Changes

'''Shortlisted books'''

|title=Auslander

|author=Paul Dowswell

|rating=4.5

|summary=A well-researched and pacy WWII thriller about a Polish orphan taken in by a Nazi family because of his Aryan appearance. It's thoughtful and exciting - the perfect combination. Recommended.

}}

|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.

}}

|title=Ostrich Boys

|author=Keith Gray

|rating=5

|summary=A wonderful glimpse into the world of the teenage boy. Warm, funny, heartrending and perfectly plotted, it will steal your heart and a great many awards.

}}

|title=The Ant Colony

|author=Jenny Valentine

|rating=5

|summary=A deeply humane and heartwarming story of mistakes and regrets and how to put them right. Witty, wise and full of unforgettable characters. Jenny Valentine just gets better and better. She was kind enough to be [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Jenny Valentine|interviewed by Bookbag.]]

}}

|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 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=Tales of Terror from the Black Ship

|author=Chris Priestley

|rating=4.5

|summary=Henry James and Edgar Allan Poe eat your heart out. This second volume of macabre tales from Chris Priestley is as chilling as they come. It's very literary horror for children. Super.

}}

Numbers by Rachel Ward

|title=Furnace: Lockdown

|author=Alexander Gordon Smith

|rating=4

|summary=Welcome to the future for the punishment of youth offenders: Furnace -- the borstal from hell. The writing, the story and the characters (especially the bad guys) are fantastic.

}}

''Three Ways to Snog an Alien'' by Graham Joyce

|title=Bloodchild

|author=Tim Bowler

|rating=4.5

|summary=Absorbing fantasy thriller in which a young boy's accident leaves him without memory. Great tension, wonderfully atmospheric, and a nice dollop of the unexplained makes this a must-read.

}}

''Solitaire'' by Bernard Ashley

|title=Exposure

|author=Mal Peet

|rating=5

|summary=More wonderful stuff from Mal Peet in a genre-defying novel of great thematic depth and complexity. Hung around an updating of Othello, it talks about football, homelessness, politics and celebrity culture, and it grabs you from beginning to end.

}}