"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..."

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

"grips from the start..."

" 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..."

"it’s tremendous fun..."

"a brooding, gothic-tinged coming-of-age tale..."

"gives the inner reality of blue-collar life a respect and attention it rarely gets..."

"Annie is a lively..."

"it is a long shaggy dog story — and, in its rarefied way, occasionally very funny..."

" highlights Macneal’s rich imagination and vivid prose..."

"gives a twist to familiar myth by offering the perspective of the women characters..."

"There is no doubt that McInerney is a writer of great gifts and boundless ambition..."

"it is cleverly constructed..."

"Anam’s writing is stylish and funny..."

"This selection of the gifted writer’s work is stuffed with wonders..."

"It’s elegantly done, a portrait veiled in quiet melancholy..."

"so tense, so full of jeopardy, that it makes many thrillers feel underpowered..."

"As a novelist Freud hits that tricky sweet spot between commercial and literary fiction and her novels are invariably a joy to read...."

"(A) colourful, compelling first novel..."

" a timely consideration of Hong Kong’s recent past..."

"Haunting and very dark, this is certainly worth the read..."

"a solid and well-constructed police procedural..."

"gently humorous and always humane..."

"These neatly crafted short stories find poetry in the rituals of domesticity..."

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

" complex and occasionally convoluted, ending in a terrific set-piece legal showdown..."

"an electrifying gothic techno-thriller..."

"Haunting and heart-wrenching, this book is reminiscent of Daphne du Maurier...."

"Full of twists... wrongfooting the increasingly uneasy reader at every turn...."

"It is a delight to dip into his sun-baked world..."

"This college-life narrative has an eye for comedy even when the narrator is enjoying a moment of self-pity..."

" a melodrama of honour and shame..."

"Kennard is very funny, and this novel abounds in pithy, wry observations and situational comedy. ..."

"unapologetically escapist beach-read fiction,..."

"his grip on the mechanics of storytelling is highly assured..."

"(A) taut, clever, thought-provoking thriller...."