Entries tagged with amazon vine programme

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Swimming With The Viking Of Skye by Richard Waters

The Blurb On The Back:

At the age of 41, Rich Waters received a diagnosis that sent shockwaves through his world: early-onset Parkinson’s disease. But fate had more in store for him; shortly after this revelation, he learned that his daughter was also grappling with a degenerative condition.

Cold water swimming on the Isle of Skye, became his lifeline - a radical wellspring of fulfilment and resilience. Plunging into the frigid depths, Rich found a strong connection with the natural world. The sensation of icy water on his kin mirrored the challenges he faced in his life, and each swim taught a crucial lesson of personal survival.

Guided by Matt Rhodes, known as ‘the viking of Skye’, Rich discovered that the biting cold, the relentless waves and the untamed currents were more than just physical challenges: they were a metaphor for the unpredictability of life itself. In those waters, he learnt to surrender control, to accept the ebb and flow of existence, and to find beauty in the chaos.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Richard Waters is an award-winning travel and sports writer. This very personal book is part memoir, part self-help guidance that looks at how cold water swimming and a stoic attitude helped him to come to terms with two life-changing events. Unfortunately it lacks the self-reflectiveness and raw honesty to succeed as a memoir and lacks the general life advice to work as self-help, which is a shame as the descriptions of nature are excellent.

SWIMMING WITH THE VIKING OF SKYE was released in the United Kingdom on 27 February 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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Witchsign by Den Patrick

The Blurb On The Back:

Do you bear the sign of the witch? Because if you do, gods help you.

It has been seventy-five years since the dragon’s rule of fire and magic was ended. Out of the ashes, the Solmindre Empire was born.

Since then the tyrannical Synod has worked hard to banish all manifestations of the arcane from existence. However, children are still born bearing the taint of the arcane, known to all as witching. Vigilants are sent out across the continent of Vinterkveld to find and capture all those bearing the mark.

No-one knows when the Vigilants of the Synod will appear and enforce the Empire’s laws…

But today they’re coming …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Den Patrick’s fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) has interesting world-building that incorporates Norse and Russian history and tries to subvert the tropes of normal ‘young people discover magical powers’ fiction. Unfortunately the pacing is slack, the storytelling doesn’t stand on its logic and the characterisation - particularly of the antagonists - is rarely above the superficial, meaning I won’t be reading on.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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Ibraheem’s Perfect Eid by Farhana Islam and Nabila Adani

The Blurb On The Back:

Ibraheem LOVES Eid.

What’s not to love?

There’s games and snacks and … PRESENTS!

Eid is ALL about the presents - isn’t it?

Join Ibraheem as he hunts of this gifts and discovers all the things that make Eid wonderful.

A heartwarming celebration of Eid, curious children and family love.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Farhana Islam and Nabila Adani’s picture book is a colourful, joyous exploration of the social, family and spiritual meaning of Eid that aims to show young readers that the celebration is not just about receiving gifts. I liked the fact that it’s aimed at Muslim readers but it does miss a trick by not giving a bit more context or explanations for non-Muslims who may want to know more about it.

IBRAHEEM’S PERFECT EID was released in the United Kingdom on 27 February 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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What’s New Harper Drew? by Kathy Weeks

The Blurb On The Back:

I’m Harper Drew and my life is completely beyond normal!

Current evidence:

1. My brother Troy … has a skateboarding vlog. But only owns half a skateboard.

2. My uncle Paul … has a diamond toe ring and is apparently a Hollywood movie producer. But no one has ever seen a film he’s made.

3. My dad … has just crashed the school minibus in front of a police officer.

And that’s before I even got started on my mum, my baby brother (the Prune) or the llamas on our disastrous family holiday …

Does anyone else have this much drama in their life?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Kathy Weeks’s debut humorous novel for readers aged 9+ (the first in a trilogy) has a good narrative voice and builds its funny scenes well while Aleksei Bitskoff’s energetic illustrations bring out the absurdity of Harper’s family and the situations that she finds herself in. My biggest criticism is that the family’s attitude to arriving on time for things triggered my anxiety and I would have liked a bit more normality to make it feel grounded.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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The Internationalists And Their Plan To Outlaw War by Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro

The Blurb On The Back:

Since the end of the Second World War, we have moved from an international system in which war was accepted as the ultimate arbiter of disputes between nations, to one in which it was not. This remarkable book, which combined political, legal and intellectual history, traces the origins and course of one of the great shifts in the modern world.

The pivot was the Paris Peace Pact of 1928, when virtually every nation renounced war as a means of international policy. By 1939, however, that Pact looked like a naive experiment. Hathaway and Shapiro show that it was in fact the critical moment of a new attitude to war, and how it shaped the thinking of those who framed a new world order after 1945.

Though this is a book about the power of ideas and their impact upon history, it is peopled throughout by individuals who brought about these momentous changes. The Internationalists is a significant contribution to understanding international affairs, and how great historical changes come about.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Oona Hathaway is Professor of International Law and Political Science at Yale and Scott Shapiro is Professor of Law and Philosophy at Yale. This is a thorough and engaging look at the legal framework underpinning war as a means of dispute resolution and how the Grotius view of “might is right” was overturned with the 1928 Paris Peace Pact, which changed attitudes to the legitimacy of war and formed the basis of the modern international order.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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Flowers Over The Inferno by Ilaria Tuti

The Blurb On The Back:

An idyllic village in the Alps.
A legacy of sin.
An evil lurking in the woods.

In a quiet village surrounded by centuries-old woods and the imposing Italian Alps, a series of violent assaults take place.

Police inspector and profiler Teresa Battaglia is called back from the city when the first body is found in the woods, a naked man whose face has been disfigured and eyes gouged out. Teresa quickly realises that the killer intends to strike again, and soon more victims are found - all having been subjected to horrendous mutilations. When a new-born baby is kidnapped, Teresa’s investigation becomes a race against the clock …

But Teresa is also fighting a different kind of battle: a battle against her own body, weighed down by age and diabetes, and her mind, once invincible an now slowly gnawing away at her memory …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Ilaria Tuti’s debut thriller (the first in a trilogy and translated from Italian by Ekin Oklap) draws on an actual event as the basis for this uneven story of child cruelty and village secrets. Battaglia held my interest with her health issues, the hints at previous spousal abuse and her attempts to deal with the onset of Alzheimer’s but the profiling feels very old-fashioned and her relationship with the under-developed Marini doesn’t convince.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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Breaking Bread: How Baking Shaped Our World by David Wright

The Blurb On The Back:

In Breaking Bread, expert baker and food writer David Wright explores bread’s deep connection to culture, health and the environment, whilst addressing challenges like industrialisation, food trends and bakery closures. He examines bread’s pivotal role in civilisations, food security and sustainability, questioning its future in a changing role.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

David Wright is a baker, writer and presenter. This thought-provoking book examines bread and its role in society and the economy, its impact on health and the environment and industry challenges (which is particularly strong and draws on Wright’s own experiences with his family bakery). I wanted more on how gluten intolerance decreases when “proper” bread is eaten and Wright constantly repeats his credentials but it definitely held my interest.

BREAKING BREAD: HOW BAKING SHAPED OUR WORLD was released in the United Kingdom on 20 March 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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While We’re Young by K. L. Walther

The Blurb On The Back:

Four friends. One day off. A whole heap of trouble.

Graduation if fast approaching for Grace - but all she can think about is mending the fractured friendship trio of her best friend, Isa, and Isa’s ex, Everett. Taking a page from her troublemaker brother James’s playbook, Grace masterminds an unsanctioned Senior Skip Day, including kidnapping Everett and ‘borrowing’ Isa’s parents’ car.

Will one day of freedom save their tangled relationships, or will the secrets between them ruin everything? And will Grace admit who really makes her heart skip a beat … ?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

If you’re familiar with FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF then there’s a huge amount to enjoy in K. L. Walther’s YA frothy romantic comedy, which couples a lot of Easter egg references with wry narrative voices and is as much about friendship as romance. There are some fun moments to be had but I did find it difficult to keep the various families straight in my head and I worry that there’s more here for readers aged 35+ than there are for target teens.

WHILE WE’RE YOUNG was released in the United Kingdom on 13 March 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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Capitalism: A Conversation In Critical Theory by Nancy Fraser and Rahel Jaeggi

The Blurb On The Back:

In this important new book, Nancy Fraser and Rahel Jaeggi take a fresh look at the big questions surrounding the peculiar social form known as “capitalism”, upending many of our commonly held assumptions about what capitalism is and how to subject it to critique. They show how, throughout its history, various regimes of capitalism have relied on a series of institutional separations between economy and polity, production and social reproduction, and human and non-human nature, periodically readjusting the boundaries between these domains in response to crises and upheavals. They consider how these “boundary struggles” offer a key to understanding capitalism’s contradictions and the multiple forms of conflict to which it gives rise.

What emerges is a renewed crises critique of capitalism which puts our present conjuncture into broader perspective, along with sharp diagnoses of the recent resurgence of right-wing populism and what would be required of a viable Left alternative. This major new book by two leading critical theorists will be of great interest to anyone concerned with the nature and future of capitalism and with the key questions of progressive politics today.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Nancy Fraser is Professor of Political & Social Science at the New School for Social Research and Rahel Jaeggi is professor of practical and social philosophy at the Humboldt University, Berlin. This highly academic book, framed as a conversation between the authors uses (and assumes that the reader is grounded in) critical theory to explore what capitalism is, how it’s been viewed in history, how it can be capitalised and how it can be defeated.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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Spy Agency Puzzle Book: Mission – The Hidden Hacker

The Blurb On The Back:

Your secret mission, should you choose to accept it:

Save the world from chaos by unmasking the hacker threatening to shut down the internet!

Put your spy skills to the test with four areas of puzzling challenges from hidden words and codebreaking to logic and observation puzzles, before you take on your top-secret mission.

Hurry, this message will self-destruct in 3, 2, 1 …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

This entertaining puzzle book for readers aged 8+ works imagines that the reader is a secret agent who has to complete their training at Spy HQ before they go out in the field. It has a good mix of logic and graphic puzzles - certainly something for everyone - and is a good way of introducing young readers to puzzle solving techniques but the black and white illustrations prevent some of the visual puzzles from working quite as well as they should.

SPY AGENCY PUZZLE BOOK MISSION: THE HIDDEN HACKER was released in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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Why Social Media Is Ruining Your Life by Katherine Ormerod

The Blurb On The Back:

Do you ever obsess about your body? Do you lie awake at night, fretting about the state of your career? Does everyone else’s life seem better than yours? Does it feel as if you’ll never be good enough?

Why Social Media Is Ruining Your Life tackles head on the pressure cooker of comparison and unreachable levels of perfection that social media has created in our modern world.

In this book, Katherine Ormerod meets the experts involved in curating, building and combating the most addictive digital force humankind has ever created. From global influencers - who collectively have over 10 million followers - to clinical psychologists, plastic surgeons and professors, Katherine uncovers how our relationship with social media has rewired our behavioural patterns, destroyed our confidence and shattered our attention spas.

Why Social Media Is Ruining Your Life is a rallying cry that will provide you with the knowledge, tactics and weaponry you need to find a more healthy way to consume social media and reclaim your happiness.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Katherine Ormerod is a fashion journalist, social media influencer and a fashion beauty and lifestyle brand consultancy. Published in 2018 this readable book aimed at young women is ripe for an update, mixing academic research and anecdotes from influencers to explain why social media is so bad for your well being but it downplays the role of the mass media in feeding into trends and is quiet on solutions to abuse within the fashion industry.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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First Space: Activity and Colouring Book by National Geographic Kids

The Blurb On The Back:

Blast off into space in this fun-packed activity book for young children.

Brimming with mazes, matching pairs, counting, spot the difference, dot-to-dots, colouring and drawing.

Discover the moon, planets, stars and beyond, learning fun facts along the way.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

National Geographic’s activity book for readers aged 5+ (part of a series) mixes facts about the solar system with plenty of fun activities to keep young readers busy, including maze puzzles, dot-to-dot pictures and pictures to colour. If you have a young reader who’s interested in space then this will definitely keep them entertained but I would have liked more facts than are given and more cohesion (e.g. there is nothing on the ice planets).

FIRST SPACE ACTIVITY AND COLOURING BOOK was released in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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The Happiest Hanukkah by Ivor Baddiel and Kathryn Selbert

The Blurb On The Back:

Leora loves everything about Hanukkah, the candles, the food … and especially Bubba and Zaida’s stories.

And this year she has a very special wish … but will it come true and make this the happiest Hanukkah ever?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Ivor Baddiel and Kathryn Selbert’s picture book (part of a series on faith/ethnic holidays) explains what Hanukkah involves and why it’s celebrated and Selbert’s colourful illustrations bring the family bond to life. My only criticism is that I didn’t quite understand why Leora was so intent on lighting the candle and why it was important to her but otherwise it’s a solid way of introducing the holiday to young readers who are unfamiliar with it.

THE HAPPIEST HANUKKAH was released in the United Kingdom on 7 November 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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Thunder City by Philip Reeve

The Blurb On The Back:

Tamzin Pook is a fighter in the Amusement Arcade, where she does battle with Revenants - reanimated brains within armoured engine bodies - and is never sure whether she’ll survive another day.

In the wheeled city of Thorbury, a rebel faction has brutally seized control and it will take someone skilled at fighting Revenants to save the day … Enter Tamzin.

Along with an oddball gang of mercenaries and a teacher named Miss Torpenhow, she must outwit a pair of assassins to secure a peaceful future.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Philip Reeve’s standalone adventure set in his MORTAL ENGINES universe for readers aged 12+ is a thrilling story of friendship, belonging and what it means to be a hero. Although Tamzin and Miss Torpenhow are the main characters, this is very much an ensemble piece that explores the geography of the Traction Cities’ world at a breakneck pace. Although this is a standalone story, there is scope here for a sequel, which I would definitely read.

THUNDER CITY was released in the United Kingdom on 26 September 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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First Festivals: Holi

The Blurb On The Back:

First Festivals

Holi has arrived!

Lift the flaps to discover the joy and celebration of this special holiday

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

This board book features delightfully energetic illustrations by Darshika Varma and sets out the different elements that go to make up the Holi festival. Varma’s illustrations show different generations and use lots of bright colours. However the use of the flaps is a little underwhelming and they’re quite flimsy and susceptible to tearing in small hands, which is a shame because I think this is a nice introduction to the festival.

FIRST FESTIVALS - HOLI was released in the United Kingdom on 6 February 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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Tidemagic: The Many Faces Of Ista Flit by Clare Harlow

The Blurb On The Back:

On the misty streets of Shelwich, a strange magic rises and falls with the Tide …

When the waves are out, the magic is only a murmur, but when the water is high, anything can happen - and people have started to disappear. Rumour has it they are being snatched by monsters, but Ista Flit doesn’t want to believe that. Not when her own father is among the missing.

And Ista is a face-changer, able to take on the appearance of anyone she’s seen, making her the perfect detective. Teaming up with unexpected allies Nat and Ruby, who have both lost family too, Ista must delve into the hidden caverns beneath Shelwich to find her father before it’s too late …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Clare Harlow’s debut fantasy novel for readers aged 9+ (the first in a series and beautifully illustrated by James Mountford) is a vividly imagined, enjoyable story with solid characterisation, a great sense of place and an interesting plot. Itsa is a well drawn and driven protagonist uncomfortable with having to trust Nat and Ruby. The fantasy elements are thought-through and the cliff hanger ending ensures I’ll read the sequel.

TIDEMAGIC: THE MANY FACES OF ISTA FLIT was released in the United Kingdom on 11 February 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative To Central Banking by Saifedeen Ammous

The Blurb On The Back:

When a pseudonymous programmer introduced “a new electronic cash system that’s fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party” to a small online mailing list in 2008, very few paid attention. Ten years later, and against all odds, this upstart autonomous decentralised software offers an unstoppable and globally-accessible hard money alternative to modern central banks. The Bitcoin Standard analyses the historical context to the rise of Bitcoin, the economic properties that have allowed it tot grow quickly, and its likely economic, political, and social implication.

While Bitcoin is a new invention of the digital age, the problem it purports to solve is as old as human society itself: transferring value across time and space. Ammous takes the reader on an engaging journey through the history of technologies performing the functions of money, from primitive systems of trading limestones and seashells, to metals, coins, the gold standard, and modern government debt. Exploring what gave these technologies their monetary role, and how most lost it, provides the reader with a good idea of what makes for sound money, and sets the stage for an economic discussion of its consequence for individual and societal future-orientation, capital accumulation, trade, peace, culture and art. Compellingly, Ammous shows that it is no coincidence that the loftiest achievements of humanity have come into societies enjoying the benefits of sound monetary regimes, nor is it coincidental that monetary collapse has usually accompanied civilisational collapse.

With this background in place, the book moves on to explain the operation of Bitcoin in a function and intuitive way. Bitcoin is a decentralised, distributed piece of software that converts electricity and processing power into indisputably accurate records, thus allowing its users to utilise the Internet to perform the traditional functions of money without having to rely on, or trust, any authorities or infrastructure in the physical world. Bitcoin is thus best understood as the first successfully implemented form of digital cash and digital hard money. With an automated and perfectly predictable monetary policy, and the ability to perform final settlement of large sums across the world in a matter of minutes, Bitcoin’s real competitive edge might just be as a store of value and network for final settlement of large payments - a digital form of gold with a built-in settlement infrastructure.

Ammous’ firm grasp of the technological possibilities as well as the historical realities of monetary evolution provides for a fascinating exploration of the ramifications of voluntary free market money. As it challenges the most sacred of government monopolies. Bitcoin shifts the pendulum of sovereignty away from governments in favour of individuals, offering us the tantalising possibility of a world where money is fully extricated from politics and unrestrained by borders.

The final chapters of the book explores some of the most common questions surrounding Bitcoin: Is Bitcoin mining a waste of energy? Is Bitcoin for criminals? Who controls Bitcoin, and can they change it if they please? How can Bitcoin be killed? And what to make of all the thousands of Bitcoin knock-offs, and the many supposed applications of Bitcoin’s ‘blockchain technology’? The Bitcoin Standard is the essential resource for a clear understanding of the rise of the Internet’s decentralised, apolitical, free-market alternative to national central banks.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Saifedean Ammous is Professor of Economics at the Lebanese American University. This book has useful summaries of the history of money and the development of Bitcoin but his arguments as to how Bitcoin meets the definition of money are unconvincing - no matter how many times he repeats his points - and his Austrian school economic arguments about Bitcoin’s superiority for settlement smacks of wishful thinking over the real world practicalities.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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Don’t Be Evil: The Case Against Big Tech by Rana Foroohar

The Blurb On The Back:

Today Google and Facebook receive 90% of the world’s news and ad-spending. Amazon takes half of all commerce in the US. Google and Apple operating systems run on all but 1% of cell phones globally and 80% of corporate wealth is now held by 10% of companies - not the Gas and Toyotas of this world, but the digital titans.

How did we get here? How did once-idealistic and innovative companies come to manipulate elections, violate our privacy and pose a threat to the fabric of our democracy? In Don’t Be Evil, Financial Times global business columnist Rana Foroohar documents how Big Tech lost is soul - and became the new Wall Street.

Through her skilled reporting and unparalleled access, she shows the true extent to which the ‘Faang’s (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google) crush or absorb any potential competitors, hijack our personal data and mental space and offshore their exorbitant profits. Yet Foroohar also lays out a plan for how we can resist, creating a framework that fosters innovation while also protecting us from the dark side of digital technology.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Rana Foroohar is global business columnist and associate editor at the Financial Times and CNN’s global economic analyst. Published in 2019 it’s an absorbing and frightening look at how Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google hoard data and intellectual property to maintain market dominance, influence politics and maintain their value and a prescient warning given how the companies are now jostling to influence the incoming Trump presidency.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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The Hunter by Andrew Reid

The Blurb On The Back:

A troubled genius who vanishes in a mysterious car crash.

A disillusioned cop sensing conspiracy in the corridors of power.

A ruthless team of mercenaries operating in the shadows.

A billion-dollar business that wants the world in its grip.

One link connects them all.

A champion fighter. Betrayed and searching for the truth.

Cameron King is The Hunter.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Andrew Reid’s debut action thriller is an assured affair with solid pacing and interesting main characters in the form of Cameron King and Ray Perada (who I was pleased did not succumb to a predictable romance). However the storyline between Cameron and Nate falls apart in the final quarter with revelations that suspend credulity, which is a shame because there’s some solid writing here and the premise is perfect beach reading.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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Nina Peanut Mega Mystery Solver by Sarah Bowie

The Blurb On The Back:

It’s me … Nina Peanut.

I’m Nina Peanut: a famous megastar, mystery-solver extraordinaire and extremely kind and patient big sister to the world’s most annoying brother.

Guess who is a ghost and is living right here in my school? It’s Lady Deborah from our history lesson, and she is stuck in her own shoe.

Watch as Brian and I film our investigations to find out what she’s doing there and how we can set her free. I’m also battling Megan Dunne to become class captain - vote for me, because who is more of a ghost expert than I am? Answer: hardly anyone!

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The second in Sarah Bowie’s self-illustrated humorous graphic novel for readers aged 9+ is a well-constructed, fun affair filled with verbal and visual jokes. There’s a useful summary at the front if you haven’t read book 1 and Nina is such a well drawn character that you root for her, especially against the awful Megan. Certainly there’s more than enough here for me to want to read book 1 and I look forward to seeing what Bowie does next.

NINA PEANUT MEGA MYSTERY SOLVER was released in the United Kingdom on 26th September 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.