Katherine Paterson won a second Newbery Medal with [Jacob Have I Loved]. I am not sure that she would have qualified for a Carnegie, but then the Americans like their emotions hot and hearts on sleeves. There is plenty of action and passion here but not a lot of stoicism.

Let me be fair. Mrs. Paterson is a woman of formidable intelligence and unshakable integrity. She shirks no issues in a story of a twin baulked at every stage of life by the effortless brilliance of her sister. Although the story is told by "Wheeze" (Louise) the reader is nevertheless able to see, despite the distorted view of the narrator, that Caroline is a gentle, kind and talented girl. It is not her fault that everything goes her way. Poor Wheeze, goaded by her half-crazy grandmother, is forced from one emotional and physical crisis to the next. She...