Challenging themes including war, sickness and adversity, run through both
shortlists. Gothic fantasy Tinder begins with its central character,
young soldier Otto, narrowly giving Death the slip, while More Than This
starts with the drowning of its hero, a boy named Seth. Elsewhere in the
Carnegie shortlist, Dylan, the Tourette’s sufferer of When Mr Dog Bites,
believes he faces death in the not-too distant future, and the titular
Buffalo Soldier of Tanya Landman’s novel, an ex-slave now serving in the
post-Civil War US army, feels Death is “so close you can smell his breath.” The
devastation of World War One looms large in Frances Hardinge’s Cuckoo
Song, whilst Geraldine McCaughrean’s The Middle of Nowhere begins
with a child losing her mother to a snake bite in the Australian Outback. Sarah
Crossan’s Apple and Rain sees a young girl called Apple delighted
to be reunited with her estranged mother until she meets Rain, the half-sister
she didn’t know she had. Finally, Elizabeth Laird’s The Fastest Boy in the
World sees the eleven-year-old Solomon facing a marathon run to seek help
for his beloved grandfather.
Wednesday, 15 April 2015
Carnegie Medal
The Carnegie Medal book award shortlist for 2015 has been published.
Challenging themes including war, sickness and adversity, run through both
shortlists. Gothic fantasy Tinder begins with its central character,
young soldier Otto, narrowly giving Death the slip, while More Than This
starts with the drowning of its hero, a boy named Seth. Elsewhere in the
Carnegie shortlist, Dylan, the Tourette’s sufferer of When Mr Dog Bites,
believes he faces death in the not-too distant future, and the titular
Buffalo Soldier of Tanya Landman’s novel, an ex-slave now serving in the
post-Civil War US army, feels Death is “so close you can smell his breath.” The
devastation of World War One looms large in Frances Hardinge’s Cuckoo
Song, whilst Geraldine McCaughrean’s The Middle of Nowhere begins
with a child losing her mother to a snake bite in the Australian Outback. Sarah
Crossan’s Apple and Rain sees a young girl called Apple delighted
to be reunited with her estranged mother until she meets Rain, the half-sister
she didn’t know she had. Finally, Elizabeth Laird’s The Fastest Boy in the
World sees the eleven-year-old Solomon facing a marathon run to seek help
for his beloved grandfather.
Challenging themes including war, sickness and adversity, run through both
shortlists. Gothic fantasy Tinder begins with its central character,
young soldier Otto, narrowly giving Death the slip, while More Than This
starts with the drowning of its hero, a boy named Seth. Elsewhere in the
Carnegie shortlist, Dylan, the Tourette’s sufferer of When Mr Dog Bites,
believes he faces death in the not-too distant future, and the titular
Buffalo Soldier of Tanya Landman’s novel, an ex-slave now serving in the
post-Civil War US army, feels Death is “so close you can smell his breath.” The
devastation of World War One looms large in Frances Hardinge’s Cuckoo
Song, whilst Geraldine McCaughrean’s The Middle of Nowhere begins
with a child losing her mother to a snake bite in the Australian Outback. Sarah
Crossan’s Apple and Rain sees a young girl called Apple delighted
to be reunited with her estranged mother until she meets Rain, the half-sister
she didn’t know she had. Finally, Elizabeth Laird’s The Fastest Boy in the
World sees the eleven-year-old Solomon facing a marathon run to seek help
for his beloved grandfather.
