Bendigeidfran son of Llŷr was crowned king over this island and invested with the crown of London. One afternoon he was in Harlech in Ardudwy, at one of his courts; he was sitting on the rock of Harlech, above the sea, with his brother Manawydan son of Llŷr, and his two brothers on his mother's side, … Continue reading The Mabinogion: The Second Branch of the Mabinogi | Sioned Davies #Dewithon23
I find reading Helen Garner a curious affair. There's a real push me/pull me effect, that intrigues me and wow's me, then repels me all in the same sentence. I'm intrigued and wowed by her writing, the turn of phrase that captures a moment brilliantly. There's a candour and earthiness that seems grounded in her … Continue reading The Spare Room | Helen Garner #AWWfiction
Everything about The Very Cranky Bear works for me. I love the illustrations, the rhyme, the characters and the story itself! Four friends (a zebra, moose, lion and sheep) find a cave to shelter in from the storm...until they disturb a very cranky bear. They decide to cheer up the bear by thinking about the things … Continue reading The Very Cranky Bear | Nick Bland
172 Hours on the Moon has been a disappointing story. The premise is great; the photographs and maps are great, but the writing lets the whole thing down. I'm not sure if the problem lies with the original storytelling by Harstad or if it's the translation by Tara F. Chace. Somewhere, though, it falls flat. … Continue reading 172 Hours On the Moon | Johan Harstad
Over the June long weekend I decided to read the Morris Gleitzman holocaust trilogy 'Once', 'Then' and 'Now'. The first two books in the series were moving, frightening and elegant. The tension gradually built up as the Nazi's arrived, changing everyone's lives. Gleitzman carefully, inevitably prepared us for the heart-breaking conclusion of 'Then'. I was … Continue reading Once, Then and Now | Morris Gleitzman
I put off reading The Hunger Games for most of 2009. The blurb on the back was challenging - a reality TV show where all the teenagers had to kill each other off! I don't think so. But then my stepson got the book for Christmas - he devoured it in 2 days. My husband … Continue reading The Hunger Games | Suzanne Collins
I don't read a lot of fantasy books and I nearly stopped reading The Poison Throne by Celine Kiernan when Wynter began talking to cats & ghosts! Stories about humans and animals talking together have rarely worked for me. Fortunately, the fantastical elements are limited and this novel reads more as an historial fiction. The … Continue reading Poison Throne | Celine Kiernan
Shadow Web by N. M. Browne takes you into a parallel universe where Germany has won World War 2. Jess is just your normal teenage girl living in London, hanging out with her friends. But a chance meeting in Waterloo Station with her double (albiet a double dressed in rather old-fashioned clothes) sees Jess hurled … Continue reading Shadow Web | N.M. Browne
Stephen King's The Stand meets William Golding's Lord of the Flies in Gone, book one in a new series for teens by Michael Grant. What would happen if everyone over 15 suddenly disappeared from your world? Could you survive on your own? Who would step up to lead? What if something bad happened? Who would … Continue reading Gone | Michael Grant
bronasbooks.com 