Books

Animal Farm is a book, which, many would think is about animals on a farm, however, the message is far more advanced. The short answer is that it is about the dangers of communism. Animal Farm is aimed at 13+ but can be read by any age. The farm is run by Farmer Jones, but […]

The Bunker Diary is written by British author Kevin Brooks. It was published in 2013. Many people wanted it banned for its disturbing themes and dark plot. However, in 2014 it won the Carnegie Medal. Plot We follow 16-year-old Linnus as he writes about his experience in a diary. One day he was walking along […]

This amazing murder mystery thriller is written by British writer Holly Jackson. It is an extremely enjoyable read. If you love thrilling and exhilarating books that keep you up at night desperate to know what happens next, this book will be right up your street. What’s more, there are 2 other books in the series […]

Would you prefer to read and envision the story of the Hunger Games in your mind or would you prefer to lie back and watch a multitude of talented actors tell you the story? Either way, both ways are successful in conveying a brilliant storyline. Whether you have already read the fun series, have never […]

‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ is written by Taylor Jenkins Reid and is easily considered to be one of the best ‘booktok’ books. It is filled with plot twists and some unexpected moments. It is filled with characters who are made to be hateable and characters who are made to be likeable. It is […]

The Song of Achilles tells the story of the mightiest Trojan warriors. Achilles and his lover Patroclus grow, fight and love their way through one of the most brutal wars in Greek mythology. What makes it stand out? Firstly, let’s just say that Madeline Miller has created a literary masterpiece. She has shaped the story […]

Graham Norton’s debut novel Holding attracted significant media attention and glowing reviews. Most likely because Graham Norton of The Graham Norton Show wrote a fiction crime novel. Presumably most reviewers would have liked to slate it for some kind of self-gratifying purpose. I hate it when celebrities get book deals. Half of them can’t write; it’s never usually because […]

When Charlotte Brontë called her sister Anne’s book The Tenant of Wildfell Hall a “mistake” and prevented it from being published for ten years, I do think she was being rather severe. Anne Brontë’s second novel is not the masterpiece Jane Eyre is or Wuthering Heights. I am hesitant to call it a masterpiece at all, but there are […]

A Monster Calls is one of the most renowned books of the 21st century. Patrick Ness, its author and flame-carrier, is just as renowned. There is a reason for that. A Monster Calls is one of the most moving, brilliantly executed, and informative novels I’ve read in a while. I’m possibly too old to be considered the target […]

I may sound like an incessant English teacher– but reading really is so beneficial for everyone. Reading for just 30 minutes per day can help reduce stress, improve your memory, and increase your vocabulary. The escapism that novels can offer is comforting, and through reading, you truly learn so much more about yourself and the […]

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood is the latest read from my to-be-read list that has been interrupted by my studies, but we all need a break from Plato every now and then. I didn’t know what to expect from the book. I don’t read many romantic books, but this was recommended by friends, Twitter, […]

The Bridget Jones’s Diary empire is synonymous with the nineties; it has (rightly) achieved legendary chick-flick status; is renowned for being comedy gold; and criticised just enough to make the whole thing semi-controversial. The last part depends on who you ask. But Bridget Jones’s Diary hasn’t always been that mega bucks film starring Texan Renee […]

Sally Rooney has had a stratospheric rise to fame and success after the publication of her first two novels, Conversations with Friends and (of course) Normal People. Both novels have received widespread critical acclaim, with the latter cementing Rooney as perhaps the frontrunner of millennial literature. Beautiful World, Where Are You only serves to compound this reputation. This novel, […]

 Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé. This book was an unexpected buy, but the premise of the book had me hooked. A Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars-type thriller but with two black leads who are LGBTQ? Sign me up! In fact, the plot is so much more than I could’ve hoped for. I can see […]

Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library was a Sunday Times number one bestseller. Why? For the life of me, I cannot fathom it. That’s personally, though. If I look at the general state of the world and publishing as it is, I can totally see why. The Midnight Library is essentially a mix of everything this society has come to superficially […]

Well, the first thing I have to say about this book is that it is an absolute cracker. Tom Bradby returns on top form for the final instalment of his spy thriller with Triple Cross and I was, in no uncertain terms, hooked from the off. Triple Cross picks up where Double Agent left off. MI6 […]

Well, here I am at ten to one in the morning having completed Three Women. Before I proceed, this book – and so this review – is not suitable for a younger audience. Three Women is at its core, a reportage-novel hybrid about sex and power, which manifests itself in the following trigger warnings: rape, […]

1/5 1984 is always cited as one of the best books ever written. It’s supposed to be intelligent, sharp and profound. Instead, I found it to be dull, rambling and unremarkable. Oh, and rampantly sexist. George Orwell was clever – I’ve read his essays and I like them. But 1984? It was hard to believe […]

5/5 Three things are rare when it comes to me and books. First, someone buys me a book and I actually like it; second, it takes me less than two weeks to read a book; and third, I pass a book on to my grandma because I think it’s so good. M L Stedman’s The […]

5/5 Heavyweight ITV journalist Tom Bradby is best known for presenting the news each night at 10pm on our TV screens. But, for those who care to follow him on Twitter, you will know he also has another talent up his sleeve: writing. His latest novel Secret Service proves very well that he is exceptionally […]

5/5 You Got This by Bryony Gordon is all about being yourself and being true to yourself. The book, published in May this year, openly talks about and explores topics such as self-respect, body image, mental health and more. Each chapter of You Got This has a different theme, but all of them have one […]

Can You See Me? is a book written by author duo Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott. In the book, we learn about the life of Tally, an eleven-year-old girl with autism. When we first meet Tally, it’s the last day of the summer holidays, and the next day, Tally is going off to secondary school […]

4/5 As the UK experiences a sweltering heatwave which has seen the hottest day on record ever, it’s no wonder climate change is on the agenda. We all know it’s happening – why else would parts of the UK be as hot as Dubai in July? Climate change activist Greta Thunberg hits the nail on […]

Juno Dawson’s Say Her Name, published in 2014, offers a nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat classic horror book experience. This book is an intriguing page-turner for young teenagers and one that must be read by all. Mary Worthington, a student at Piper Hall, is at the centre of Say Her Name. Mary Worthington is the real name of […]

Payback, an enigmatic anti-capitalist group staffed by teens, has one mission: to steal from the rich and give to the poor. Its dramatic heists create a sensation. But when excitable Payback fan Tom is recruited, he accidentally brings with him a shady money man, Mr. Ruiz. And he’s not the only one on their tail. […]

I wasn’t going to write this review. Someone else was going to have to cover this because I doubted my ability to think objectively due to my deep unconditional love of all things Harry Potter. I needn’t have worried about that. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the sequel to 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where […]

Kudos to the genius who had the idea to release a film about a being who hates Christmas in November. That’s a finger on the zeitgeist right there. The Grinch is the latest 86-minute adaptation of a 69-page children’s book. It depicts Benedict Cumberbatch’s Grinch as he plans his dastardly scheme while Whoville prepares for Christmas. […]

In the eighties/nineties, Marvel comics was on the verge of bankruptcy. They were kept afloat because they had the license to produce Star Wars comics but otherwise they were literally selling filing cabinets to stay in business. So for a bit of a cash boost, Marvel sold the film rights to their most valuable characters […]

4.5/5 After reading Pride and Prejudice and feeling totally disappointed, my hopes were as low as can be when I started reading Persuasion. It reads basically the same as Austen’s most famous work, but Persuasion is undoubtedly filled with more wit and humour accessible to any reader than P&P, making it much more bearable in […]

I’m aware that the majority of you are just coming to the end of your holidays and packing bags for school/uni. I, however, I have completed my MA this morning and, rather than celebrate this, I felt I’d waste your time with 500 words or so. I’m looking through travel mags and airline sites to […]

It’s a thankless job being a sidekick. You have to go through the same adversity the protagonist does and at the end of it, all you get is a lousy pat on the head and (in Chewbacca’s case) not even a medal. What the hell Leia? For your viewing pleasure, here’s our list of sidekicks […]

Many of us know the struggle of trying to organise friends into finally getting the deposit down on that flat. The search for housemates at uni is arduous and taxing. Except for council-tax, obviously. It’s understandable why some impressionable young people would decide: “you know what, screw it. I’m gonna live with a superhero”. I […]

Author of the esteemed Game of Thrones books, George RR Martin has delayed the next book in the series to release an ‘imaginary history’, of the house of Targaryens. Martin revealed that The Winds of Winter wouldn’t be coming in 2018. The last book that was released was A Dance with Dragons, in 2011. This […]

If there’s one book character who deserves a follow-up story, it’s Tracy Beaker. Written by Jacqueline Wilson, the books and TV show followed Tracy, a young girl who had been abandoned by her mother and placed into a children’s home nicknamed the Dumping Ground. Fans of the show will know that Tracy was very hard […]

Okay, I know I’m late to the party but I have finally read Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. I knew it was going to be a good read from the start as Agatha Christie is the best selling novelist of all time, having been outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. I’m in […]

The following spoils no plot details of an 85-year-old book (who says Hollywood has no original ideas?). Agatha Christie’s steam-powered ‘whodunnit’ has been adapted more times than Piers Morgan’s job description and with Oscar-nominated actor/director Kenneth Branagh in the engine room, this latest version had all the opportunity to leave previous attempts under its wheels. […]

Here at b**p we love a good novel and we love to celebrate them too. Today marks 170 years since the publication of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, or, as she was known at the time, Currer Bell. In those glorious 170 years, there have been film adaptations of the novel, period dramas telling its story and plays touring the […]

Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s final novel is something to behold. Bizarrely readable – considering not only the time it was written but also the sheer length – it paints a vivid picture of the eponymous brother’s lives’. The story is bounding and broad, expanding to encompass most of the town in which the story takes place. The […]

For many across the country this week will begin the new school year, whether you’re raring to go, what with your notebooks and highlighters, there will be those who would rather be doing anything else. Well, take comfort in the fact that even in fiction people still must get up at seven in the morning […]

3.5/5 Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca is often described as a modern classic and, by many trusted sources of mine, described as a great novel. Naturally, hearing that this book was amazing made me excited to read it, but in the first 200 pages or so, I just didn’t get it. Things were fairly boring after […]