Students at our college have spent the term exploring some of the most talked-about new fiction, thanks to a special reading opportunity led by Librarian Rachel Chávez. The project invited students to sample titles shortlisted for two major literary awards: the established YA Book Prize, now in its 11th year celebrating the best in young adult fiction, and the newly launched New Adult Book Prize, created to spotlight stories that capture the complexities and transitions of early adulthood.
Rachel selected six titles from each shortlist and invited students to choose the books that most intrigued them. Year 12 students Kelly and Marleigh were selected to join the project and together the trio tackled a total of eight shortlisted titles:
This week, the group met to discuss their reading. Their conversation ranged widely – favourite picks and overall impressions to bigger questions raised by the lists themselves. They debated the inclusion of a mid-way-series title on a prize shortlist, the representation of male characters and how male mental health is portrayed. Interestingly, each reader walked away with a different personal favourite (see the picture below). If you haven’t followed these awards, this year’s YA Book Prize winner Songlight by Moira Buffini while the inaugural New Adult Book Prize was awarded to Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan (which was not among the group’s chosen reads). The group felt that Glasgow Boys by Margaret McDonald, winner of this year’s Carnegie Award, was also a very worthy contender for the YA Book Prize.
Both Kelly and Marleigh expressed their appreciation for the chance to explore such a diverse and thought-provoking selection of books – an experience that offered new perspectives and sparked interesting literary discussion. Rachel says, “The introduction of the New Adult Book Award is a welcome development. In recent years, I feel the YA Book Prize has not fully represented the older end of the young adult audience. Whilst there were some titles on the New Adult shortlist I avoided as I didn’t feel they were all appropriate for the current age group, this feels like a much-needed addition. Book prizes are a great way to spark interest in reading and I can’t wait for next year’s awards – and for the British Book Awards in May when we run our most popular Library competition of the year, ‘Win Chocolate With a Guess!’
Rachel, Kelly and Marleigh with their favourite picks