Yoto Carnegie 2024

Gala and her dad, Jordi, have just moved from home in Catalonia to a town in Scotland, to live with Jordi’s boyfriend Ryan. Gala doesn’t speak much English, and feels lost, lonely and unable to be her usual funny self. Until she befriends Natalie, a girl with selective mutism. The two girls find their own ways to communicate, which includes collecting other people's discarded words. They use the words to write anonymous supportive poems for their classmates, but then someone begins leaving nasty messages using the same method – and the girls are blamed. Gala has finally started adapting to her new life in Scotland and is determined to find the culprit. Can she and Natalie show the school who they really are?Set in a world where words appear physically when people speak, Away With Words explores the importance of communication and being there for those we love.EndorsementsShortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing 2024

Choose Love is a cycle of poems that highlights the experience of those forced to become refugees. The core of the collection was written in 2018 as part of a project with the charity Refugee Trauma Initiative.With the permission of both individual refugees and aid workers, RTI shared with Nicola a number of true and poignant stories which were then used as the basis for short-form poems. Over the following years, Nicola has added to this core of poems to create a coherent collection on the theme of forced migration, its wider causes and consequences.

War comes to the streets of Paris and Safiyyah’s life changes forever.Her best friend’s family has fled, and the bombing makes her afraid to leave the mosque where she lives. But when her father is arrested by the Nazis for his secret Resistance work, it falls to Safiyyah to run the dangerous errands around the city.It’s not long before hundreds of persecuted Jews seek sanctuary at the mosque. Can Safiyyah find the courage to enter the treacherous catacombs under Paris and lead the Jews to safety?EndorsementsSafiyyah's War has the soul of a classic & the urgency of a story for our times. A tale of tolerance, unthinkable bravery, and heart-in-mouth true events. I loved this book — Kiran Millwood HargraveAll at once, Safiyyah's War broke my heart and filled me with immense hope. With its unforgettable characters and exquisite storytelling, this really is an extraordinary book — A F SteadmanSafiyyah is a protagonist I was rooting for all throughout; a lovely, kind-hearted girl whose story filled me in turns with despair and joy. This book shines through with kindness and empathy at its very heart — Nizrana Farook

Meet MC Growls, wannabe rapper and star of the show in this hilarious and heartwarming teen debut.Yeah they call me Growls, I'm like a tiger on the prowl.King of jungles so you better take a bow.King of concrete so you better say it loud!Shaun (aka MC Growls) is ready to drop his best bars and smash the competition at Raptology. That way, he's convinced Tanisha, his crush, will finally give him a chance.But when a livestream practice goes epically wrong, Growls's dirty laundry is literally exposed. He's finally achieved his dreams of going viral — not in the good way.Now Tanisha won't look at him, he's the joke of the school and there's no way he can show his face at the competition. Will he ever catch a break?Then a new girl on the block appears who might be just the friend Growls needs. Especially when she points out that Raptology could be the answer to his problems after all...Step up to the mic! It's MC Growls and he's ready for this. He's steady for this. It's comeback season and they call him comeback king for a reason. A hilarious debut from breakout star Nathanael Lessore, perfect for teen readers of Alex Wheatle and Jason Reynolds.

In his new verse novel, Joseph Coelho brilliantly blends Greek myth with a 21st-century quest. In Ancient Greece, Theseus makes a dangerous and courageous journey to find his father, finally meeting the Minotaur in the Labyrinth. Meanwhile, Theo, a modern-day teenage boy, finds himself on a maze-like quest to find his own father. Each story tells of a boy becoming a man and discovering what true manhood really means.The path to self-discovery takes Theo through ‘those thin spaces where myth, magic and reality combine’. Doubts, difficulties and dangers must be faced as Theo discovers the man he will become.

'Do you feel safe?'A powerful novel exploring how teenagers can be swept up into county lines.Erik's life has been falling apart ever since his dad died. Homework and being good at school stop feeling important when you're the new man of the house. When Erik's bad behaviour attracts the wrong crowd, he's sucked into a terrifying new world of drug dealing, trap houses and violence.Making money feels good but Erik soon learns that a small favour can become a huge debt.And when his sisters' lives are threatened, Erik will have to cross one more line to save them.For fans of Punching the Air and Splinters of Sunshine.

In his village in Upper Kwanta, 11-year-old Kofi loves his family, playing oware with his grandfather and swimming in the river Offin. He’s warned, though, to never go to the river at night. His brother tells him, "There are things about the water you do not know." "Like what?" Kofi asks. "The beasts," his brother answers.One fateful night, the unthinkable happens and in a flash, Kofi’s world turns upside down. Kofi soon ends up in a fight for his life and what happens next will send him on a harrowing journey across land and sea, and away from everything he loves.The Door of No Return is an excellent choice for independent reading, sharing in the classroom, book groups, and homeschooling.This spellbinding novel will take you on an unforgettable adventure that will open your eyes and break your heart.EndorsementsFrom Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award–winning author Kwame Alexander.An instant #1 New York Times bestseller.

When a young girl wakes up in the middle of the desert, she has no idea who she is. She's wearing one shoe, a silky black dress, and she's carrying a strange, heavy case. She meets Tarni, who is on a mysterious quest of her own. Together, the two girls trek across the vast and ever-changing Australian Outback in search of answers. Except both are also hiding secrets...