Carnegie Shadow Judges MEAC

Create Group Magazine

Ghostlines
Ghostlines is an enjoyable read about a girl who shows around a visitor to her home island, determined to make him stay since her brother didn't. I liked Tilda's developing relationship with Albie. I also liked the ending of how Rowan came back and found it heartwarming. Katya's use of ands and rambling on the sentences was particularly effective with a young main charecter. However, I found the book hard to get into and I was almost forcing myself to read. However I whizzed past the second half in two days. I enjoyed the ending and found everything wrapped up nicely. 2.95/5

Emaan

Popcorn
Pop Corn is an engaging book that showcases different viewpoints to younger readers with a fun and humorous story line. It educates on conditions like Alzheimer’s, OCD and anxiety in an intriguing way while subtly giving advice on ways to cope along with the list of helpful sites at the end. The life of a teenager had me more interested in how life can be so different for two people who are thought to be similar. I enjoyed the intensity and description in this book which helped me wholly understand each action and event. I have never read a book like this before and it made me realise how interesting a different viewpoint can be.

Meerab

Popcorn
I think this is a good book where a boy starts a new school and its picture day at school and MOTHER wants HIM to start picture day looking nice. Overall I liked the book and think its a very good read.

esa

Popcorn
This is an interesting story that walks through the struggles of anxiety for a young boy attending school. The problems he faces may be present in everyday life for students. I enjoyed reading this book because of the author's use of links for everyday life. I would have enjoyed more if some facts were not repeated further and we knew more about the main character's past incidents or achievements. Some illustrations were eye-catching and helped to show what was happening.

Zaydan

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
An Interesting book about a lizard called Zeke and a group of others who become Hall Monitors, having no idea what they will come across. They experience some difficulties and challenges, however resiliently overcome their problems. They courageously save their school from being destroyed by a megalomaniac pelican, with the help of friendship, and imagination! In my opinion, 'Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody' is a book with a great amount of imagination and creativity. However, the author could have included more depth of personality in some of the characters to make it more interesting to read. On a positive note, the illustrations are incredibly engaging and eye-catching. I would recommend this book for children ages 9+.

Aleeza

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
I really enjoyed this book, I think it captured the thoughts and feelings of the characters really well. I think the way it was written to capture that sort of "life flashing before my eyes" sequence of thoughts, when you think of everything that happened and led to a moment. The language and style used was perfect for describing and writing about a teenage experience. I also think that the fact that it was literally just a boys life, the basic routines and events that he goes through and the love for his girlfriend gave the book a certain value that you don't always find. A lot of books are written with a sense of anticipation and climax when you're waiting for something big to happen. But this book was just a story of a life. And I liked that.

Florence

Wolf Siren
Reading Wolf Siren was an amazing experience. The unique viewpoint not only educated on reality but also beautified the aspects of life in a way that cant be seen by all. The writing style was clear and comfortable and I was able to easily visualise all events with details even through the unique eyes of Red. The acknowledgment to the power of nature over man was conveyed to be helpful and sheltering instead of daunting like many of the villagers mistook it to be. The unexpected plot twist had me even more intrigued and increased the amount of praise I had for this book as I realised I had been easily mislead. When the end came to a bitter-sweet conclusion, it not only was hopeful but also realistic, reminding readers that people’s actions cannot be controlled, but there is still hope in seemingly agonising turns of event. Wolf Siren includes themes of loss, identity, adventure, belonging, friendship, and the natural world which makes it extraordinarily interesting even for older readers. I loved this book and will be reading Beth O’Brien’s other book as well to experience more of her writing.

Meerab

Popcorn
At first, I wasn't sure if I would like this book but as I kept reading I became invested into Andrew's story. Living in a single parent household, G having alzheimer's, Gene and obviously his anxiety. I appreciate how Rob Harrel used his own experiences to make Andrew's behaviour more realistic and eye opening in a way. The part when Andrew had his panic attack was probably my favourite part not because I liked seeing him suffer but because I sympathised with him so much. I could feel my own breath become shallow like his and my heart rate faster and it felt like I was on this roller coaster of emotions with him. Even though this book deals with quite sad topics, the frequent jokes, comics and parts when Andrew seems to break the fourth wall and talk to the reader lightens the mood. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would give it a SOLID 3.99 out of 5. It's ONE of the better books in this shortlist but I'm not sure if it has that extra wow factor to bring it to the top. The only reason it didnt get four+ stars is because the mc was younger than me and usually I prefer if the mc is either the same age or slightly older than me, which might seem a bit random or dumb but i can't help it. I like how the book takes place on one day and seeing how has bad day just gets worse and worse.

Emaan

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
This book is a great short read filled with illustrations, humour, friendship and some deeper themes perfect for older kids. It has a range of unique characters and representation of disability and mental health. It was quite young for me so wasn’t as interesting but I liked getting to read it as I’m already a fan of this author.

Aoife

Wolf Siren
I loved this book! I pained for red when everyone seemeed to be against her, celebrated when her grandma came back, shocked as she transformed, cried when aerona died and utterly invested in her story. I love how beth takes a classic fairy tale and puts her own unique twist on it - once I read the author's note at the end the whole thing about red needing to check the path carefully made so much sense. At first, I didn't think that I would enjoy the book that much assuming it was for a younger audience like birdie but it had me gripped after a few chapters and I binge-read 2/3 of the book in ONE day. The setting and charecters are described really well and I like the subtle allusions to red riding hood. Murder, fantasy and magic this book has it all! Beth discussing real world issues such as sterotyping and patriachy in an easy to understand way. The book is carefully crafted and an enjoyable read - 4.01/5 stars. If I had to choose a book I wanted to win it would be this and I will definitely recommend this book to fellow readers

Emaan

Wolf Siren
I loved this book! I pained for Red when everyone seemeed to be against her, celebrated when her grandma came back, shocked as she transformed, cried when Aerona died and was utterly invested in her story. I love how Beth takes a classic fairy tale and puts her own unique twist on it - once I read the author's note at the end the whole thing about red needing to check the path carefully made so much sense. At first, I didn't think that I would enjoy the book that much assuming it was for a younger audience like Birdie but it had me gripped after a few chapters and I binge-read 2/3 of the book in one day. The setting and charecters are described really well and I like the subtle allusions to Red Riding hood. Murder, fantasy and magic this book has it all! Beth discussing real world issues such as sterotyping and patriachy in an easy to understand way. The book is carefully crafted and an enjoyable read - 4.01/5 stars

Emaan

Birdie
Birdie is a heartwarming story of the connection between a girl and a pony. The trust in their relationship is beautiful and inspiring. I find that their reliance on each other emphasises the problems that each of them face- Mr Duke's exploitation as a pit pony and Birdie's experience with being abandoned and facing discrimination. I'm happy for Birdie as she finally gets a family of her own and her pathway to it seemed realistic. However, it almost seems as if Mr Duke is brought back from the dead just to create a happy ever after whereas in reality this is rarely the case. I feel like it would have made the book more memorable and emphasised its meaning if Mr Duke died -not to say that I didnt like Mr Duke; it just adds more emotion to the novel. I also liked the charecter of Mr Walter as well as the use of old english in words like 'thee', which made the book more interesting and really tied in with the context but was still understandable.

Emaan

Birdie
The book Birdie is perfect for anyone who is looking for an enjoyable read as it covers adventure, identity, courage, and suspense which keeps an entertaining rhythm. Birdie’s quick connection with a pit pony when she runs into a mine after being discriminated against gives deep a resemblance to all children who were once misunderstood. Birdie goes on an unimaginable adventure with bullies, friends and daring escapes which makes us adore her defiant nature even more. The changing setting and introduction to new characters kept me hooked and the dramatic turns made this more interesting. The historical language was quite enjoyable, and the context about pit ponies and olden time Britain informed without becoming boring. The ending is uplifting and gave hope for the town of Barrington Dale as well as Birdie’s character. Her resilience and empathy inspired me especially as her character seems to be a young girl who is often troubled and misunderstood. I would have enjoyed it more, however, if the new setting had been more explored, especially since it would not be similar to day-to-day towns with mines and different styled buildings etc. The escape near the end also seemed quite out of character, as, despite her repeated tears, she seemed mature through easy understanding of her situation and the ability to make her own, uninfluenced choices. Despite this, Birdie was an enjoyable read and left me thinking about it long after I had finished.

Meerab

The Boy I Love
A really well written book with beautiful descriptive writing and an enticing love story. I read it in a week and loved it especially the fact that it ended without a happily ever after, realistic to the times it was set in. It not only described the negative opinions of queerness at the time but the story was set in a place where it would of been even harder to hide. I loved the character of Danny and his feelings of having to be positive all the time as to suppress the badness he thought was in him. Hussey wrote the characters perfectly so that i felt the same admiration of Danny's positivity and the same hatred of Beddow's contempt for it.

Florence

Not Going To Plan
I read this whole book very quickly - in a day! It kept me hooked throughout because I always wanted to know what would happen next. It was a very empowering read, too. Although it is not of the theme/genre that I would usually read, I really enjoyed it. I think that the representation of the text in a sort-of poetry style was a very interesting choice. Overall, I would most certainly recommend for all older readers.

Lucia

Ghostlines
The grammar was not very good. ‘And’ was a very common word used, no full stops and commas. But a very good story line! I enjoyed the plot but not the grammar

Etta

Wolf Siren
A wonderful story of fighting for freedom, feminism and some very magical woods. We thought it was an amazing book and it was really easy to feel connected to the characters and their experiences.

Thalia

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
It was a well written book and I really enjoyed the concept of going further and further into the past . It was a nice quick read , it lasted me about 2 days. Overall, a nice book.

Maryam

Twenty Four Seconds from Now
This was a very good and entertaining book. It was written well and had a very good an interesting plot but I think it could go a bit deeper into more personal topics. I read this book within three days which just goes to show how hooked in I was. I think it would be even better if the chapters were a little bit shorter to keep it snappy. I liked how it went back in time throughout.

Phoebe

Not Going To Plan
This was a fun and interesting book, that I really enjoyed reading.

Jalen