Carnegie Shadowing is GO!

The Carnegie shortlist was announced yesterday, and our readers are already well into their reading, having snatched up the new titles.  We're still waiting for three books to arrive from our order, but we'll rush them through cataloguing as soon as they're here!

The shortlist is:


David Almond MY NAME IS MINA


Mina writes and writes in an empty notebook, and through her stories, thoughts, lessons and dreams, her journal grows into something extraordinary. A prequel to the author's CILIP Carnegie Medal-winning novel, "Skellig".

Lissa Evans SMALL CHANGE FOR STUART

Ten years old and small for his age, Stuart Horten moves to the dreary town of Beeton, away from all his friends. But before long he is swept up in a quest to find his great-uncle's lost workshop, a place stuffed with trickery, magic – and danger.

Sonya Hartnett THE MIDNIGHT ZOO


Under cover of darkness, two brothers cross a war-ravaged country carrying a secret bundle. One night they stumble across a town that has been reduced to smouldering ruins. Amidst the wreckage is a zoo, filled with animals in need of hope.





Ali Lewis EVERYBODY JAM


Danny lives in middle of the outback. His older brother Jonny was killed in an accident last year, but no-one ever talks about it. Meanwhile his sister is pregnant, the rains haven't come and it's time for the annual cattle muster, during which Danny is determined to prove he can fill his brother's shoes.




Andy Mulligan TRASH


Three friends, Raphael, Gardo and Rat live on a heap of trash and spend their days sifting through other people's rubbish. One day they find something extraordinary – a deadly secret. From that moment onwards, they are hunted without mercy, and their lives will never be the same again.

Patrick Ness A MONSTER CALLS The monster shows up after midnight. It isn't the one Conor has been expecting; the one from his nightmare; the one he has had nearly every night since his mother started her treatment. But this new monster is ancient, and wild, and it wants something just as dangerous from Conor: the truth. Annabel Pitcher MY SISTER LIVES ON THE MANTELPIECE Ten year old Jamie hasn't cried since his sister's death five years before. Though everyone kept saying they would get better with time; things are now worse than ever. Dad drinks, Mum's gone and Jamie still has a whole heap of unanswered questions.

Ruta Septys BETWEEN SHADES OF GREY


One night, fifteen-year old Lina, her mother and brother are hauled from their home by Soviet guards, thrown into cattle cars and sent away. They are being deported to Siberia. An unimaginable and harrowing journey has begun, but Lina refuses to give up hope of seeing home and loved ones again.







Details from Carnegie website

I'm so glad to see some of these titles on the list and delighted that there are some I haven't read yet!

If this is your first year of shadowing the award, please make sure that you read the tab at the top of the page, which will provide you with some simple guidelines for writing an effective review.  Don't forget, we get many authors and publishers looking at this site, so bear in mind others' feelings, particularly if you read something that you don't enjoy!

I'm starting with Between Shades of Gray.  How about you?