L.H. Johnson's Blog, page 14

The Girls’ Crystal Annual 1952

It’s vintage book acquisition o’clock! I recently picked up a couple of annuals from a local charity shop and was pleased to find them rather interesting things. Annuals aren’t my normal space as a collector because the authors that I’m interested in very rarely published in them. There’s quite a clear distinction as the namesContinue reading "The Girls’ Crystal Annual 1952"

Guest Post: Rebecca Mills on ‘Grand Tours and Great Escapes in the Early Chalet School Books’

I am so happy to be able to share this guest post with you today from the lovely Rebecca Mills. As you may know, I have a great love for the early Chalet School characters and so this was right up my street. I suspect you’ll enjoy it a lot as well – it’s soContinue reading "Guest Post: Rebecca Mills on ‘Grand Tours and Great Escapes in the Early Chalet School Books’"

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh My rating: 4 of 5 stars Sometimes I think thar you can get to books too soon. I first read Brideshead Revisited when I was at school, somewhere around my A Levels, and I was not ready for it. But then, I think, neither was it for me. We wereContinue reading "Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh"

The Secret Garden on 81st Street by Ivy Noelle Weir and Amber Padilla

The Secret Garden on 81st Street: A Modern Retelling of the Secret Garden by Ivy Noelle Weir My rating: 5 of 5 stars It’s difficult to tell you how much I loved this book without just shrieking “I LOVED THIS BOOK” and basically just repeating that for several paragraphs or so. The Secret Garden onContinue reading "The Secret Garden on 81st Street by Ivy Noelle Weir and Amber Padilla"

The Years of Grace edited by Noel Streatfeild

The Years of Grace by Noel Streatfeild My rating: 3 of 5 stars I was alerted to The Years of Grace by a friend (thank you!) who knew I enjoyed books of this nature. And I do, I am very fond of those kind of ‘how to be a girl’ books from, say, the 1940sContinue reading "The Years of Grace edited by Noel Streatfeild"

How To Be True is available for pre-order

(Isn’t she lovely?) How To Be True is available for pre-order right now! It’s published in the UK on July 7th and in the US in September (it’s worth the wait, I promise). Pre-orders help a book massively and I’m endlessly grateful to anybody who does so. You can pre-order via Pushkin here (and there’sContinue reading "How To Be True is available for pre-order"

Looking at The Deptford Mice books by Robin Jarvis

There was a point, just towards the end of The Final Reckoning, the third in the remarkable Deptford Mice trilogy by Robin Jarvis, that I knew that I did not want it to end. I will not give you spoilers for that moment for, if you are not familiar with them then you need toContinue reading "Looking at The Deptford Mice books by Robin Jarvis"

Max Counts To A Million by Jeremy Williams

Max Counts to a Million by Jeremy Williams My rating: 4 of 5 stars Max Counts To A Million is the first children’s book I’ve read to be set within the COVID pandemic. This is something I’m still wrestling with about whether or not to reference the pandemic in my own work and I don’tContinue reading "Max Counts To A Million by Jeremy Williams"

The Girl Who Lost A Leopard by Nizrana Farook

The Girl Who Lost a Leopard by Nizrana Farook My rating: 4 of 5 stars I found this super charming and I’m grateful to Nosy Crow for sending me a copy to look at. The first thing to note is how beautifully they produce their books there. I always mention it because it’s always true:Continue reading "The Girl Who Lost A Leopard by Nizrana Farook"

The Alchymist’s Cat by Robin Jarvis

The Alchymist’s Cat by Robin Jarvis My rating: 4 of 5 stars Every now and then I return to Robin Jarvis’ work like somebody finding dry land after weeks at sea. I first came across the Deptford books a long while ago, somewhere in that messy early nineties period of children’s literature where nothing wasContinue reading "The Alchymist’s Cat by Robin Jarvis"