The Backwell School Carnegie Challenge 2019
When a man returns to his childhood home and visits the derelict tree house in which his father once chose to live, he recalls the past unravelling of his family, the unspoken strangeness of their lives, and the impact on his own adult life. Beautiful, sparse and insightful storytelling.
Josiah, Year 7 says:
I thought the book was very well written. It had a great mixture of emotions. Overall I think it was a great book!
An achingly beautiful collection of poems about one week in a secondary school where everything happens all at once. Zooming in across our cast of characters, we share moments that span everything from hoping to make it to the end of the week, facing it, fitting in, finding friends and falling out, to loving lessons, losing it, and worrying, wearing it well and worshipping from afar.
In Everything All At Once, Steven Camden’s poems speak to the kaleidoscope of teen experience and life at secondary school.
‘All together. Same place.
Same walls. Same space.
Every emotion
under the sun
Faith lost. Victories won.
It doesn’t stop. Until the bell.
Now it’s heaven
Now it’s hell.
Who knows?
Not me
I just wrote what I can see
So what’s it about? Here’s my response
It’s about everything
All at once.’
Tommy, Year 7 says:
“It was a nice change reading lots of short poems rather than a massive novel. It’s a shame it was so short as I’d have liked to read more. I liked the rhymes and the verses as well.”
Molly Y8 says:
This book is perfect for secondary school students. It has lots of important issues but they are not always solved, for example Maya being treated as a Muslim. I believe her parents were very harsh not letting her go to Film School. I liked the ending because it proved that you CAN do what you want when it means so much to you.
They think I hurt someone.
But I didn’t. You hear?
Cos people are gonna be telling you
all kinds of lies.
I need you to know the truth.
Joe hasn’t seen his brother for ten years, and it’s for the most brutal of reasons. Ed is on death row.
But now Ed’s execution date has been set, and Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with him, no matter what other people think …
From one-time winner and two-time Carnegie Medal shortlisted author Sarah Crossan, this poignant, stirring, huge-hearted novel asks big questions. What value do you place on life? What can you forgive? And just how do you say goodbye?
Zack Y9 says:
Man! This book is basically emotions on a plate. It’s about the life of Joe Moon and it hasn’t always dealt him a good hand. His brother has been framed for killing and is on Death Row.It sucks back to memories of when Joe was little, and his Mum didn’t care much for him so Ed was his Guardian.
I can’t find any negatives about this book, however I bet you won’t be able to not cry by the end of it.
Riveting Reads 