The longlist for the Guardian Children’s fiction prize came out yesterday, and I’ve got the longlisted books below, if you haven’t already seen them! I was ecstatic to see that three books I really, really love have made it up there- A World Between Us, Maggot Moon, and The Fault In Our Stars. Congrats to Lydia Syson, Sally Gardner, John Green, and all of the other amazing authors on there!
A World Between Us- Lydia Syson: I read this book last year, and it was really amazing. It was what got me into historical fiction! The setting is the Spanish Civil War, and it’s really interesting as well as gripping and riveting. I loved every second of it and would really recommend it to teens.
The Fault in our Stars- John Green: I read this at the beginning of the year and it made me laugh and cry. It’s a really powerful novel that shows the ups and downs of teenage life, and also how cancer can tear a family apart. It’s a must for YA’s and adults alike.
Maggot Moon- Sally Gardner: Wow, a second award listing for Sally Gardner’s title with Hot Key- it’s already on the Carnegie shortlist! Maggot Moon deserves it, though. This book was absolutely amazing. It’s all about the moon landing hoax in a fantastical country which is a bit like Nazi Germany and America with a Big Brother element. Brilliant for teenagers!
The Wall- William Sutcliffe: I haven’t read this one yet, (or any of the books underneath this one!) but it seems just my kind of thing! It’s all about a boy who lives in a town surrounded by a giant wall that is meant to protect the people, and then one day the boy stumbles across a tunnel leading through it. It sounds really great and I’ll probably buy it soon!
Liar & Spy- Rebecca Stead: This one seems pretty good judging by the synopsis, too. It is about a boy who moves into an apartment who then meets another boy who runs a spy club and they spy on the mysterious Mr X. I will try and get my hands on a copy of this as well!
Rooftoppers- Katherine Rundell: This book looks pretty amazing. It is about a girl who is supposedly an orphan, who was found floating in a cello case after a shipwreck. She tracks down the cello maker by his address and adventure ensues. I love an adventure story, so I’m going to keep my eye out for this title.
The boy who swam with Piranhas- David Almond: I’m a big fan of David Almond’s books, so I really need to look out for this one! It seems pretty funny; all I know about it is that a boy wins some goldfish then his money-loving uncle turns them into canned good and then the boy runs away and then he is led towards a circus in which he might swim with Piranhas. Sounds awesome.
After Tomorrow- Gillian Cross: This book looks like a really great read, and I’ve seen it around a lot. The Goodreads synopsis has really interested me: “What if you woke up tomorrow and everything had changed? Money is worthless. Your friends are gone. Armed robbers roam the streets. No one is safe.” I’ll definitely buy or borrow a copy of After Tomorrow as soon as I can!
For the release of the Longlist for the Guardian Children’s fiction prize, I’m going to challenge myself to read all eight by the time the winner is announced. I have already read the first three books above, and links to those two are below this paragraph. I’ll be re-reading and re-reviewing A World Between Us soon (My old review is very short and I really wanna read this again anyway!), and also I will be scouring bookshops and libraries for the other titles. Happy reading!
the bibliomaniac book blog 
I’ve seen a lot of these books in book stores, but they just seemed very predictable. I mean, from the blurb I read, The Wall seemed like a war novel. Obviously I want to read TFiOS! But I’ll definitely look into these if they’ve been long listed for such a prestigious award.