My favourite author Sonya Hartnett was yesterday awarded the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. One of the richest literary prizes in the world Sonya joins amazing children’s literature authors like Maurice Sendak, Philip Pullman and Katherine Paterson on the honours list. Sonya’s work is incredible, as the jury of the ALMA award states “her works are a source of strength”; they are not for the faint-hearted but are so lyrically beautiful, her writing is like poetry. Sonya can conjure up the most amazing pictures of landscape as you read, she can bring your emotions from great joy to deep sadness within paragraphs. I have never read any other novels as powerful as hers.

Although some may criticise her work for being too angst-ridden, her protagonists are always incredibly strong and wilful giving the reader a chance to develop compassion for them or sometimes a deep dislike. It’s impossible not to become enveloped in the story. Often her subject matter is gruelling and the novels are not easy reads but I think good literature is meant to challenge and perhaps even make us feel a little uncomfortable.

Generally considered a young adult writer Sonya’s novels definitely sit in the huge gap that exists between teenage and adult fiction, she should be read and discussed in both.

On the ALMA website Sonya is quoted as saying “A young person who reads a book; today takes that book into tomorrow, is shaped and influenced by the work; learns from it, remembers it, holds it inside.” I have felt this way about her writing since I first read Sleeping Dogs in 1989, I still very much hold that book inside me!