‘Quiet Storm’ by Kimberly Whittam has won the Warwickshire Secondary Book Award 2025 following a vote by Year seven and eight students from 24 different secondary schools across the county.
The book is about Storm, a Year seven student who struggles with shyness and the transition to secondary school as he navigates new and old friendships. The overriding message of the book is that it is okay to be scared, and not to let fears stop you from chasing your dreams.
The annual Warwickshire Secondary Book Award is hosted by Warwickshire Schools Libraries Services (WSLS) with the objective of encouraging more students to enjoy reading for pleasure through school and library settings.
The award is a spring term initiative delivered in secondary schools between January to March each year, with an exciting reading list chosen by the experienced WSLS team alongside valuable input from several secondary school librarians. The shortlist of books chosen for students to read this year included:
- Bite Risk by S.J. Wills
- Bringing Back Kay-Kay by Dev Kothari
- I am Wolf by Alastair Chisholm
- Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer by Jeffrey Boakye
- Quiet Storm by Kimberley Whittam
- The Wrong Shoes by Tom Percival
To participate, students were encouraged to read all six books from the shortlist and to vote for their favourite book as the winner, using the criteria that the book must be ‘a page-turner that pupils would highly recommend to others’.
The initiative culminated in an award ceremony at King High School in Warwick on Wednesday 2 April, where students from secondary schools across Warwickshire attended to find out which author was pronounced the winner as voted for by their cohort.
Four of the six authors, Alastair Chisholm, Dev Kothari, S.J. Wills, and Tom Percival, were able to attend the event, providing inspiration and engaging conversations about the shortlisted books as well as discussing what it’s like to be in the publishing industry.
Ayub Khan, Head of Libraries, Heritage and Culture, and Registration Services at Warwickshire County Council, said:
“It is important to support the ongoing personal development of Warwickshire’s students, and the Warwickshire Secondary Book Award is a great way to encourage them to discover the many benefits of reading. Reading can help with improving communication skills, enhancing creativity through use of the imagination, and increasing students’ confidence in use of the written word.
“I would like to thank all of the authors who took part this year, and the Schools Library Service and some of the brilliant school librarians for delivering this initiative. Our team are available to chat with any schools who would like to get involved and encourage more reading to enrich the education of their students.”
Warwickshire Schools Library Service organised and hosted the award and are grateful to receive support from Warwickshire Libraries Reading and Learning team, the shortlisted authors and publishers, and Warwick Books. The shortlisted books are all available to borrow from Warwickshire Libraries.
WSLS services are available to support schools and education settings through a wide range of reading and curriculum resources, awards, initiatives, training and more that will engage children and young people and help foster a love or reading. To find out more about the WSLS, visit https://sls.warwickshire.gov.uk
If your school would like to take part in the Secondary Book Award next year, please email WSLS at schoolslibraryservice@warwickshire.gov.uk or phone 01926 413461.