"Separately and together, The Skylarks’ War and The Swallows’ Flight are pinnacles of children’s literature..."

"a delight for its warmth and humour..."

"the funniest book of summer has landed..."

"as soon as you finish you want to read it all again..."

"a beautiful writer who loves to surprise,..."

"McCaughrean’s prose and characterisation, of the good, the bad and the in-between, are a treat...."

"a comic romp packed with stunts..."

"Wanted: a sequel — as fast as you can pull a pistol..."

"Carnegie and Newbery medal-winner Creech has a magic touch...."

"a charming debut that unpacks the pain of moving home..."

"warmth, intelligence and beauty are testimony to the restorative power of gardening..."

"an impressive feat, achieved with prose that often feels newly minted..."

"a page-turner, in which the reader feels real tension at the perils..."

"This tale from rural Northumberland will stick with you..."

"What distinguishes this well-crafted debut is the freshness of its prose and the way it sidesteps clichés..."

"an involving, well-characterised tale that feels original..."

"This charming tale comes just in time for Mother’s Day..."

"this rite-of-passage story is compelling, entertaining, insightful and kind..."

"This beautifully illustrated book tenderly spells out the importance of protecting elephants against poachers..."

"This book evokes a powerful and tender relationship..."

" Zeniter’s warm hug of a dynastic saga..."

"an enjoyably sinister tale..."

"Spaced words in a clear and simple typeface, and energetic caricatures by Steve May, make this comic romp suitable for early readers...."

"the ride is stretch-limousine smooth and the evocation of the Hollywood Hills of the Seventies affecting..."

"grips from the start..."

"Slightly sloppy in the writing, this nevertheless scores high with its unflinching detail of a baffling modern phenomenon..."

" it has authenticity and fascinating local colour..."

"This urban duckling becomes something rather beautiful...."

"This what-if novel about loss celebrates life, asking the questions: what would you do with the rest of your life if you knew you were about to die? And would you want to know? ..."

" truly cheering entertainment..."

"a high-speed train journey worth catching..."

"the storytelling is entertaining, comical and breezy..."

"Rushdie is overly drawn to low-hanging fruit in this smug collection of criticism, speeches and essays..."

"Timely and compelling..."

"A former special forces soldier’s hair-raising life story, from military high-jinks to heroin addiction..."

"Crowther’s book is an admirable dissection of the way Plath and Sexton rebelled against the values of Fifties American womanhood..."

"a red-hot, propulsive book..."

"this moving and unusual memoir also speaks of the pleasure and privilege that leaven the heavy burden of caring..."

"Paula Byrne brings the author’s fascinating story to life..."

"This is a brisk, impudent, utterly immersive novel that also wants to answer questions about Jews and history ..."

"Julia Copus captures the hard times and brilliance of an impoverished, independent woman who was ‘the greatest poetess’ Hardy ever knew..."

"Part of this book’s appeal is that Vickers is so genuinely star-struck. ..."

"This is a remarkable first-hand account of life inside a secret and brutal regime..."

"This memoir needs more of that punchy stuff...."

"(A) glimpse into the real cost of the global obsession with gold..."

"This exquisite essay, from the author of Half a Yellow Sun, lays bare the surreal pain of mourning her father via Zoom..."

"A sensitive investigation challenges our understanding of what it means to be missing, and how it feels for those left behind..."

"I’d say Taylor deserves the keys to the city...."

"hums with voracious curiosity..."

"A moving and clear-eyed history of bodily freedoms that takes as its central character Wilhelm Reich, inventor of the orgone accumulator..."

"A learned and readable picture of Renaissance medicine with less comic eccentricity than Robert Burton’s 1621 magnum opus..."

"A highly complex woman pared down..."

"...deep, subtle grace...A Blood Condition has a dignity that honours the past without indulging in any overflow of personal feeling. ..."

"(A) concise and remarkable book...."

"a fresh approach to The Birds director’s life..."

"Elizabeth Miki Brina’s memoir about coming to terms with her Japanese-American heritage is warm and affecting..."

"Brandreth explores a temperament on the brink of anger and agitation with immense tact, even affection...."

"This tale of a wealthy widow and her Mayfair inheritance is a historical romp..."

"Geoffrey Marsh’s diffuse yet fascinating new book ..."

"Ruth Scurr approaches Bonaparte from an entirely novel angle..."

" he is a lucid and engaging companion..."