The Light in Everything: Shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal 2023

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But then again, we are all unlikeable when we suppress negative feelings, - anger, pain and jealousy.

Being passionate about student teacher development, Tracy took the plunge to work in ITE, teaching English to undergraduate, PGCE and MA students. Emotionally charged as the story is, there are things that should be considered if offering this to a child as a teacher. Zofia the firebrand and Tom the timid and their loving father and mother all come to life vividly, jumping off the page in this wonderful book.

There is a poignant message to The Light in Everything that takes awhile to get there - especially since there are so many messages trying to get across. And while it wasn't a perfect read, perhaps not even a very original one, but it was a nice change of pace with it's unique style of writing that helped shape it nicely into an interesting read, for sure. This is a terrific story about two very different children learning to adjust, to trust others and to acknowledge their own flaws as they learn to accept differences in others. Her debut novel, The Space We’re In, was highly commended for the Branford Boase Award 2020 and her second book, October, October, was the winner of the Yoto Carnegie Medal 2022.

Neither Zofia or Tom are happy with the situation and are not looking forward to the baby being born…until something horrible happens that changes everything. Balen makes it come to life in poetic prose, in the sparkling sunshine, the grey slate days and in raging tempest. KATYA: Because for some reason, people think children’s literature is lesser, despite the fact that if you ask most adults which book means the most to them, they choose a book from their childhood. The Light in Everything is a gorgeously crafted and beautifully redemptive novel for children which can also be read and enjoyed by adults old and young. Zofia is brimming with plenty of unbridled rage - furious that her father took the initiative to bring not only one or two new family members to the family, but a third!

With a love of the sea and swimming, she spends her time counting the seconds to see how long she can hold her breath under water. It uses a dual narrative structure to explore relationships between step-siblings a complex blended family.

it’s one of those that contains so many complex emotions that it makes you want to cry, but you never end up actually crying because the way it is so beautifully written makes you so happy. It's such a beautiful, subtle story which just transported me into the worlds of Zofia and Tom and like all the very finest stories it has left a little shard of those lives within it lodged deep in my heart. My heart aches when I was reading parts where she felt alone and decided to lock herself in the room. I think it’s good for children to be able to read their own lives and feel less alone, and for children who aren’t in that situation to grow their empathy and understanding. They are about to start living together and also to become half siblings to a new baby in a blended family that neither of them wants to be part of.Zofia’s worried about being replaced by her Dad’s new girlfriend and her son, which makes her mean and bitter towards Tom; Tom just wants his Mum to be happy after what she’s been through, though he’s mistrustful of Zofia’s Dad, and shrinks into himself to avoid being noticed. How did it feel to have your writing recognised in this way by both the official judging panel and the young readers who voted for the Shadowers’ Choice Award?

Tom, born in a different kind of storm, was made for the quiet, those moments when the sea is still, calm and with the sunlight High in the sky. They are the ones who know which book will bridge, which book will broaden, which book will comfort, which book will inspire … Their job is so multi-faceted, passionate, and informed. The Light in Everything is a deeply moving and absorbing story which skilfully moves from the viewpoint of one child to the other, allowing the reader to explore their complex emotions, actions and reactions. The two families continue to meet, but then Fiona becomes pregnant and she and Tom move to share the cottage on the beach. It shows how suppressed rage and frustration can damage, and how difficult it can be to express love.With a new baby on the way there is even more to be confused about and as tensions grow, the pair must learn to trust and navigate the pain they have buried deep inside. Tom and Zofia have polar opposite ways of processing their parents finding each other and starting a new life, but each are as valid and deserving of compassion as each other.