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|title=Rooftoppers

|author=Katherine Rundell

|publisher=Faber & Faber

|date=March 2013

|video=ou85rDqQ4e0

|summary=This lyrical book will enchant teens, tweens and adults alike with its wonderful voice and great story. My tip for the Carnegie.

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Sophie is shipwrecked in the English Channel on her 1st birthday, with her mother presumed dead, but she's lucky enough to be found by scholar Charles. He raises her as his ward and they have a happy, if seriously unconventional, existence until the authorities intervene on her 12th birthday. With the orphanage beckoning, Sophie and Charles run away to France in the hope that her mother may be alive after all.

The rest of the book is written in the same gorgeous style, and it's married to a clever plot, lots of excitement, and one of the most wonderful climaxes for a long, long time. It's also one that I think could open older readers' eyes to the amount of amazing books out there today. This feels, in so many ways, reminiscent of classics like Noel Streatfeild and Joan Aiken that I'd put it towards the top of my list of books to hand to readers who haven't read recent YA. An utterly heartwarming and uplifting book; I have a feeling that this will win the Carnegie.

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