English Literature- drop poetry or short novel for GCSE

[Headunderthecovers]

My dd has to choose either poetry or A Christmas Carol for GCSE Literature (Edexcel).
He got the same grade - High 5- in both in a recent mock with no revision for poetry (but having recently done it in class) and some revision for ACC.
If anything he favours poetry, but I'm thinking this is the harder option for a child who dislikes the subject generally!
For reference he got 7 in English Language mock paper 1.
Any thoughts on which to choose?

I think that James and Beckett might be a bit challenging for a lot of students

Yes I'm sure you're right, clary and others. I just bunged down the first 4 names that came into my head, to be honest.

But I can't see the appeal of Dickens for the modern 15-year-old either tbh. What about Marjorie Blackman or Philip Pullman? On one level they write great stories with interesting characters and for those capable of looking in greater depth they tackle wider themes.

Or Markus Zusak's The Book Thief? Or if you're happy to go American SE Hinton's The Outsiders, Catcher in the Rye, Fahrenheit 451? All have ideas and themes which should be relatable for teenagers.

I appreciate that's asking a heck of a lot of English teachers, but I just wish English Lit was a bit more about inspiring teenagers to read rather than making it all something of a chore. I can dream