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Book Reviews from The Steyning Bookshop

Skinful of Shadows
Frances Hardinge
Macmillan Children’s books, £12.99
Frances Hardinge won the overall Costa Prize for her 2015 novel, The Lie Tree, and now follows that bewitching book with another hauntingly strange and imaginative mystery set in the English civil war, which, like ‘The Lie Tree’ deserves an audience of all ages.
Makepeace is the illegitimate daughter of the aristocratic Fellmotte family and shares their supernatural hereditary gift: the capacity to be possessed by ghosts. The Felmottes are a creepy bunch and have sinister plans for Makepeace and her half-brother James. Brave, resourceful Makepeace, aided by the Bear-spirit which inhabits her, escapes the ancestral home into a war-torn country tangled with plots, spies and intrigue to try to rescue James and expose the Felmottes.
This is a hypnotic and addictive story which I couldn’t put down, written in rich, vivid prose, studded with interesting period detail, bristling with menace, and alive with imagination. Highly recommended for readers of 11+.

Sky Dancer
Gill Lewis
Oxford University Press, £6.99
Another really excellent book for readers of 10+, the new novel from prolific children’s author Gill Lewis is a worthy successor to her 2015 African novel Gorilla Dawn, and similarly blends environmental issues with a tightly plotted storyline and engaging characters.
The story explores life on a grouse-shooting estate, and follows 3 children from very different backgrounds; Joe is a working-class boy from a family of gamekeepers, Ella a naïve townie transplanted to the countryside, and Minty is the elegant daughter of wealthy landowners. After Joe’s brother kills a protected hen-harrier on the Grouse moor owned by Minty’s dad, the children overcome their differences when they rescue one of her chicks. Ella makes Minty and Joe begin to question the traditions of the grouse-moor they’ve been brought up on, and they must face the thorny dilemma of whether to remain loyal to family and tradition or fight for what they believe in.
Vibrant, believable characters, neat plotting and a strong sense of place combine seamlessly with a radical message in this bold and bewitching story.
Perfect for nature-loving boys and girls of 10 and upwards.

Science(ish)
Rick Edwards and Dr. Michael Brooks
Atlantic £12.99
Have you ever wondered if dinosaurs could really be brought back to life from their DNA, as in Jurassic Park, or if we are living in the Matrix after all, or whether erasing troublesome memories as in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind would be a great idea? Inspired by their award-winning podcast, TV presenter Rick Edwards and science writer Michael Brooks delve into the fascinating questions that popular sci-fi films provoke, using neuroscience, astrophysics, artificial intelligence, botany and more in an entertaining bid to get to the answers.
Rick Edwards and Dr Michael Brooks will be giving an illustrated talk on the science behind the movies on Wednesday 11 October at 7.30pm at the Steyning Centre. Tickets £8 adults/ £7 for 18 and under, and will include a £5 voucher for a book.

Islander
Patrick Barkham
Granta £20
The British Isles is a term used all the time, but how often do we think about the second word of the phrase? Not to be confused with the terms Great Britain or the UK, the British Isles refers to the 'archipelago made up of two large islands and 6,289 smaller ones.' Bookshop favourite and award-winning natural history author Patrick Barkham moves out to sea from his last book Coastlines, to explore the islands scattered about our shores. From the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, with their own administrations to smaller islands, the Scilly Isles and the Isle of Wight, the Orkeys, to ever smaller islands, such as uninhabited St Kilda, and holy Ynys Enlli, Patrick journeys over sea and through time in search of what it means to be an islander in this enthralling and beautifully written travel book.
Patrick Barkham will be talking about Islander on 9th November at 7.30pm at the Gluck Studio. Tickets £10 and will include a £5 book voucher.

Contact us or visit our website for more Autumn Events
Steyning Bookshop - 01903 812062 - www.steyningbookshop.co.uk
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