George and the big bang by Lucy and Stephen Hawking

Title: George and the big bang

Author: Lucy and Stephen Hawkins

ISBN: 978-0385-61191-6

I thought this book is well written but there were some improvements that could be made. I found the scientific information at the end of each chapter easy to read and informative on what had gone on in chapter but it would have made more sense as far as the story went to have some of that information alongside the story as it happened maybe in a different font. I found the same with the beautiful colored photos at the end of each chapter of space. I think this would be a great story for getting kids into physics because when talking about scientific concepts that we don’t know the answers to yet it admitted that which were to possibly start an interest and a child wanting to answer that particular question. The story itself was an easy read despite the fact I hadn’t read the preceding books. A basic good versus evil and the possibility of the main characters losing is super computer which has empathy. I liked the fact the main characters were children. Yes I would recommend this book to a friend.

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the unbearable lightness of scones by Alexander McCall Smith

Title: The unbearable lightness of scones: a 44 Scotland Street novel

Author: Alexander McCall Smith

ISBN: 978-0307454706

I learn a lesson about reading books out of order. I am pleased to report that this book was written to the same high standards as the first book. It was nice to see Bertie get his freedom finally. There was only one clear reference to scones in the whole book. I liked how it neatly wrapped up the series and that some of the characters who needed to grow up did. I enjoyed reading this book and actually looked forward to it. That was a nice ending to the good series that is worth the read and I would recommend it to a friend. 

Able’s world by Tara Richardson

Full disclosure I am a Facebook friend of Tara’s but I’ve tried to be as objective and professional as possible during this review.

I really really wanted to like this book but I didn’t completely as I found it lacking in detail. First up I think the cover art of a young boy is sitting on up bicycle with his hands across the handlebars suited this quick read. Within the first couple of pages we are introduced to the realities of Abel’s disabilities although no level of spinal cord injury is given which indicates a lack of research on the author’s part. The first couple of chapters were taken up with Abel getting his first power chair which I think was awesome. What struck me as unusual was that his dad who is a military man was able to get time off work to see him get his power chair. I would be surprised if this was able to be done in the real world. I don’t know why Able wasn’t attending school with a teacher aide instead of being homeschooled is this would have made his transition back to school a lot easier. I think his interactions with his classmates after he got his power chair were unrealistic. I thought most of the stuff about the art once a patient comes home was correct. Sadly this also pointed to a lack of research on the author’s part again as art therapy is quite common for many reasons during the acute rehabilitation stage of quadriplegia. Given the tone of the book Able’s result in the contest was expected.

Yes I would recommend this to a friend who was looking for a light hearted quick read that was light on details about mouth painting. I personally will not be reading it again as it is a very memorable story thanks to its simplicity.

Do no harm by Carol Topolski

Title: Do no harm

Author: Carol Topolski

ISBN: 978-1-4448-1054-7

I found this book grotesque to the point of not being able to finish it because it was so gross. I would not recommend this book to anybody. I also found this book hard to follow as it jumped around too much as far as the timeline was concerned the story would jump between Virginia’s childhood and her adult life without telling us. I couldn’t always know who the chapter was focusing on at times as well. Which was another factor that made it hard to read.

Survivor by Lesley Pearse

Title: Survivor

Author: Lesley Pearse

ISBN: 9780718159061

I enjoyed this book immensely. I found it an easy relatable read. I liked watching Mariette grow as a person this is why I believe this book is split into three parts. The first being up until her family in England died, the next being when she learnt to care for other people, the last stage being after she is reconnected with a former lover who she learns to care deeply about because of the lessons learnt in the early stages.

I found the first stage to be realistically written for today despite it being set in 1931. I enjoyed watching her grow as a person in the second stage and liked the fact that I didn’t know what was going to happen to Mariette from paragraph to paragraph at times during this stage which kept me engaged as a reader. In the last stage I enjoyed reading her reconnection with her former lover in way that wouldn’t have been possible in the first stage.

Yes I would recommend this book to a friend.