After months of agonising over the longest long list ever – the new short list has arrived.

The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan

Armed with a suitcase and an old laundry bag filled with clothes, Kasienka and her mother head for England. Life is lonely for Kasienka. At home her mother’s heart is breaking and, at school friends are scarce. But when someone special swims into her life, Kasienka learns that there might be more than one way for her to stay afloat.

A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle

Twelve-year-old Mary O’Hara is the youngest of four generations of strong Irish women. Mary’s mother Scarlett is more than a match for her and her grandmother Emer would be, if she weren’t dying in hospital. Her great-grandmother Tansey is the feistiest of them all – and she’s dead. But then Tansey’s ghost arrives on Mary’s doorstep with a very special mission, to take a midnight road trip back to the past…

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner

A ruthless regime is determined to beat its enemies in a race to the moon. But when his best friend Hector is suddenly taken away, it is up to unlikely hero Standish, his grandfather, and a small band of rebels, to confront and defeat the ever-present oppressive forces of the Motherland.

In Darkness by Nick Lake

In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, Shorty, a teenage boy, is trapped beneath the rubble of a ruined hospital, thirsty, terrified and alone. He has been drawn into the gangster world but he harbours a secret: a flame of revenge and a burning wish to find the twin sister he lost seven years ago. Shorty’s fires burn so bright he forges a link with Toussaint l’Ouverture, the Haitian rebel who led the slave revolt two centuries ago. Together they must face their own darkness and find the strength to survive.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Born with a terrible facial abnormality, shy, bright ten-year-old Auggie Pullman has had countless operations and has been home-schooled by his parents for his whole life. Now, for the first time, Auggie is being sent to a real school, exposing him to the stares and cruelty of the outside world – and he’s dreading it. Through the voices of Auggie, his big sister Via, and his new friends Jack and Summer, Wonder follows Auggie’s journey through his first year at Beecher Prep.

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgewick

A story that spans hundreds of years, Midwinterblood tells the story of Eric and Merle who have loved and lost one another and who have been searching for each other ever since. In the seven different interweaving stories, the two appear as lovers, mother and son, brother and sister, artist and child, as they come close to finding each other before facing the ultimate sacrifice.

A Boy and a Bear in a Boat by Dave Shelton

A boy and a bear go to sea, equipped only with a suitcase, a comic book and a ukulele. They are only travelling a short distance and it really shouldn’t take long. But then their boat encounters ‘unforeseeable anomalies’… Faced with turbulent stormy seas, a terrifying sea monster and the rank remains of The Very Last Sandwich, the odds soon become pitted against our unlikely heroes in the story of a truly memorable friendship.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Only in wartime could a stalwart lass from Manchester strike up a friendship with a Scottish aristocrat, one a pilot, the other a special operations executive, both serving during WWII. It’s not long before they become devoted to each other. But then a vital mission goes wrong, and one of the friends is captured by the Gestapo. Now a prisoner of war, the story begins in “Verity’s” own words, as she writes her account for her captors.

This year Mrs. McBrearty’s S3 class will be joining me in shadowing the awards. If you would like to take part as well just pop in to the library and let me know.

I wonder who will win?