Wise Children by Angela Carter

This the life story of the twins Nora and Dora Chance, starting from their birth up until their 75th birthday. Nora narrates the story of their life, as they learnt the truth about their parentage and explored the world through theatre.

The story dances backwards and forwards in time as Nora remembers stories from her past which link in with the present. There are many funny moments as well as shocking ones. Although this book is hard to get in to, once you’re in the rhythm of swapping between times, this book is very enjoyable and gives an insite into how illigitimency was seen at the time the twins were born and how things changed around them as they aged.

Recommended for:
Those who like classics and theatre.
This is a classic book written by a gifted author and will keep people who love this genre enthralled. Those who like theatre will enjoy seeing it’s progression and how the limelight can change people’s lives.

Age recommendation:
15 and over.
There is some inappropriate content for younger readers, so as always if you are buying this for your child then I would recommend reading it first.

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Theowlemporium

The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

Read on the Blloon app for iPhone.

bit.ly/downloadblloon

This is an amazing and engrossing book about a centurion who has had an extremely eventful and unlikely life and who can’t give it up, no matter his age.

The story follows Allan Karlsson as he relives his old adventures across the 20th century as swaps between his memories and the present, both of which are very almost unbelievable. The story starts as Allan escapes the care home he lives in to avoid his 100th birthday party, he ends up at the bus station watching someone’s bag. When the said someone doesn’t return for their bag in time before Allans bus arrives, he just takes the suitcase with him on his journey to as far as he can get for what money he has.

The book has a very intricate plot with a lot of changing from the past to the present. However, this is easily got used to after a while.

You can read this book for free using the Blloon app for iPhone.
http://www.blloon.com

Recommended for:
Anyone.
This book is a narrative of a man’s adventurous life and, as such, can be enjoyed by anybody.

Age recommendation:
15 and over.
The book does contain violence as well as illegal activities although they are on a small scale and the violence is not described in great detail. As always, if you are worried about your child reading this then I suggest you read the book yourself first. You may end up loving it.

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Theowlemporium

Call The Midwife by Jennifer Worth

This is the acclaimed first book of the TV series of the same name. Simply put, this book is Jennifer Worth’s depiction of her work as a midwife after the second world war in the 1950’s.

This is the real life account of Jennifer Worth’s time as a midwife. She trained as a nurse at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading and then moved to London to train as a midwife. After her work as a midwife, Jennifer became a staff nurse at the Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, then ward sister and later night sister at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital in Euston.

Unexpectedly she arrives at a nunnery where she soon realises that the nuns are also the local midwifes and are greatly liked and trusted within the area. She slowly gains experience with the nuns by her side at the beginning until she is competent enough to work on her own. This is a story of love and loss and will pull in almost every reader with tales of pain, heartbreak, suffering and poverty; love, life and care; cheating and the reminder of past values and also friendship and admiration for the midwives who carried out this work with very little equipment and a lot less technology than today.

Recommended for:
People who like any form of real life tale as well as those who are interested in post war life.
The story does not only look at the cold hard facts, but also includes a lot about Britain at this time in history. It is an accurate account of life then and the struggles people went through as well as how life differs so drastically today.

Age recommendation
12 years and above:
I would recommend no one under the age of twelve reads this as the book does contain scenes of childbirth. However if you are looking at this book for your child and believe they may be mature enough to read this content then I recommend reading the book yourself first.

Comment what books you would like me to review next 🙂
Theowlemporium