Unleashing Readers

Finding Your Book

“Should Teenagers Get to Decide What They Read?” by Raegen B., 8th grade

Reading in 2026 isn’t the most common thing that you see teens doing. Some are out playing soccer or volleyball. Maybe even doom scrolling on TikTok. But reading? It’s like pulling teeth to get some teenagers to even pick up a Diary of Wimpy Kid book! But what about those few? The ones in the corner of the lunchroom with their nose always buried in a book who finish almost 150 books every year? The ones who fly through books like they’re just walking? Should they get to make the decision on what they can or cannot read?

Giving teenagers and kids the option to pick what they want to read gives them freedom to read about what interests them. Assigning kids books that don’t interest them, may not push as many kids to want to read as you want. The McLoyd, in 1979 study proves this big time. The study gave kids 10 books to choose from, and they got to rank it based on what they found interesting, and what they didn’t find interesting. Then, give half the kids their top choices, and the other half their lowest choice. And of course as a result, the kids who got their top choice read much longer than those who got their last choice. This proves the fact that kids and teenagers are more likely to read books if they’re about what interests them. I mean, who wants to read a boring book for fun? Isn’t reading supposed to be fun and indulging the reader? Pressuring, and forcing kids to read isn’t going to make them want to read; it’s going to make them not like it and maybe even start hating it. Controlling what kids read can come off as being too pushy, and controlling so giving them the freedom to read and choose what books they like is the better approach to take.

Now, giving kids the freedom to choose what they read doesn’t mean to let them read books WAY above their age and reading level. I mean, you’re not going to give a 12-year old Stephen King, right? But at the same time, you’re not going to give them books like Pete the Cat. The approach that teenagers and kids should take when they find a book that they want to read is to ask and talk to their parents about it first. Going to your school’s librarian is also a great option since they’ve probably read a good chunk of the books in your school’s library and have a plethora of recommendations across many different genres that are age appropriate. Librarians are one of the most trustworthy resources regarding books and any recommendations that they have will most likely be amazing! Now teenagers should not only get recommendations from their librarian, but they (being both the teenagers and parents) should do research on the book. Doing research will allow for parents to set clear boundaries to what they’re comfortable with their kids reading. Some parents may not be comfortable with their kids reading books with more mature themes like abuse, death, and more gory injuries. Now, there is the case that some parents may not care what their kids read, but they should at least be aware of the fact that their own kids may be reading books with much more mature and adult themes.

The limit to what kids and teenagers should and shouldn’t be able to read should be something right in the middle; The books should be at a level that is in range of their age and maturity level, but not to low where they’re reading 4th grade level books, but not too high where they’re reading adult books. Even if teenagers are reading books like manga and graphic novels, that’s OKAY! Either way, they’re reading! There is nothing wrong with wanting to read Dog Man, Big Nate, or The Babysitters Club! Some people want to pick up  a book with pictures and color every once in a while since looking at a page full of just words can be overwhelming after a long day at school or work. Even audiobooks work; I LOVE listening to a good audiobook before I go to bed. Now, even though it may not be ideal, there is the case that some teenagers can, and have the ability to read above their age and maturity level and I’m not saying that this isn’t okay! This is great, considering they can read way beyond what society labels them as only being able to read. In fact, especially with younger kids, being able to read at a higher reading level promotes them to work independently more often, with higher knowledge and vocabulary. 

So, should kids decide what they can and cannot read? It depends, but overall, YES. However, teenagers and parents should both do research on the kinds of books that teens may be interested in reading and should set clear boundaries and guidelines. Setting boundaries will allow for kids to read books appropriate for their age level and not more or less. Overall, boundaries are key!

Sources:

• https://www.readingrockets.org/blogs/shanahan-on-literacy/should-kids-pick-their-own-reading-texts#:~:text=according%20to%20a%20blog%20post%2c%20there%20is,reading%20motivation**%20*%20**reading%20achievement%20of%201.20
• https://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/what-do-we-do-with-above-grade-readers#:~:text=An%20important%20thing%20to%20remember,additional%20planning%20time%2C%20however)
• And me 🙂

“Finding Love for Reading” by Palin S., 8th grade

How I personally got into reading

Most kids find reading boring and think that’s not going to help them in life. It’s actually the opposite, when you discover books you find interesting, it can become compelling. When you think of reading you may think of it as like a chore, something that schools make you do, for me finding that one genre that suits my interests made me feel like I’m watching a movie. I used to hate reading, then in early 7th grade my friend started talking to me about books that sounded interesting to me, it was similar to movies I watched or were inspired by movies I watched. I started reading graphic novels at first, then got into text-only books. Now I’m in a student literacy class and enjoy reading.

The uprise of books and why people are finding more interest in it

Have you ever seen “booktok”? There’s many posts that inspire people to read on tiktok, as long as you find kid-friendly books if you’re at a younger age than it also can be helpful. If you’re in your teenage years and you enjoy rom-coms and etc. they also have many recommendations. Social media has built a base that many book readers use to find books that suit them, even for people that aren’t so much into books can find many books that could interest them.

Books that guided me to actually enjoy books

Restart by Gordon Korman: this was one of the only books that interested me while I was in around 4 or 5th grade that my class read all together. It had so much climax and overall so much endorsement. Even though I didn’t read as much, I still remember that book being one of my favorites. To look at a viewpoint of having to restart your entire life, and remember how it was before he fell off the roof.

At 10 reading that book was like watching a movie.

New Kid by Jerry Craft: I read this book in 6th grade when the author, Jerry Craft, came to our school as an author visit. That was the best author visit I’ve ever seen at my middle school. He was inspiring, fun, and I love his books. His books had such good concepts to them and especially New kid, that is what started it all. I will say Class Act is also one of the best books I’ve ever read. I don’t move a lot so I don’t know so much about being a new kid in a school but I do remember the transition to middle school and now  I’m about to make it to high school, knowing that’s another hard transition. This book helps very well with that and the other series do too with other concepts. I love the diversity and the way this book can inspire.

Now as I got older I wanted to get into books that i found interest in similar to movies or shows I watch, I personally like Rom-Coms so i found interest into similar books, i won’t go into full details and give exact books but I will say, finding books that feel like you would watch the movie or show version is how I really started loving books as I got older. It can be any genre as long as you love it! 

Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter : This a great starter book if you want to get into rom-coms, it was my second. I’m currently 14 and I read it in December. I recommend it if you’re around that age. I feel like in most rom-com books the main character always has a widowed parent or some situation at home and I feel like many people could relate to that. Many teenage girls want their life to be like the movies where you fall in love, in most cases scenarios it’s not like that and if there is it’s not that simple, i feel like this book along with other rom-coms give you that. A not so perfect love story. I’d love this book and hope to read many more from this author.

In conclusion, books are actually fun and interesting to read when you find the ones you like and suit your creative taste. You don’t want to be stuck reading a book you’re forced to read if you don’t actually like it. Many librarians in and out of school can help you find the one that you actually want to read. So don’t waste your time and actually enjoy reading.

Thank you so much to my student voices today and their look at finding the right book!

Reading Reflections

“What Draws Us to Our Favorite Characters?” by Luna K., 7th grade

You know the characters aren’t real, so why  is it that you can feel so much for them? Based on a study done by The University of Florida (UF) in 2022, people can form emotional connections with fictional characters by judging them, and their personality like they would with a real person. In this study, they also found that people are drawn to their favorite characters by relatability.

One of these reasons being relatability, according to Gregory Webster, that’s one of the reasons shows like Game of Thrones are so popular, it’s the fact that “there are no perfect good guys or perfect bad guys”, just characters with complexity, humanity, and the ability to improve themself like everyone else. When characters are like that it makes it easier to like them and see similarities between you and the characters instead of  fairy tail characters who were too perfect and unrelatable. People tend to look for people like them, and people they can relate to, typically starting around middle school age.  

Another one of these reason is empathy when seeing a character going through a painful/hurtful experience that you might have went through you feel for them you can manage to feel and empathize with some you haven’t even meet,someone how isn’t even real but when experiencing the characters point of view you can’t help but feel what they feel people collect so many experiences through the years so when seeing someone going through something similar experience it makes you connect and might even make the character more likable to some people.     

Why do you like your favorite character is it because you feel a connection with them because you relate to them or if you can empathize with their experiences. 

Sources
1.https://news. ufl.edu/2022/05/why-you-got-attached-to-your-favorite-character/
2. https://www.motionpictures.org/2013/07/the-psychology-of-character-bonding-why-we-feel-a-real-connection-to-actors/

“How a Single Manga Changed My Life” by Lucas R., 7th grade

A single book series was all it was to change my life. That book or should I say manga, still impacts me day-to-day. This manga is called One Piece.

One Piece is a manga and anime created by Eiichiro Oda, and it is about a boy called Monkey D. Luffy, who wants to become The King Of The Pirates and find the treasure that the previous Pirate King left behind. In fact One Piece has become the most selling Comic of all time. Yes, Comic, not manga, Comic. Meaning that One Piece has surpassed Superman and many other Comic books, although Superman has over 600 million copies in 88 years, One Piece has over 600 million copies and over 1200 episodes that are all 24 minutes in only 29 years and it’s still going. But this isn’t about One Piece, it’s about me and how this simple manga changed everything.

It all started in around 2021, when my brother introduced me to a silly anime called One Piece. I was invested in it, and then my brother gave me the site to watch it, and through the next 3 years I was watching it. When I would come home from school I would immediately get on my computer and start watching One Piece. And that introduced me to the entire world that is called Anime. Anime are cartoons or shows created in the art style and way of people in Japan. But unlike regular cartoons, anime can get serious and One Piece can get serious, fast. But because of One Piece, I have read/watched countless anime and manga. And all these anime have changed how I act and how I think. 

One Piece has many themes, some of which being to pursue your dreams and to be free. These simple themes resonate deep within me, although there are some themes that make me revolt in disgust, and Luffy (the main character) agrees with me, like corruption, human trafficking and many more. But Luffy often liberates countries from this corruption like what he did in Wano, where he liberated the entire country from the rule of somebody called Kaido and did many terrible things to the people of Wano. Or when he punched one of the world’s highest people called a celestial dragon because he wanted to own one of Luffy’s friends. These actions are what makes me love One Piece so much.

Along with themes, there are also quotes that feel right and give a giant impact about how many people see the world, not just me. For example Dr. Hiriluk says “When do you think people die? When they are shot through the heart by the bullet of a pistol? No. When they are ravaged by an incurable disease? No. When they drink a soup made from a poisonous mushroom? No. It’s when they are forgotten!” This quote has shown many people, myself included, that as long as people remember who they are and why they are, then they will never truly be forgotten for how great they are. And that includes relatives that may have passed away. In fact my grandfather passed away recently and no matter what I will never forget how great of a man he was, and to me. He will never truly be gone. Aside from that there are also quotes like “You can spill drinks on me, even spit on me. I’ll just laugh about it. But if you dare to hurt my friends… I won’t forgive you!” This basically says that nothing is more important than your friends. These quotes, when I first saw them, opened my eyes to One Piece and made me realize how deep One Piece can actually go, even if some moments are just fun and games, and how much I can apply these quotes to my life.

The world building in One Piece is also exceptional, the way that Oda makes the story fit to something he may have said over 100 chapters ago. It makes me aspire to be in the One Piece world myself, maybe somewhere like Sabaody Archipelago where I could enjoy being next to the world government, and living next to the ocean. Or maybe Egghead Island where I can explore the world’s most advanced technology. But at the beginning of the story, in chapter 1, there was a character named Shanks and he used this power that was only introduced 230 chapters later. I adore this aspect of One Piece because it shows how much thought Oda put into creating the environment and story.

One Piece has changed so much for me that I can’t even describe a small portion of it, but if I didn’t watch One Piece then I would be much, much different. For example: I wouldn’t have watched any anime/manga. And I severely doubt that I would be exactly the same as I am today. But, I can almost guarantee that if you watch One Piece, then your life will change too, one chapter or episode at a time.

Here are some mangas I recommend and love:

• One Piece by Eiichiro Oda: One Piece has great world-building and characters. One Piece is also still going on even after over 20 years; and in march of this year, it has become the most selling comic of all time, even passing superman. One Piece is about a boy named Monkey D. Luffy and his adventure to becoming the King of the Pirates.
• Re:Zero, My Life in Another World by Tappei Nagatsuki: Re:Zero first began as a light novel, but is now getting a manga adaptation. Re:Zero is about a high schooler called Subaru Natsuki and he was transported to another world. But his power is truly terrifying, every time he dies he comes back, with his memories and the pain. This is perfect if you want a dark isekai.
• One Punch Man by One: One Punch man is a comedic manga about a guy that is so strong that he can defeat anyone with a single punch. But then he finds life to be too boring so he tries to find someone who does not get one-shot.
• The Apothecary Diaries by Hyuganatsu: The Apothecary Diaries is about a girl called maomao who was kidnapped then sold off to the royal palace, but she is really into poisons and medicines. With her knowledge she solves many mysteries regarding many different topics.
• Dr. Stone by Riichiro Inagaki: Dr Stone is about a boy called Senku who was considered a genius by his peers, but one day a bright green light showered the world causing every human to turn into stone for 3718 years and 302 days causing the entire world to turn back into the stone age. Using his knowledge he advances the world back to the modern era.
• The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shirai: The Promised Neverland is about a group of kids who live in an orphanage but one day one of the kid’s friends Conny was finally adopted. But she had forgotten something of hers, so some of her friends went to give it to her when she had left. But when they had found her about to be sent off they found out that she was dead.
• Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami: You have probably heard of Jujutsu Kaisen as it blew up in fall of 2020. Jujutsu Kaisen or also known as JJK is about a boy called Yuji Itadori, who was a regular high school student but one day everything changed.
• Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is about an entire bloodline of the JoJo family and their common enemy, the Brando family. Their journeys are full of twists and turns as they go through centuries of hiding and chasing.
• Shangri-La Frontier by Katarina: Shangri-La Frontier is about a boy named Hizotome who only played really bad VR games, but one day he decides to play a Really good game, and he has a lot of skill transferred from beating really bad games.
• Classroom Of The Elite by Syougo Kinugasa: Classroom Of The Elite is about Ayonokoji who attends a school where you get “points” where you can buy anything, literally anything. But this school has a dangerous truth to it, the students all plan to expel each other. But you can buy back students with the points, specifically 2 million.

“Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover (Don’t Judge Someone ‘Til You Know Them)” by Ava G., 7th grade

Some people don’t enjoy reading as much as others do. Then when people do try to read something, they look at the cover. Probably judging whether the book looks cool to read or not. It’s very common! A book can have such an interesting or amazing cover, but reading the back cover from a book is designed to hook new readers to get interested in the book! Kinda like what you can expect when reading. Some parts from the back cover gets readers more excited to read since a part could be cut off and then you really wanna read it to find out what happened or why it happened. I’ve read many books like that. They can be so detailed and can get people in the zone wanting to finish reading it. 

Let’s say you’re trying to find a new book to read. You could be more interested in Graphic Novels, Fiction, Non-Fiction, or Manga. People attend to have trouble finding something they might like to read. Try finding books with dull covers. Read their back cover to get into the book. Not all books may have a good back cover to make a reader wanna read it. Or some may do! The back cover is like a little summary about the book. They can leave crazy parts out. Some parts you might enjoy in the book. Making you want to really find out what’s going to happen next! I know it happens to me a lot when I read. Try reading a couple of pages in the first chapter, novel or anything. Look at pictures/drawings from graphic novels and manga! 

For example: You’re in your school library and you would probably need to find a book. Try some books like One of Us is Lying. It’s a mystery book with horror and very surprising twists and turns. Another is The Giver. This book might seem weird since of elderly guy on the cover but it’s about a community after a huge war. Everyone is assigned one job forever on their 12th birthday and no one knows what real love and emotions are! Maybe you like romance! The Summer I Turned Pretty was a huge one I loved. Many others did too. It’s about two families growing up together with the moms being best friends since around high school. Then crazy love and drama happen. For really any books that might not seem so wanting to read, try it. 

These can be some other book options: Places We’ve Never Been, You’ve Reached Sam, Hunger Games, Smile, A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder, Never Have I Ever, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Shatter Me, and so much more!! You have to try something. No matter what! Try something you may not like, then find something else instead! That’s okay. 

You probably never knew this but book covers are kinda like people. You might have switched schools before or even met someone new at your school. Most people go straight to their looks rather than asking stuff about them. You never know how someone is till you get to know one another. This is so similar to books. Everyone goes to judging what they see with their own eyes first, rather than reading/meeting them.  People in your school might be quiet all the time but you don’t know who they are. People could have brilliant minds, great at drawings, amazing writers, incredibly kind and talented! 

Thank you so much to my student voices today and their look at reading within their lives!