Orange Prize for Fiction Shadow Judging Panel
Orange Prize Shadow Youth Panel Choose their Winner
Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo
On the eve of the 2009 Orange Prize for Fiction awards ceremony, the six members of the Orange Prize Youth Panel have chosen Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo (Hamish Hamilton) as their overall winner.
Watch the video below of author Kate Mosse and the six youth panel members deciding upon their winner:
Lily Dessau (16), said, “Blonde Roots is emotive, moving and thought-provoking. It has everything we were asked to look for – accessibility, originality and excellence – and more.”
Max Elsworth (19), added, “Blonde Roots has opened new literary doors for me – it’s a truly remarkable read.”
The Orange Prize for Fiction Shadow Judging Panel is made up of six Spinebreakers teen editors aged between 16-19. The meeting was facilitated by Kate Mosse, author and Honorary Director of the Orange Prize and after months of intense reading for the prize, the six panel members will all be invited to the Orange Prize Awards Ceremony on 3rd June.
Earlier this month, they met up to discuss the longlist of 20 books they had all been reading and commenting on in the Spinebreakers forum.
If you had been following their conversation in the forum, you would have gathered that the shortlist chosen by the youth panel was strikingly very different from the official judges' list, they have kept us in suspense with comments like "grrr I'm not happy with the Judge's shortlist!"
The shortlist chosen by the youth panel was:
Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold
Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo
The Lost Dog by Michelle de Kretser
Mercy by Toni Morrison
The Russian Dreambook of Colour and Flight by Gina Oscher
The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews
And here's an insight into their shortlisting meeting, some of their comments about the chosen books:
Max Elsworth, 19, on Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold:
“Girl in a Blue Dress is fervidly written, enthralling and charming. The characters are endearingly witty, amiable and vivid; Arnold conveys this Victorian scenario perfectly.”
Clarissa Pabi, 18, on Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo:
"Evaristo addresses the holocaust of slavery in an extremely unique and exciting way. Blonde Roots is not an emulation of Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses, it’s more like Phillip Pullman meets Roots. His Dark Materials meets Her Light Materials. This book has the X-Factor!"
Lily Dessau, 16, on The Lost Dog by Michelle de Kretser:
“The Lost Dog is a poetically written and moving depiction of relationships between mothers and sons, friends and families, both painfully and beautifully true.”
Rossana Duarte, 18, on A Mercy by Toni Morrison:
“A Mercy by Toni Morrison is an unfolding tapestry of five aptly ventriloquised voices, each threaded together unknowingly and embroidered onto a bedding of rich slave trade history and culture.”
Francis Gene-Rowe, 18, on The Russian Dreambook of Colour and Flight by Gina Oscher:
“Tears and laughter are handled with equal adeptness and a certain crazy slavishness permeates the prose of this story that explores some profound themes. A thoroughly charming book that makes for a highly exciting and interesting read.”
Joe Kerridge, 16, on The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews:
“The Flying Troutmans is a road trip of hope, guts and spirit. Its portrayal of the family is touchingly faithful and its intricacies are vivid and joyful. The Flying Troutmans is a wonderful book."
This is the first youth shadow judging panel to be formed for the prize so that the opinions of young readers can be compared and contrasted with the official judges of the literary prize.
Who are these six lucky Spinebreakers?
Click on their names below to visit their profiles:
Clarissa
Lily D
Rossana
Francis
Joe
Max
Here is the longlist of books they have been reading:
1. The Household Guide to Dying, Debra Adelaide
2. Girl in a Blue Dress, Gaynor Arnold
3. Their Finest Hour and a Half, Lissa Evans
4. Blonde Roots, Bernardine Evaristo
5. Scottsboro, Ellen Feldman
6. Strange Music, Laura Fish
7. Love Marriage, V.V. Ganeshananthan
8. Intuition, Allegra Goodman
9. The Wilderness, Samantha Harvey
10. The Invention of Everything Else, Samantha Hunt
11. The Lost Dog, Michelle de Kretser
12. Molly Fox’s Birthday, Deirdre Madden
13. A Mercy, Toni Morrison
14. The Russian Dreambook of Colour and Flight, Gina Ochsner
15. Home, Marilynne Robinson
16. Evening is the Whole Day, Preeta Samarasan
17. Burnt Shadows, Kamila Shamsie
18. American Wife, Curtis Sittenfeld
19. The Flying Troutmans, Miriam Toews
20. The Personal History of Rachel DuPree, Ann Weisgarber