HHS

The Final Year
This is the second book I have finished reading for the Carnegie medal shortlist and I found it so heartwarming, I really emotionally connected with each of the characters and cried quite a few tears at multiple points. The final year would be an amazing book for any year 6 worried about leaving primary school and I only wish this book existed back when I was in year 6.

TJ

The Final Year
‘The Last Year’ is a book that is told in poems, which makes the themes of poverty, hospitalisation of a sibling and bullying even more powerful, and makes it seem more real. So, in conclusion, I think this is an amazing book and anyone who’s started high school would love it.

Isolde

Play
Luke Palmer’s novel is emotionally gripping and depicts realistic circumstances that teenage boys experience in this modern world. He explores ideas of toxic masculinity, sexual assault, drug use and county lines; all essential topics to be explored given that many young men currently face them. Through changing first person perspective, the reader has the opportunity to fully understand and explore the feelings of the characters. Emotive and engaging language also enables the reader to fully connect with the characters and the challenging experiences they were facing; this was particularly beneficial as I am not part of this demographic but could still empathise with their situations. I admit that it was initially challenging ‘to get into’ and reading it felt more of a chore at first, than a joy, however after a couple of chapters, I was hooked and I found the novel a quick, easy, albeit powerful and emotional read. Be prepared, the ending is definitely a tearjerker and you’re left with thoughts of an existential nature and the endless possibilities that life can bring. The book would appeal to anyone in Year 9 or above, however you may want to give it a miss if you are currently dealing with unresolved trauma as some of the content may be difficult to read. Additionally, I feel this would be useful to parents of, or those working with teenage boys if they want to gain an insight into the complex minds of them and understand the possible reasonings behind some of their decisions.

Florence

The Things We Leave Behind
When I first picked up ‘The Things We Leave Behind’ I thought it would be a generic story about somebody who went on a journey to save humanity or something like that - but it wasn’t. This book showed me the much smaller problems within a larger problem and within minutes I was hooked to reading it. Clem, the main protagonist, and her half-sister Billie must flee London because of Toby Knight, the new Prime Minister who wants all immigrants out of his country. This affects Clem because her stepmother, Claudia, is an immigrant living in England. As a result of Claudia being an immigrant, she is taken away from her family to a ‘better place’. This causes Clem and Billie to flee to their grandfather's house, where he forgets who they are, and a mysterious man is in the kitchen the next morning… For now I’ll let you read on, but be prepared for countless plot twists and unexpected events. I’d say this book is perfect for anybody looking for a mild read with some action and a lot of adventure.

Charlie

All That It Ever Meant
All that it ever meant is a touching story about a family who, after they lose their mother in a car crash, decide to take a trip to their home country of Zimbabwe to regain a connection with their heritage. The whole story is told from the point of view of the middle child , 14 year old Mati, who is explaining the whole situation to this omnipotent spirit called Meticais, an enigmatic and curious overseer who only Mati can see. I was enthralled by the fascinating and intriguing structure but I will warn that the ending is really sad and it made me want to read it all over again once I discovered the plot twist!

TJ