THS Shadowing

Little Bang
I was really hesitant to start reading this one as I didn't really think the topic was something i would want to read about. But when I actually started reading it I found that I really enjoyed the science snippets and Mel's love of science. I started to really like the Characters and Sid was funny and likeable. The theme of abortion and the debate about it being legal and moral was really interesting and informative and I actually learnt a lot from this book. The ending was interesting and wasn't what I was expecting. Overall I really enjoyed this book unexpectedly, it was thought provoking, interesting and emotional. The title was clever too, I liked that it was a little bang, the creation of a new universe.

Eben

Play
Play is (sadly) my favourite book so far. I genuinely love this book, the characters (although they are stereotypes) act their age to an uncanny degree and I could easily imagine them as real people. They are all flawed to a certain extent: Matt's a pushover, Luc takes after his father in all the wrong ways, Mark is easily swayed by money and Johnny is a chronic risk-taker but they are all decent enough people. The plot points are well paced, things characters do matter and influence their decisions. (Luc's interactions with Sarah being a good example) To top it all off, the themes of toxic masculinity are so naturally baked in you wouldn't even notice you're being preached to. I'm sad this book is so great as the people who need to read it (teenage boys) generally don't read, especially a book this long. You can see the vision so clearly with all the boys being stereotypes as well as being flawed so every person who reads it can find one of them they relate too the most, seeing the flaws in them but knowing they can and do change for the better. But your average "alpha male" couldn't be bothered to read it, it's just infuriating. To sum it up in one sentence: Brilliant, but the people who will actually read it probably won't need it's message.

Alexander

The Final Year
When I first started reading this book, I had to reread the first few pages to get into the writing style, but once I got going I loved it. The book is unusual because its written in lots of poems that connect together to make the story, which was really clever. The main character was written well, he seemed like someone that everyone knows, I really felt like I knew him. It was quite a shocking and emotional read at times the plot seemed to go slightly different to how I thought but similar. I loved that it was a quick read that you still connect with. It didn't have descriptions but I could still picture everything clearly which was very clever. I would recommend this for anyone who finds reading hard, because it was an easy read but with a great plot.

Eben

The Things We Leave Behind
I loved this book, it had a great plot and the way it was put together was really good. The most disturbing thing is that I can see this happening in a few years, it was a dystopian book but very relevant to current times. I also loved and really sympathised with the characters especially Billy. This is the first dystopian book I have read and I found it quite troubling but very exciting to read, it kept me wanting to read to find out more about what happened to the characters. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone that wants to try this genre and likes books with twists.

Eben

Treacle Town
Reading this after most of the other books this year to start with it felt like I was starting to read 'another' variation of a theme. That did ease as I progressed. It felt much grittier even than Play. The mix of Slam and text messages with standard paragraphing helped with engagement. How government should be addressing the need to break the poverty cycle that people are in is an interest of mine anyway so that helps when reading this book. Reading Con's story amplifies the difficulty that the individual has with escaping themselves due to the conflicting influences on them. I'm fairly sure that is why the title is Treacle Town. Adding in the apparent need for revenge and where this ever ends resonates with all the world conflicts. I would like to highlight my noticing Mrs McVitie commenting on the impact on the family of the aggressor being impacted similarly to her. I especially liked that Con called her Mrs McVitie even though the book was set in present time (King not Queen). I did question the era at times. It's a book you feel quite bad about enjoying even though there appears to be hope for Con as there is so little hope generally and especially as the book ends as it does. Quite a straightforward style made the ability to notice the wider picture.

Sarah

All That It Ever Meant
I'm not sure why I struggled with this book. Potentially it was from when the spirit appeared. I guess that is what Meticais seemed to be to me. Why can characters not just remember without descriptions of a 'spirit' that they interact with? I didn't spot the clues leading to the twist about Mati. That may have been through my not enjoying the style and not liking the spirit who was maybe the biggest clue. It felt confusing. I did like understanding about Chichi/Caroline demonstrating the difference the teen years and/or friendships impacts on young people. There was perhaps too much going on. I would have liked more on how immigration impacts on family life and less on seeing animals on safari. Why does there have to be a trauma and the drip feeding of the 'main' story while also travelling around. I'm not sure the trip to Zimbabwe added anything.

Sarah

Glasgow Boys
This was a book I enjoyed from the beginning but I can't say why! The use of both character viewpoints worked well. I related more to Finley through a shared experience of training to be a nurse but I recognised Banjo in students I have taught. The suspense of finding out what went wrong between them was well developed. I felt slightly let down when it was revealed as it wasn't as clear cut as I thought it would be. However on reflection guilt is often an individual feeling that doesn't follow logic. Nor is blame felt in the same depth necessarily. The memory loss of a childhood (friend) was well told. The variety of love we experience and how it impacts us was well described. I was left with an over riding feeling of how society is failing young people with a focus on those in the care system at the heart of that. It will be interesting to hear what younger readers get from the book.

Sarah

Play
I struggled with the start of this book and might have given up if I hadn't been reading it as part of this. There was something about the group activities that I found bewildering. There is a chance that this is because I'm an adult or is it my gender? I think it is unlikely to be the latter as I was a 'tom boy'. However getting beyond that and into the book I became engrossed in the way that being dragged into the drug world could be seen as a 'game' and develop from what had gone before. Having had conversations with students recently about how they think they are too savvy to be groomed I think it is a book that should be read widely. The following repercussions appear too common in life. I liked the variation in narrators changing the viewpoint of how the story develops. There were quite a lot of other life experiences thrown in and I'm not sure they didn't get drowned out. I wanted to know more about some of the women in the background but that was probably an intention that their stories/experiences were secondary. Better than I thought it would be.

Sarah

Treacle Town
At the start of this book I found the slang and language quite hard to understand and I didn't get into the book for a while, I nearly stopped reading. But after a while I really didn't want to stop reading and I really enjoyed it in the end. I really started to like the main character and I really wanted him to escape and achieve what he wanted. I thought it was strange that the writing would change tense, but I did like it and it did make it more emotional and it made you feel like it was his conscience talking to himself. Overall I loved the book though, it was really sad but amazing.

Eben

All That It Ever Meant
This is my least favourite book of the Carnegie awards so far. I just have to say that I didn't like the fact that it randomly drops a bombshell at the end with no indication at all. Overall I found it really hard to read and had to keep stopping when I was reading. I just couldn't connect with the characters and did not like the writing.

Eben

The Things We Leave Behind
This was a great thought provoking book that left me questioning the world around me. There were points throughout reading where I could match certain aspects of the politics to our government today, which I found slightly frightening. Emotionally, I found it quite touching and there were moments throughout where found it hard to comprehend the emotions I was feeling, I did also cry (but only a little bit!). The end was definitely faster moving than the start but I didn’t mind the start because I liked how it described everything so clearly. Despite other opinions, I truly felt in the story, I could vividly imagine what everything looked like. But I think what made me feel so attached was the characters - my favourite character was definitely Billy just because she was so vibrant and lively. Overall I really enjoyed this book and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for an interesting read!

Lily

King of Nothing
King of Nothing is a book I genuinely got excited to read each night. Anton is extremely witty, there were multiple lines I had to read aloud just due to how funny they were, and his almost journey of redemption is handled as realistically as humanly possible. He doesn't immediately warm up to people he finds dorky or stupid (Matthew) instead desperately trying to get them to change, to be more like him. That's how a lot of people act in the real world: "Never say that again" , "Why are you like this?" , "That's just corny." This book highlights how wrong that sentiment is and how damaging it can be in a believable fashion that had me hooked. The book also tackles misogyny and "Alpha male" language head on through Kehinde, one of Anton's friends. Anton constantly describes him talking about the podcasts he watches and about how confusingly wrong he finds them as the book progresses. It's an issue that has been running rampant for a long time online, for so long that people see it more and more (Andrew Tate). I liked that the author put such an emphasis on it throughout without making it feel intrusive. It's a slow, realistic realisation that doesn't sugar-coat how harmful that sort of mindset is. I honestly just think the humour binds it all together though. Humour binds Anton and everyone he cares about together and if it wasn't so funny I don't think it would've hit me as hard as it did.

Alexander

King of Nothing
I liked this book because it showed how popularity isn't as important as being kind and making a difference to peoples lives. The main character really grew throughout the book as he became a better person and this changed how everyone reacted to him. I liked the way the characters developed because it felt like he was influenced at the start to be someone he wasn't and by the end he became a better version of himself. I loved this book, it had a good message and it was very relevant to my age group.

Eben

Play
This book really highlights the dangers of getting drawn into things that you know you aren't meant to do. The book was about drug use and the ending was very emotional. I really loved the character Johnny he was really innocent and he tried to do the right thing, I really connected with him. It was clever how the boys in the book normalised drug use but the writer made it clear it wasn't right. I loved this book because I really loved the character developments, it was a powerful read.

Eben

Glasgow Boys
Glasgow boys is about a pair of boys that are living in temporary foster care together, they are both such clear characters in your head you can easily sympathise with them. I immediately loved and related to the characters and cared so much about them. It is probably the best book I ever read, it is quite heavy though so if that's not your kind of thing don't read it, but if it is you must read it! It was a fantastic book so well written.

Eben

The Final Year
I loved how this book helps you relate to characters and how life can change at any moment. I think the main message is that everyone has a battle there fighting at to not judge a book by its cover as it may surprise you.

Jameela

The Things We Leave Behind
The things we leave behind was great but it was heavier than the 100 tonne weight in a roadrunner sketch. Firstly, I both hated and enjoyed how the author always had you on the ropes, they gave information about what actually happened to Clem but then it turns out that they were making it up to cope with the (much worse) real story. It felt like a gut-punch or more aptly, a gut-sledgehammer. I had to put the book down multiple times because I just had to let what was revealed sink in before continuing. I say this as if it's purely negative but that couldn't be further than my stance on it, everything felt so real because of it. Without those viscerally sad moments you wouldn't be reminded that the book is trying to present a future that could possibly be real. The driving force behind the book (Toby Knight's regime) is just plain scary. It parallels Nazi Germany in more ways than one: dobbing people in for going against really trivial rules, uniting the people under a common enemy (terrorist threats instead of Jews) and the absolute power of the leader. But instead of being in Germany in the early - mid 20th century, its in England set in the time period of now. It really makes you think that this kind of thing could-well happen here. Overall I did enjoy this book but it was hard to read.

Alexander

Glasgow Boys
Glasgow Boys is just really wholesome. It's not without dark character-shaping moments of course but on the whole both Finlay's and Banjo's journeys are really sweet. I really enjoyed the flashback sequences sprinkled throughout showing the slow creep towards friendship the two protagonists experience and even when they are ripped apart I never felt entirely hopeless, always rooting for the pair. The social lives of the two of them are also really realistically written: it's messy, embarrassing, mistakes are made and not always immediately forgiven but again, I was always rooting for them. Themes of substance abuse, attempted suicide and violence are handled in a way that they sink in and I understood what the author was trying to say without making it hard to read or too heavy. Overall, I just adored it, could just be because this is the first one I've read so far but it was just a good time.

Alexander

The Final Year
I don't usually like poetry but this read so easily. The variety of lengths and styles was an asset. I read it in one sitting. The book managed to include a lot of issues of the age group without feeling forced or heavy. The near death experience suggests being grateful for anything less than the worst. Even though they are child issues we face similar through life and the advice of 'every little thing will be alright' is a good philosophy. I was left pondering how the establishment helps people like Nate rise out of their beginnings. A really good read.

Sarah

The Things We Leave Behind
A challenging book to read. Setting it in a recognisable time with politics as it is presently left me feeling uncomfortable. The description of the journey to Scotland reminded me of stories set in ww2 but also of the channel crossings attempted most days. I didn't spot the twist. I found the fiction story in italics irritating and distracting from the main. Very thought provoking.

Sarah

Little Bang
Fascinating insight into opinions in Northern Island being 'behind' those of the mainland. The book expresses well the different impact pregnancy has on the different genders ( or those who are pregnant and their partners.) This may have had a different impact if the social standing of the characters had been reversed. Sid was already disinclined to formal education so 'dropping out'/'stepping up' was less impactful than it would have been if he had been an A* student aiming for Oxbridge. He 'couldn't' sell his guitar, Mel doesn't get so much choice. A good book for young people to read in my opinion.

Sarah

Little Bang
For me little bang was an amazing book that deals with the content brilliantly. It was really good in the sense it ended with the main characters happy again. It deals with abortion brilliantly and even add in some of the history from Ireland. It shows you how other people have felt during different situations that you may have experienced.

Jameela