Library News

The 2022 Booker Prize Shortlist

The shortlist for the 2022 Booker Prize has been announced! The Booker Prize has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for over 50 years. It is awarded annually to the best novel of the year written in English and published in the UK or Ireland.

CBCA Book of the Year

The winners of the CBCA Book of the Year Awards were announced on Friday 19 August for 2022.

In the category of Older Readers, the winner was Rebecca Lim’s Tiger Daughter. 

The novel is the story of Wen Zhou, the only child of Chinese immigrants in Australia. It is a story of friendship and hope and aims to dispel myths about migrants and refugees in Australia. Rebecca Lim is an advocate for diversity in literature particularly on high school book lists.

“I think we are hitting a golden age where if you want to keep kids engaged with reading you need to show them themselves.”

'Girls in Boys’ Cars' by Felicity Castagna and 'How to Repaint a Life' by Steven Herrick were recognised with honours. 

Shadowers’ Choice Award

For the first time CBCA has introduced the Shadowers’ Choice Awards where young people can cast their opinions on the shortlisted books. This year 'Sugar Town Queens' by Malla Nunn was the popular choice.

Niamh McPhelimy 

Library Manager 

Premiers’ Reading Challenge

The Premiers’ Reading Challenge has officially finished for 2022, and our Beaumaris readers well and truly rose to the challenge. As a team, they read a whopping 348 books in just 9 months! I want to congratulate each and every student who participated in this year’s challenge, and I’d particularly like to recognise our top readers in each year level. All students who completed the challenge will receive a certificate, and our top readers will also receive a Beaumaris Books voucher. 

OUR TOP READERS

• In Year 7, our top reader was Keegan B who read 34 books.
• In Year 8, our top reader was Katie G who read 24 books. 
• In Year 10, our top reader was Ayesha G who read 25 books. 
• In Year 11, our top reader was Holly B who read 16 books. 

CHALLENGE AT A GLANCE

MOST POPULAR BOOKS AT BSC IN 2021

 MOST POPULAR BOOKS AT BSC IN 2022

An interview with the 2022 Challenge Champion, Lily G

Congratulations on being Beaumaris Secondary College’s overall Premiers’ Reading Challenge Champion for 2022, Lily! How did you manage to read such an extraordinary number of books in just 9 months? 

I have always been a fast reader, and I have always enjoyed books so I just try to read one or two books a week.

What do you enjoy about reading? 

I love reading because I feel like I am in the story. I forget about the fact I am reading and just fully immerse myself in the book.

What was your favourite book and why?

My favourite book was 'Where the Crawdads Sing' by Delia Owens. It is an incredible tale of a girl who is isolated from her town and grows up all alone in a swamp. I definitely recommend reading it, or watching the more recent movie version. 

What advice would you give to people who struggle to read or to find books that they enjoy? 

I would tell people to read the books their favourite movies are based on. Most movies are versions of a book, so if you are struggling to find something you enjoy, grab the book version of a movie you have enjoyed. If you find a book you really enjoy, do some research and read some other books by the author, because they often will be very similar. 

Q&A with some of our year level winners

YEAR 8 - KATIE G

What did you enjoy about participating in this year’s reading challenge? 

I loved the reading challenge because it motivated me to read a lot more and discover different kinds of books that I wouldn’t usually reach for!

What was your favourite book and why?

My favourite book was ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ by Holly Jackson. I loved this book because it was full of twists and there was never a boring or dull moment!!

YEAR10 - AYESHA G

What did you enjoy about participating in this year’s reading challenge? 

I liked that the challenge was a reminder to keep reading. COVID and lockdowns over 2020 and 2021 made doing things that I enjoy and keeping up with hobbies more difficult. The PRC was a great opportunity to get back to doing things I love, and being able to track my progress made me feel more accomplished each time I read a new book.

What was your favourite book and why?

'Everything I know About Love' by Dolly Alderton. I love the way she portrays female friendships and platonic love. I think the book was really authentic and relatable. A great read! 

YEAR 11 - HOLLY B

What did you enjoy about participating in this year’s reading challenge? 

Compared to other years, this year has been extremely busy with VCE and other commitments, so participating in this challenge was a way to relax and take a break from all the stress of school.

What was your favourite book and why?

My favourite book was 'Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood' by Sarah J. Maas. I loved that this book had a really unique setting and that there were many different elements to the plot that was a combination of a murder mystery, modern fantasy and also focused on themes of mental health, acceptance and self-confidence. The twist at the ending had me staying up all night to finish it, which I find is the sign of a really good book!

The Premiers’ Reading Challenge will return in 2023, and we welcome all students to join. 

Happy reading, 

Ms Shattock 

Communicate and Relate Teacher and Literacy Coordinator

Book reviews by our 2022 readers

The Midnight Library

Haig, Matt

★★★★★

I loved the different views and perspectives.

Sophie R (Year 9)

The Murder Rule

McTiernan, Dervla

 ★★★★☆

This is such an interesting novel about a girl who takes revenge into her own hands.

Lily G (Year 9)

Scythe 

Shusterman, Neal

★★★★★

Very good! 

Keegan B (Year 7)

Pride and Prejudice

Austen, Jane

★★★★★

A great book with a good description of Jane Austen's critical view on society and traditional stereotypical gender roles that portrayed women as objects. 

Niamh K (Year 9)

Kay's Anatomy: A Complete (And Completely Disgusting) Guide to the Human Body

Kay, Adam

★★★★★

I love this book so much! I am interested in human anatomy and this book provided an easy to read understanding of the things that make up a functioning human body.

Katie G (Year 8)