Sullivan Shadowers
The Playdate
I enjoyed this book because there was a hidden secret where the girl's mum was cleaning the boy's mum's house but that was it for me, 7.5/10
Clodagh
The Paper Bridge
I LOVED this book, the illustrations were amazing and the creativity of it was extremely out of the box. This was easily my favourite Carnegie illustration book.
Clodagh
Wolf Siren
I REALLY REALLY enjoyed this book while I was reading it, it was set somewhere different to the modern world but Red was still somewhat relatable, I was about halfway through and thought that this was the best Carnegie book by miles until... Aerona died. For me her death did nothing except add a couple of pages and it was extremely abrupt and unexpected. However I did still really like the book. I love twisted fairytales so had high expectations and it didn't disappoint. I would give it 9.5/10
Clodagh
Popcorn
I found this book very fun to read and it was very well illustrated. It tells about a boy called Andrew who has anxiety and OCD. I really like the anxiety files that are at the end of chapters. I liked the style of writing and I would definitely recommend this book.
Lydia
Ghostlines
I love the setting of the island of Ayrie which is a remote island far from the main land. The only thing that put me off was the long sentences that never seemed to end ( p95)! Although this book was very predictable, it was enjoyable to read and this was a well written book.
Lydia
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
I did really like this book as it was the one that stood out as different.On the surface, it is incredibly funny, fast-paced and packed with brilliant, absurd humour. But what really made this story great was how many metaphorical meanings there was under all the humor. These included Zeke having France on his knee. While it is undeniably hilarious and bizarre, I noiticed that it was a beautiful piece of symbolism. I think it represents the weight and immense pressure Zeke is carrying and also having to not only look after himself but also feeling responsible for the wellbeing of so many others around him. Another metaphorical concept was that the black dog is framing that his mum's illness as an external animal and teaches readers that her depression is nota personal choice or a failure. Overall, I think this was a very well written book and Patrick Ness did a masterful job of balancing it all.
Lydia
Birdie
What made Birdie unforgettable for me was how beautifully J. P Rose brought both the 1950s Yorkshire setting and the main character to life. The atmospheric, gritty description of the mine felt incredibly immersive, making me feel as though I was walking through those chilly, soot-dusted streets right alongside the character. Birdie is a sweet, resilient girl who faces the struggle of racism.
Lydia
Birdie
I had high hopes coming into this book as my friend really enjoyed it. She talked about how it shows racism in a very good way and that's what I thought was going to be the main plot yet that's just simply not the case. The main plot of this book is a pony, which if I knew would definitely lower my expectations. I am not an animal lover that's true but even if it would be a side plot I would rate this book higher but that was the whole book after page 50. The character was also really smart and a realistic portrait of a tween ... until the horse showed up. From that moment our character lost all her common sense and acted like a 5 year old who saw a shiny toy in the shop. I was very close to giving this book 1 star. The ending was also so tragic. There was no need to bring the horse magically back to life. But there are some positives like Brian. He is the best character of this book and I would have loved to dive deeper into their relationship and how it progressed into a close friendship or maybe even later on a relationship? Or her next door neighbour? We barely saw her and suddenly they're best friends. If I cut out all the pony plot and just keep the racism and friendship plots it would be a 4 star read. Also the language made it hard to read especially as an immigrant who doesn't really know slang, I had to go back and re read multiple lines to get what was happening.
Aniela
Birdie
Birdie was a very heartfelt story and I enjoyed reading it, from the cover it looked quite boring and since I don’t like animal books I didn’t have very high hopes, however I did enjoy this a lot especially since Mr Duke was a proper character not a random animal who’s just there. The other characters (not Birdie) didn’t seem to have much personality and I don’t know if I liked this or not. Overall I give this book 8.5/10
Clodagh
Popcorn
Popcorn was a very interesting book, it wasn't one I would usually read but I felt very connected to Andrew and the book is probably the most relatable in all of the Carnegie Shortlist titles. I give it 9/10
Clodagh
Ghostlines
I really enjoyed 'Ghostlines', though I’m not sure it would be my winner. It tended to move on from things very quickly and I felt that the character of Rowan, Tilda’s brother, was unrealistic. I do think that it is a very pleasurable read, and is a nice escape from reality. 6.75 out of 10.
Lucy
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
I liked this book- to an extent. It got absolute ridiculous by the end and I didn’t really feel connected to any of the characters. However I understand the deeper meaning with his mum and the monitor lizards bit is quite funny and extremely original . 7/10
Clodagh
Birdie
'Birdie' is an amazing, one of a kind book. I love the warm, heartfelt message. It has a wonderful writing style and I love the plot. My favourite character is Julie . I would definitely recommend it
Emme
Ghostlines
A very interesting novel with a beautiful setting and interesting characters.
Liadan
The Boy I Love
I really enjoyed this book. It’s dramatic storyline and attention to historical events make is an absolute treat of a read. The only thing I don’t like so much is the fact that Stephen got over Michael very quickly. I feel that there could have been more on Stephen’s life at home, but otherwise, it’s a very good novel. 8.5 stars.
Lucy
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
This was by far my favourite Carnegie shortlisted book ( though I still have 'Birdie' left). It had a unique plot and it seemed fresh. The other books seemed a little bland and just already done but this. This was perfect. It was a little weird but I don't think it took away from the plot at all. I also love the inclusion of characters with disabilities or that are neuro divergent that felt natural. All the characters were real and relatable. Some people didn't like the fact that our main character had France on his knee but I disagree. I see it a bit also as symbolism that sometimes it feels like we are carrying a whole country in our lives. It was a short read but very insightful. I read in less than 2 hours. I can personally relate to the character. I also like how they handled being a bigger kid in school. I think it was actually the best potrail that I have seen in a couple of years. I genuinely have nothing bad to say about this book which is uncommon. So fat it is my favourite read of 2026. It also shows accurately how bullying looks in real life. The realisation that it doesn't matter as much as we think and that we aren't actually as bad as we think is a great message. The showing that we can still get justice but not become tyrants was also a lot better compared to most children's books ( e.g the series of unfortunate events). Strongly recommend. Love Miel in this book.
Aniela
Wolf Siren
This is a 3 star book. Not because the plot was bad or I had something against the characters. But because it covered literally every trope imaginable. I feel it is basically a rip off of the 2004 movie 'The Village'. A blind character living in a communist cult surrounded by the woods with dangerous entities living on the other side of the fence but suddenly further on we realise that actually the attack(s) committed by the entities are actually committed by a man of high power in the village. The book followed such common tropes and there was nothing truly original about this book. Sometimes it was hard to figure out what was happening as stuff was often described descriptively, which isn't something bad just is hard for me to understand. The death of the sister felt a little forced once again and I had a feeling that the mother of the main character just didn't change at all through the book. Overall it was a good enough read just nothing new or spectacular.
Aniela
Ghostlines
This book was quite good, I felt that Tilda had a bubbling personality which perfectly contrasted with Albee, I do think that them being able to take a kayak and go all around the Island whenever they want sounded that convincing, and the font when people speak really annoys me and makes it feel like they’re constantly whispering I give it 7/10
Clodagh
Popcorn
This was a really nice read and I truly had a great time. As a reader that struggles to find books that actually bring me joy I was very surprised when I found myself laughing out loud. It also was an accurate portrayal of how some of my school days go and the panic attacks that I have survived. Sometimes I had a feeling that the book didn’t go into enough depth of all the problems but I also thought that showing how a normal human being will feel in these situations was a nice change of pace. Usually we get these picture perfect characters but this book showed a character with flaws and actually acted normal. The main character was quite enjoyable but I didn’t really like his friend (no specific reason, just didn’t like her personality). The art teacher being the hero was quite stereotypical and is too often used in books in my opinion. Overall this book was like a 3.8/4 stars out of 5.
Aniela
The Boy I Love
I was so excited for this book and the themes, and even though in some ways the storyline lived up to my expectations, the pacing was disappointing. The first 100 or so pages were quite hard to get into and I felt I was forcing myself into it. The middle section was incredible, the slow burn romance was so intriguing, and the topics- though difficult, such as the pain that came with homosexuality at the time and war- were handled so well. I really, really enjoyed this part, it was so well written and had elements of humour as well as still handling the main themes maturely. HOWEVER. The ending was awful. I felt it was super unrealistic and completely abolished the character arc Stephen and Danny were about the complete. It completely ruined my satisfaction of the novel. Although the two never meeting again would be sad, I think that’s the point- it would have stayed with the reader longer. Overall- 3.5 stars. It was great, but it could’ve been so much better with a few tweaks.
Lily
The Boy I Love
I really enjoyed this book and it was very revealing, my only issues were the fact that the end was waaaay to fast , the print was small and Steven got over Michael very quickly and Michael’s name popped up a couple random times however this book was very good and I loved Danny and I would read it again 9/10
Clodagh
Wolf Siren
I really enjoyed this book. One of my favourite types of books is probably a fairy tale retold kind of vibe, which I found this book was. If I had any criticism, it would probably be that I didn’t want her sister to die, and it was well written I didn’t expect it at all 🤣. I’d give this book a 9/10, because I found it hard to put down and exceptionally entertaining.
Anya
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
I love this book, because at first glance it looks like a not very serious book for younger children, but once you read on, you see that it’s so much deeper. I thought the France knee curse was really creative and funny, and I loved it when Zeke stood up to Miss Pfister. 10/10!
Freya
The Boy I Love
This is the first book I have read from the shortlisted list. I had high hopes for this book, but it truly disappointed me. The first 110 pages were quite boring and hard to get into. I nearly stopped reading it because they were so boring. Then there were 50-60 pages in the middle that were exactly what I came for. I was actually planning to give this book 3,5 or even 4 stars out of 5 if that kept up. But then disaster struck. The ending...
I do not have the words to explain how frustrated I was when I finished the book. The epilogue is so terrible in my opinion. I had the feeling the author wanted the book to end happily, but then remembered it was a war book, and in his mind, a war book can't have a happy ending (which I disagree with, and we should let some war books end on a happy note). But the author didn't want to kill any of the characters. He decided to force out a bittersweet ending that was definitely rushed, as 2 years were condensed into 10 pages. I hated it so much. Upon further thought, I also realised that Michael, his ex-boyfriend, isn't a real character either. Our main character will be out there drawing, will think of Michael for 2 sentences, and then go back to making out with Danny. Michael is so useless in this story! In the end I am giving this book 2,25 stars out of 5.
Aniela