You to Me Are Everything -- Debbie Chase

To be honest I wasn't expecting much from this novel from Keighley Town Council deputy clerk Debbie Spink.

Almost every self-published novel I've ever seen has been dreadful, from its slapdash punctuation to its non-existent writing talent.

But I was surprised by the good quality of this 260-page paperback following the lives of three generations of women in the same family. Not pleasantly surprised, mind you, for the gruelling first few pages were followed by other vividly-depicted traumas.

All three women fall pregnant as unmarried teenagers but make different decisions, their choices deeply affecting their lives. Family love supports them through young romance, grief, adultery, obsession and first steps into the wider world.

Debbie doesn't do subtlety, she bludgeons us with adjective-rich description, plain-to-see emotions and realistically repetitive dialogue. This obvious, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink style works, because Debbie is an instinctive storyteller who can certainly create a believable characters.

Her chatty style -- all three girls narrated their stories -- pulled me along even when the events she described were mundane.

You to Me Are Everything isn't posh enough to be a literary novel and its moments of brutality distance it from mainstream chick-list. But Debbie's publishing debut is an assured, enjoyable, down-to-earth domestic drama that will strike a chord with many people.

David Knights

Learning to Breathe -- Andy Cave

Cave is one of Britain's leading climbers, a Barnsley lad who dragged himself out of the pits to sit on top of the world's highest summits.

His first book, Learning to Breathe, was joint winner of the Boardman Tasker Prize and winner of the Banff Mountain Book Festival in 2005, but it is more than just a climbing book.

This Arrow paperback version is part social history, part travelogue and part inspiration to join the outdoor world.

When Learning to Breathe makes it to film it will be a cross between Touching the Void, Billy Elliott and Brassed Off, with a bit of Full Monty, and, for those with longer memories, Kes, thrown into the mix.

It is also a very good read.

John Heald

Death Dance -- Linda Fairstein

A world-famous ballerina plunges to her death in New York's massive Metropolitan Opera House.

Suspicion falls on not only hundreds of stage hands but the star's colourful entourage of lovers, employees and financial backers.

Sex crimes prosecutor Alex Cooper again takes on vested interests to solve the case, while juggling with several other interesting cases.

And again Fairstein provides a credible, well-crafted but not quite gripping mystery, touching on some aspects of New York's history.

David Knights