Lucky old us there are 8 books on the Carnegie short list – which to my mind means it’s not short but medium. My plan, as usual, is to read them all and for once I might actually do it.

One of the contenders this year is Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. I had not read anything about this book before I opened it which is rare for me; being quite nosy, and I am glad that I did not. I think the impact of the book would have been lessened a little if I had prepared myself for it’s content. This, now makes it hard to review as I do not want to give away much of the story as I want you to experience it in the same way I did.

In the criteria of shadowing a book award one always stands out for me – does this book stay with you when you have closed it?
Between Shades of Gray does that. The characters are so real you feel you could almost reach out and touch them and the settings are so vivid that you forget you have not actually physically been to these places.

The book is set during WW2 but not the WW2 that you recognise from so many other fiction books. This story is different and hauntingly so.
I heartily recommend this book to people who enjoy reading powerful books and please don’t read too much about it before you open it. let the book itself work it’s magic on you.