A huge Congratulations to CLIP CARNEGIE WINNER...

Sarah Crossan!

We are delighted that Sarah's marvellous book 'One' took home the Carnegie Medal on Monday!

Congratulations, Sarah! 

Also, a big Space on the Bookshelf congratulations to all of the shortlisted authors, we loved reading your books.

Carnegie 2016 Shadowing: Review - One - Sarah Crossan

Spring time is here, and that means it's the season for awards, most notably the CLIP Carnegie Award, and so we commence our annual shadowing of the shortlist.

Our first Carnegie shortlist reviews is the adptly name ONE by Sarah Crossan. I’ve been a fan of Sarah Crossan’s work since I reviewed ‘The Weight of Water’ for our 2013 Carnegie coverage [to read press here]. I’m not the only one, as she made it on to the Carnegie shortlist again this year with Apple and Rain which Claire reviewed a few weeks ago [press here to read].

One of the things I love about Sarah’s work is that she tells her story through verse, initially I was concerned that it may make the novels stodgy and difficult to read but I could not be more wrong. As the poems are short they minimise description therefore getting to the action, story and emotional heart of book without long wordy passages making them easy to read.  Each poem tells an extract of the story, together building up to deliver the whole story. Using this unique form of storytelling, Sarah Crossan tackles subjects which become dark and gritty in a little and engaging way.

Sarah’s latest book, ‘One’ is told in this way, it brings you into the mind of teenager Grace, displaying her insecurities and all her teenage anxieties  as she deals with her complicated family life and her twin sister Tippi. Being sisters and twins, Grace and Tippi have a strong bond, they have all the issues any other siblings face, and a good few more besides as they are conjoined. One, shows Graces inner feelings as she and Tippi venture to school for the first time, and as her family’s situation spirals when her mum is made redundant, and with medical bills piling up her Dads drinking problem worsens, even their younger sister Dragon has to work.

Seeing her family struggle, Grace persuades Tippi to allow a journalist to make a documentary about them, but as the camera’s begin to roll Graces secret is unveiled, and her health begins to fail, jeopardising both her and Tippi’s life.

One, is a moving story, it depicts the complications that life brings being conjoined, but it also explores the themes of family, love and individuality.

One – Sarah Crossan Review by Adult and Child

Adult Review

I’ve been a fan of Sarah Crossan’s work since I reviewed ‘The Weight of Water’ for our 2013 Carnegie coverage [to read press here]. I’m not the only one, as she made it on to the Carnegie shortlist again this year with Apple and Rain which Claire reviewed a few weeks ago [press here to read].

One of the things I love about Sarah’s work is that she tells her story through verse, initially I was concerned that it may make the novels stodgy and difficult to read but I could not be more wrong. As the poems are short they minimise description therefore getting to the action, story and emotional heart of book without long wordy passages making them easy to read.  Each poem tells an extract of the story, together building up to deliver the whole story. Using this unique form of storytelling, Sarah Crossan tackles subjects which become dark and gritty in a little and engaging way.

Sarah’s latest book, ‘One’ is told in this way, it brings you into the mind of teenager Grace, displaying her insecurities and all her teenage anxieties  as she deals with her complicated family life and her twin sister Tippi. Being sisters and twins, Grace and Tippi have a strong bond, they have all the issues any other siblings face, and a good few more besides as they are conjoined. One, shows Graces inner feelings as she and Tippi venture to school for the first time, and as her family’s situation spirals when her mum is made redundant, and with medical bills piling up her Dads drinking problem worsens, even their younger sister Dragon has to work.

Seeing her family struggle, Grace persuades Tippi to allow a journalist to make a documentary about them, but as the camera’s begin to roll Graces secret is unveiled, and her health begins to fail, jeopardising both her and Tippi’s life.

One, is a moving story, it depicts the complications that life brings being conjoined, but it also explores the themes of family, love and individuality. 

  

Child Review by Gigi aged 13

One is about a pair of ischiopagus tripus (sharing the same legs and torso) conjoined twins. They are called Tippi and Grace and the book is about they way they live together and how people are prejudiced to conjoined twins. One of the most significant thing about One is the sisters’ constant struggle to be individuals. They are always thought of as one and this book shows you what this must be like. Then when Grace develops heart problems they have a choice to make. Be separated and risk death, or don’t and know that it is definitely coming. At the same time they are also adapting to school and their lives are being filmed to make a documentary. But this book also touches on other issues and areas of discrimination such as HIV and anorexia. It gives you an inside view of how people live with these conditions and what their lives are really like.

One of my favourite things about One is the way that it is written. It is in first person in Grace’s point of view but is written in a way that is set out like poetry and each chapter is a different poem but yet it is not quite poetry. But poetry always makes you feel and it is the same with this book. It was compelling and I read it in one sitting. It is bittersweet in many parts but this just adds to the effect of the ‘almost poems’.

One is an amazing book and I would recommend it to everyone of about year seven and above. I love the way it is set out and the fact that it draws you in and makes you feel like you are there, so that you have to keep reading even while you're eating pasta at the supper table. Sarah Crossan is becoming one of my favourite authors, as I also love Apple and Rain, but this new book is even better.

Apple and Rain - Carnegie Medal - Review

"A story about sad endings. 

A story about happy beginnings.  

A story to make you realise who is special.”

   Apple and Rain is an utterly absorbing book about thirteen year old Apple, who lives with her grandmother. She has some problems that are typical of a child of her age - a rocky friendship, an annoying neighbour and a crush on an older boy who doesn’t know she exists. But she’s also affected by much deeper issues - her grandmother is extremely overprotective, her relationship with her father is rocky, and her mother abandoned her to run off to America. Apple isn’t even sure if her only memory of her is real. And then comes the thing she always thought she wanted - her mother returns.

   A few chapters into the story, we have a set of familiar ingredients for an angsty-YA novel. Yet already this book is pulling us in deeper and faster than its synopsis might suggest; it is much, much more than the sum of its parts. Partly this is achieved by Sarah Crossan’s writing, which is deceptively, and beautifully, simple. And partly it is due to Apple herself, whose responses to the escalating turmoil of her mother’s return have us cheering for her and fearing for her in equal measure.   

  The cast of supporting characters also increase the depth and impact of this story. Apple’s flighty parents, dependable grandmother, easily-led school friend and unobtainable crush all go way beyond the cliched stock characters that we might initially expect. And there are three other supporting characters who quickly became my favourites. Del, Apple’s quirky neighbour, is a wonderful revelation. He begins as comic relief, but ends up bringing so much more to the story. Apple’s inspiring English teacher introduces the major theme of the truth and meaning to be found, and revealed, in poetry. Through his nurture of her burgeoning talent, Apple discovers Emily Dickinson’s  “Tell all the truth but tell it slant”, which is at much of the heart of this novel. And finally, the eponymous Rain. The heart wrenching heart-of-the-novel, Rain. But saying any more than that would be a spoiler, so I won’t. 

It is difficult to write about Apple and Rain without making it sound like a book that is purely for teenagers. But it isn’t. I cannot recommend it highly enough, for adults as well as teens and tweens. It is recommended for ages 11+ and Sarah Crossan deals with Apple’s considerable difficulties with sensitivity and a really light touch, so tweens really will find it accessible. There is none of the cynical, controversial content that some YA books seem to revel in, and this, if anything, helps it pack a bigger emotional punch.  

Apple and Rain is a slim book and a fast read. But it’s a story to return to: I read it it one sitting, then, ignoring the pile of other books needing my attention, immediately flipped to the front and started over. It contains universal truths about the different kinds of love, revealed through one of the most interesting young protagonists I’ve read about this year. Sarah Crossan has been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal before, and I hope that this time she wins it. Though, if not, her next novel, One, is released in August of this year; you won’t be surprised to hear that I’ve pre-ordered it.

Sarah Crossan - Book in Every Stocking

Today's Book in Every Stocking letter comes from Sarah Crossan, author of Carnegie short-listed 'The Weight of Water', and 'Breathe'. Press here to see our review of the Weight of Water.

Thanks Sarah for taking the time to join our campaign and writing to Santa. Sarah's books are also out and stocking ready too!

Please come back and check out the the other book stocking filler suggestions!

If you want to join the campaign, please tweet using the hashtag #BookinEveryStocking2013.

Or if you have Stocking suggestion do write a letter to Santa and e-mail it to us at SpaceOnTheBookshelf@yahoo.com and we'll try and post it on the blog.

Carnegie Shortlist Review - The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan

The Weight of Water, is a book of verse, but it is also a novel. Despite its title and concept; a novel where the story arc and plot delivered entirely through poems, it is not a heavy read. That is also not to say that it doesn’t deal with weighty meaty issues, because it does in buckets; immigration, separation, broken families, bullying, poverty, but it deals with it all in a way that seems like a breath of fresh air, it has a lightness and freshness that makes it a delightful reading experience.

Sarah Crossan has crafted a book which strips the story down to the bare bones, telling only what is required to deliver the story across without fancy trimmings and flowery words. The frugal word count tells the tale in the voice of polish immigrant Kassienka, who is dragged from home to Coventry in search of her father who walked out on her and her mother. Kassienka or Cassie to the English who can't pronounce her name, life becomes increasingly complicated at school and home, as whilst she is bullied, gets closer to a boy at school, and finds her allusive father, and deals with her fragile mother whose unravelling at the seems.

The story is poignant, emotional, and deal with issues every child and adult can relate to, bulling, broken families, the confusion brought on by newly awoken feelings during the tender pubescent years. The beauty of this book is it’s unique writing, utilizing verse, Crossan has produced a book that could have been a gritty grim, heavy read. Instead just as Kassienka finds sanctuary in the water ‘the Weight of water’ is like floating in Kassienka’s world, secretly listening to her thoughts, sharing her struggles, and letting her endearing naive outlook on life wash over you. Sharing Kassienka world is easy despite it’s challenging topics, and it’s tender gentle ending will leave you smiling. 

Mini - One Question Interview with Sarah Crossan: 

Q - What is your Favourite thing about your book The Weight of Water?

A - My favourite thing about The Weight of Water is the verse format. It was a risk writing it in that way, but I feel that it paid off because Kasienka's voice is totally true to how I imagined her. My favourite chapter in the novel is 'Kenilworth Castle' because I really do love the place—it's so romantic! 

If you want to win a copy of The Weight of Water along with several other shortlisted books, just email us at SpaceOnTheBookshelf@yahoo.com with your name and address, and Carnegie in the title bar.

Good luck!