The Winner for the 2009 Booktrust Teenage Prize has been announced:

______________________________   The winning book is The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.   When Bod was a toddler, his entire family was murdered as they slept. Bod escaped into a nearby graveyard where the ghosts and creatures of the graveyard decided to care for him and protect him. As Bod grows up, he is taught about the world as the ghosts understand it. He is taught to Fade, Dreamwalk and cast Fear on people. But he is not allowed to leave the protection of the graveyard. When he does venture out, he finds himself confused about the living and where he himself fits in their society. Will he be able to survive the horrors of the living? ______________________________   Why not order a copy from your local library?..........

 

The other nominated books were:

                   

Auslander by Paul Dowswell

A tense and dramatic story of growing up in Berlin during World War Two. When Piotr’s parents are killed he is taken to an orphanage in Warsaw. But Piotr is a ‘volksdeutscher’ – of German blood with the result that he is adopted by a German family and taken to live at the heart of the Nazi power, in Berlin. How Piotr becomes Peter and adapts to the new life and particularly how he discovers that behind the apparent adulation of Hitler there are many dissenters taking great risks is a thrilling story which also offers fascinating insight into the lives of young Germans during the Second World War.

Ostrich Boys by Keith Gray

A novel that so cleverly, almost miraculously you might say, blends friendship with devastating loss whilst at the same time is filled with humour and warmth that in turn means you cannot fail to be completely drawn in to what is undoubtedly one of the must-reads of the year. Fellow author, Jill Murphy, has to our mind hit the nail on the head when she says: ‘Right from the title Ostrich Boys inhabits the teenage emotional landscape with unerring precision and great sensitivity... It's beautifully plotted... I'm in awe at the intelligence behind the structure, with little pieces of the puzzle slotting into place at just the right moment. I can't think of a word that was wasted’.

The Ant Colony by Jenny Valentine

An irresistible new novel from Jenny Valentine, winner of the Guardian Children's Book Prize with Finding Violet Park. Written with a wonderful lightness of touch, the author manages to weave and interweave the very different lives of a disparate range of characters - 15 year old Sam,10 year old Bohemia and her rather hopeless mother, Steve the landlord and a batty old lady - into a stirring plot that's by turns heartrending and sad but also laced with wit and humour and ultimately an uplifting ending. Quirky but cleverly woven and brilliantly written.

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden by Helen Grant

Pia’s life in the picturesque German town of Bad Münstereifel changes forever the day her grandmother explodes. The unusual circumstances of her grandmother’s death make Pia the subject of local gossip and she is ostracised by her classmates. Befriended by another outcast – Stefan, the two begin to investigate a spate of disappearances amongst young girls in their town. Little do they realise, their detective work will uncover things more horrifying than they ever dared imagine.The vanishing of the girls is juxtaposed with the disintegration of Pia’s home life, as her German father and English mother’s marriage crumbles, increasing her feelings of alienation and confusion.This unusual crime novel is both gripping and haunting, and builds to an unforgettable ending.

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

We were in the square, in the square where I'd run, holding her, carrying her, telling her to stay alive, stay alive till we got safe, till we got to Haven so I could save her - But there weren't no safety, no safety at all, there was just him and his men...Fleeing before a relentless army, Todd has carried a desperately wounded Viola right into the hands of their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss. Immediately separated from Viola and imprisoned, Todd is forced to learn the ways of the Mayor's new order. But what secrets are hiding just outside of town? And where is Viola? Is she even still alive? And who are the mysterious Answer? And then, one day, the bombs begin to explode..."The Ask and the Answer" is a tense, shocking and deeply moving novel of resistance under the most extreme pressure. This is the second title in the "Chaos Walking" trilogy.

All of these books and many more are available to order from your local library or from the library catalogue.

The winner of the 2009 Carnegie Medal is...

Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd.

Set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, Bog Child tells the story of Fergus whose life is thrown into turmoil when he discovers a small body buried in a peat bog.  Fergus tries to make sense of his feelings and his place in his community against the backdrop of the Hunger Strikes and the insistent voice of the bog child that haunts his dreams.

Reserve your copy now from your local library or from the library catalogue  

The shortlist:

                 

Airman by Eoin Colfer

The story of Conor Broekhart, framed and imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit.  Desperate to escape and reclaim the life he has lost there really is only one way out.  It is simple – he must learn to fly.  Unputdownable adventure.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Todd is the last boy in a town of men.  Everyone in Prentisstown has been infected with a virus called the Noise.  Everyone can hear your thoughts and you can hear theirs…and the animals’ too.  One day Todd wanders into the Swamp – and  suddenly the noise stops.  A story of secrets, lies and persecution..and that’s not half of it.

Bog Child by Sioban Dowd

“One inch from the wall of brown turf, he froze.
'There's something here. In the earth. A hand.'”

Fergus is a child of the Troubles in 1980s Northern Ireland.  Out digging peat with his uncle they discover the body of a young girl, murdered centuries before.  The novel tells how Fergus tries to make sense of growing up, the political turmoil that surrounds him and what happened to the bog girl.

Cosmic by Frank Cotterell Boyce

Liam is tall…very tall.  And big…very big.  This is sometimes a good thing and sometimes a bad thing. When you compete with adults to go into space you might well find that big is different from grown up.

Creature of the Night by Kate Thompson

Bobby’s Mum moves the family to a rented house in the countryside.  Bobby is desperate to get back to his old life in the city – there are no thrills in the boring country.  When a neighbour tells Bobby’s Mum that a girl was once murdered in the house Bobby isn’t interested, until strange things start happening…..

Ostrich Boys by Keith Gray

Kenny, Sim and Blake steal their friend’s ashes to give him a proper send off.  It’s what he would have wanted.  What follows is mayhem, police chases and the funniest story you are likely to read this year.  Priceless!

Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooks

Pete Boland was looking forward to a long, hot lazy summer of doing nothing much.  Then an old friend asks to meet up for old times sake or maybe for something more…A frighteningly powerful story of how your life can spiral out of control if you make a wrong turn or take things that you really shouldn’t.

All of these books and many more a available to order from your local library or from the library catalogue.

For information on this year's shortlisted authors see 2009 Award Carnegie Authors.