BFS Umbra

Choose Love
Choose love is a dynamic and zealous cluster of poems, this shows the lives of the refugees trapped in Calais (city in France). When I had saw the cover many things can to my mind: Is it abstract? Why is there flowers? What makes the book choose love from all this? This artwork had looked really scruffy, so it did bother me and never say its importance.While reading the book, my mind had completely changed. The artwork made it easier for me to visualize and connect with the book. This book's main point is about something upsetting a small percentage of people might be a bit emotional. The poetry in choose love is lovely and I'm happy that I'd read it. I rate it 6/10 because I personally don't like poetry ( controversial ) and can't think about the possibilities, it just leaves me on suspense.

Sebastian

Away With Words
Away with words is a book about a girl called Gala who moves from Spain to Scotland and the book is based in a world where when you say sentences physical words come out your mouth. At first Gala is really struggling to adapt to living in Scotland however after becoming friends with Natalie (a girl with selective mutism) they find new ways to communicate. The book also made me more aware of the struggles people who have to learn a new language in a new strange country must have to face. i also loved how i could see Galas character development throughout the book and how she became more confident and her English improved. Overall i loved this book and the characters and how it created vivid images in my head and i would rate it a 4/5.

Emma

Choose Love
Choosing love i think is one of the best illustrated books i have ever read. However, the poems and the chapters in the book is quite depressing. I would recommend this book to a child over 10. Overall, i think this book is brilliant.

Sophia

Away With Words
Away with words by sophie cameron is about a girl called gala who moves to scotland from Spain. At first, she is very upset and finds it very hard to communicate with other people because she can speak very little english, so the language barrier affects her ability to make friends in her new school. This is until she meets a girl called Natalie who has selective mutism which means she gets very anxious speaking and only speaks around her closest friends and family. Gala and Natalie become very close and cause all sorts of mischief together and in the end, gala decides that maybe scotland isn’t so bad after all. My favourite part about the book was that when you say a word it physically comes out of your mouth, I liked this because it is different to other books, and it was interesting how different words had different fonts and colours depending on how they were said and how the person speaking was feeling. Something I disliked about the book was that the storyline was slightly predictable and some of the characters were very cliché. In conclusion, I think that this book is a very good, light read and would be suitable for slightly younger readers like ages 9-12 but I thought the idea of words being physical was interesting and gave the book a fun twist in a way.

Sofia

Choose Love
Choose love is a great book of poems. The poems are mainly about war and running away. I would recommend this book to people who like poems and war.

Dougie

Choose Love
I love the fact that the book is a poem because i love poem books. The art is amazing and abstract. My favourite chapter in this book is called spiderman.

Daisy

April's Garden
this book illustrations are amazing many simple strokes forming together to make a beautiful picture with sooo many colors making it pop out the page !!!

Layla

Choose Love
I think choose love is a great book with a easy layout.The book focuses on real topics and events.Its just genuinely a great book.My favourite thing about the book is the fact its separated into short verses.

Bethany

Crossing the Line
Crossing the line was not one of my favourite books. The writing style is slightly hard to read but the story and the characters are quite good. Nevertheless the book was entertaining and I would recommend trying out the book.

Amy

Choose Love
This is a very sad and heart touching book. However, I loved it as I am a refugee myself. It shows the reality of being a refugee, especially crossing the English Channel, to the world.

Max

The Song Walker
The song walker is an incredible book about a lost city girl who woke up in a desert not knowing anything about herself. My favourite character was Tarni because she is very enthusiastic and is very brave. She crafts a variety of items from the scarce resources of the desert. Though, she wasn't very realistic, being a child in the middle of a desert and knowing a lot of stuff about how to survive. The story keeps you trying to figure out who the main character is throughout the whole story. My most favourite part of the book was when Tarni saved the main character from a snake whilst she was sleeping. The reason it was my favourite part was because it was very intense and put you in a little bit of suspense. The book was a little upsetting at the start because the main character couldn't remember anything about herself. Overall, the story was incredible I would definitely recommended this book.

Dougie

Choose Love
this book has an amazing tone and mood , although some of the poems are difficult to understand

Logan Emm

The Door of No Return
the door of no return is one of the books i would not read at first but i took a chance and read it , i thoroughly enjoyed this book , towards the end (second half) a lot happened and i finaly understood what the book is about and it was very deep into the topic of slavery. i really liked the ending where it is left to your imagination... i like how the book is in verse making it easyer to read and more enjoyable so overall i would rate is a 7/10

Daisy

Choose Love
I found this book very powerful and its message important. This is a book who's message should be shared.

Gabor

Crossing the Line
I thought this book had a very realistic story of what often happens in most areas. How kids get cornered into making mistakes like Eric. I believe this is one of the best Carnegie voted books I have read.

Maddison

Steady for This
After reading steady for this, by Nathanael Lessore I think this book is great for any age from 9+ and helps understand the struggles of others and how you should never judge a book by its cover. I really enjoyed this book although the rap parts werent my favourite.

Jessica

Crossing the Line
In crossing the line, the main character Erik is in a county lines of drug trafficking. This shows how fast juvenile people can get influenced by drug gangs. This book is written in verses, like a poem, and his emotions are clearly shown with the way the texts are written. When I had read the book, I had understood the story but some bits of the story had given me goose-bumps. In the early bit of the book, I would've already fore-told his life. But, it was easy to tell where the key points were what he could've done instead for the better aftermath. But overall, this was hard to put down. When I had read the ending, it was miserable but, this can happen anywhere and is shocking to believe it still happens. But still, I had enjoyed reading this book and learned a thing or 2 about how to identify a grooming tactic. I would recommend this book to the older years to the school because, the younger years will probably be grossed out by its grotesque features in the book. For me I rate this book 8/10. I will recommend this book to other people.

Sebastian

The Song Walker
I really liked this book and the descriptions of the Australian outback were quite entertaining to me. The storyline of trying to retrieve lost memories while surviving was interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat. The story does drag on a bit and the ending was a bit out of place for the story it was telling but most of it adds up correctly. I would personally recommend other books from this author but the Song Walker was a pleasure to read.

Amy

Away With Words
In my opinion Away With Words is one of my favourite books in the shortlist. I understood the frustration of learning a new language through the writing style and enjoyed the progression of Gala’s English. However sometimes the characters do things that don’t fit into their personality and it was quite irritating. I would recommend this book and read it again

Amy

Crossing the Line
Crossing the line is about Erik and after the loss of his father, struggling with money and a tough home life, he finds himself joining a local gang. The story is written in verse which i think helps appeal to a wider audience and less confident readers. I liked how different words were written in different artistic ways and how some sentenced were made into shapes. I found the book very gripping however throughout the book i felt empathetic towards Erik. I believe crossing the line is an amazing book to spread awareness of people affected by gangs and to help prevent people from joining a gang.

emma

Crossing the Line
I think this book is good for anyone over 13 as it contains drugs, abuse, and some upsetting family history. On the other hand, if u are a light reader this book is suitable for you as it only takes half a page (its like a layout of a poem). Overall, I can agree that i think This book is okay.

Sophia H

The Song Walker
The Song Walker is a story following two girls across the Australian outback – one is a nameless city girl suffering from amnesia, and the other a First Country girl, mapping her way across the landscape using the songs of her ancestors to guide the way. I loved that this book used First Country terminology (and appreciated the guide at the front of the book!). The descriptions of the outback, and the vegetation and animals living there made the story come alive. It really proved the point that the outback isn’t just huge stretches of sand. On the other hand, because the story was so far out of my experience, I found it hard to connect with the characters, and while I appreciated that Magpie recognised her character flaws fairly early on, she didn’t really do anything to address her entitled behaviour. I found it quite frustrating that she didn’t really develop any new skills and expected Tarni to provide everything needed for her survival. The ending also left me with a few unanswered questions which limited my enjoyment of the story. I think this book will be the perfect story for some readers, but for me it was just OK.

Mrs Sirrelle

The Door of No Return
The Door of No Return is historical fiction, written in verse. Set in Africa in 1860, it includes wonderful references to the Asante people and their rich culture. At first glance, I found the cover of the book a little underwhelming, and it doesn’t give much away in regards to the story line. I really enjoyed reading about the colonialisation from the Asante perspective, and the clear message that the pre-existing language and traditions were and are not only valid, but hugely important. I love how this was reflected in the conversations between Kofi, his parents and his teacher, and the conflicts caused between individuals by the introduction of English language and history to the school curriculum. I wasn’t sure how to feel about the ending of this book. Leaving it open to interpretation rather than spelling it out. I am very glad I took the time to read the Twi translations in the back of the book – most of the meanings could be worked out contextually, but I loved that Kwame Alexander explained the meaning of all of the symbols used and referenced in the story.

Mrs Sirrelle

Crossing the Line
Crossing the Line follows the story of Erik, who is groomed into county lines drug trafficking. The book is written in verse and is a stark reflection of how young people’s lives can be so quickly influenced by drug gangs. Reading Crossing the Line had me really gripped and I couldn’t put it down. I felt like I could see the path Erik was going down early in the story, and it was easy for me to pinpoint key moments where he could have made different choices with a better outcome, but as he began to be groomed, it was easy to feel empathy for him. I found the ending quite difficult to read, because of course not every story should or can have a happy ending, but I love that this is a book that could make some young people feel really seen, and hopefully be more confident at identifying grooming tactics and the behaviour changes victims may experience.

Mrs Sirrelle

Steady for This
Steady for This is the story of wannabe rapper Shaun or ‘Growls’. On the surface this looks like a fairly predictable and basic plotline through a teen rap narrative, which did not appeal to me at all. However, the writing style is very light-hearted and enjoyable, and the book covers some difficult topics in comedic yet compassionate ways. My favourite part of Steady for This is when Growls creates a live video without his friend’s consent. This leads to some inevitably hilarious problems for Growls, but the real time mental health implications for his friend is also integral to the plot. It’s good to see the contrast in how two boys react so differently to the same situation, and hopefully readers will understand the message this serves. I am definitely not the market audience for this book, but I did enjoy reading it far more than I thought I would.

Mrs Sirrelle

Safiyyah's War
Safiyyah is a young Muslim girl, living in Paris during the second world war, when German soldiers begin their occupation. This is a gripping story of how the city’s Muslim community helped to smuggle persecuted Jews to safety, based on true events. The cover of this book and even the blurb didn’t really appeal to me as I often don’t enjoy books relating to war. Having said that, when I read Safiyyah’s War, I was totally gripped by it. The flowing narrative made it easy to read, and the vibrant details made Safiyyah’s family come to life in my mind as I read it. I also loved the author’s notes at the end, detailing specific characters and their real-life counterparts. I think this book is such a success because it highlights so clearly the communities of different faiths working together to resist the Nazi occupation. Reading Safiyyah’s War is the first time I have ever heard of or read specifically about the part Muslims played in saving the lives of French Jewish citizens during WW2, and I think it’s incredibly important that this is recognised. This is a wonderful book, and I would recommend it to so many readers!

Mrs Sirrelle

Choose Love
Choose Love is a powerful and emotive collection of poetry, reflecting the lives and experiences of refugees stranded in Calais. I wasn’t sold on the cover artwork for this book, and I didn’t immediately see the relevance of it. As I began to read though, I really started to connect the artwork with the words and began to appreciate it a lot more. I found this book quite upsetting to read – it’s focus is on a very difficult and sad topic – and I think it’s probably not for everyone. My favourite poem is Artin’s Voyage, a harrowing telling of a young boy’s journey. It is both beautiful and reflective. The poetry in Choose Love is beautiful and I’m glad I spent time reading it and engaging with the artwork, but the sadness it exudes would probably prevent me from reading it again.

Mrs Sirrelle

Away With Words
Away with Words is a story about two girls communicating in new and abstract ways, in a world where words are spoken physically as well as audibly. Sophie Cameron’s story covers topics of social anxiety and language barriers, as well as changing friendships and family life. I really liked one of the main protagonists - Natalie, a character with selective mutism, as she discusses her experiences of school and home life with Gala. Her way of using the wasted physical words that she finds lying around during the book was an interesting dimension to the story, and I felt quite strongly about the injustice of being made to stop by teachers, after others parodied her and Gala’s messages. Although I didn’t connect so well with Gala’s character in the story, I could empathise on the difficulty many students from other countries have, when joining schools as an individual with limited English. All in all, I enjoyed reading Away with Words, but it wasn’t my favourite book, and I doubt I would read it again.

Mrs Sirrelle

The Boy Lost in the Maze
The Boy Lost in the Maze is an interesting take on the retelling of Theseus and the Minotaur, told alongside the story of Theo, a boy in search of his father. The verse shows parallels between the ancient story and modern-day life, with confrontations with mythical monsters used as an analogy for facing personal difficulties and obstacles on the journey to success. I really like the idea of this story, and it helped me to empathise with the protagonists, and especially the minotaur in this retelling. I particularly liked the idea that the journey to being a man was moved away from strength, force and violence, and became more about understanding, questioning and challenging. I also hugely appreciated the role of Ariadne in Joseph Coelho’s version. The element of ‘choose your own ending’ in this book made the reading more interactive, and it was fun to be able to take ownership of the decisions Theo could make, and discovering the ‘correct’ answer, in regards to the story. Although I found some parts of the story a bit tricky to fully understand due to the nature of verse writing, I did enjoy the book, and found that I’ve read very little like it before. It is a really original idea, and I thought that Joseph Coelho did it justice.

Mrs Sirrelle

Safiyyah's War
I don't often like to read war books as it is always serious and has a set perspective of being a soldier in the frontline or a witness of the disasters however, this book gave a new perspective to the war, being the person to save targeted Jewish citizens. This book managed to talk about a serious matter and highlight the importance of the Muslims rescue but ease it in rather than starting of strong. I could defiantly recommend the book to ayear7-8 audience as it teaches them a bit about the war but doesn't come of to strong

Emma V

Away With Words
This book is a good book to explain different disorders as well as having an entertaining book to read. I like how at the start it began with Gala not really hearing every word said to her and her dad. I learnt how some people with selective mutism might think and act. The way they explored the topics of social anxiety and selective mutism was very good as they can be sensitive subjects. Overall a good book for learning and reading.

Izzy