It is SO important for our children to read and to encourage that we need the material to tempt them with. This is the perfect book, if my children hadn't grown up and gone they would have each sat there with this book in their hands and been slowly absorbed into the tale of the Thinking Tree. Hopefully you will be published and any grandchildren will have the pleasure. Daniel is easy to identify with and the story is thoroughly absorbing, all children must be given the chance to escape into their imaginations and you really are the right person for the job, well done. Patrick Barrett (Cuthbert-How Mean is my Valley) view book

This is a book I find myself relaxing around and settling down to enjoy. I don't know whether the pun is deliberate but I like the thought of a pair of boots 'Being on their last legs'. Another of my favourite phrases is "Tame with cosy names, Fingal's cave..." etc, this is inspired and a very emotive way to show the passage and erosion of time. My only criticism is that for the general reader there may be too much geological detail at the beginning,this is where the reader gains the first impressions of the book and decides whether or not to buy. It didn't put me off but it might affect others. Huge potential in this tale, well done. view book

Books are for escapist entertainment and you have the knack of drawing the reader in from the very first chapter. I have spent a lifetime reading and I recognise a finished professional product when I see it. There may be typos or picky squabbles still to be resolved to humour some but if I flicked through this book in the bookstore I would buy it. Very dramatic and very convincing. view book

This is beautifully written. To me the object of writing a book is so that the reader will have something to enjoy. The average reader is not a critic and has not attended a creative writing course, he or she simply wants to escape into the realms of someone else's life. You have achieved this aim brilliantly, well done. view book

I don't consider myself able to judge young adult fiction so I did the only sensible thing, I let a young adult read it. The opinion was "Excellent,definitely one to store on my kindle and to re-read some time in the future." It was also assumed that a series would be forthcoming and eagerly awaited. Avery positive reaction from the target audience, well done. Patrick Barrett (Cuthbert-How Mean is my Valley). view book

Oh! this is good, very, very good. We are often told that comedy is one of the hardest things to write but this author has it in spades. His conversations with the leader of the Triads is masterful and the pacing makes it impossible to stop reading. 6 stars and on my shelf immediately. Patrick Barrett (Cuthbert-How Mean is my Valley). view book

I write comedy and it is very hard to be original but this author has managed it brilliantly. A glitch stopped this book from going onto my shelf but this will be rectified ASAP. Excellent piece of work. Patrick Barrett (Cuthbert-How Mean is my Valley). view book

Rivetting from the first paragraph. This is an important book as it sheds light into dark and deliberately obscured corners. The mixture of fact and fiction is used as a tool to make the reader think and engage with their own knowledge of history and discover the flaws. Coming back to read more and hoping to buy a complete copy soon. view book

Atmospheric and thoroughly convincing. The descriptions of the storm become more and more visual as we read on. Coming back to finish this soon, well done. On my shelf as soon as a space opens up. Patrick Barrett (Cuthbert-How Mean is my Valley) view book

Utterly charming Brian. This update on the old children's stories is exactly the thing I would have bought for my own family. The one's we read tended to be set in foreign lands and the children couldn't relate. Chapter two reads as a poem, which is fine but the spacing isn't that of a poem, is that an authonomy formatting problem? I really think there is a place for you as a children's writer. Good luck. Patrick Barrett (Cuthbert-How Mean is my Valley) view book

A loading error stopped me from reviewing this but I will come back later. Patrick Barrett (Cuthbert-How Mean is my Valley) view book

An error loading the text stopped me from reading this. I will try again later. view book

As everyone else has noted, this is a very professional piece. American High Schools are a complete mystery to me as a Brit but you introduce the necessary facts without causing more confusion. Should the word 'Rifled' be 'Riled' with regard to the Father 'Rifling' the Mother? Excellent work. Patrick Barrett (Cuthbert-How Mean is my Valley) view book

As a reader I found this to be exactly what the reading public need. Crisp, clear and fast paced. The characters are fed in as needed instead of bogging down the action. Very little to criticise on the story front, well done. Patrick Barrett (Cuthbert-how Mean is my Valley) view book

Perfectly written and impossible to put down. With a background in antiques a lot of this resonates with me. You have created the ultimate visual story, you take us there and we see it, smell it and taste it. Perfect. Patrick Barrett (Cuthbert-How mean is my valley) view book

The potential here is huge. You have an eye for observational comedy and a very visual writing style. As a work in progress it is well worth pursuing. Patrick Barrett (Cuthbert-how mean is my valley) view book

An original idea is so hard to find but this book has it in spades. It lends itself to cartoon animation too which is always a plus in making it stand out in the crowd. Dreamworks would make a wonderful job of this. Patrick Barrett ( Cuthbert-how mean is my valley ) view book

Definitely a five star read. I imagined myself facing you in your comfortable wing-back chair as you swirled a brandy in its glass and recounted your tales. Gradually it would dawn upon the interviewer that this was indeed a serial killer facing him albeit with pre-mortem permission for his work. Excellent book. view book

This has to be the finest attempt to teach history I have seen in years. My own children would have enjoyed this and I would have worked with them. Excellent idea and brilliantly executed. Star-rated and on my watch list.
Patrick Barrett ( Cuthbert-How mean is my Valley ) view book

This is great. The humour lurks and catches us unaware so the the temptation is to read on...every writers dream eh? Well done. Patrick Barrett (Cuthbert-How Mean is my Valley) view book