DESERT ISLAND BOOKS

A selection of Book Reviews by DASP Staff

Summer 2016

Index of Book Reviews

Moby Dick – Herman Melville

Sharpes Rifles - Bernard Cornwell

Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden

Revolting Rhymes – Roald Dahl

Girl with all the Gifts – M R Carey

Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett

The Master and Margarita - by Mikhail Bulgakov The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova

Outlander – Diana Gabaldon

A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving

The Magic Cottage – James Herbert

Something Wicked this way Comes – Ray Bradbury

Sons & Lovers – D H Lawrence

Book of Tomorrow – Cecilia Ahern

Remarkable Creatures – Tracey Chevalier

The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame

A little Love song – Michelle Magorian

Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs - Giles Andreae and Russell Ayto

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon

The Shock of your Life – Adrian Holloway

I Let you Go – Clare Mackintosh

V for Vendetta – Alan Moore and David Lloyd

The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

My Side of the Mountain – Jean Craighead George

It’s not about the bike – Lance Armstrong

The End of the World Running Club – Adrian J Walker

Name: Tim Warnes (children’s author-illustrator)

My desert island book…

Moby Dick

By Herman Melville

I chose this book because…

I would finally have time to sit and read it! I’d choose an old, leather bound edition with beautiful typeface, illustrated with engravings. That way if it was too difficult for me (it is notoriously convoluted) I’d satisfy myself by pouring over the images of the fearsome great white whale, Moby Dick, as he takes retribution upon the Pequod and his nemesis, the obsessive Captain Ahab. A desert island seems an appropriate place to tackle it, as I’m sure I’d spend a lot of time gazing out to sea, trying to spot seafarers and whale spouts… (For a quick read, try Geraldine McCaughrean’s excellent adaptation.)

Name: Mr Wickham (Maths Teacher, THS)

My desert island book …

Sharpe’s Rifles

by Bernard Cornwell

I chose this book because….

In the start of this series of books, Bernard Cornwell

really brings to life Richard Sharpe and his band of

men, all English soldiers fighting in the Peninsular

War between Spain and France. This war included

the famous Battle of Trafalgar and the Battle of

Waterloo which saw an end to the conflict and the

demise of Napolean Bonaparte.

The “Sharpe” series has also been televised by ITV

where Sean Bean plays Richard Sharpe, a rogue

soldier who doesn’t necessarily play by the book but

is a very ambitious and dedicated fighter for what he

considers many worthwhile causes…

Name: Mrs Jelly (Finance Officer, THS)

My desert island book …

Memoirs of a Geisha

By Arthur Golden

I chose this book because….

A very powerful and moving story of a geisha –told

many years later from the Waldorf Astoria in New

York. It summons up a quarter century from 1929 to

the post-war years of Japan's dramatic history.

A young peasant girl is sold as servant and

apprentice to a renowned geisha house. Her

memoirs conjure up the perfection and the ugliness

of life behind rice-paper screens, where young girls

learn the arts of geisha - dancing and singing, how

to wind the kimono, how to walk and pour tea, and

how to beguile the land's most powerful men.

It is a sad and heart-warming insight into another

culture. I found it an utterly engaging read that has

always stayed with me.

Name: Mrs Brenchley (Y5 tutor, St Marys)

Puddletown) My desert island book …

Revolting Rhymes

by Roald Dahl

I chose this book because….

If you are stuck on a desert island, life may start to

get you down!

I chose Revolting Rhymes, because this book

always cheers me up – it is really light hearted,

straightforward and quick to read.

I adore Roald Dahl; he is witty, clever and (above

all) hilarious!

I love the twists on classic fairy tales, and the

rhythms and rhymes he uses makes them even

more memorable.

I guarantee you’ll never look at fairy tales in the

same way again!

Name: Mrs Plant, Mrs Andrews, Miss Jones, Miss Wittman

My desert island book…

The Girl with all the Gifts Br M R Carey

I chose this book because…

One day we were chatting and discovered that two of us were reading The Girl with all the Gifts. As we discussed it other staff thought it sounded so good they bought it. When everyone had eventually finished the book we spent ages talking about how fantastic it was. One teacher gave it to her mum to read and another passed it around her (adult) children. It was not a book most of us would have chosen as it probably comes under ‘zombie’ stories. However it is unlike the traditional zombie stories. It is compelling, clever, lots of surprises (not of the gory kind!) and twists and turns. It makes you question whether it could really happen… Who is Melanie and what is her gift? The story is seen through her eyes and those of her teacher. As this goes to print I have just read that the film of the book will be realised in September. Read the book first though.

Name: Mrs Heinrich (Librarian)

My desert island book…

Pillars of the Earth

By Ken Follett

I chose this book because…

Stuck on a desert island, you would need something to get your teeth into and this not only fits the bill, but is an epic tale. It is set in 12th century England and follows the (mis) fortunes of a handful of prominent characters all linked by the building of the greatest cathedral in the world. The detail in this historical fiction masterpiece transports the reader to medieval England on a rollercoaster of emotions which sees loyalties tested and swings between hope and despair. It really is the masterpiece it claims to be and certainly a book to get lost in….

Name: Mr Whitbread (Teacher, THS)

My desert island book …

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

I chose this book because….

The story concerns a visit by the devil to the

fervently atheistic soviet union.

Ultimately, the novel deals with the interplay of good

and evil, innocence and guilt, courage and

cowardice, exploring such issues as the

responsibility towards truth when authority would

deny it, and the freedom of the spirit in an unfree

world.

Plenty to think about on a desert

island.

Name: Mrs Matthews (Napier College Deputy)

My desert island book …

The Historian

by Elizabeth Kostova

I chose this book because….

This is a great book which takes the letter and diary

style of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and updates the life

of Dracula into the 20th Century.

This time Dracula is chasing after scholars with

historical knowledge and the reader is given much

greater insight into the historical background to Vlad

Tepes (Vlad the Impaler a.k.a. Dracula)

I chose this book because….

The epic tale begins when Claire Randall, a young

combat nurse in World War II, moves to Scotland

with her beloved husband to reignite their marriage

interrupted by the war. Hiking one day, Claire

accidentally passes through the stones of an ancient

stone circle and wakes up to find herself in 18th

century Scotland.

Lost, alone, and confused (yet determined), Claire's

path crosses, and is inextricably linked to, a young

Highland warrior... James Fraser. The story that

ensues would make Shakespeare proud-- danger,

suspense, passion, betrayal, true love and tragedy.

Name: Mrs Holly O’Brien (ICT Co-ordinator) St

Mary’s Middle School Puddletown

My desert island book …

Outlander

by Diana Gabaldon

Name: Mrs Butcher, Finance, THS

My desert island book …

A Prayer for Owen Meany

By

John Irving

I chose this book because….

The story is told by Johnny Wheelwright, about his

best friend, Owen Meany.

Owen is a tiny person who has an exceptionally

high-pitched voice. He accidentally kills Johnny's

mother during a baseball game. However, their

bond is unbroken. Owen foresees his own death, as

a hero, and the story moves on irresistibly to that

event.

It is a long book (!) but so rewarding as in it’s

conclusion, all the threads of the story tie up & make

perfect sense.

Name: Mrs Theresa Luther, Reception Teacher (St

Mary’s Catholic First School)

My desert island book …

The Magic Cottage

by James Herbert

I chose this book because….

I am a James Herbert fan to start with. However, I

do think that this is my favourite. The imagery that

the story conjures up is nothing short of amazing. I

would go to say it is beautiful, although, there is

something lurking in the depths of your mind that

tells you it is not.

The idyllic frontage disguises an evil lying in wait for

you to discover. It draws you in without you realising

and before you know it you just can’t put it down. I

have read it several times and each time I discover

something new and more thought provoking.

I would thoroughly recommend it.

My desert island book …

Something Wicked This Way

Comes

By Ray Bradbury

I chose this book because….

At age 16 this was a book my school

librarian recommended to me and it turned

me into an enthusiastic reader.

It’s a great story about two boys growing up,

but set against the background of a sinister,

evil carnival and fairground.

Bradbury was a fantastic story teller and

descriptive writer, whose stories are always

deeper than they first appear and transcend

the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre that he is generally

included in.

Name: Mr Scott (Media Development THS)

My desert island book …

Something Wicked This Way

Comes

By Ray Bradbury

I chose this book because….

At age 16 this was a book my school librarian

recommended to me and it turned me into an

enthusiastic reader.

It’s a great story about two boys growing up, but set

against the background of a sinister, evil carnival

and fairground.

Bradbury was a fantastic story teller and descriptive

writer, whose stories are always deeper than they

first appear and transcend the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre

that he is generally included in.

Name: Gail Tucker, Teacher, St Mary’s Catholic

First School

My desert island book …

Sons and Lovers by

D.H. Lawrence

I chose this book because….

One of the great writers of the 20th Century,

Lawrence was a man ahead of his time, and

created characters with depth and well observed

human feeling.

Sons and Lovers is a book I studied at school

and come back to every few years. It has a

richness of language that makes every sentence,

indeed every word, matter; with some passages

that stay imprinted on your memory long after

reading.

Name: Miss Simmonds (Teacher, St Marys Catholic

First School)

My desert island book …

The Book of Tomorrow by

Cecelia Ahern

I chose this book because….

Cecelia Ahern is best known for her book PS. I Love

you. I wanted to try a different book that had a

fantasy element to it. This book is about a woman

who visits a travelling library. The library brings with

it a mysterious, large leather-bound book locked

with a gold clasp and padlock.

This book is full of mystery and fantasy, which made

me think of books I had read when I was younger. It

is a perfect desert island book as you totally loose

yourself within its magic.

NAME: Charlotte Dowling (Teacher, St Marys Catholic

First school)

My desert island book …

Remarkable Creatures

by Tracy Chevalier.

I chose this book because….

I think our Dorset heroine needs to be celebrated

and remembered more often and in this great read

on our fossil lady from Lyme Regis, Mary Anning

certainly is!

"She was really quite an amazing woman. She was

completely self-taught, never had any formal

education, was very poor [and] found these things

for a living," Chevalier writes this about Mary.

I recommend you read this book over the Summer.

It really is an absorbing tale ,based on true life set

on our very coastline.

icture of the cover of your

Name: Mrs Bourne (St Mary’s Catholic school)

My desert island book …

The Wind In The Willows

by Kenneth Grahame

I chose this book because….

The setting leads me towards a gentle sunny

riverside with characters who I feel would be fun to

meet and share a picnic with.

I try and read it every summer as it fills me with

images of childhood innocence with the anticipation

of the summer freedom!

Name: Alice Mattison

My desert island book …

A little love song

by Michelle Magorian

I chose this book because….

I seem to come back to A Little Love Song

whenever I need comforting and so it is definitely a

book to be stranded on a desert Island with. It's a

wartime bildungsroman, the story of the summer

where everything changes for the central character

Rose who comes of age and has the freedom to

grow into the young women she wants to be.

A book any girl of 15 up should read and will relate

to.

NAME: Miss Cook (Reception Teacher, Cerne Abbas First

School)

My desert island book …

Captain Flinn and the Pirate

Dinosaurs Smugglers Bay

By

Giles Andreae and Russell Ayto

I chose this book because….

This book is very, very, very funny! I love reading

this book to my class as I get to use funny dinosaur

voices and there are fun songs to sing in the voice

of dinosaurs. Giles Andreae is one of my favourite

authors as he makes reading fun and enjoyable. In

this story a little boy called Flinn and his friends go

on an adventure where they meet the pirate

dinosaurs!

The pirate dinosaurs want to turn the children into

sausages using a giant sausage machine! Flinn

saves the day though and wins over the Pirate

Dinosaurs! There are several other books in the

same series about Captain Flinn and the Pirate

Dinosaurs and I love them all. They are definitely

worth reading.

Name: Kerry Nottley (Cerne Abbas First School TA)

My desert island book …

The Curious Incident of the Dog

in the Night-Time

By Mark Haddon

I chose this book because….

It's a novel about difference, about being an

outsider, about seeing the world in a surprising and

revealing way. Also it ends with Christopher finding

what he has been looking for and conquering his

fears. This was also interesting to read to kind of an

insight in to what my Nephew (on the autistic

spectrum) may be thinking or feeling.

Name: Catherine Cresswell

My desert island book …

The Shock of your Life

by Adrain Holloway

I chose this book because…

It makes you think about life after death.

After a fatal accident, three young people are

catapulted into eternity. Read how Dan, a non-

Christian; Becky, a lukewarm Christian; and Emma,

a red-hot believer, get the shock of their lives as

they discover what life after death is really like.

Written especially for the next generation,

The Shock of Your Life grapples with the biggest

question of what happens when we die and

presents a fresh way of looking at the Bible's

teaching on judgment, heaven and hell through a

gripping fictional scenario.

Name: Mrs Tantrum (SMMS)

My desert island book …

I Let You Go

by

Clare Mackintosh

I chose this book because….

It has a real twist at the end. At the end of the book,

I was left feeling that I had been tricked and was

very tempted to read it again with my new

knowledge.

I also felt that the characters were very cleverly and

realistically presented. I was gripped from start to

finish.

Name: Mr.Moss (Art Leader St.Mary’s Middle)

My desert island book …

V for Vendetta

By

Alan Moore and David Lloyd

I chose this book because….

It is a powerful story about freedom and

individuality that is very relevant in our

contemporary world. The artwork is compelling,

bringing to life the ideas in the text with striking

imagery.

Name: Andy Briggs (Author)

My desert island book …

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the

Galaxy

By Douglas Adams

I chose this book because….

With only one book to read on a desert

island you need something that you will get

more from each time you read it. This book

does exactly that – plus I have cheated, as

this is five books in one! It’s a spectacular

adventure-comedy set across the universe,

following the exploits of Arthur Dent just after

the earth is demolished. Douglas Adams’

humour borders on the surreal – with fish

you put in your ear to translate languages,

why you should ALWAYS carry a towel with

you, a two-headed space pirate and the

Earth mark-II. It’s terrific fun and almost

guaranteed to put a smile on your face…

Name: ALI SPARKES (Author)

My desert island book …

MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN

by Jean Craighead George

I chose this book because….

It’s a fantastic story about young Sam Gribley who

goes off to live alone in the Catskill Mountains, when

he realises his family are too poor to feed him. He

takes a survival handbook and learns to forage,

snare wild animals and make his own home in a

hollow tree. He catches a peregrine chick and trains

it to hunt for him.

This is the coolest book I read when I was at school.

I think it’s what made me choose a peregrine falcon

as Dax Jones’s second shapeshifting form in The

Shapeshifter series. And it’s STILL cool. Read it!

REEEEEAD IT!

of yourself here

Name: Abbie Elliot, Learning Mentor, St. Mary’s C.E.

Middle, Puddletown

My desert island book …

IT’S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE

by Lance Armstrong

I chose this book because….

Lance Armstrong’s sheer grit, perseverance

and determination are incredible, as is his

ability to be motivated and drive himself

forward despite his despair and physical

weakness.

His story demonstrates how profoundly your

frame of mind and attitude determine the

way your life plays out. I chose this book

because it has stuck with me since I read it

nearly 15 years ago, and I think it’s a

reminder of how important our train of

thought is.

For me, this book is about being spirited and

strong minded.

Name: Mr Orchard (Maths Teacher)

My desert island book…

The End of the World Running

Club.

By Adrian J Walker

I chose this book because…

It is quite simply a rollicking good tale. Like the title

says there on the book - the story has apocalyptic

overtones. It is set in the UK and there is running in

it. What’s not to like?