Bopping in Ballymalloy

Bopping in Ballymalloy is the third novel from Irish author, Dermod Judge.

The story is set the Ireland of the 1950s. And two people accidentally met up. Curly, who was fleeing hid failed career as a dancer in New York and Mary who is attempting to escape from the crushing boredom of Ballymalloy in the far West of Ireland.

Curly has a flashy car, an amazing collection of fantastic swing music and his moves on the dance floor really made an impact on Mary. In short, she is seduced by him.

In 1950s Ireland this situation cannot go unnoticed and Mary suffers considerable shame. In an attempt to ameliorate this situation he has to arrange for her to get the only thing that she really wants, entry into the harsh and unforgiving world of the professional dancer. A world he thought he'd fled from.

Curly works hard to train her as a jazz dancer and he makes sure she is entered into a dance competition that offers her an escape route from Ballymalloy, a ticket out of there!

But how does it work out for these two people? Because there are some people who are not very pleased with the idea of jazz making inroads into the island of Ireland.

But there are some people who think otherwise.

This book is a very well written story, set during a time when things were far simpler when American culture, including music, really did rule the world. And when as Buick in the tight lanes of Ireland was a sight to behold.

It's published by The Book Guild at £8.99.

The Boy From Rod Alley

The Boy From Rod Alley is a account of a childhood of the 1930s.

Author John Loveday was born in 1926. And this is his story.

It's not long since the Great War (which had yet to be renamed as World War 1) and former soldiers are seen riding about on their ex-army bikes, there are many women widowed by the terrible conflict and there are men who, although they returned physically from the Trenches had left something of their psyche behind them. Shell-shocked, they were called.

We learn that a blue bag in a bath of water was the best treatment for a boy who had been stung all over by a swarm of furious wasps, read about a female classmate called Edith who had St Vitus' Dance, plus she who would insist on chewing on her little blackboard until it had all but disappeared and was eventually replaced by the teacher.

There was Mrs Hart who had problems with odoriferous pupils, but Mrs Hart was good for telling her pupils history stories with a local, Norfolk, connection. John remembers her specially as she didn't read these stories from books but recounted them from memory.

He tells us of his family, how angry his father was when the Post Office decided to change the name of their lane from Rod Alley to the "posher" Post Office Terrace. But of course, the residents knew that it was still really called Rod Alley.

The family ere quite well off, as they owned and operated and agricultural engineering workshop and a foundry.

He tells of the local pool, both loved and feared, of the characters of the village, of the houses great and small where the people that he knew lived out their lives.

It's a charming and very well written book. There are no illustrations apart from a charming painting executed by the author on the cover.

The book is published by Matador at £9.99.

A Piddle of Puppies

A Piddle of Puppies You'll be entering an absolutely amazing world of animal rhymes with this second illustrated children's book from Andrea Prior. (You'll find the link to the review of Andrea's previous book, A Parcel of Pigs, here https://thatsbooks.blogspot.com/2017/05/a-parcel-of-pigs.html)

Children aged 5 to 9 (and their adults too, so, please don't be shy!) will absolutely adore this book.

There are odd, interesting and unusual names.

What, exactly would be a mischief of mice? Could you ever see a crossing of zebras? (Well, you can if you read this book!)

What would a shiver of sharks do, let alone look like?

And how could you cope with a piddle of puppies?

The rhymes are equally as good in this book as they were in the previous book and it will be a great book for shared reading.

However, there's a serious side to these books, too. They are designed to help children develop their reasoning skills, their spelling, pronunciation and memory recall, too.

At £8.99 you really cannot afford to miss buying this book.

It's published by Matador.

Princess Areeena and the Crystal Fairies

Princess Areeena and the Crystal Fairies is a book for children and their families that is probably one of the most important books of its kind in recent years. It's aimed at readers aged between 5 to 7.

It's Princess Arebeena's birthday and she is given the task of completing a treasure hunt.

Isabella, her best friend, is accompanying her as they set out on an exciting and thrilling adventure to locate hie missing tiara.

But will she find other things along the journey, too? And if she does, what will they be?

The book is superbly written and is very well illustrated and tells a thrilling tale that all children (and their adults!) will like.

However, there's a serious point to this book, as it is designed to help children have a positive attitude to life and also toward other people and creatures, too.

And shows them that sometimes you just have to be as brave as you can and face up to dangers and difficult situations.Including a lady dragon with purple eye shadow and lipstick!

The book is the first in a new series of books about the Crystal Fairies and it is published by Matador at £6.99. It's ideal for shared reading by parents, grandparents and other assorted adult relatives.

Him or You

Him or You is the third book from N L Collier and it follows on from his novel Home Before the Leaves Fall.

Franz Becker has managed to survive his first months as a fighter pilot and he is joined by his best friend Karl von Leussow. It's now the autumn of 1916.

Karl is soon able to transfer his marksmanship skills to his newer weapon and he is reunited with his older brother. A rivalry soon grows, caused by the increasing scores of Karl.

It is the aim of every German pilot to shoot down enough enemy aircraft tp earn the highly desirable Blue Max, though there's more of a chance of dying with a score of zero enemy kills, to be perfectly honest.

The German pilots are aware that their Albatros fighter planes are far superior to the fighter planes that the enemy possess. But even so the Albatros planes are still fairly fragile and also flammable.

Many pilots are doomed to a fiery death, others are consumed with a fear of facing the enemy in combat.

But how long can Franz and Karl continue to fight through the war, as their experiences begin to tell on their minds? And when will the war finally come to an end?

It's unusual to see the German side of the First World War covered in a fictionalised account and, once again, N L Collier has provided his readers with a extremely readable novel.

It's published by Matador at £9.99.

My Dream Mile

My Dream Mile is a very important memoir. It is written by Charlotte Hagen. She had recently graduated from a teaching college, was enjoying dinner with a friend when she hears a loud bang.

She is rushed to hospital in an ambulance and is in a coma after she has suffered from a devastating brain haemorrhage. The "bang" she heard.

When she awakes from her coma she must undergo months of serious rehabilitation work. He needs to relearn all that she knew. She has to learn how to eat, talk an walk all over again.

It's not an easy process and Charlotte goes through times when she feels deep despair, but also there are times when she feels great hope, too.

The memoir is subtitled My Fight Back to Life and that is exactly what it is, her spirited efforts to regain her life.

Charlotte finds herself helping other people with disabilities such as Kirsten who was 15 and had a broken back, the result of a car accident.

She also falls in love with and marries Stig, the neuro-psychologist doctor involved with testing her in the early days of her recovery.

With the help of her family members, the dedicated medical staff, hospital staff, friends and care workers Charlotte is able to work toward her recovery.

It's a truly inspirational book and it deserves to be owned by everyone who has suffered from a serious life changing incident such as a stroke, plus those who work with such people.

It's published by The Book Guild at £8.99.

Temporoparietal

Temporoparietal is a new novel from Kris Ellis.

It takes a look at the life and times of the protagonist, a young man called Matt Pearce.

Matt has OCD, is something of an educational low achiever, a move buff and a fan of the works of Jack Kerouac.

He finds himself in a bit of a bind. A relationship with an abused teen goes south, north, east and west and in a bit of a panicked existential crisis Matt leave not only his home but also his entire country.

He flees to the USA and decides to take a Greyhound bus trip across the USA.

Why does he do this? To escape from his abused teen called S? In part. But he also feels a desire to make a sort of a pilgrimage to the last resting place of his hero, Jack Kerouac.

Kris is a former Youth Counsellor and bases his novel on "real young people of today."

It's a heady mixture of old school head trips and modern cyber chic.

It's due out on 28th July and is published bu Matador at £7.99/