CILIP Carnegie 2017 Round Up & Predictions!

Every year here at SOTB we shadow the CILIP Carnegie shortlist and endeavour to predict the winner. More often than not we get it right, but it is always a tough call, as the calibre of the books is so high. This year is no exception, the short list has been full of powerful read, written by some of the most talented and established wordsmiths, with story than span genres and vary in tone from funny to tragic. With any more ado, here is our round up and predictions…

'The Bone Sparrow' by Zana Fraillon is an engaging, empathetic, enlightening and harrowing; in short it is a work of poignant beauty that shines a light on a very contemporary humanitarian crisis: refugee camps. Told from the perspective of Subhi – or ID-DAR-1, who was born and raised on the camp, as he navigates through the dangers of life camp and from the eyes of a Jimmie a girl from the other side of the fence whose curiously takes her in the belly of the camp. The Bone Sparrow, shows the hardships, indignities and dangers of life within refugee camps, whilst interweaving a deeper fabric of tales creating a rich, multi-facetted unique tale about hope. I think The Bone Sparrow with its endorsement from Amnesty International, it hits the zeitgeist and has a real chance of taking home the medal.

‘Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth’ by Frank Cottrell Boyce is a rare gem that brings brilliant humour to the story of a homeless boy who befriends an alien dog and they join forces to save the world. Humorous books are a rare sight on the Carnegie shortlist. That in itself tells just how wonderfully brilliant and compassionate Frank’s writing is – and how difficult it is to approach big subjects with humour and to write a properly funny book. It might also make you feel differently about how aliens visiting Earth might look, but that’s another matter.

‘The Smell of Other People’s Houses’ by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock is a beautiful read. We get drawn into the separate journeys of four narrators. As they all work towards finding their place and understanding in the world, so the stories also start to connect in a very satisfying way. Well-observed, complex, and a heartfelt read about a group of likeable teenagers who are suffering, but find ways to pull through, this is a triumph of lyrical writing that helps us connect with big issues, small things that are important, and lives that feel very real.

Ruta Sepetys ‘Salt to the Sea’ is a triumph, set in the last days of WWII, it is told by multiple the perspectives of four young people, all in first person, all with distinct unique voices that effortlessly fit together to drive the plot forward. The four protagonists gradually meet and with each interaction their fate is cemented as the endure all the atrocities that the war can hurl at them, until finally they are all aboard the ill-fated Wilheim Gustloff that sets off across the frozen waters, massively over capacity with too few lifeboat. When the ship goes down, their secrets unveil along with their fates.

‘Beck’ by Mal Peet and Meg Rosoff bring together two powerhouses of YA writing and comes up with a commanding story about a young man who never gives up. It is big in every way – emotional, heart-wrenching and harrowing. Beck suffers abuse from almost everyone who should be helping him. But the sensitive writing draws us right into his story and we start to share Beck’s unswerving belief that however far he must journey, whatever deprivations he might suffer, that he should never give up believing that he will find a place in the world. This might win for not only being a remarkable collaboration, but previous winner, Mal Peet’s, final book.

‘Railhead’ by Philip Reeve is a wonder of imagination, taking you to a truly unique universe where not only humans, but trains, insects, and robots, have intelligent life. Small-time crook, Zen, is recruited by a mysterious figure to steal a work of art, but he and is soon swept up in huge issues about the nature of what we are told of the truth of what surrounds us. A powerful and page-turning novel with engaging and believable characters and sublime and exciting world-building. And a page-turning plot. What more could you want? Sci-fi books for children are rare – sci-fi books for children that are this good should be cherished. Cherish. It really deserves to win.

‘Wolf Hollow’ by Lauren Wolk. Betty was a favourite ‘baddie’ character in this year’s list – a great demonstration of how appearances can be deceptive. Main character, Annabelle, is a great opposite foil for Betty, determined to stand up for wrongly-accused Toby and bring Betty’s true nature into the light and expose her all too easy to believe lies. A clever, manipulative and morally complex story. It may just have the edge for being all these things, plus successfully travelling that narrow path of also being suitable for a younger age group.

Lastly, Glenda Millard’s ‘the stars at oktober bend’ is a touching and brave book, again in multi aspect told from two very different yet complementing voices, a story of falling in love and overcoming tragedy. the stars at oktober bend’ is where four years previously, the twelve year old Alice Nightingale’s, life changed forever. Attacked and left with fault wiring, speech difficulties and fits, she lives her life is a state of forever twelveness, and she dreams of a better future that transcends her twelveness. Alice’s dreams come true when she meets and falls in love with Manny, a boy who’s trying to outrun his tragic past in a new country not plagued by war. The two heal one another and just as the begin to outrun the past, it raises it’s vindictive head, along with floodwaters that come thick and fast threatening to wash away any hopes for a future.


2017 is yet again another crop of incredible books; with strong voices and characters real enough you can almost touch them. As with every year, it is difficult to pick just one book that standout above the rest. Personally, all the book I read, were so strong that I could not pick one above the other, however Nicki has circled out Philip Reeve’s ‘Railhead’ as a worthy winner. So it is our official SOTB prediction that ‘Philip Reeve will be taking home the medal! Good luck to everyone on the list, and we all wait with baited breath for the announcement on Monday!