- Frank Cottrell Boyce Framed
- Geraldine McCaughrean The White Darkness
- Hilary McKay Permanent Rose
- Kate Thompson The New Policeman
I'm glad to see the four titles selected have been universally acknowledged as exceptional works of fiction for children. (Only one of them has been published in the States as of yet--Permanent Rose. I really enjoyed Permanent Rose and am anxiously awaiting the other three, along with Helen Dunmore's Ingo.)
The adult fiction shortlist, however, is another story. A Long Way Down was quite possibly the worst novel I read all year.
