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March Reviews

The Ice by Laline Paull - 4th Estate, £8.99
Sean Cawson and Tom Harding meet at university, at a Polar Explorers dinner where Tom dines and Sean waits on him and his rich friends. Despite their differences in background, and occasionally ideology, they form a team, united by their love of the Arctic. They find a sponsor and become part of an expedition, their experiences and difficulties only uniting them further.

Fast-forward thirty years and the summer sea ice has melted, meaning the Arctic Sea is open for business. A new and efficient shipping lane in international waters, not to mention the mining possibilities that lie beneath the sea and land.
With the help of his old sponsor, Sean has set up Midgard Lodge on Svalbard, to help promote best practice amongst the scrum of business interests looking to gain from the newly opened up Transpolar Route, and Tom, now a famous environmentalist, is the ethical face of the venture. When tragedy strikes on Svalbard, questions start to be asked and it’s not long before the cracks in Sean’s world start to show.

An unusual and gripping eco-thriller by the acclaimed author of The Bees.

Urban Jungle by Vicky Woodgate - Templar £20
Did you know that there are flying squirrels in the heart of New York City? Or that wild boar roam the streets of Berlin? From bats in air-conditioning vents, to snakes in the sewers, each city is a colourful mix of everyday sightings and one-off stories you wouldn't believe.

This beautifully illustrated book of maps is filled with fascinating facts and colourful creatures, it’s an exciting journey of animal discovery that journeys deep inside the most unlikely habitat for wild animals - the world’s busiest cities!
Author and illustrator Vicky Woodgate will be visiting Steyning Bookshop during the Easter holidays.

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller - Penguin Books £8.99
Claire Fuller’s second novel ‘Swimming Lessons’ is a literary page-turner which exhibits the same keen observational eye as her first novel, the brilliant ‘Our Endless Numbered Days’.

‘Swimming Lessons’ is the story of a marriage, and of a family left hanging in grief and hope. Gil Coleman’s wife Ingrid has been missing, presumed drowned, for 12 years. Gil has a fall after believing he has seen Ingrid, and his daughter Nan summons her sister Flora to help her care for him. Flora was only 10 years old when her mother disappeared from the Dorset beach near their home, and she has never truly believed that Ingrid is dead.

What follows is an alternating narrative, with Flora’s memories of her mother interweaving with letters from Ingrid herself. The letters, revealing the troubled truths and secrets behind their marriage, were hidden by Ingrid between the pages of the thousands of books in Gil’s collection, which lie in piles around their family home, an old swimming pavilion in Dorset.

A compelling and beautifully observed novel about secrets and lies and the miscommunication between people, which has the reader questioning what is real and keeps you guessing right to the end.

Claire Fuller will be talking about ‘Swimming Lessons’ at the Gluck Studio on March 22nd. Tickets are £12 from the Steyning Bookshop.

Outwalkers by Fiona Shaw - Hb £10.99 David Fickling books.
A chillingly prescient YA thriller set in a grimly believable post-Brexit future. I was surprised to read that Fiona Shaw conceived and wrote ‘Outwalkers’ before the political events of 2017; she envisions an England governed by a shadowy Coalition, which has deported all foreigners and built a border wall between England and Scotland, a land divided by strict class hierarchies where the penalties for resistance are a lifetime of hard labour in the fracking fields.

In a series of slow reveals, we begin to understand this grim new world, as we follow newly orphaned Jake, who is determined to escape from his Home Academy and to find a new home with his dog, Jet. He thinks his biggest challenge is going to be getting out and over the wall but, when he does, he finds this is the least of his worries. The draconian 'Coalition' government can track everyone in the country via the 'hub chip' in their neck and in no time 'the hubbers' (police) are on his trail. All seems lost until Jake stumbles into a gang of ‘Outwalker’ kids. After proving his worth, he is permitted to join their gang and together they set out on a perilous journey north towards the heavily guarded border with Scotland, all the while guarding an explosive secret which has the power to bring the Coalition down.

A thrilling and dramatic story, peopled with plucky yet believable characters, which keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout! Thoroughly recommended for kids and adults of 11 upwards. For fans of The Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Knife of Never Letting Go.


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