THE WINNER of the annual Hampshire Book Award as voted for by the county’s young readers this year is the novel Shell by Paula Rawsthorne.
As part of the award process, Year 8 pupils from 49 secondary schools read the six shortlisted books, and in July, they voted Shell the overall winner.
The book explores the life of Lucy, a teenager diagnosed with terminal cancer, and asks the question ‘what if you thought you had died, only to wake up in someone else’s body.’
Copies of Shell, along with Paula’s other books, are available to borrow free in print and audiobook formats from Hampshire County Council libraries.