Boy in the Tower - Polly Ho-Yen

I rated this book 10/10...

Ade loves living at the top of a tower block. From his window, he feels like he can see the whole world stretching out beneath him. His mum doesn’t really like looking outside – but it’s going outside that she hates. She’s happier sleeping all day inside their tower, where it’s safe.

But one day, other tower blocks on the estate start falling down around them and strange, menacing plants begin to appear. Now their tower isn’t safe anymore. Ade and his mum are trapped and there’s no way out . . .

A strange, scary thriller for kids that grown ups will love too.

I've been raving about this book since I finished it a couple of weeks back. It's a thrilling, scary kids book with a sci-fi edge to it; but is more about the personal experiences of Ade. Ade finds his life is shaken up by the strange occurrences that are happening in his town. Buildings are falling down and killing the people inside them, and nobody really knows why. 

But things get much worse for Ade, when he realises that his mum is going through some tough personal issues of her own and can't bring herself to even look out of their tower block window, let alone leave and escape the city through the front door. And still the buildings around them fall, and it will be their turn soon!

It's this exploration of his mum's difficulties that make 'Boy in the Tower' work on multiple levels. I know that many adults have read and enjoyed this book alongside their children, because they draw a completely different message from the text than the kids do.

'Boy in the Tower' is a fast and gripping read about a brave young boy facing some massive challenges. I'd recommend it both for (brave) 9-12 year olds and parents alike. And that ending! My heart was in my throat!

Available at Waterstones

The best reads for Father's Day

It's Father's Day in just under a fortnight (I'm sure you haven't forgotten!) - so here are some of my favourite books that I think will make the perfect read!

GHOSTMAN: Roger Hobbs

I make things disappear. It’s what I do. This time I’m tidying up the loose ends after a casino heist gone bad. The loose ends being a million cash.But I only have 48 hours, and there’s a guy out there who wants my head in a bag.
He’ll have to find me first.

They don’t call me the Ghostman for nothing...

A fast and furious debut novel that centres on an anti-hero whose name we never learn. With two plot lines intertwined, Ghostman is full of action and suspense, and is being adapted for the silver screen. 

Get this for your dad if he likes full on thrillers, bank jobs and underworld crime. 

HOSTAGE: Robert Crais

Jeff Talley, the police chief in a small Southern California town, still has nightmares about the young hostage who died when he made the wrong call in his previous job as a negotiator for an LAPD SWAT team. Now, three smalltime punks go on the run after a grocery store robbery and killing in Talley's town. 

Soon his deputies have surrounded the house where the inept robbers have taken Walter Smith and his two children hostage, and Talley's back in his worst dream again: until the county sheriff's full-fledged SWAT team arrives and takes over, he has to negotiate for their lives.

Another full on thriller with anti-heroes at the core. Three petty criminals accidentally hold two children hostage, and it is up to Jeff Talley to negotiate with them despite it being the very thing he wanted to escape from in his previous position.

Robert Crais creates brilliant characters and sets them on a downwards spiral - the reader can't help but suffer a little Stockholm Syndrome while reading. With hidden secrets and plenty of twists; Hostage is a fabulous read and I think you should all go out and get it!!!

THE PSYCHOPATH TEST: Jon Ronson

They say one out of every hundred people is a psychopath. You probably passed one on the street today. These are people who have no empathy, who are manipulative, deceitful, charming, seductive, and delusional. The Psychopath Test is the New York Times bestselling exploration of their world and the madness industry.

If your dad prefers his books "factual" and a little bit unusual, you can't go far wrong with Jon Ronson. An all time favourite of mine and the other booksellers is 'The Psychopath Test'. 

Often witty, very colourful and always shocking - Jon Ronson goes on a hunt to find out what a 'psychopath' is and why they have been labelled as such. This book is a real eye opener and plenty of fun to read. 

My favourite anecdote is about a patient that lied about being criminally insane and it was determined that because he lied about being criminally insane, he must be criminally insane... No, I can't do this book justice. Just read it!

FIRE IN THE EAST: Harry Sidebottom

AD 255—the Roman imperium is stretched to the breaking point, its authority and might challenged throughout the territories and along every border. One man is sent to marshal the defenses of a lonely city and to shore up the crumbling walls of a once indomitable symbol of Roman power, a man whose very name means war: a man called Ballista. So unfolds an epic drama — a story of empire, heroes, treachery, courage, and most of all, of brutal, bloody warfare. 

Ballista is a barbarian, adopted by the Romans as commander of an under resourced group of soldiers - and sent to defend the city of Arete from Persian attack. Sidebottom's novel is well researched and develops really well; the characters really grow as the novel moves on.

'Fire in the East' is full of blood, battle and betrayal and will be perfect for any fans of Roman fiction.

FAHRENHEIT 451: Ray Bradbury

The classic dystopian novel of a post-literate future, Fahrenheit 451 stands alongside Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World as a prophetic account of Western civilization’s enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity.

Imagine a world in which firefighters don't put fires out - they start them. Fahrenheit 451 is a classic dystopia which centres around the idea of society being controlled via destroying books, 451f being the temperature at which paper burns. A scary premise.

Bradbury also explores the idea of television taking over our social lives and reading becoming a dying pass time in the most literal of senses. This book is for a dad that loves to read; who likes books that evoke many deep questions. It's quick and bleak but beautifully written, and is one of those books that should be read by all.


So there you have it - my favourite books for Father's Day! I hope that there is at least one here that might suit, but if not, why not suggest some more brilliant reads in the comments section. I'd love to know your recommendations...

My Brilliant Friend - Elena Ferrante

I rated this book 10/10...

A modern masterpiece from one of Italy’s most acclaimed authors, My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense, and generous-hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante’s inimitable style lends itself perfectly to a meticulous portrait of these two women that is also the story of a nation and a touching meditation on the nature of friendship.

A stark, honest exploration of friendship in 50's Naples

Elena Greco is endlessly fascinated by her friend Lila, the daughter of a shoemaker and a flame that everybody else in their rundown area of Naples also seems drawn to. 'My Brilliant Friend' explores the lives of these two girls growing up in the midst of violence, where women are valued mostly for their housework and child-bearing capabilities above all else; where families and gangs have a 'get them before they get us' mentality. The violence and squabbling is relentless throughout, and is practised by pretty much everybody living in the neighbourhood. Men beat their wives, girls throw rocks at boys, brothers punch sisters - life is a constant battle to settle scores or show who is boss.

As Elena and Lila grow up, their paths take different routes. Elena manages to secure her place in school and continues to study, whereas Lila (who excels the other students in every way) has to leave school in order to help her family at home. Still Elena's life is entwined with Lila's and they remain inseparable. The twist at the very end was brilliant and I will definitely be picking up book 2 to read on holiday in Italy.

Ferrante's style is very honest. There are no frivolities and she doesn't waste time on lengthy prose or description. Despite 'My Brilliant Friend' being almost exclusively character-driven rather than plot-driven, there never seems to be a lull in the flow of the book. Ferrante throws numerous characters together but it never seems to be too much. It's a real pleasure to read and the perfect work of summertime escapism.

'My Brilliant Friend' is the first of the Neapolitan series by the elusive Elena Ferrante, who can only be speculated over as she remains a mystery to the media and readers alike. She doesn't partake in face to face interviews, instead writing to few journalists via letters. Some have suggested that Ferrante could be a male writer, but her letters have once or twice eluded to her being a mother. Whatever the mystery, the first book in this saga is a wonderful read and I would recommend it as one to add to your TBR list this summer.

The fourth and final book in the Neapolitan series will be out in September 2015.

(Reading copy kindly given to me in exchange for honest feedback by Turnaround Publishing)

Sacred Country - Rose Tremain

I rated this book 8/10...

"I have a secret to tell you, dear, and this is it: I am not Mary. That is a mistake. I am not a girl. I'm a boy." Mary's fight to become Martin, her claustrophobic small town, and her troubled family make up the core of this remarkable and intimate, emotional yet unsentimental novel. 

'Sacred Country' is a wonderful read about gender identification in the 50s-70s, and sexuality. It doesn't go as deeply into the emotions that Martin feels as I would like, but there is definitely a real sense of anguish and despair throughout the novel, as his family (particularly his father) reject his transition from Mary to Martin.

The characters are all very well written, mostly hopeless and self absorbed in their small country farm village. Despite this, you do feel for them and want life to improve for them. There is the odd unexpected event here and there - one of which I didn't feel was believable for the character, but I won't spoil the story.

I was absorbed by this book and ploughed my way through it. Not ordinarily an author I would pick up but I was hooked by the blurb and I'm glad I did. Well worth reading, and would be perfect for those that like a bit more depth to their summer paperbacks.

Under Ground - S. L. Grey

I rated this book 5/10...

The Sanctum is a luxurious, self-sustaining survival condominium situated underground in rural Maine. It's a plush bolt-hole for the rich and paranoid - a place where they can wait out the apocalypse in style. When a devastating super-flu virus hits the States, several families race to reach it. All have their own motivations for entering The Sanctum. All are hiding secrets.

But when the door locks and someone dies, they realize the greatest threat to their survival may not be above ground - it may already be inside . . . 

The idea of this thriller sounded perfect for me - millionaire families buying into an underground complex to escape a deadly virus on the surface. They end up getting trapped inside, and then the chaos begins when the bodycount starts to rise...

I was initially disappointed with the authors’ writing style (a collaboration between Sarah Lotz and Louis Greenberg). The characters aren't great and I didn't feel much depth to them, despite knowing their backgrounds and why they were there. The setting isn't well described and the tension is on the whole, a bit of a wash out. There were only two characters I thought felt genuine - James and Reuben. It doesn't feel much like there is a killer on the loose, but Brett, a brutal 18 year old who bullies his way around the complex, gets away with a LOT and that also didn't seem genuine given the circumstances. The book isn't scary or thrilling and reads a lot like teen fiction rather than (as mentioned in the blurb) a Stephen King/Michael Crichton mash-up.

I stuck with 'Under Ground' however because the pages were turning quickly enough and I'm glad that I did. After 250 pages of stumbling along, the style and the substance ramps right up. The tension is full on throughout the last 40 pages and the build up is actually worth the effort. James really comes into his own as a character and the ending is satisfying enough to not feel like a cop out. THIS is where the 'thrill' comes into play. I couldn't take my eyes off it and ended up sat in a car park, racing through to finish before I felt I could drive home from work.

I think that if the whole book had been written with the same tension and skill as the final section, I would have been able to give it 8 stars, but as it stands I will give it 5.

'Under Ground' will be published in July.

(Proof copy kindly given to me by Pan Macmillan in exchange for honest feedback)

Review also posted on Urbanista UK

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

I rated this book 9/10...

A murder mystery, family saga, love story, and a tale of financial intrigue wrapped into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel.Harriet Vanger, scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families, disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

I waited so long to read this book and find out what the fuss is about and I was pleasantly surprised. Stieg Larsson has thrown together some fabulous characters at no cost to the winding plot. Let's face it, Salander is one of the most kick-ass female characters you'll find in a crime novel, she even rides a 125 Kawasaki. She refuses to be a victim, even when she is a victim.

I enjoyed the twists, and although it took a while to set the scene and the characters, it was worth sticking with through to the end. There were some very disturbing scenes to get through, so not one for the faint hearted, but they didn't seem to be put in place solely for the shock value. Unfortunately, Larsson didn't completely detach his writing from the popular 'woman as victim' theme - but that was my only gripe.

If you haven't already read this book (and I'm sure you have), it's worth putting on the TBR pile and getting stuck in.

A new book featuring Larsson's characters is due out in August 2015. That Which Does Not Kill has been written by David Lagercrantz as Larsson sadly died of a heart attack in 2004 aged 50.

Shop Girl - Mary Portas

I rated this book 8/10...

Young Mary Newton, born into a large Irish family in a small Watford semi, was always getting into trouble. When she wasn’t choking back fits of giggles at Holy Communion or eating Chappie dog food for a bet, she was accidentally setting fire to the local school. Mary was a trouble magnet. And, unlike her brothers, somehow she always got caught…

'Shop Girl' begins during Mary's early years; describing a life glued together by family and happy memories. As might be expected from the Queen of Shops, her memoir revolves around retail - the tastes, scents, sights and sounds of her father's warehouse as he sells tea door to door to other shop keepers.

Mary goes on to describe her brothers and sisters. They are very close and highly supportive of each other throughout childhood and during some really distressing events. Even when the family as she knows it unravels whilst she is struggling with her teen years, her brothers and sister remain a pillar of strength for Mary over the years.

Perhaps the most important person in Mary's life is her mother. She is the centre of the family's universe and is always there when the children need a helping hand or a positive word.

'Shop Girl' was particularly touching for me as it resembles my own childhood. If we brush aside the Catholic upbringing - I have 3 sisters and 1 brother, and my siblings remain supportive and close even now whilst in different parts of the country.

This is a wonderful memoir about an inspirational lady, with short chapters that are quick and easy to read. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the next chapter and hope that she decides to write one.