Caroline Hooton
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carolinehooton.bsky.social
Caroline Hooton
@carolinehooton.bsky.social
460 followers 190 following 3.7K posts
Writes a little, reads a lot.
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carolinehooton.bsky.social
The Astonishing Colour Of After by Emily X. R. Pan is a powerful and moving debut YA novel that looks at what it means to live with a parent with depression that incorporates Chinese spiritual beliefs with a magical realist twist bit.ly/47S0gsW - #bookreview #yafiction #youngadultfiction #grief
The book cover for The Astonishing Colour Of After by Emily X R Pan is a white background with a bright red feather in the middle with the title overlaid over the top in black
November 11, 2025 at 9:49 AM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
Did somebody say “tank”?
November 5, 2025 at 10:20 AM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
THE IMPOSSIBLE FORTUNE by Richard Osman is a welcome return for Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim that develops both Ron's character and relationship with his children and also Joyce’s uneasy relationship with Joanna - bit.ly/3Jps3IP #bookreview #thursdaymurderclub #crimefiction #murdermystery
The book cover for The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman has the author's name at the top in black font underneath the words "The record-breaking No. 1 bestseller" and the title underneath an illustration of a fox. The edge of book is in orange.
October 26, 2025 at 8:35 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
NUCLEAR FOLLY: A NEW HISTORY OF THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS by Serhii Plokhy is a gripping account of the Cuban Missile Crisis that draws on book draws on KGB files to add insight to the Russian position and response - bit.ly/3KSIcqV #bookreview #serhiiplokhy #cubanmissilecrisis #historybooks
The book cover for Nuclear Folly: A New History of the Cuban Missile Crisis by Serhii Plokhy is an Advance Readers Copy and is a plain cover, orange on the bottom and white on the top with the title in black font cantered in the white section together with the author’s name in an orange font underneath it.
October 20, 2025 at 10:31 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
ACE OF SPADES by Faridah Àbìké-Íyímídé is a high concept YA thriller billed as GET OUT meets GOSSIP GIRL where racism meets conspiracy to create an intense choking claustrophobia - bit.ly/4nwwxMG #bookreview #youngadultbooks #yabooks #yathrillers #race #racism #bookreviews
The cover for the Advance Readers Copy of ACE OF SPADES by Faridah Àbìké-Íyímídé is a dark blue cover with an Aces sign in the top left and bottom right corners. There is a white spades sign in the centre. On the left side of the spades sign is an illustration of a black teenage boy and facing him is a black teenage girl. They are both in profile.
October 6, 2025 at 9:57 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
My copy of the new Richard Osman Thursday Murder Club novel arrived today from @bertsbooks.bsky.social but it is so beautifully wrapped I can’t bring myself to read it. I mean, look at it! It has a bow that matched the cover and everything!
September 26, 2025 at 4:28 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
CLOWN TOWN by Mick Herron is the game changing 9th book in this spy thriller series which sees the slow horses take casualties (including a fatality) and settle scores with a truly open ending that means anything could happen next - bit.ly/46PkPqv #bookreview #sloughhouse #slowhorses #jacksonlamb
The book cover for Clown Town by Mick Herron shows the author’s name in capital letters in orange at the top underneath the words The Number One Bestseller and the title underneath the author’s name in white block capitals. Underneath the title is the subhead The New Slough House thriller. There’s an image of a male figure carrying a briefcase walking on a wet pavement. It’s raining and there’s the amber streetlamp showing a pedestrian crossing. There is a round black sticker saying it has been signed by the author and an orange sticker saying that Slow Horses is now a major TV series. At the bottom are the words Independent Bookshop Edition.
September 22, 2025 at 9:48 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
With thanks to @biggreenbooks.bsky.social this little devil arrived on my doorstep this morning. It makes up for the fact that the Tube strike means I can’t attend the Mick Herron even this evening. Although I have a horrible feeling I am going to be very upset by what happens to the Slow Horses.
September 11, 2025 at 11:02 AM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
PERFECT PEDRO by Simon Philip and Ella Okstad is a lovely picture book about not putting pressure on yourself by trying to be perfect all the time and instead just focus on enjoying yourself - bit.ly/4mRMNra #bookreview #bookreviews #picturebooks
September 7, 2025 at 7:31 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
FRANK IS A BUTTERFLY by Alex Latimer is a charming self-illustrated picture book that’s all about how to be happy with who you are and what you have rather than focusing on your appearance and how you compare with others - bit.ly/45X2Myt #bookreview #bookreviews #picturebook #picturebooks
The book cover for Frank Is A Butterfly by Alex Latimer shows the main character - a brown butterfly - waving hello at the reader. There are hills, trees and a river behind him. The title is above him and the author's name is below him.
September 3, 2025 at 6:11 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
PHOENIX BROTHERS by Sita Brahmachari is a sensitive and empathic novella for readers with dyslexia and those lacking confidence aged 11+ that's about friendship and what it means to be a refugee - bit.ly/4mR6uzi #bookreview #childrensfiction #childrensbooks #refugees #bookreviews
The book cover for Phoenix Brothers by Sita Brahmachari has the words Rise up - find your voice, your light, your liberty - across the top. The title and author's name is in the white silhouette of a phoenix against an orange sun. There is a blue background in rows, like waves and the silhouettes of two figures in the bottom right hand corner. They are carrying backpacks and casting long shadows.
August 30, 2025 at 10:48 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF PANIC: HOW WOMEN TRADE FREEDOM FOR SAFETY by Fiona Vera-Gray is a highly readable and unfortunately highly relatable book looks at the steps that women take to avoid sexual violence in their day-to-day lives - bit.ly/4mBxd2U #bookreviews #feminism #metoo #sexualviolence #gender
The book cover of The Right Amount of Panic by F Vera-Gray shows an illustration of a woman wearing a dark blue top and light blue trousers walking a white dotted line.
August 24, 2025 at 10:25 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
ISTA FLIT AND THE IMPOSSIBLE KEY by Clare Harlow is the clever and gripping second book in this fantasy trilogy for readers aged 9+ featuring Kristina Kister’s evocative illustrations and set against the sinister Marsh Queen’s court - bit.ly/45dLQmV #bookreview #childrensbooks #childrensfantasy
The book cover for Tide Magic: Ista Flit and the Impossible Key by Clare Harlow has a green background and illustrations of a red haired girl with red bobbed hair wearing a iight green shirt and red trousers holding a large grey key. Behind her are a black girl in a purple shirt with her hair in bunches and an Asian boy in a blue shirt with unruly hair. The title is at the top and the author's name below.
August 10, 2025 at 10:55 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
OPEN THE CAGE, MURPHY by Paul O’Grady tracks his career transition from drag queen host of the Vauxhall Tavern to TV presenter and national treasure set against a back drop of personal tragedy as the AIDS crisis strikes close to home - bit.ly/40R8Zc5 #bookreview #autobiography #paulogrady
Book cove for Open The Cage, Murphy by Paul O'Grady shows Paul O'Grady looking into a mirror and back out at the reader. He is wearing glasses and a brown waistcoat over a white shirt and a watch with a black strap. His name is at the top of the cover and the book title is in red at the bottom of the cover
August 3, 2025 at 10:07 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
THE WILDERNESS OF GIRLS by Madeline Claire Franklin is an exceptionally strong debut YA novel that maintains a satisfying ambiguity between its contemporary and fantasy elements in a way that’s mature without feeling like a cop out - bit.ly/410v6Nx #bookreviews #youngadultfiction #yafiction
The book cover for The Wilderness Of Girls by Madeline Claire Franklin is an illustration of four wild looking girls looking out to each of the 4 edges of the book with 2 wolves, one at the top left and one on the bottom left. The title is in the centre in white lettering with the author's name underneath in gold lettering. The background is black.
July 27, 2025 at 10:45 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
THE ITALIAN WAY is a handy broad introduction to Italy's history, geography, food, social life, design and culture and perfect if you're planning a holiday there and want to get in the mood early - bit.ly/4nYNuA4 #bookreviews #travelbooks #italy
The book cover for The Italian Way is a simply red and blue cover with the title in the middle and images of a statute, landscape, coffee pot and architecture in circles around it.
July 19, 2025 at 11:38 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
There is a deer in my back garden. Genuinely shocked and thrilled.
A small deer in the shade of a fence sitting on a lawn.
July 18, 2025 at 12:20 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
DRAGON TOWERS: THE GHOSTLY SURPRISE by Pip Bird is the amusing second book in a comic fantasy series for readers aged 6+ with a lot of bum and fat jokes with David O’Connell’s illustrations adding to the humour - bit.ly/40fDBnm #bookreview #dragons #childrensbooks #illustratedbooks
The book cover for Dragon Towers: The Ghostly Surprise by Pip Bird is a purple cover with the words Dragon Towers at the top against a shied. There are cobwebs around it. A black boy is standing underneath it, he is carrying a white dragon with blue and purple hair who is holding a torch. At his feet are candles and pumpkins.
July 13, 2025 at 11:15 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
IBRAHEEM’S PERFECT EID by Farhana Islam and Nabila Adani is a colourful, joyous picture book exploration of the social, family and spiritual meaning of Eid and how it is about more than presents - bit.ly/3I6tBXa #bookreview #picturebooks #eid
The book cover for Ibraheem's Perfect Eid by Farhana Islam and Nabila Adani is an illustration of a young boy with a mop of black curly hair who is holding a grey cat who looks a little resigned. The boy's grandparents stand to his left and his parents are on his right they are all eating food.
June 21, 2025 at 11:40 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
WHAT’S NEW HARPER DREW? by Kathy Weeks is the first in a humorous trilogy for readers aged 9+ that has a good narrative voice and builds its funny scenes well with energetic illustrations by Aleksei Bitskoff - bit.ly/3HJhwr2 #bookreview #childrensbooks #funnybooks #illustratedbooks
Book cover or What's New Harper Drew? by Kathy Weeks is a hot pink cover with illustrations by Aleksei Bitskoff of Harper Drew, who is a young girl with black, shoulder length hair and wearing an orange hoodie with pockets and orange sneakers, her older brother Troy who has a bouffant quiff of hair and is trying to ride half a skateboard, her younger brother the Prune who is a young boy in a bright pink flamingo swimming pool inflatable, her dad who is wearing a check shirt and is being chased by a bat and her mum who is wearing a violet top and is surprised by a llama. The title is on the top and the author and illustrator's names are on the bottom.
June 15, 2025 at 10:44 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
THE INTERNATIONALISTS AND THEIR PLAN TO OUTLAW WAR by Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro is a thorough and engaging look at the legal framework underpinning war as a means of dispute resolution and how the “might is right” was overturned with the 1928 Paris Peace Pact - bit.ly/3FzPxcD #bookreview #war
The book cover for the Advanced Reader Copy of The Internationalists and their Plan to Outlaw War by Ona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro is a plane white and orange cover with the title written on it in black ink and the authors’ names underneath in orange ink
June 11, 2025 at 9:40 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
BREAKING BREAD: HOW BAKING SHAPED OUR WORLD by David Wright is a thought-provoking book examines bread and its role in society and the economy, its impact on health and the environment and industry challenges - bit.ly/4kLCpzN #bookreview #foodbooks #bread #bookreviews #nonfictionbooks
The book cover for Breaking Bread: How Baking Shaped Our World by David Wright. It's a plain beige cover with a strap line saying that there is a foreword by Dan Lepart and a quote from Olia Hercules describing it as "A brilliant, timely and important book full of compassion". There are pictures of different types of bread around the book title.
June 3, 2025 at 9:53 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
If you’re familiar with FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF then there’s a huge amount to enjoy in K. L. Walther’s YA frothy romance WHILE WE'RE YOUNG, which couples a lot of Easter egg references with wry narrative voices and is as much about friendship as romance - bit.ly/4klkJLx #bookreview #yaromance
Book cover for While We're Young by K L Walther is a drawing showing a cityscape for Philadelphia consisting of the Liberty Museum and the Love sign and there's an image of a red sports car with 3 figures in it
June 1, 2025 at 9:37 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
Went to see The Fifth Step these evening. Martin Freeman and Jack Lowden are on stage the whole time. It’s a very good production, at times very funny. Worth checking out if you can get tickets.
May 24, 2025 at 8:12 PM
carolinehooton.bsky.social
SPY AGENCY PUZZLE BOOK: MISSION – THE HIDDEN HACKER is an entertaining puzzle book for readers aged 8+ (part of a series) which imagines that the reader is a secret agent who has to complete their training at Spy HQ before they go out in the field - bit.ly/3FflWVA #bookreview #puzzlebooks
The book cover for Spy Agency Puzzle Book Mission: The Hidden Hacker. It has sunglasses and a secret agent identity card on the front plus a USB stick, a laptop and pencil and files with a magnifying glass on it.
May 18, 2025 at 10:18 PM