BFS Umbra

Ghostlines 
I felt a bit mislead by this book as i was imagining a deep, intriguing storyline when in fact the storyline was quite basic and boring. Apart from this, I liked how the book used quite descriptive language and was an easy read. This book may be for some people but definitely not for me.

Paris-capri

Birdie
My first impressions of this book was not very doubtful but once i started to get into it i was really surprised by it. The book explores themes of love and connection as the story deepens. I was in love with the ending of this and wish i could re-read it over and over again. This book is definitely a must!

Paris-capri

Not Going To Plan
– Before reading the book I must admit, I didn’t think I would enjoy it much but as I started reading through, I was surprised by how much I liked it. I’ve never been one for poetry and had this book not been part of the Carnegies, I don’t think I would have read it. However, I feel like the poetry and the way it was written overall was really nice for a change and I liked how so much story and emotions could be conveyed with such a short number of words. I liked both the characters of Zed and Marnie, and all of their friend, I feel like all the characters were written really well and Jessica had a nice redemption. I wasn’t a fan of the storyline in general but that might just be me, as I’m not personally the biggest fan of teen pregnancy stories. However I really did feel for Marnie and I did feel proud for her at the end of the book. Quite a fun book, maybe like a 7.5/10

Sofia

Ghostlines 
I really enjoyed reading this book and I loved the storyline and characters. The island of Ayrie truly was a lovely setting and the characters were loveable. Towards the start I did genuinely dislike Albie but as the story progressed and we see his actions with the puffins, he slowly became one of my favourite characters. I also really liked Tilda and I felt that the ending suited the story really well, being a nice way to close off the book. Maybe I might have liked it a bit more if more development happened with Rowan, but otherwise, an enjoyable read.

Sofia

Ghostlines 
This book was about a girl who lives on an island and then a boy comes and she is told to try and help him feel welcome but the boy doesn't like her.my favorite character is Tilda because even when she faces challenges she still perseveres and she follows her gut.I enjoyed this book but I would have hopped that it would been a bit more scary so i think that the name was a bit misleading.

eunice

The Endless Sea
I thought the Endless Sea was a really good book because of the illustrations. I love how they included lots of different styles of art, which made it really diverse and interesting. I feel like this book showed a lot of emotion but the actual story didn't like take over - it was a good balance of illustration and text. In my opinion the book could be read/studied by anyone - whether they are in a year 5 class being introduced to the topic for the first time, or someone a bit older who knows a lot about it, I feel it is a very good book for everyone.

Isabelle

Not Going To Plan
not going to plan is a fantastic book it can be a little bit to graghic at times it tells us about an unlikely friend ship forming and that friend rising up and helping up marine through a tough time one thing i noted is that a people who do read this book they should remember they can stop at any time.

harper

Wolf Siren
A brilliant book with a clever twist to the original fairytale and great varied characters with layers of secrets and tension through out, it also shows the determination of characters through hard times. I really liked the meaningful ending despite a little sad but overall a really good book.

Eva M

Birdie
I did like the story, and I did like the character of Birdie overall, but I feel like the other characters could have had more to them and could have been more developed. I also feel like something else should have been done for the ending with Duke because it didn’t quite feel fitting. The book had a good setting and at the start it did feel like it could have had a lot of potential, but I think it could have delved deeper into the racism and how and why others had these prejudices. However, I did like the plot, and I did like the start. I think it was a 5/10

Sofia

Popcorn
I absolutely adored this book. I was constantly emersed in the story. At times it made me feel upset for the character but i enjoyed the ending a lot. This book is definitely one of my favourite books i have ever read!

Daisy

Ghostlines 
I liked this book as it shows good representation of disability and i enjoyed the adventurous storyline featuring the two characters called Tilda and Albie. Tilda is my favorite as she is represented as a fierce and curious character that both live on an island. I loved how the author has explored the friendship aspect. I would recommend to ages 9-14. Overall this is an amazing book.

Sophia

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
Chronicles of a lizard nobody includes lots of funny moments, comedy and about bully pelicanarsus, after zeke's encounter with him as a hall monitor, could zeke possibly be the hero the school needs? I thought it was funny but maybe for younger years. I think they would enjoy it more.

Jessica

Wolf Siren
Wolf Siren is a wonderful take on Little Red Riding Hood, which delves into the patriarchy within Red's small community. The blatant injustices that arise throughout the story (for example food rations being restricted or boosted through favouritism) are a wonderful talking point, which invite people to explore their own moral stance. The gentle touch on social censorship is also an interesting and original factor in a fantasy genre, and the clever ways of getting around it (e.g. with drawing of a wolf spider, to allude to a wolf) are wonderfully imaginative. Although some elements to Wolf Siren were a little predictable, reading the story was exceptionally enjoyable, and I think will appeal to a wide range of readers. I would definitely recommend this book to lots of KS3 readers, who are looking for something a little darker.

Mrs Sirrelle

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
I loved the idea of Twenty-Four Seconds From Now and it's format, and I loved the way that the incredible intimate moment that is being alluded to, and is being lead up to, is very much framed around a mutual love and trust. I also found Neon's conversation with the dog photo in the bathroom particularly entertaining, and even more so when the story backs up and we learn more about the dog in general. I think that this book is unlikely to appeal to everyone - it has a pretty narrow viewpoint, being from Neon's perspective the whole time, however reading Jason Reynold's comments in the back of the book really stuck with me, and I stopped to think about how few YA books feature a storyline about a young male, Black protagonist, that is predominantly a love story. This made me appreciate the story in a new light and although it wasn't my favourite read personally, there is tremendous value in reading it, and there are many people I would absolutely recommend it to.

Mrs Sirrelle

The Boy I Love
The Boy I Love was definitely the book to get the most attention just from the front cover in my group. With a foundation in historical fiction, it was bound to be popular, and featuring LGBTQ+ characters made it even more so. The attention hasn't been undeserved - Hussey has balanced the plot incredibly cleverly between the horrifically short life young men experienced in the trenches of WW1, along with the 'socially immoral' (at least to the time period) relationship between Stephen and Danny. The Boy I Love is a delicate love story which, without getting graphic, features a beautiful romance in a dire situation. Having spent time running tours along some of the Somme battlefields myself, I found the lead up to the push and the date countdown of the chapters incredibly suspenseful, and really appreciated the accuracy with which Hussey described trench warfare, again without needing to be too overly graphic about it. I confess, having enjoyed the book as much as I did, I was a little disappointed by the ending - but no spoilers here!

Mrs Sirrelle

Popcorn
When I started reading Popcorn, I had a very clear idea in my mind of what it was going to be like, and had pretty much decided it wasn't going to be my 'cup of tea'. I was very very wrong. Popcorn is an incredibly well written book that delves into living with anxiety on a day to day basis. While the illustrations at face value make the book look like it's for much younger children (and yes, much younger children probably would enjoy it too!) the topic is covered in a way that can really appeal to older readers. Andrew is well aware that his anxiety is building throughout the story, and Harrell's way of putting these feelings into words is incredibly powerful. When I first started reading, I thought that the title Popcorn was going to relate to the way that Andrew and his Gran shared popcorn and films together, but I quickly realised that it was about Andrew's feeling of being ready to explode as his day spirals out of control. Although there arguably isn't a huge amount of 'plot' to this book, it is definitely about far more than Andrew just trying to get through the day with a good school picture taken. It's easy to see how things can quickly spiral out of control for someone, and I think this is a magical book to build empathy in readers, but also to give words to people who have or are experiencing anxiety themselves. I thought I knew all about this book before I started it, and I was so pleased to be wrong - I will be recommending Popcorn to as many people as I can!

Mrs Sirrelle

Not Going To Plan
Having read Tia Fisher's finalist book Crossing The Line last year, I was very excited to read Not Going to Plan. Although I am not an automatic fan of reading books in verse, I have found Fisher's writing to be incredibly accessible, and I love the way she uses shapes and direction in her work to reflect the context. While stories of teen pregnancy is definitely not original in YA literature, the way it is approached in Not Going to Plan is a refreshing new take. The story covers some very difficult topics (such as stealthing and abortion) with great sensitivity, and conversations between characters are raw and honest. As friends clash in their beliefs and actions, the conversations around them are poignant and well considered, showing that people can disagree and still demonstrate respect for each other and promotes a strong sense of empathy in the reader. The way that art and creativity is used as an outlet for protagonist Marnie is a great way to remind readers that there are positive ways to channel difficult feelings and emotions, that can still be recognised and seen by others. While this isn't a book for younger readers, I would absolutely recommend it to older students.

Mrs Sirrelle

Ghostlines 
Ghostlines is a really lovely story about Tilda's life on a remote(ish) island. Throughout the book there are themes of difficult feelings of abandonment and characters feeling quite tragically misunderstood - while this is great for building empathy for younger readers, I think that many older reading may find some of it a little over-hammed. The imagery of the different sea canoe designs among the group of friends made enjoyable reading, along with picturesque descriptions of different areas of the island, however for most people, while being nice to read, I would think was quite unrelatable in regards to their experiences verses Tilda's. I enjoyed reading Ghostlines for the gentle story it is, but I would be hesitant to recommend it to most people over 11, as I didn't feel the story had much depth to it, whereas younger readers would probably find the adventurous angle to the story far more exciting.

Mrs Sirrelle

Birdie
I wasn't hugely excited by this book when I first saw the front over, and the blurb didn't draw me in at first either, not being a particular fan of animal stories, or historical fiction based around World War 2. Having said that, once I started Birdie, it was hard to put down. I very quickly fell in love with our protagonist, and felt filled with horror at the blatant racism she was faced with early on in the story. Her own empathy towards Mr Duke the pit pony started to tug on my heart strings and I realised I was also learning a lot about a historical community I previously knew nothing about. In the end, this has unexpectedly become one of my favourite Carnegie reads this year and I would absolutely recommend it to other readers.

Mrs Sirrelle

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody by Patrick Ness is a really fun read with a lot of comedy entwined skillfully with insightful comments on mental health, disguised under the imagery of the black dog. My favourite character Miel the Hawk was an absolutely hilarious addition to the story, in the way he painfully pointed out obvious observations in his loud screech. I especially loved the way that his mannerisms were part of him as a species, and as an individual. This was a great way of learning about animals while reading the story. Although some parts of the story became a little hard to follow (the initial invasion of France followed by the robot pelican got a bit much for me), I found Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody was really enjoyable overall, and dealt with some tricky topics with sensitivity and compassion. I would absolutely recommend this to others (including those outside of the age range!)

Mrs Sirrelle

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
The writing in this book is really good and I enjoyed the sections of the story. But I was very confused when the jumps in the story where not chronological order it made it really hard to keep track but other than that it is an amazing book!

Harper

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
Towards the start of the book, I wasn’t really a big fan but as I continued ready through, it did get better. I liked the themes shown in the book (friendships and bullying) and even though the book wasn’t my personal favourite, I can see why others might vote for it. Funny and engaging, I think this book is a bit odd, but that’s what gives it its character. I definitely saw a different side towards the story when we got to the bits with Zeke’s mother, and maybe that was what made me enjoy the book a little bit more because it felt a little bit more human and less like a silly comic. Good Luck Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody, I think you have a good chance of winning.

Sofia

The Boy I Love
Of the books I have read so far, this one has certainly stood out to me. Not only did I love the storyline and the characters, but reading this book taught me a lot about World War One. I didn’t know that much about the Battle of the Somme, and I ended up rereading those few chapters multiple times, flicking back to the glossary as I did. After finishing the book, I had a look online to research more into it. Of course, the main story is the romance between the characters Stephen and Danny, which I did love. The characters were written so well, and you genuinely felt sorry for them, but at times, also a little bit happy. I’m not sure I was a big fan of the ending, but otherwise, this book is fab.

Sofia

Not Going To Plan
I like this book because it shows different perspectives from a boy and a girl in different challenging situations. I think that this book would be great for anyone who wants to learn about other peoples perspectives in life and how to persevere in life through the challenges in life.

Eunice

Birdie
A very nice reader about friendship and belonging. The book shows what it’s like to live in a place where you are discriminated for the colour of your skin and how Birdie overcomes her challenges through meeting Mr Duke (a pony) in a mine and how their friendship evolves through the book.

Tabitha