European Rail Timetable: Summer (Independent Traveller's Edition)

Advantages: An interesting and entertaining insight into 1911 society
Disadvantages: Perhaps concentrates too much on the antics of the upper classes

...Vividly described in Juliet Nicolson's book, the summer of 1911 was one of the hottest of the last century. It is often said that the British love to talk about the weather. Well, people of all backgrounds must certainly have found plenty to say during the five month period covered by this book. The events of the summer were diverse, including a coronation, strikes at the dockyards, a hectic calender of social occasions for the wealthy, and a daily battle to survive for the poor. Juliet Nicolson uses the soaring temperatures as the thread that links together the people who appear in her book. Whether aristocrats or factory workers, they were all experiencing 'The Perfect Summer'. But was it really so perfect? About the Author This is Juliet Nicolson's first book, although on graduating from Oxford she worked in publishing... Read review

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Advantages: Original structure, compelling, thought provoking
Disadvantages: Just short of perfect, you can only empathise so far...

...The Time Traveler's Wife is essentially a love story, but it's a love story with a twist - set in Chicago, Henry has a genetic dysfunction which results in him travelling through time, where he meets Claire. For the first half of the book she is a young girl who is visited occasionally by Henry, the older man, who knows all about her and what happens to them in the future. Then they meet in real time and it is Clare who knows about Henry through his visits from his future into her past, whereas he is meeting her for the first time. Niffenegger's version of time travelling is completely outside of Henry's control - that is, he can move in time without notice, and can end up anywhere and anytime, although usually (but not always) in his own past and in places with which he is familiar. He can take nothing with him and arrives in his... Read review

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Advantages: atmospheric; realistic characters; engaging plot
Disadvantages: bad language and violence may be off-putting for younger readers

...Although this is billed as a story about one mysterious night in a long, hot summer, Brooks’ novel is much more than a “who-dunnit” or even a “why-dunnit”. From the opening pages he captures the world of teenagers everywhere, with their complex web of shifting relationships, vulnerability to each other and complete refusal to share their world in full with any adults. "Plot" After a slow start which follows the main character through the lead up to the big night, there is the hazily captured main event: the funfair. The chaotic atmosphere is captured perfectly as the teenagers stumble through the night, high on a heady mixture of drugs, booze and the teenager’s sense of sheer invulnerability. Like a kaleidoscope revolving, old friends meet and spin apart, some heading to destruction. The morning after is when the thriller aspect... Read review

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