It's Carnegie time again. Time to torture poor innocent children with books of so-called literary merit. Here's a less than enthusiastic review from one of my teen-shadowers. Definitive proof that you can't please all of the people all of the time.

"Another year in the Carnegie Medal and once again another Meg Rosoff book. So many people tell me that I'm not seeing the true beauty of Meg Rosoff's books, but all I can say to them is, 'You mean corny beauty of course.' I believe 'The Bride's Farewell' is her first real historical novel, and no offence to Rosoff, but it did absolutely nothing to impress me.

I feel that Pell's choice to run away was silly because eventually everyone has to grow up and live like adults. Within the first few pages the odds have already overwhelmed Pell. It was stupidly funny to read about Pell running away, so determined, and fail before she's even started. I mean, didn't she think it through?

The characters in the book are as plain as an A4 sheet of paper and have about as much charisma as a wet cabbage. You knew hardly anything about Dogman and although many people may find this makes him more mysterious, I found it made him uninteresting and dull.

A short book but a boring and unsatisfying read. I am pretty sure this book isn't going to win. Sorry. 1/10."