BOOKS OF THE WEEK
Funny Story by Emily Henry Viking, £18.99 (ebook £8.99) Review by Jacqueline Ling
Daphne and Peter appear to be living a blissful life together. Daphne moves to Peter’s home town and revolves her life around his, until he unexpectedly ends things with her, striking up a relationship with his childhood best friend, Petra. Left heartbroken, Daphne finds solace in Miles, Petra’s former partner. Bonding over their shared heartbreak, over drinks one night they devise a plan to fake a romantic relationship on social media, aimed at unsettling their exes. This sets off a series of events that binds them together. As their friendship blossoms, the question arises: could their friendship evolve into something more? This light, funny read will keep you rooting for them until the very end.
A Beginner’s Guide To Breaking And Entering by Andrew Hunter Murray
Hutchinson Heinemann, £18.99 (ebook £9.99) Review by Alan Jones
Al has rules for breaking into wealthy people’s second homes when the owners are away, such as wearing gloves, never running away if seen, and having at least two stories if he has to explain what he’s done. He also doesn’t go back to the scene of a previous ‘interlope’, as he calls his break-ins – and Al isn’t his real name. But all his careful planning for living a life at someone else’s expense changes dramatically when he discovers a group of similar ‘interlopers’ – and they stumble across a dead body. The unlikely group of unofficial house-sitters go on the run, determined to find a killer.
The Ritual Effect: The Transformative Power Of Our Everyday Actions by Michael Norton
Penguin Life, £20 (ebook £9.99) Review by Rachel Howdle
In a world that is flooded with opinions and prescriptions on how to change your life – telling us to make new habits in 21 days, saying we constantly need to be stepping out of our comfort zone – Michael Norton, instead, has written an essay about why, as a species, we have harnessed the power of ritual. From the family traditions that make Christmas special to the number of times tennis star Serena Williams bounces the ball before serving, via the growing movement of purple dresses worn by the Red Hat Society. Ritual gives us order, Norton suggests. An entertaining view of why we do what we do.
The Magic Callaloo by Trish Cooke Walker Books, £12.99 (no ebook) Review by Joanne Brennan
This is a wonderful and enchanting book that will keep the reader enthralled from start to finish. While the story is loosely based on the fairytale Rapunzel, it has its own magic – telling of a small village which has an enchanted callaloo plant growing in the town square. Unfortunately, there was one very selfish and greedy man who wanted the plant for himself so that he could take all the wishes, plucking all the leaves until there was only one left. So when a young couple are desperate for a baby, they take the final leaf to make their dream come true – but that’s not the end of the evil man’s plots. With extremely colourful illustrations by Sophie Bass, this book is a delight to read.