Songs for Ghosts book cover for review - image shows a young Japanese woman in a kimono holding a biwa. She has a blue filter over her. The landscape around her is puffy like clouds, a pale pink colour, with large blue flowers growing from it. White butterflies fill the red sky above.
Book Reviews

Songs for Ghosts | YA Book Review

By Clara Kumagai (Zephyr, 2025)

‘Who are you?’ I burst out. ‘How did you—’

She raised her head slowly. Her hair was long and dark and straight, half-covering her face, a pale oval. Her lips moved, but I couldn’t hear what she said. Benny quietened. Her eyes were like mine.

There was a noise from another room – my room – and I half-turned towards the sound, then remembered, caught myself and whirled back to the crib. There was nobody there, no woman, nothing. Only Benny, blinking his eyes, clenching and unclenching his little hands.

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Covers for book recommendations March 2025
Book Reviews

Monthly Book Recommendations: March 2025

Welcome to our monthly book recommendations post for March! Unfortunately, due to ill health on one side and a house move on the other, we’ve been unable to do our regular level of detail for this month. But we haven’t stopped reading, and it doesn’t stop us recommending those books!

So if you’re looking for a book to pick up, or perhaps give as an Easter gift, here are some to look out for.

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Covers for book recommendations Feb 2025
Book Reviews

Monthly Book Recommendations: February 2025

Welcome to our monthly book recommendations post for February! Last month our reading travelled all over, from history and nature, to mystery and friendship. Come along with us below, and see what we’ve been reading!

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Book cover for review: image shows a grand old manor house with a red front door and long windows. The windows directly above the door are lit up, while one on the bottom right is boarded up. The manor is surrounded by snow, and a line of shadowy tress stands behind it. Above the manor rises a full moon in a starry sky. This is all flanked by two leafless trees, one on each side, close to the viewer. In the branch of the left tree lies a white squirrel. Across the snow in front of the house is the title "The Secret of Helmersbruk Manor", and underneath the subtitle "A Christmas Mystery".
Book Reviews

The Secret of Helmersbruk Manor: A Christmas Mystery | Review

Written by Eva Frantz, illustrated by Elin Sandström (pub. Pushkin Press, 2023)

‘It’s her!’

The white thing disappeared too quickly for Flora to see what it was, but for a few horrible moments she thought she had seen a pale face peering in at her and whispering.

But the room was on the first floor, so surely no one could be peeking in up there?

Flora lingered in the doorway, dead still.

Did she dare go over to the window and look?

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Book recommendations covers for Oct 2024
Book Reviews

Monthly Book Recommendations: October 2024

Welcome to our monthly book recommendations post for October! There are still a few spooky titles in our list from last month, but we were also looking forward to non-fiction November.

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Book recommendations covers for Sep 2024
Book Reviews

Monthly Book Recommendations: September 2024

Welcome to our monthly book recommendations post for September! Last month we read some very spooky books, some not-so-spooky books, and some that aren’t really spooky at all. And we enjoyed each and every one of them!

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Nine Night Mystery book cover for review
Book Reviews

The Nine Night Mystery | Book Review

By Sharna Jackson (pub. Puffin Books, 2024)

I’m at our neighbour Rachel’s house in her room. I just dropped a paintbrush she asked me for on her floor, and she didn’t do or say anything when it rolled under the bed.

Not because she’s asleep or lazy.

But because she’s dead.

Rachel Kohl. Dead in her bed.

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Book recommendations covers for April 2024
Book Reviews

Monthly Book Recommendations: April 2024

Welcome to our second monthly book recommendations post! April was a busy month for us and books, with so many different topics and stories passing through our hands. Here’s what we read during April 2024!

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Book recommendations covers for March 2024
Book Reviews

Monthly Book Recommendations: March 2024

Welcome to our first monthly book recommendations post! We realised that we read SO many books that we simply don’t have time to fully review, but still want to share with the world. So going forward, we’re hoping to do a post at the start of each month, covering what we read last month. Here’s our books from March 2024!

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Tokyo Ghost Café book cover for review
Book Reviews

100 Tales from the Tokyo Ghost Café | Book Review

By Julian Sedgwick and Chie Kutsuwada (published by Guppy Books, 2023)

“You think you can decide what is real and what is imaginary, what is alive and what is dead. But who is to decide who is alive and who is merely dreamed into existence? I listen to you lot argue about whether ghosts or fox spirits exist, and you forget to check how real you are.”

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