Percival arrives at the gates of Trout's clothing factory in Bethnal Green, ready to begin a new life as an East End seamstress. Forced to leave her quiet countryside home, and banished to a war-ravaged London, Poppy harbours a dark secret - one that tore her away from all she knew.

By day, the East End women of Trout's play their part in the war effort, stitching bandages and repairing uniforms for troops on the front line. But Poppy's new friends at the factory are hiding some painful truths. Vera, the salt-of-the-earth forelady, has had a hard life, with scars both visible and concealed. Vera's glamorous younger sister, Daisy, has romantic notions that could get her into  trouble; while Sal. a hard working mother, worries about the safety of her two evacuated boys for good reason.

As the war throws their lives into turmoil, it will also bring the Singer Girls closer than they could ever have imagined.

This book originally appealed to me for two reasons. First, I grew up in Bethnal Green where this book is set. Secondly, I have something of a fascination for books set in the East End of London during World War Two, probably because my mother lived through it. She told me many stories during my childhood of her life during the Blitz and I think fiction set during that time has a heightened sense of realism for me because of this.

This was a nice easy read and I enjoyed it very much. It rolls along at a very readable pace and I found myself very keen to get back to it.

It deals with some very difficult themes; not only the hardships of surviving life on the home front but violence, poverty and scandal and the affect that this has on the day to day lives of the characters.

I liked the characters very much and could easily identify with them. I couldn't help but feel involved in the lives of these women and the flow of dialogue between them aided this as the author used this to allow readers a better understanding of the characters.

Most interesting to read about were the attitudes and ideas of the time and to recognise how different they were to the mental outlook of society today. Some of the situations that in today's society would barely be considered worthy of notice were considered scandalous at the time and to our modern day perspective we look back and are equally scandalized by what women had to put up with. Other behaviours were as abhorrent back then as they are today.

This is a book about bravery, friendship and love and I recommend it to anyone who has an interest in life on the home front or women's issues.

I am interested to see that Kate Thompson has another book, Secrets of the Sewing Bee, coming out this year. Also, set in Trout's factory but with different characters it promises to give us another glimpse into life in London's East End during World War Two.

ISBN: 978-1447280866

Publisher:  Pan

About the Author:


Kate is an award winning journalist with 15 years experience of working in print media. She has worked with Pick Me Up magazine amongst other publications. 

She has also worked on national newspapers, the Daily Express and Daily Mail.

Now she is a mum to two young boys and juggles her writing with school runs.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Despite their differences, Vianne and Isabelle have always been close. Younger, bolder Isabelle lives in Paris, while Vianne is content with life in the French countryside with her husband Antoine and their daughter. When the Second World War breaks out and Antoine is conscripted to fight, Isabelle is sent to the country by her father to help Vianne.

As war develops, the strength of the sisters' relationship is put to the test. With life changing, and confronted by unbelievable horrors,  Vianne and Isabelle find themselves responding in ways they never thought possible, as bravery and resistance take differing forms for each of the two sisters.

I have heard it said that the publishing world is saturated with books about World War Two and the market really does not need any more. It is a reasonable point but all the while authors can produce material of this superb quality I say "yes please".

There has been much hype about this book which frequently puts me off reading a book but this novel is fantastic and I was not disappointed in any way. Put simply, this novel is superb and is well worthy of the hype that recommends it.

All of the characters were easy to engage with, not just the two main characters who felt wonderfully real, but the more minor characters also. The dialogue was extremely believable and brought the characters to life.

It is a very detailed novel and Ms. Hannah has researched life in war torn France with accuracy. It is packed with the minutiae of life as well as more major issues and focuses the readers attention on the day to day lives of ordinary French people during the Nazi occupation.

In many ways, this book is about strengths and weaknesses and also about how the two can overlap. It is about bravery, relationships, persecution, survival and fear. But mostly, it is about love and the way in which it brings hope and can strengthen us.

I was completely engrossed by this book and highly recommend it to everyone. It is a heartbreaking novel and a cup of tea and box of tissues will be needed to get through it. However, it is extremely thought provoking and I could see myself giving this book a second read at some point (there are very few books that I consider worth a second read.)

ISBN: 978-1447283072

Publisher: Pan

About the Author:

Kristin Hannah is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-one novels, including the blockbuster Firefly Lane, Night Road and Home Front. She is a former lawyer turned writer and is the mother of one son. She lives in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii with her husband.