The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan

Synopsis: Kasienka and her mother arrive in England, immigrants without any friends and completely self-reliant. As Kasienka starts a new school, she has never felt more alone. But then someone swims into her life and things don't seem quite so bad anymore...

My thoughts and opinions by PetrovaFossil: I found this book inspiring. The language used and the way that it was very cleverly told in verse made me realise how hard migrating to another country can be - especially when the reason that you've done it seems to be non-existent. I read this book very quickly: I just could not put it down!

Rating: 8 ½ /10

A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle

Synopsis: The story is about four generations of women in one family - a teenager, mother, grandmother and (ghostly) great-grandmother - who help each other to cope with life, love and loss. Although 'they have lived through different times', site member Valentine thought that 'the witty dialogue captures the family similarities'. AggieDoodle says it is in many ways a ghost story, but at the same time it is so moving that RedBadger says 'at some points I felt like laughing and crying'. ButterflyRainbow summed up the book by saying it produced 'howls of laughter and drops of tears', while Zahra from Stockport Grammar Book Club simply saysit is 'a short and sweet story that does much more than the words written on the page'.

My thoughts and opinions by PetrovaFossil (aged 12): This book was all about a midnight adventure with a ghost! The plot was similar to books that I'd read before with a twist. The book is aimed at 11 year olds and you can easily tell that by the language used - in places not very adventurous. However, saying all that, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to those slightly younger than me.

Rating: 9 ½ /10

Listen to a podcast about A Greyhound of a Girl with Roddy Doyle here.

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardener

Synopsis: Maggot Moon follows Standish Treadwell, a 15-year-old dyslexic boy living in a dystopian, alternative 1950s England. Standish is bullied at school by both pupils and teachers, but he may be the only person capable of bringing down the Motherland. Site member SophieScribe argues that although 'at first this seems like a simple dystopian novel, ... on closer reading it is so much more. It is a story of friendship and extraordinary achievements; it's about loyalty in the face of danger and a desire to expose the truth'. However, Lydia was more ambivalent: 'It definitely had me hooked but also a little confused' - the story was 'interesting' and she did recommend it, though she admitted 'I was a little befuddled'.

My thoughts and opinions by Petrova Fossil: This book was confusing. He talks about Motherland being the rulers of the capital but you are never sure who or what this is. Some people would probably think that it's used for effect but it was very confusing. Standish lives in zone seven but you don't know what the zones are and whether houses are to do with money or how loyal you are to the capital. This made it very hard for me to fully understand the majority of the book. It was a good plot idea but I think the author just needed to go back and just write a couple more paragraphs properly explaining this.

Rating: 6/10

Read an extract from Maggot Moon here.

In Darkness by Nick Lake

Synopsis: Set in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, In Darkness follows 15 year old Shorty, a boy from the slums, on an eye-opening trip through a war-torn and disaster-wrecked country as he searches for his missing sister. At the same time, we also dive into Shorty's imagination as he dreams every night of Toussaint l'Ouverture, a slave turned revolutionary, who 200 years earlier overthrew French control and created a free Haiti. In Darkness is, according to Patrick Ness, a 'serious, nuanced, challenging novel'.

My thoughts and opinions by PetrovaFossil: In this book, I fail to see what the connection is between Shorty and Toussaint l'Ouverture. Toussaint's chapters I did not feel added anything to the book. The book was once again confusing and the plot idea was also good, but I did not feel that it was conveyed in the right way.

Rating: 5/10

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Synopsis: Wonder follows Auggie, a boy with a severe facial deformity, and his experiences on his first days of school: staring, bullying, people avoiding him. Told from many points of view, we see not only how people respond negatively to Auggie, but also how eventually he does find some true friends. Miss Katniss argues that much of the book's merit is that the experience of alienation can relate to anyone. Isaac260 said it was not just a simply sob-story: 'You don't feel pity for him and you're not meant to, you just feel so proud for him because he will never give up'. 'It was a disturbing read,' warns SophieScribe, even with an uplifting ending, and HorseLover3000 said it was 'just not my cup of tea'. But Tjala sees a message that is worth reading for: 'the book has an emphasis on treating people for who they are on the inside, not the outside'.

My thoughts and opinions by PetrovaFossil: Wonder is a heart-warming story about a shy young boy who is everyday faced with prejudice and unkindness. It shows us what it would be like to live with a disability and how mean people can be when they are not sure about someone - how quick they jump to conclusions - when they are not sure or confused.

Rating: 10/10

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

Synopsis: This is the story of Eric and Merle, who met and fell in love over 100 years ago, and we follow their relationship through all its incarnations: lovers, mother and son, brother and sister. With a good handful of gothic and vampires through in!

My thoughts and opinions by PetrovaFossil: This book is all about a couple who live seven lives and love each other in each one. It is essentially a love story but also incorporates horror and adventure. This plot idea is unusual - making the book slightly weird but altogether a good plot.

Rating: 9/10

Read an extract from Midwinterblood and Marcus Sedgwick's interview with site member Patrick

A Boy and a Bear in a Boat by Dave Shelton

Synopsis: What essential items do you need for a trip at sea? A suitcase, a comic book and a ukelele of course! Waylaid by 'unforseeable anomalies', a boy and a bear must negotiate stormy seas, pirates, a vicious sea monster and a disgusting bit of The Very Last Sandwich... Site member Valentine describes the book as 'side-splittingly funny', but underneath all the humour, Zahra from the Stockport Grammar Book Club sees much deeper meaning: 'Between the lines of this book, is a metaphor for the circumstances in which we find ourselves, spending time with people we don't like and rubbing along and not knowing what lies over the horizon'. Sapphirebooklover simply said, 'It ticked all the boxes, FOR EVERYTHING!'

My thoughts and opinions by PetrovaFossil: This book is for younger children. It has a simple plot idea and rambles on a bit at times. I found this book quite boring as the language was not very adventurous and the plot idea was very basic.

Rating: 5 ½ /10

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Synopsis: Set during the second world war, Code Name Verity follows two women - a pilot and an interrogator - as they become unlikely friends. But when the interrogator is caught in Nazi Germany, she agrees to comply in order to avoid torture and writes a report on the British war effort: starting with her best friend Maddie. HorseLover3000 said that when she started the book 'I don't think I realised just how deeply it was going to strike, and how much of a compelling story it is'. Yet although the book is hard-hitting, Aiman.A argued that it is quite subtle in places: 'if a book about a tortured girl suffering in captivity, can make you, at times, laugh out loud, it has to be a stunning novel'.

My thoughts and opinions by PetrovaFossil: This plot line was maybe not the most imaginative but worked very well and I personally love stories set in the second world war so this was definitely my kind of book. The only thing that I would say is that sometimes it was a bit vague and confusing.

Conclusion and comparison by Petrova Fossil

I really enjoyed reading the Carnegie shortlist and it introduced me to a variety of new authors and kinds of books. There were a huge variety of plot lines and different books were for different age groups. It was very amusing to read them all and compare them - and see how different people in my school reading group read different books and had different opinions of them. If you have read any or all of the books, what was your favourite?

Personally, I think that Wonder should have won as I think the author uses the best language, the plot line is very good, and the emotions and feelings displayed by the main character warm your heart.

For me, it was very interesting to find out about all of the books and read them and rate them out of 10. Next year, I am definitely going to do it again!