LYING About Last Summer, by Sue Wallman, has been named the winner of the Worcestershire Teen Book Awards.

120 pupils from schools across the county attended the ceremony at County Hall this week.

For the last four months, young people across Worcestershire have been encouraged by school librarians and public library staff to read a shortlist of six books and vote for their favouritee.

The shortlist was selected by pupils aged 11 to 14 years in county schools, and as well as the winner, included Born Scared by Kevin Brooks, Why I Went Back by James Clammer, The Trap by Alan Gibbons, Death or Ice Cream by Gareth P Jones and Blame by Simon Mayo.

At the ceremony, school teams took part in a fun quiz about the shortlisted books, with Woodrush High School, from Wythall, winnings.

Young adult author and ambassador for underprivileged children, Sufiya Ahmed, then gave a talk about her writing, answered questions and signed copies of her books, and then Young Poet Laureate finalists gave readings.

Dawn Woods, schools' library service manager, said: "The Worcestershire Teen Book Awards are a brilliant encouragement of reading for pleasure and widening reading tastes. The award is now in its tenth year and the response has been overwhelmingly positive, as always.

"Congratulations to Sue Wallman and all of the nominees for giving young people across Worcestershire a passion for reading that could last a lifetime, which makes such a difference to their future."