Our Carnegie 2012 review list

We've been blogging about the most recent Carnegie medal longlist and our following of it. Here's our look back on what we read from the 2012 nomination and short lists. Links are provided for titles that we have reviewed. The Carnegie medal is awarded to a writer who has written an outstanding book for children.

Shortlist:
A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness (winner)
My Name Is Mina - David Almond
My Sister Lives On the Mantelpiece - Annabel Pitcher
Between Shades of Gray - Ruta Sepetys (M's review , Little M's review)

Nominations:
Flip - Martyn Bedford
Sky Hawk - Gill Lewis
One Dog and His Boy - Eva Ibbotson (loved but not reviewed)
Shadow - Michael Morpurgo (loved but not reviewed)


What titles did you read?

A Monster Calls - M's Review

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

 

A Monster Calls is about thirteen year old Conor whose divorced mother has terminal cancer. He has to sort a lot of things out for himself, there are bullies at school, and he has a controlling grandmother. On top of all this, Conor has a recurring nightmare but one night this is replaced by a new (but slightly less awful) nightmare. In this nightmare, a huge monster comes to him in the guise of a walking tree. The ‘Monster’ says there are four stories to be told before he can go away. 



A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness

Despite all the rave reviews, A Monster Calls didn’t appeal to either of us. We didn’t like the cover and we didn’t like the premise. And then it won the 2012 Carnegie medal. It still didn’t appeal to us but then Walker republished it with a different cover (the one pictured) and I thought we should give it a go.

I’m glad I did. I bought it and read it in one go. It was beautifully and cleverly written. From pretty much the start right through to the finish, this is a poignant read with quite a few chokers in it (however, the premise  does lend itself to tears so perhaps there is some borderline sentimentalism and some readers may find it a bit cloying). For me, I think that one of the charms of good middle grade fiction is that there are multiple layers so that the stories usually offer an innocence that is almost light-hearted but offers older readers poignant depth.

While this novel is very much about a young teenager having to deal with the implicit issues of living with a single mother who is battling with terminal cancer, the little issues about making mistakes, true friends, living with family and facing up to fears also come into play. Conor is a wonderful character from the very first pages. The ‘Monster’ and the telling of Four Stories provide a fairytale structure for the novel which didn’t appeal to me at first but might appeal to young readers or fantasy fans. And it does work quite well (some people will say it works beautifully). My two favourite paragraphs in the book are: an early one about what a grandmother should look like and how she should behave, and a later one featuring a note that Conor’s friend Lily sends to him.

I can see why this novel won the Carnegie. Like RJ Palacio's Wonder, this novel will appeal to young and old alike.

 

Publication details:

2012 edition, Walker, London, paperback

 

This copy: our own

Review - Between Shades of Gray

Between Shades of Gray (Ruta Sepetys)

Between Shades of Gray - Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray tells the story of a Lithuanian family who are deported to Siberia and imprisoned as worker slaves in the Soviet’s gulag system of prisons. The tale is narrated through the eyes of sixteen year old Lina who is seized along with her mother and brother one day.

The stand out feature of this novel is its subject matter. Set during World War II, the novel draws on extensive historical research by the author, Ruta Sepetys, whose family are from Lithuania. The book trailer is very informative and moving, and well worth watching too.  Tissues needed.

Little M read this book at a pace and loved it (you can read her review and watch the trailer here). But I found it somewhat slower and in the first part of the book, the sentimental tone jarred with the subject matter at times. However, the tone is deceptive and softens what is happening, lulling you into a false sense of security – in much the same way that some of the characters in the story are lulled. But from chapter 27 onwards, the horrors that occur stand up starkly against the softer tone that prevails in the early sections.

Sepetys uses flashbacks that have a particular poignancy when her memory recalls make Lina realise that the clues to current events had been there for her to see.  But for an innocent child, she just didn’t know that she should be looking for them.

The role of art and books in this novel works as beautifully and powerfully as it did in other children’s and young adults novels like Once by Morris Gleitzman and the Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Between Shades of Gray joins these novels as stark reminders of a double-edged sword: how words and pictures can seal a terrible fate yet also be a source of great comfort and hope.

In addition to the horrors of wartime incarceration, Sepetys’ explores the human capacity for love – love between friends, between family, and potential lovers too. And for hope.

A cold shiver ran through me as I wrote this review and there was a sharp pricking at the corner of my eyes. I think this story might stay with me forever.

The first section is titled Thieves and Prostitutes - but don't worry; there isn't any. But the last two sections of the book do deal sensitively with sexual abuse. There are also many brief moments of shocking violence. None of this is overly graphic and never gratuitous. Appropriate for mature readers who can cope with the tragedies of our social and political histories. Verdict - a superb young adult read.

Between Shades of Gray has been shortlisted for the 2012 Carnegie medal.

Publication details:

2011, Puffin, London, paperback

This copy: our own