The Ask and the Answer, sequel to The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness, has just won the Costa Children's Book Award. (Since this is a UK award, the picture is of the UK edition).
Here is the shortlist, chosen by appointed judges (generally a trio of that include an author, a bookseller, and a journalist):
Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd
Troubadour by Mary Hoffman
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
Guantanamo Boy by Anna Perera
I haven't read any of them....I've had a copy of The Ask and the Answer for ages and ages, but the Knife of Never Letting Go upset me so much that I haven't yet found the strength to read its sequel....
I was afraid to read The Ask and The Answer too, but I just had to know what happened! It's upsetting, but not in the same way that The Knife of Never Letting Go was. I didn't cry once while reading it. To give you the teeniest of tiny spoilers, I spent the first half of the book afraid that I was being set up for another Manchee-esque heartache, to the point that my internal flinch distracted me from the story, but Todd's horse doesn't die, I promise.
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