Bibliophiles from across the school are reading this year’s Carnegie Medal shortlist. The Carnegie Shadowing book  group meets once or twice a week and discusses the eight books being considered for this year’s prize (awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) . A Balloon debate will be held and there is always fierce debate about the different books.

The eight books on this year’s medal shortlist  are:

My Name is Mina by David Almond

Small Change for Stuart by Lyssa Evans, The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett

Everybody Jam by Ali Lewis, Trash by Andy Mulligan,A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

My Sister lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher and Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Librarian, Mrs Cardnell, said “We are very excited by this year’s shortlist and some of the group made a good start in reading them over the Easter holidays.  But there’s still plenty of time to join us now we’re back at school.  You’re not under pressure to read all the books although if you do, it helps give a better overview and fuller discussion.  This is our eleventh year of shadowing and the discussions are always lively and enthusiastic as people champion their own favourites.  If you need any added incentive, we also eat a lot of biscuits too!  We vote just before the winner is announced and last year the group’s choice agreed with the national judges.   So I‘m looking forward to see if we will agree with the judges choice, announced on the 14th June, this time as well.”

Lucy from Year 8 said “This has been really exciting trying to get to grips with the books.  It’s very varied but luckily they’re great to read.  It’s like having a biscuit literary lunch when we munch away and exchange our views and swap the books.  It’s too early to know yet who might be the winner.”