The committee were enormously impressed with the number and quality of entries submitted for the Creative Prize, and by the quality of the reviews written by participating students.
We received an amazing 47 creative entries including poems, character and front cover design, stories, models and artwork, and there were over 100 wonderful reviews to judge.
After long deliberation by the committee, the winners of the prizes were announced by the Lady Mayoress of York, Joy Cullwick during the award event on Friday 25th March 2022.
Creative Prize Winner – Clara from All Saints RC School
For her wonderful, detail-filled diorama of a dramatic scene from SkyWake: Invasion by Jamie Russell. This was a truly impressive piece of artwork, full of attention to detail and careful crafting. The presentation of the room was truly dynamic and impressed everyone who saw it.
Clara received the winning Creative Prize trophy for her creation, and a special winner’s badge.
Commended entries received a certificate and special commended badge, and were:
Students of Archbishop Holgate’s School
Lilah, All Saints RC School
Peggy, The Mount School
Phoebe, All Saints School
Sophia, Manor CE Academy
Review Prize Winner – Isla from The Mount School
For her fantastic review of Where the World Turns Wild by Nicola Penfold. Isla’s review had a great balance of giving a good overview of the plot without giving too much away, and also talked about her own feelings and reactions to the story and characters in an engaging way.
I adored this passionately written book. The plot line keeps you hanging with the portrayal of Juniper and Bear’s mission to escape the controlled city and be reunited with their parents in the forbidden area known as the Wild. I was impressed with the way the adventure joined together to make one magnificent story. From the glasshouse to all the way into the deep forests, the writing was exceptional with touches of humour and the right piecing of words to create a believable world.
The city is controlling, unknown, confined and locked down: the guards patrolling the borders of the city, the prohibition of books, and the Institute (where people who are apparently crazy and mentally unsound are sent). The plot reveals later how many people suffered under this regime and how not seeing nature really affected the people’s lives, as well as not even being able to travel outside the city walls.
The reason I adored this book was because the issue of climate change made it a lot more relatable and provided an easier understanding of this amazing read. But with the menacing disease it also helped you feel the gravity of the situation. The book was amazing because when you think things are going well there is a twist to it which really inspired me.
I loved the choice of characters in the book and their way of life; Bear and Juniper were an exceptional choice. Their youth made the journey to escape the city almost feel impossible and bound to fail. They were travelling poorly dressed, as well as being poorly equipped, because of a quick and scary escape from the city. The difficulty of the forest made me fall in love with the characters a bit more. It would have been easy for the author to take shortcuts and make their journey simple by making it a child friendly book with no difficult situations, such as automatically finding shelters, friends, and getting quick solutions. I was glad the author took a tough stance and exposed how the reality of life can be hard and unpredictable.
My most favourite character/animal was the lynx called Ghost who started out as a threat and an obstacle but became a companion and protector, as well as being their guide and help. The reason I loved Ghost the most was because she always came back no matter what and helped them survive and gave them a lot of comfort and reassurance. Ultimately, I was impressed by Ghost as she offered hope to the characters in an otherwise uncertain story.
I recommend this book because it includes a lot of nature and adventure which is inspiring. It has such a wow factor and keeps on pulling you in, so that you don’t want to stop reading. I love this book so much and definitely recommend it to a variety of ages.
Isla received the winning Review Prize trophy for her creation, and a special winner’s badge.
Commended entries received a certificate and special badge, and were:
Alexia, The Mount School
Kathryn, Manor CE Academy
Suhani, All Saints RC School
Robert, St Peter’s 8-13 School
Toby, All Saints RC School
Congratulations to Clara and Isla, and to all of the commended entries! It was a very difficult to decision to make, and we look forward to it being just as difficult in 2023!
York Book Award 