Together our group have been reading and reviewing eight short-listed books, some quite gritty and often covering hard-hitting topics. We were also lucky to have Heather Davey, one of the twelve Carnegie judges, visit and share with us all about the judging process. We heard how the short-listed books are chosen from dozens of titles. We were in awe to hear that yes, they do have to read every single one and some several times over!

We then, along with all the other shadowing groups across the country, voted for our favourites – overall, our group voted for The King of Nothing by Nathanael Lessore, an enjoyable and often funny book about peer pressure and how kindness ultimately wins through. We were excited to hear the announcement on 19 June and were very happy that the Shadower’s choice 2025 medal was awarded to ………… The King of Nothing our favourite book!  The Carnegie judges awarded their medal to Glasgow Boys by Margaret Macdonald, the youngest ever Carnegie-winning author at 27 years old.