Leavers' Post

Today is our final post of the year: sadly Mr Parris, Mrs Mackenzie, Mrs Graham, Dr Ruddick, Mr Barile, Miss Leconte and Mr Yao are among those leaving SPS at the end of this term. But they very kindly paused in the middle of their packing up to answer the blog's Leavers' Questionnaire ...

What were you reading when you were a teenager?

Mr Parris: Iain Banks – The Wasp Factory, Irvine Welsh - Trainspotting

Mrs Mackenzie: I went to boarding school at 8. The house bookshelf had a full set of the Encyclopaedia Britannica and a Times Atlas of the World. I loved looking at the atlas - I find maps fascinating - but generally there were slim pickings and I read books that were passed around the house. So, lots of Judy Blume, Jilly Cooper, Danielle Steel and Wilbur Smith. Lace by Shirley Conran came out when I was about 13 and was immediately banned by the Housemistress so of course several copies did the rounds, covered in the dust jacket of something more improving. I don’t recommend that anyone spends any time reading these. 

The first book I remember reading that wasn’t a bodice ripper or a spy novel was Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. It rocked my world and changed my reading habits. 

Carnegie Prize - the winners ...!

Mrs Cummings

Finally! St Paul’s choice for best book has actually won a prize! BookSoc met over lunch on Wednesday to watch the livestream of the awards. To our absolute delight our choice for the Shadower’s Award was won by 

Ruta Sepety’s I must betray you. We all enjoyed this book and think it’s a worthy winner. We would have liked to see it win the main prize, but a prize voted by children from all around the country is definitely something an author values.

The Yoto Carnegie Medal itself was won by Manon Steffan Ros’ The Blue Book of Nebo.

This is the first time in the Carnegie Medal’s nearly 90-year history that the prize has been awarded to a book in translation. Told through the dual narrative of a mother and son in post-apocalyptic Nebo, this 'compelling, conceivable' story explores Welsh identity and culture, and offers a beautiful appreciation of language. The original Welsh publication, Llyfr Glas Nebo, won multiple awards, including the 2019 Wales Book of the Year.

Manon Steffan Ros said, 'I used to see the word Carnegie on the covers of my favourite books as a child, and the fact that The Blue Book of Nebo now has that honour bestowed upon it means more than I can say – and to be the first book in translation to win the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing is a source of great delight. One of the greatest privileges of my life has been the fact that I was raised through the medium of the Welsh language, and having access to two languages has brought me so much joy and opportunity. There’s a huge, lively, thriving Welsh language cultural scene that I’m honoured to be a part of. Each language offers a unique and enriching perspective on the world, and so literature in translation has the potential to enhance our lives greatly. Your favourite book might not yet be translated into a language that you understand.'

There’s an interview with her here.

Although we thought I Must Betray You should have won, The Blue Book of Nebo took equal second place in our voting, alongside the unrewarded The Eternal life of Clara Hart. These books generated a lot (really, a lot!) of discussion and aroused strong feelings for and against. We have plenty of copies in the school libraries so do read them and see what you think.

Thanks to Armaan, Bolang, Louis, Luke, Soren, Theodore, Tiger, Viggo for some great conversations

BookSoc Carnegie Shadower's Medal voting

Mrs Cummings

This week BookSoc met and voted for the Shadower’s Award. This involved a lot of impassioned discussion, a fair amount of agreeing to disagree, but we got there in the end. In time-honoured St Paul’s style, we voted for the book we think should win (the Shadower’s Award) and for the book we think will win. The last had us looking up the judges’ biographies and trying to second-guess their interests and biases.

The Shadower’s Award – St Paul’s vote goes to… 

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys.  This moving novel tells the story of the Christian who is forced to choose between betraying his family and risking everything during the Romanian Revolution of 1989. Aimed at an older reader this book really highlights the hardships of the dictatorship. You can read our review of it here.

 
The scores were…

• I Must Betray You  49
• The Eternal Return of Klara Hart 38
• The Blue Book of Nebo 38
• The Light in Everything 23
• When Shadows Fall 15

The book we think will win was much closer with The Light in Everything and I Must Betray You getting the same score. 

After a run-off between the two books, The Light in Everything just nudged ahead (by 2 votes).  

The Light in Everything is a book about blended families and about learning to trust again. Aimed at a younger reader it is nonetheless a good read for all ages.

 
The announcement of both the Shadower’s Award and the Carnegie Medal for Writing is on the 21st June. We’ll be hoping the right book wins!

When Shadows Fall by Sita Brahmachari, illustrated by Natalie Sirett

Mrs Cummings

Thanks to SPJ exam week only seven of us were available to meet today. The shifty expressions and unwillingness to start a conversation said it all. We really did not like this book!

When shadows fall tells the story of Kai and his friends who spend happy days playing in a patch of wilderness near their homes. Kai's family is hit by a devastating tragedy. As he tries to cope with his own and his family's grief he makes some bad choices and is drawn into a dangerous crowd. He watches his dreams fade until it seems like there is no hope. Can his friends help him back?

Told through a mix of prose and poetry, and with beautiful illustrations, we were all hoping for so much from this book. Sadly, most of us failed to finish it, finding it relentlessly depressing. The author told us the ending at the start of the book so there were no surprises to draw us on. At the same time there is a lot of repetition and we felt the book should have been a lot shorter. Most of the characters felt two-dimensional with the exception being Kai's refugee-survivor friend Om whose story we wanted to see much more of. There is a raven theme which we found clunky and confusing, particularly when they take over the narration. There is a very worthy message about the value of talking about emotions but it felt laboured – 'like an assembly' in one rather pointed comment.

The Carnegie Medal's mission is 'recognizing outstanding reading experiences created through writing and illustration in books for children and young people'. We had four who Did Not Finish and three who forced themselves through, so we have to say no, not this time.

Average score : 4.85

Recommended reading age 13+

If we haven't put you off, it is available on the catalogue here.

The author talk is here.

You can download a chapter free here. 

After half term, we will be voting for the book we think should win the Shadower’s Choice award, and for which book we think will win the Yoto Carnegie medal.

Book of the Week: Carnegie Shortlist (4)

The Blue Book of Nebo by Manon Steffan Ros

Mrs Cummings

Translated from the Welsh by the author this is a slim, eerie novel. It tells the story of Dylan who was six in 2018 when the nuclear bombs fell and the electricity went off for good. Now 14 he lives with his mam in remote North Wales where they have to learn to be self-sufficient and live off the land in order to survive. They find a notebook and use it in turn to record their thoughts and experiences. The reader watches their relationship change as they try to cope with the pressure of their life and realise that each is keeping secrets. 

This book generated so much discussion! Was it too short, or a perfect length? Was it too bleak, or realistic? And what about the ending? We all loved the Welsh setting and the references to Welsh culture which are woven through the story. The librarians were thrilled to see that the correct first response to sudden apocalypse is to get all the self-help books out of the library. The descriptions of The End feel believable and the characters are fully rounded. We were all caught up in their lives and the relationship between Dylan and his mother which forms the core of the story. The isolation and the moral questions they face – is it acceptable to steal if everyone’s dead – drew us in and the descriptions of the landscape are beautiful. 

Some of us loved this spare, thought-provoking story while others would have liked a longer book that explored the background further. Read it yourself and see what you think of the ending.

Score 7.9 out of 10 

Publisher's recommended age range: 13+
Can be reserved on the catalogue here
Author interview is available here. 

Book of the Week - Carnegie Shortlist (3)

The Light in Everything by Katya Balen

Mrs Wilkinson

Last year's winner of the Carnegie Book Awards, Katya Balen, has once again been nominated for the award for her book The Light in Everything. This book is geared at 9 + reading age and is the youngest book in the shortlist. Even though it is geared at a young reader it deals with some tricky issues very sensitively.

Each chapter is told from alternating perspectives: the first is Zofia, a loud and wild girl whose family life consists of her and her dad, while the other is Tom, a quiet fragile boy whose life (and that of his mother) has been turned upside down by his destructive father. Their lives are thrown together as their families join and a new addition to this family helps unite them.

This book challenged our readers' first impressions of Zofia and Tom and we grew in sympathy as we got to know and understand their back story. Some readers liked the back and forth nature of the chapters, some found it frustrating. A difficult book to compare to the other books as it is geared at a much younger audience. Some also liked the origami crane instructions on the end covers although the they were not easy to follow (try our link below!). 

Here are some thoughts from one of this year's Carnegie Shortlist Shadowers, Armaan Motiani (U3), who writes: 'I liked how the author was able to effectively recreate childlike characters in the first person and capture the tone and style of writing of children, and I liked the contrast between the two perspectives, each one giving a different insight and relaying part of the story in their own unique perspectives. Katya Balen has written a relatable and moving book that is definitely suitable for younger audiences, and is still enjoyable for adults in turn. 

The hardships experienced by the characters proves to be a big theme throughout the story, and the importance of family also plays a central role. This book will certainly resonate with anyone who has experienced loss or struggled to find their place in the world, and I give it a solid 8/10. The reason why I personally would knock off a few marks is due to my own individual enjoyment of the book. Overall I find it to be well written and authentic, but I found the childlike perspectives to be a little bit boring, and there was not much action going on besides the personal conflicts of the characters.'

So - you've heard our reviewers' thoughts, and our combined score is 7.35 out of 10. Is Katya Balen successful in conveying children’s emotions and drawing you into their story? If you'd like to make up your own mind, The Light in Everything can be reserved from the library here .

Publisher’s recommended age range: 9=. An interview with the author is available here.

How to fold a paper crane: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC_Szxdqh2Y

Book of the Week: Carnegie Shortlist (2)

The Eternal Return of Clara Hart by Louise Finch
Mrs Cummings

Spence and Anthony have been friends for years. When there is what looks like a tragic accident at Anthony's house party Spence finds himself caught in a time loop. He wakes to the same day and it's clear he has been given a second chance. As he relives the same 24 hours again and again he has to re-evaluate everything he took for granted to break the spell and save Clara.

A hard-hitting coming-of-age novel about toxic masculinity and the value of friendship, this really divided our readers. A couple of people did not finish it and others gave really low scores. At the same time, some of us really enjoyed it and gave it high marks.

The publishers call it 'unflinching' and it is written from the perspective of a disenchanted 18 year old and the language reflects that. Some of our readers found this off-putting and thought it was overdone, others thought it felt realistic and drew them into Spence’s dilemma. There are moments of dark humour and some great characterisation, especially of the young women.

'Boring Groundhog Day' or required reading? You’ll have to read it and decide for yourself.

Our score : 6.7 out of 10.  

The Eternal Return of Clara Hart can be reserved on the catalogue here. Publisher's recommended age range: 13+. Our recommendation: 14+.  There's an interview with the author available here.  

Next week we are discussing Katya Balen's The Light in Everything.