Welcome to Kemps’ new-look reviews page.

Here, you will find a run-down of this month’s new releases and the team’s current favourites. There’s something for everyone here and all books mentioned are available to buy or order from the shop in Market Place, Malton.

Life writing both fictional and actual are the flavour of the month for October and we begin with a beautifully constructed character from Booker Prize shortlisted Elizabeth Strout. Lucy By the Sea is the fourth book in Strout’s remarkable portrayal of the fictional Lucy Barton, a writer, wife and mother. Like her other books, this story quietly delves into the complexity of our relationships with others all told through the eyes of the eternally generous and composed Lucy Barton. Who would have thought it was the 40th Anniversary of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4? That it is, and this edition is enhanced by way of an introduction by the inimitable Caitlin Moran who knows more than a thing or two about standing on the precipice of adolescence. If you enjoyed this book yourself, it’s time to pass on a copy to any young person in your life. Another book that can be shared between adults and young adults is She and Her Cat by Japanese authors, Makoto Shinkai and Naruki Nagakawa. Here, the lives of people and their cats are woven together through stories of love, loss, kindness and friendship. From Chobi the cat who sends her owner silent messages of courage to the cat who teaches a woman how to become independent from her husband, the stories in this novel are told with warmth, compassion and an eye for that magical relationship we share with our feline friends. One of the most popular Christmas books in the shop last year was Midnight In Everwood by M A Kuzniar and it is now on our shelves in paperback for 2022. It tells the story of Marietta Stelle, a ballerina who must soon turn her back on dancing to marry and take up her place in Edwardian society. However, after taking one last dance on the beautifully constructed stage of Mr. Drosselmeier, she finds herself transported to the deep forest of Everwood. Can she escape and find her way home before she is trapped forever in this most magical of places? A grown-up retelling of The Nutcracker, full of mystery and suspense, this is the perfect novel to help you escape from your Christmas ‘to-do’ list.

For non-fictions fans looking for a riveting fireside read, A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré 1945-2020 is a weighty tome that, through le Carré’s lucid correspondence to various important figures in his life gives a truly insightful account of his life and times. From his early days of National Service and studies at Oxford through his work at MI5 and beyond into his literary career, these letters reveal an extraordinary personal life set against the backdrop of extraordinary times. Another remarkable vocation is documented in A Fortunate Woman: A Country Doctor’s Story, the memoir of Polly Morgan a rural GP who draws inspiration from John Berger’s classic 1950s account of life as a country doctor. Morgan’s prose is both humane and lyrical as she weaves together Berger’s and her own account of caring for those who live within the community she serves. A fantastic read well worthy of its shortlisting for the prestigious Baillie Gifford non-fiction prize.

For those wishing to learn a bit more about themselves, This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You by former sound engineer for Prince and now turned neuroscientist, Dr. Susan Rogers, is an enlightening explanation of why we choose to listen to the music we love.

Finally, for all of us whose ‘to be read’ pile exceeds the height of our bedside tables, we may find comfort – and a willing accomplice – in Robin Ince and his life in books, Bibliomaniac: An Obsessive’s tour of the Bookshops of Britain. Simply stating of books that he ‘love[s] their potential’, Ince embarks on a tour of Great Britain via its bookshops and the result is this convivial and rather eclectic guide to both the bookshops of Britain and the inner workings of his own book hungry mind.

New releases in children’s books sees Maggie O’Farrell (author of Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait) tell an uplifting tale about The Boy Who Lost His Spark and the mischievous creature from local folklore who helps him to get it back. After moving away from his home in the city, Jem cannot find his feet in the countryside and refuses to believe that the strange things that are happening around his new home are the work of an ancient folkloric creature, the nouka. Jem’s younger sister, Verity, however, completely believes in the nouka and we realise that all it takes is just a little bit of the nouka’s wildness to bring back her brother’s spark. Maggie O’Farrell’s masterful storytelling is accompanied by beautifully traditional illustrations by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzin to make this a special picture book for children seven years and up. Alex T. Smith is a firm favourite in the children’s section at Kemps as his Winston the mouse advent books go down a treat year after year. This Christmas, Smith has given his furry friend a well-earned rest and instead brought us The Grumpus and his Dastardly Dreadful Plan. Inspired by the Krampus, the figure from Alpine regions who scares all the naughty children while Father Christmas bestows presents on all the good ones, the Grumpus himself doesn’t manage to achieve anywhere near that level of heartlessness! A fun and festive family story that, like Smith’s other Christmas books, is sure to become a well-loved classic.

• Lucy By the Sea by Elizabeth Strout Hardback, RRP: 14.99, ISBN: 9780241606995

• The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend, Hardback, RRP: £14.99, ISBN: 9780241615300

• She and Her Cat by Makoto Shinkai and Naruki Nagakawa, Hardback, RRP: £10.00, ISBN: 9780857528223

• Midnight In Everwood by M A Kuzniar, Paperback, £8.99, ISBN: 9780008450700

• A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré 1945-2020 by John le Carré, Hardback, RRP: £30, ISBN 9780241550090

• A Fortunate Woman: A Country Doctor’s Story by Polly Morgan, Hardback, RRP: 16.99, ISBN: 9781529071139

• This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You by Dr. Susan Rogers, Hardback, RRP £20, ISBN: 9781847926555

• Bibliomaniac: An Obsessive’s tour of the Bookshops of Britain by Robin Ince, Hardback, £16.99, ISBN: 9781838957698

• The Boy Who Lost His Spark by Maggie O’Farrell, Hardback, RRP £14.99, ISBN: 9781406392012

• The Grumpus and his Dastardly Dreadful Plan by Alex T. Smith, Hardback, RRP: £14.99, ISBN: 9781529041613