The shadowing scheme is all about encouraging young people to read and enjoy the very best in children's publishing, through the shortlists selected by children's librarians. It is about debate and dialogue on children's literature - and a grand sense of occasion.

The Sacred Heart Language College shadowing group took part in this event for the eighteenth year running. There were 30 girls chosen from Year 8 plus 8 members of staff who undertook to read the eight shortlisted books (one a week!) and decide who they thought the winner should be. The group met every week to discuss the books they had read and to award points, based on plot, characters and interest.

At the end of the eight weeks our winner was chosen. On Wednesday 16th June, we met together to find out who the Winner of the Carnegie Medal was and who was our winner, to see if we agreed with the judges. This year we were very surprised that the real winner was our least favourite book overall. We celebrated the end of our reading journey together with pizza and ice-creams.

We voted for 'The Fountains of Silence' by Ruta Sepetys, a well-researched, beautifully layered story set in Spain under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

The Winner of the Carnegie Medal was 'Look Both Ways' by Jason Reynolds, an ingenious frame story  made up of ten short stories which take place on a walk home from school.

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