Category Archives: Book Reviews

How to Raise Successful People: Simple Lessons for Radical Results Esther Wojcicki

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Being a parent is complicated – but the trick to succeed is simpler than you think.

It would be an understatement to say that parenting is hard. It is, by far, the hardest thing I have ever done. It is also the most wonderful and rewarding. But that is another story. I was interested when How to Raise Successful People: Simple Lessons for Radical Results by Esther Wojcicki arrived at Frost HQ. I do not tend to read parenting books. This one comes with some good credentials. Esther Wojcicki- known as Woj- has three wildly successful daughters: YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, 23andMe Co-Founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki and Fulbright Scholar and professor of Paediatrics at UCSF Janet Wojcicki. So far so impressive. Woj is a teacher and has taught many children to reach their full potential. She is certainly well-connected and a lot of what she says is spot on. Woj says that we tend to parent the way we were parented. Making the same mistakes as our parents is damaging to our children. We need to learn how to break the cycles of negativity and bad parenting. How To Raise Successful People is a brilliant book. It should be on the bookshelf of every parent. That does not mean I agree with it all. Woj thinks it is easy to put children to sleep. It is not, and if she disagrees she can come and take care of my daughter for a couple of nights. She also says people should stay married. Even forgiving infidelity. I think staying in a bad marriage is more harmful to children than getting divorced. We have come a long way from women having to stay in bad marriages because they have no rights and no freedom. That said, I did find so much excellent stuff in this book that I do not mind the occasional disagreement. Such is life, after all.

There are no Nobel Prizes for parenting or education, but if there were, Esther Wojcicki would be the bookies’ favourite. Known as the Godmother of Silicon Valley – or simply Woj – Esther’s three daughters have all gone on to huge success in their professional fields and, more importantly, their personal lives. What’s her secret?

As we face an epidemic of parental and childhood anxiety, Woj has the advice every parent wants to hear: climb out of that helicopter and relax.

Her tried and tested TRICK system will help you:

· Let your child discover their own passions
· Move on from past parenting mistakes
· Build rock-solid foundations for a lifelong relationship
· Be brave enough to give your child freedom
· Work with your children, not against them
· Set healthy relationships with technology

Your children are the future. If you change your parenting, you can change the world.

How to Raise Successful People: Simple Lessons for Radical Results by Esther Wojcicki is available here.

SISTER SCRIBES: APRIL READING ROUND UP

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Susanna:

Have you ever read a book that was so good that, while you looked forward to reading more by the same author, at the same time you couldn’t help feeling a bit wary of doing so – you know, in case the next book didn’t live up to expectations..? For me, psychological thriller writer Linda Huber is one of these writers. Since reading The Cold Cold Sea, I’ve never been able to open another of her books without that little iffy moment of wariness.

Linda Huber’s strength lies in her ability to build a creepy atmosphere that creates a thread that runs throughout each book, growing stronger the further you get into the plot. Her latest book, Stolen Sister, is billed as a ‘gripping family drama,’ but it is much more than this. It is a well-crafted, psychologically complex story that is fueled by strong characterisation. It is a chilling tale of ordinary people in what they gradually realise is an extraordinary situation and I wanted to reach inside the story and tell them what was really going on. A thoroughly gripping read.

 

Jane:

The first of my holiday reads followed me around for a while after I’d finished it – always a sign of a great book as far I as was concerned.

I was absolutely fascinated by the premise of Julie Cohen’s Louis and Louise; one life lived twice in a different gender. As well as being a satisfying story it made me think long and hard about gender identity and how it is shaped from childhood and the choices we make – often unwittingly – because of it.

Julie Cohen is a great storyteller and the small town in Maine where most of the book is set came to life in her skilled hands. It takes Louis and Louise from birth until their early thirties, flashing between the present and the defining moments of their childhoods. I found their relationship with their twin friends (a boy and a girl) echoed their own gender identities beautifully.

One thing that jarred a little was the few paragraphs – one quite early on – where the author ‘stepped in’ and explained to the reader what was happening and this really wasn’t necessary.  To me it smacked of over zealous editing on the part of the publisher and was quite annoying being treated like an idiot. Otherwise a great book I’d thoroughly recommend.

Also on holiday I struggled through Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (sorry Cass!), mainly for research purposes, and read Angela Barton’s Magnolia House. This romance has received a ton of five star reviews and tells the story of Rowan, whose life spins apart just after she moves to London and how her new housemates and old friends help her to pull it back together.

But my most amazing holiday read of all was Madeleine Bunting’s Island Song. I’m a fussy reader at the best of times, but this marvellous novel drew me in right at the beginning and held me there until the end. The writing is so natural, so clever, I don’t even really know why it is so effective, but it carried me into a world of wartime Guernsey and 1990s London I was reluctant to leave.

The premise is not an original one; mysterious mother dies leaving daughter to uncover the truth about her life, but the richness of the storytelling and the layers of complexity made it an absolute joy to read. Easily my book of the year so far and I recommend it without reservation.

 

You Got This by Bryony Gordon Book Review

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You Got This by Bryony Gordon Book Review

You Got This is a truly fabulous book for teenage girls. Being a teenager is hard, and being a teenage girl even more so. It is a time I would not want to go back to. Especially with all of the toxic message girls get now. The rise of social media has also caused problems. This brilliant book from the amazing Bryony Gordon covers periods, comparisons and has a fantastic chapter letting teenage girls know they are not snowflakes, but are instead brave people who are standing up for equality on the basis of gender and race. I am so sick of the word ‘snowflake’. The generation who calls out racism and sexism anytime they see it are not ‘sensitive’. They are brave and making the world a better place. This book also covers mental health extensively which is to be commended. The mental health of our children is so important and educating them about mental health is essential. I also loved the bit on how girls are taught to compare themselves to others. This book is fun, smart, entertaining and full of everything I wish I had been told when I was a teenager. Absolutely brilliant.

 

I wanted to be a unicorn. I wanted to be a lawyer. I wanted to be an astronaut.

But the thing I really wanted to be more than anything else, was a little less like me.

It was only recently that I realised not wanting to be me was at the heart of every dumb decision I ever made. And so now I am writing this book containing all the life lessons I wish someone had taught me.

A book for the teenage girl in me. And for every teenage girl out there. Because the most powerful thing you can be when you grow up is yourself.

You Got This is available here.

 

The Moment of Lift By Melinda Gates Book Review

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The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World, the moment of lift, Melinda Gates, book reviewThe Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World

Melinda Gates is the perfect example of an extraordinary woman who does not get the credit she deserves because she just happens to be married to a rich, famous man. It would be easy to dismiss her on the basis of privilege, and many people do. But to judge a woman by her husband is sexist. Melinda Gates stands as a giant in her own right. She has done so much for women’s rights and to make the world a better place. Her new book, The Moment of Lift, should be read by every single person in the world. Then the world would be a better place for everyone. Full of blistering facts and, yes, some harrowing tales; The Moment of Lift is a call to action. The book is powerful and puts up the fights for women’s rights. I hear that women have never had it so good a lot, and yet there is still so much to be done. I challenge anyone to read this book and not be inspired. When you read it you want to do something. The book covers so many aspects of gender bias: from FGM, contraception and inequality at home. Even the fact that most women do most of the domestic work is in here, and so it should be. Only recently was childcare and domestic world including by economists when it came fo GDP. Women’s work has been largely invisible and, in many ways, still is. Melinda also writes about herself and her marriage in this book. She is honest and brave. Her voice is in this book and so is her strength. It is powerful stuff. This book is essential reading and gets Frost’s Gold Standard stamp of approval. Only the second thing so far to do so.

 

A debut from Melinda Gates, a timely and necessary call to action for women’s empowerment.

“How can we summon a moment of lift for human beings – and especially for women? Because when you lift up women, you lift up humanity.”

For the last twenty years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become increasingly clear to her: If you want to lift a society up, you need to stop keeping women down.

In this moving and compelling book, Melinda shares lessons she’s learned from the inspiring people she’s met during her work and travels around the world. As she writes in the introduction, “That is why I had to write this book – to share the stories of people who have given focus and urgency to my life. I want all of us to see ways we can lift women up where we live.”

Melinda’s unforgettable narrative is backed by startling data as she presents the issues that most need our attention – from child marriage to lack of access to contraceptives to gender inequity in the workplace. And, for the first time, she writes about her personal life and the road to equality in her own marriage. Throughout, she shows how there has never been more opportunity to change the world – and ourselves.

Writing with emotion, candour, and grace, she introduces us to remarkable women and shows the power of connecting with one another.

When we lift others up, they lift us up, too.

The Moment of Lift is available here.

The Daughters of Ironbridge by Mollie Walton

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It’s great to discover a new saga author and Mollie Walton should be flying high today with her debut The Daughters of Ironbridge. Walton takes us deep into the dark heart of the industrial landscape, setting her story in the iron making  towns of Shropshire.

The Daughters of Ironbridge is the tale of two young young girls born in the same month of the same year and yet their lives are worlds apart. Annie Woodvine’s father works in the furnaces owned by the King family and has done so for as long as she can remember. But Annie is bright and intelligent, and she has big dreams. So, when she is asked to run messages for the wealthy King family, she grabs the opportunity with both hands, seeing it as a way out of the drudgery that would otherwise befall her.

Margaret King is surrounded by privilege and wealth. But behind closed doors, nothing is what it seems. When Anny arrives, Margaret finds her first ally and friend. Together they plan to change their lives. But can friendship exist across the divide?

As disaster looms over the ironworks, Margaret and Anny find themselves surrounded by secrets and betrayal. Can they hold true to each other and overcome their fate? Or are they destined to repeat the mistakes of the past?

Walton’s descriptions of both character and setting are vivid. The main characters are well drawn and the tentative relationship between the two girls deftly handled and therefore believable. That said, the supporting characters are both a delight and a horror – there are plenty of antagonists for the girls to fight against and readers are sure to hear more from them in the books to follow.

The Shropshire countryside is a place of stark contrasts, the bucolic beauty of the woodland a sharp relief to the brutal darkness of the furnace, which echoes throughout the plot and its many twists and turns.

The Daughters of Ironbridge is the first in a trilogy and book one ended leaving me impatient for the next one in the series. The story will appeal to readers of Rosie Goodwin and Dilly Court.

‘The Daughters of Ironbridge has that compulsive, page-turning quality, irresistible characters the reader gets hugely invested in, and Walton has created a brilliantly alive, vivid and breathing world in Ironbridge’ – Louisa Treger

 

Mollie Walton has always been fascinated by history and on a trip to Shropshire, while gazing down from the iron bridge, found the inspiration for what has become her debut saga novel, part of a trilogy titled THE IRONBRIDGE SAGA, published by Bonnier Zaffre.

www.molliewalton.co.uk

The Tiger Catcher Paullina Simons | Recommended Reads

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the tiger catcher paullina simons

An interesting, entertaining and pacy novel.

The first novel in a beautiful, heartbreaking new saga from Paullina Simons, the international bestselling author of Tully and The Bronze Horseman.

Can true love ever die?
Julian lives a charmed life in Los Angeles. Surrounded by friends, he is young, handsome, and runs a successful business. Everything changes after he has a fateful encounter with a mysterious young woman named Josephine. Julian’s world is turned upside down by a love affair that takes him–and everyone else in his life–by storm. For the two new lovers, the City of Angels is transformed into a magical playground.
But Josephine is not what she seems and carries secrets that threaten to tear them apart―seemingly forever.
A broken man, his faith in tatters, Julian meets a mysterious stranger who tells him how to find Josephine again if he is willing to give up everything and take a death-defying trip from which no one has ever returned.
So begins Julian and Josephine’s extraordinary adventure of love, loss, and the mystical forces that bind people across time and space. It is a journey that propels Julian toward an impossible choice which will lead him to love fulfilled…
…or to oblivion.
The Tiger Catcher takes readers from the depths of despair to the dizzying heights of joy in the first novel of an unforgettable trilogy of love lost and found. For all fans of Outlander, The Time Traveler’s Wife and Jojo Moyes.

 

Available here.

The Surface Breaks Louise O’Neill | Recommended Reads

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the surface breaks, Louise O'Neill

This is a clever reimagining of The Little Mermaid.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE SPECSAVERS NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS

Think you know the story of The Little Mermaid? Think again…
This is a book with the darkest of undercurrents, full of rage and rallying cries: storytelling at its most spellbinding.
Deep beneath the sea, off the cold Irish coast, Gaia is a young mermaid who dreams of freedom from her controlling father. On her first swim to the surface, she is drawn towards a human boy. She longs to join his carefree world, but how much will she have to sacrifice? What will it take for the little mermaid to find her voice? Hans Christian Andersen’s original fairy tale is reimagined through a searing feminist lens, with the stunning, scalpel-sharp writing and world building that has won Louise her legions of devoted fans.

Available here.

 

The Autistic Author: Debut Book by 16-Year-Old With ASD

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oliver storm, autism. autistic author, the autistic author, #theautisticauthor
Freddie Ellison is a 16-year-old North Londoner who, at the age of three, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC). Freddie had problems with social interaction and communication, and a tendency to engage in repetitive behaviours, and from an early age he struggled in the education system. In March 2017, he was excluded from his school and he spent the following 18 months at home with no educational support, while his family fought legal proceedings to get him placed at an appropriate school. During this time he started writing, often several stories at once. He quickly moved into
a routine of picking up his briefcase and walking down to his local branch of Costa Coffee where he would pen his latest tale. SJH Publishing has committed to producing three books with Freddie, whose dream it is to one day write a bestseller that is turned into a movie.
Book synopsis
Oliver Storm and The Great Disappearance is the story of a teenage boy who, along with his sister and friends, tries to reverse the effects of an experiment that has made all the adults in the world vanish in the blink of an eye. Having been expelled from his latest school, Oliver is sent to Oakwood Academy where, in his first science lesson, the children watch a live TV broadcast. Seconds later, the world has changed and all the adults have disappeared without a trace. With gangs of children soon running wild, and looting and violence taking over the street, Oliver and his friends decide that they must find a way to bring the adults back. In a race against time, Team Storm struggle to reverse the experiment before it is too late.
#theautisticauthor

 

Read our exclusive interview below. 

You made the best out of a bad situation and are now a published novelist. Do you have any advice for others who want to follow in your footsteps?

Yes I have one, Go onto YouTube and find someone who gives tips on how to be an Author. And look up Heroes Journey. Search a lot on the internet for inspiration. If you find reading difficult then listen to an audio book or watch movies and find something you bond with.

 

What is the book about?

​A world without adults, Oliver Storm is the main character with some friends and they try to find a way to bring the adults back as there are lots of gangs in chaos.

 

How do you come up with your ideas?

​I took ideas from Pop culture, taking little bits. I learnt from J.K Rowling don’t be scared to write what you want to write about even if its a little gory. I like to use real life places and inspiration from TV and films. My favourite film is Dark Tower and my favourite tv programme is The Order. 

 

Do you have a daily word count?

I write when i imagine it and when i feel like it

 

What is next?

After the Oliver Storm books  are finished i want to write a ZAfrica trilogy. It will be about a fantasy land in Africa.