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Well, it's a splendid shortlist and we ''know'' that the judges have their work cut out as we would find it difficult to choose a winner.

|title=Chains

|author=Laurie Halse Anderson

|rating=4.5

|summary=Accessible and absorbing story about Isabel, a slave in New York during the American War of Independence. Historically and politically accurate and with a light but realistic touch, it perfectly frames its characters and times. Super stuff.

}}

|title=Fever Crumb (Mortal Engines Quartet Prequel)

|author=Philip Reeve

|summary=

Philip Reeve produced an instant classic with his ''Mortal Engines'' series of books. After a break, he has returned to the astonishing world he created with a story set centuries before the adventures of Tom and Hester and their daughter Wren at the end of the Traction Era. It's fast-paced and intriguing.

}}

|title=Nation

|author=Terry Pratchett

|rating=4.5

|summary=It takes a good few pages to really get going, but Pratchett's first non-Discworld for a while is really rather good once it hits its stride. Lots of things to say about love, religion and power and lots of rooms for laughs too.

}}

|title=Revolver

|author=Marcus Sedgwick

|rating=5

|summary=Densely written and chilling in every sense of the word, ''Revolver'' is a rare little gem for teens and adults alike. Marcus Sedgwick was kind enough to be [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Marcus Sedgwick|interviewed by Bookbag]].

}}

|title=Rowan the Strange

|author=Julie Hearn

|rating=5

|summary= Diagnosed with schizophrenia, a young teenager is sent to a psychiatric hospital at the very start of World War II. It probably goes without saying that this book is very dark, unsurprisingly but shockingly dark. So much so it might be worth chatting to younger children about the themes of this book if they're reading it. I get the distinct feeling that this novel will find itself on the national curriculum suggested texts list before long.

}}

|title=The Ask and the Answer

|author=Patrick Ness

|rating=5

|summary=Riveting second volume in the Chaos Walking series. The breakneck pace belies what is a wonderfully-realised and tremendously subtle dystopian novel about power and control and love and loyalty. I loved it.

}}

|title=The Vanishing of Katharina Linden

|author=Helen Grant

|rating=4

|summary=A thoroughly satisfying and out-of-the ordinary story combining the mystery of disappeared girls with a child living through a family break up. It's elegantly written and has a great deal to offer.

}}

|title=The Graveyard Book

|author=Neil Gaiman

|rating=5

|summary=Utterly, utterly gorgeous fantasy novel about life, death, family and growing up. It combines the charming and macabre and has something for everyone aged eight to eighty-eight. Highly recommended.

}}

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