On your marks... get set...

GO!! I've just been sent a longlist of about 80 books that fit the criteria for the North East Teenage Book Awards (Book published in paperback in the last year by UK based authors). The aim of the award is to keep young people reading after the age of 14. Of the 80 books on the list I've only read 4, all of which I've mentioned here before (Number, Zelah Green, Ostrich Boys and The Knife of Never Letting Go). Time for some serious speed reading therefore if I'm going to be able to come up with some suggestions for the shortlist.

I've started off with Stolen by Lucy Christopher and The Poison Garden by Sarah Singleton. Comments to follow when I've read them!

In the Bleak...

I seem to have read some quite 'bleak' books in recent weeks. I picked up a copy of Geraldine Brooks' Year of Wonders in a local second hand book shop. It tells a fictionalised version of how the plague came to the Derbyshire village of Eyam in the 1600s. The characters are all imagined, but the background is very real. The villagers cut themselves off all other settlements to stop the disease from spreading. It's a fascinating book, even if not strictly 'true', and the reader has to look on as the villagers gradually turn on each other in their desperation. My only real cavil with the book is the epilogue, which seemed out of place somehow. I won't give any more than that away.

My second bit of bleakness has been The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, the recent winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize, and now nominated for CILIP's Carnegie Medal. Justifiably I would say... In the world where Todd lives all men can hear the thoughts of other men. Their deepest and desires and most trivial thoughts open for all to listen to. Despite this, Todd gradually realises that all the men he knows are keeping something from him, and that his understanding of the world around him is based upon a huge lie. The Knife of Never Letting Go is a challenging read for young adults. It's a dystopian chilling view of the future. I'm really pleased that I've managed to track down a copy of the newly published sequel The Ask and the Answer. Well done Gateshead libraries for being so quick off the mark!

And finally: Numbers by Rachel Ward. Jem and Spider are streetwise 15-year-olds, excluded from school. On a visit to London they find themselves caught up in a terrorist attack. Problem is, Jem knew it was going to happen, because when she looks in someones eyes she can see the date they will die. I'm still reading this, and enjoying it so far. Strong language (lots of it!) means it definitely a read for older teenagers.

Light and dark

It's interesting to read a light and enjoyable book about what is really quite a dark topic. Zelah Green, Queen of Clean is a 14-year-old girl with obsessive compulsive disorder. She thinks she copes with her 'rituals' quite well (lots of hand washing and avoidance of any germs or dirt). Her stepmother who she lives with has other ideas, and Zelah finds herself packed off to a place that will help her deal with her 'little problem'.

Vanessa Curtis has created a really feisty and likeable character. Other youngsters with mental health issues are introduced - anorexia and self harm among them - but they also are real rounded characters, never stereotyped. There's no definite 'happy ever after' at the end, but Zelah is more positive and is managing her rituals much better. I would say that this is aimed at the lower end of the teenage reading market, perhaps ages 11-14, and as such, this humorous story is probably the best way to deal with a serious subject.

Author, author

We (myself and students at our school) have had the chance to meet two authors in the last couple of weeks. We were really lucky to be offered the chance to host Alan Gibbons in school. Alan is an outstanding children's author, who I've heard speak several times before, but this is the first time he's been at our school. He worked with our Year 9s (age 13-14) and was a real hit. The consensus of opinion is that his 'author talk' was more like stand-up comedy.

Alan's own blog charts his work for the Campaign for the Book - it aims to raise the profile of reading in the UK, and campaign against library cuts and closures. There are lots of interesting links, reports and statistics. Have a read!

I've also taken a small group of students to meet Derek Landy. His first book Skulduggery Pleasant has been popular with students of all ages. Featuring a magical skeleton detective, it's a great fantasty adventure. There are now two sequels, and apparently the series will eventually stretch to nine books, getting progressively darker as the story progresses.

North East Book Award 2009

I've had small groups of the kids I work with involved in this local book award a couple of times before, and we're just about to start the whole process again. It's for students in Year 7 and Y8 at school (so ages 11-13), and schools from across the north east of England can take part.

There are five books on this year's shortlist:

Abela by Berlie Doherty

Reaver's Ransom by Emily Diamand

Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror by Chris Priestly

Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls

Young Samurai - the Way of the Warrior by Chris Bradford

I'd already read Ways to Live Forever before the shortlist came out, and I'm really pleased to see it there. It's the story of Sam, who loves facts and lists, who enjoys spending time with his friend Felix, and who also has leukemia. Sam is dying, but it's certainly not a maudlin book. Sad in parts, but also uplifting, funny and heartwarming without being overly emotional. It's a first novel for Sally Nicholls, and on the strength of it I'm looking forward to her next one.

This weekend I took Abela home to read. It follows the lives of two girls with very different lives. Abela is an AIDS orphan living in Tanzania, Rosa lives in Sheffield with her much-loved mum. Abela needs a family, Rosa and her mum are hoping to adopt, but it's not until the very last couple of pages that all the loose ends are tied up. Abela's story is heartbreaking, but mostly rings very true. It is a tale of AIDs, beareavement, human trafficking and bravery. My only criticism is that there are a couple of 'coincidental' reappearances of minor characters that seem very unlikely. That's only a very slight quibble though. It's a beautiful book and I devoured it in one sitting!

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(Query: which one of these two covers would you go for? The hardback and paperback versions of Abela are very different. I can't quite decide which will appeal to kids the most. I think they'll find the one on the left a bit off-putting and dull, but I wonder if the one on the right will put off the boys. Female protagonists do not necessarily a girls book make!)