It may look to the naked eye like a small ripple in the small midlands town of Beechnall, but passion and violence are bubbling beneath the placid surface. A.S. Byatt has described Middleton's art as "an exact vision of real things as they are"; which neatly sums up his understated accuracy, and the subtle development of his characters.

Though love is on the agenda, this is also a book that rejoices in the workings of the mind and celebrates the intellect but is never dry ... One thing you don't get with Middleton is dumbing down.

In Her Three Wise Men, Middleton constructs a provincial world where everyone displays good manners and emotional continence but strong feelings swirl beneath the surface

Before I Die is so real, so sad, so true - and I so wish I'd written it myself

Tough but tender, angry rather than resigned, Tessa is an appealing heroine whose company is never less than bracing

It's a novel that won't fail to touch those who read it, and despite the melancholy subject matter it manages to be hugely life-affirming. A book that will make you happy to be alive. 5 stars

A work of great humanity and profound empathy. I defy anyone not to cry reading this book

Downham's prose is brave and bare, her characters relentlessly realistic

This is an oddly uplifting novel. It's about love and friendship and family. It deals with death, but it's a hymn to life

Writing about dying children can sometimes seem too easy a target for instant emotion but [Downham] always does much better than that

Captivating and emotionally turbulent this extrordinary book is ultimately a celebration of life

This excellent novel is not for the faint hearted, but it deserves to be very widely read

Gripping, heart-wrenching

Without pretension or crusading auto-didacticism he has spent a quarter of a century creating a fantasy worl that does its bit to make this world a better place. It is a splendid achievement.

This is Pratchett operating at the peak of his powers. Nation's often very funny, the characters are adorable, the plot intriguing... Nation is wryly hilarious throughout.

It's a wonderful story, by turns harrowing and triumphant, and Mau and Daphne are tremendously appealing characters. It's a book that can be read with great pleasure by young readers-and not a few of their parents, I suspect-as both a high-spirited yarn and a subtle examination of the risks and virtues of faith.

Gr 7-10-A tsunami has hit Mau's island home and washed away everyone he has known. Daphne is from the other side of the globe and is the sole survivor (or so she thinks) of a shipwreck on the island. The two come together and each of them brings wisdom, intelligence, and sense of humanity to their dire situation. An absorbing novel of survival and discovery liberally infused with Pratchett's trademark wit.

This culture clash comedy gives way to growing understanding and there is much to ponder on the merits of faith and tradition.

... a unique, exhilarating tour de force

... a very funny and well-written story. The characters and plot are both imaginative and thought-provoking.

A South Seas island adventure with an assured comic edge from Pratchett... This culture clash comedy gives way to growing understanding and there is much to ponder on the merits of faith and tradition.

I think this is - just possibly -the best book Pratchett has ever written.

This is a novel for all ages from (say) 11 to (say) 90, and its narrative exuberance will lure its younger readers to 'strange seas of thought'.

Pratchett writing at the height of his powers.

A serious work, but one written with humour and a lightness of touch that embraces big questions...it is a book about the faith of our times.

Terry Pratchett's use of language here is funny and exciting. This book delivers adventure, philosophy and satire. Pratchett has written of a very different world from his Discworld series. This is one of the cleverest novels I have read in years.

Nation is a modern tale of enlightenment that can be enjoyed by teenagers and aduls alike. An exceptional read, highly recommended.

An ebullient and entertaining novel of ideas.

Nation, published in 2008 (this year's award catchment runs from August 2008-September 2009), is an extraordinarily complicated tale about God, tradition and loss. Yet it is told with beautiful simplicity and rollicking readability.

Funny and profound, Nation is much more than an adventure story, pitting reason against religion and offering an alternative perspective on world history and culture.

As Pratchett says: "Thinking. This book contains some. Whether you try it at home is up to you." His wit is on every page; his world surpasses ours, his writing is weird and wonderful. No, weirdly wonderful. It is gripping but put the book down to ponder the thoughts inside to unearth a parallel universe. Terry Pratchett is worth more than his idiom; his teachings contain more philosophical thought than I would have ever thought possible.