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

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Katya Balens new novel not only lived up to October, October but it has exceeded all my expectations! 😍 It wasn’t actually my idea! It was my brilliant editor, Lucy. I wasn’t sure at first, and then the i…

A sensitive story about stitching a new family together from frayed pieces. So vividly-imagined you can taste the salt in the air.’ Aisha BushbyAs the children try to get used to their new lives, tragedy threatens to strike. Both Tom and Zofia are forced to reassess what is truly important – and what makes a family. When they learn that they're going to be moving in together, both cope in the way their personalities might lead you to suspect. There are going to be clashes, jealousy, unspoken feelings. Tom's paper cranes give both the idea of wishing away their hurt and anger, but wishes should not always come true... Both viewpoints were very well told, Zofia's side is full of anger and noise, movement and sound. Tom's shows his small voice and fears. You want them to see what they have in common and what good they could do for each other, but you also empathise with their situation, being thrust together into a new family they hadn't asked for. Tom and Zofia both wish the stupid baby had never happened. But then Tom's mum gets ill, and it begins to look horribly like their wish might come true …

Bearn, Emily (26 January 2023). "The Light in Everything, review: Katya Balen skilfully handles hard-hitting issues for young readers". The Telegraph . Retrieved 15 June 2023. KATYA: Yes, I thought it was important because it’s the kind of situation that affects so many children. It’s really normal, and because of that maybe we can forget that it isn’t easy. 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. That’s the best result I can ever hope for when a child reads my books. As they begin to understand each other, empathy, apology, kindness and friendship gradually develop. You might need tissues at the end like I did. This story is told from a dual-perspective, with Zofia and Tom alternating chapters. This gives the reader an insight into both characters and their histories which have shaped their lives now. Through the novel we see Tom and Zofia make many wishes and many readers have enjoyed the role origami plays in the story. Can you explain what drew you to including them within the book?Katya Balen's, 'The Light in Everything' is a story about Zofia and Tom, two very different children who have to live together in a blended family when their parents fall in 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.

The Light in Everything is immersive and truly captivating. Written from the dual points of view of Tom and Zofia, the two find their respective parents come together to form a blended family. The differing personalities are revealed through Katya Balen’s delicate writing, and we journey with them as their family navigates new situations. It was a privilege to receive an advanced reader copy of this beautiful writing and I in turn have no hesitation in recommending it to others to read and will be doing this in my school staffroom as soon as possible. It was a pleasure to read this book and I cannot wait to hear what friends, colleagues and students think of this remarkable book. Katya Balen is an award-winning author of books for children. Katya's debut novel, The Space We’re In, was published in 2019 and was highly commended for the Branford Boase Award. Her second, October, October, won the Yoto Carnegie Medal. Her third novel, The Light in Everything, was published in 2022. I love Katya Balen's clear-eyed, poetic writing style, first encountered in The Space We're In and October, October. She has a special ability to dig deep into the emotional lives of the children she writes about; she is always privy to their darkest thoughts, always on their side. Original, compulsive, uplifting: this is another triumph for Balen.

The Light in Everything is such a brilliant exploration of the way in which many children struggle to come to terms with a new blended family. Did you set out with the intention of helping children in that situation? An unlikely friendship develops between these two children when their parents fall in love. Tom and his mum move in with Zofia and her dad and they are expecting a baby. Unfortunately there are complications and the baby may not survive. A funny, enchanting adventure about a scared boy, a magical fox, a monstrous shape-shifting beast and finding the courage to protect what you love. I absolutely LOVE all Katya's writing and I adored reading this book. 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.’ Sophie Kirtley

A bold, bright story of blended families, and how two remarkable children cope when their lives change dramatically. Katya Balen’s writing fizzes with her trademark originality and voice. This is another stunningly good read from one of my favourite authors.’ Emma Carroll Fiona and Marek duly fall in love, but their children don’t hit it off. As Zofia recalls of their first meeting: “Tom sits in this terrified little meek silence and for every second he stays quiet I get louder and louder.” Yet Fiona becomes pregnant, and the families move in together – and Tom and Zofia must learn to overcome their seemingly insurmountable differences. Like most of the books I’ve worked on the idea really started to shine when a few pieces of comet wh…Balen’s writing is evocative with vividly imagined place and scene descriptions, but it the emotional punch her work carries that makes her novels so powerful. I loved Tom from the get-go and my heart went out to him as he folded his paper cranes as a coping mechanism; Zophia is portrayed as rather less loveable – indeed, she is often selfish and sometimes quite cruel. But as the book reached its climax, I found myself in tears seeing the way their relationship evolved – and how the community came together to support a family in need. October has a happy life living with her dad in the forest - but when Dad gets injured in an accident, she's forced to go and live with her estranged mum in the city, where nothing is natural and everything feels new and frightening. Can October let her mum into her heart? So I swallow down the words before they bubble up and I nod and I say OK. And I fold up that bit of paper that wants me to be happy and I let it crumble to ash.” Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments We’re very excited to be publishing book 1 in your first middle-grade series for younger readers, The Thames and Tide Club: The Secret City in May. Please can you let our readers know what to expect from the series?