The nominations you sent in were so heartfelt and brilliant to read that we decided to publish a selection of our favourites here. Read on to see if your nomination has been featured!
I absolutely love all the books Malorie Blackman writes, especially the Noughts and Crosses trilogy! The way she writes makes feel every emotion possible, from ultra happiness, where I literally laugh out loud, to deep sadness, crying with or for my favourite characters, to horror, amazement, love and surprise as her detailed stories unfold with twists and turns. I love everything she writes as she relates so completely to teenage feelings. I think she should be crowned Queen of Teen as she has affected my views on reading, as well as life, engrossing me even more in reality novels, as well as teaching how any society works. The way she gets into the minds of the bad characters is spine chilling, as she proves she can write from any perspective, and still make me want more!!
– Kirsty, aged 15
Because she is so inspiring. Her books are very unique. Not just stories like; my parents are divorced, my school life sucks, I'm being bullied etc. One of her books is Noughts & Crosses. It is about racism and how bad it can really get. Within that there is love, mother and daughter arguments, murder, stuff that really wants you to keep reading. When I finished that trilogy, I was actually quite sad as that was the best story I had ever read. It has been over a year now and I have not read one book better.
– Summer, aged 12
I have chosen her mainly because of the Noughts and Crosses trilogy which are the best books I have ever read. They are really believable and emotional. You really feel for the characters and want to know what will happen to them next. The idea behind the story is great too as it is all about racism but the other way around. It is told by different characters and how they are feeling. The other books by her are good too, but these are the best (all my friends have read them and think so too!) and every teenager should read them!
– Leanne, aged 13
I chose Malorie Blackman because I have never been able to put any of her books down; I nearly cried when I had finished Knife Edge before Checkmate was released! Through the medium of her books, she has made me laugh, cry and scared me somewhat silly! All of her books that I have read were fantastic -especially the Noughts and Crosses Trilogy. This trilogy is easily my favourite trilogy, as it makes the feelings behind, and consequences of, prejudice accessible to a younger audience; it tells all sides of the story, and allows you to empathise with even the most seemingly evil or self-righteous characters. Also this book can be related to different situations in history, all of which young people need to understand about: the Protestant/Catholic divide in Northern Ireland, the racial divide in South Africa and America, even modern day views on asylum seekers... In a world so horribly full of prejudices Blackman’s book is strikingly relevant. It allows the reader to understand where each character is coming from - and why they are doing what they are doing. Malorie Blackman is a brilliant author, and deserves recognition for her outstanding, hard-hitting, globally relevant books.
– Charlotte, aged 15
I nominate this author because I love the Noughts and Crosses series. The way the text and language has been written easily transports you into their world. The characters are very believable as the racism is very much going on today, only not so prominent. One obvious difference though is that the roles are reversed, the whites (noughts) are thought to be nothing and the coloured people (crosses) are the leading society. The books are very moving and show both points of view. I also like her author’s note at the end of the first book in that series (Noughts and Crosses), as it explains that all of the explorers are real but just aren’t actually mentioned all that much in today’s culture. I think that was a good point to make as in the book it was saying that the white explorers are actually real (e.g. the roles have been reversed). She then went on to say that this is what inspired her to write the book because she was never told about any of the coloured explorers only the whites. Most of all, I think Malorie Blackman should get this award because she writes about real life experiences, not about stupid stuck up girls who always get everything, but about real life experiences that we can all relate to in one way or another. For this I think she deserves the award.
– Khaih, aged 13
