“The Secret Map to Guiding Reluctant Readers”
As much as we may debate causes and solutions, there is one grim fact all educators, parents, and publishers can agree on: Kids need to be reading more. With screens permeating every hour of our daily lives, constantly offering faster, easier dopamine hits, shortcuts, and distractions, the question comes up over and over:
“How do we make kids want to read?”
Having written for teens and kids for over fifteen years, seeing the market change dramatically in that time, and having become a parent myself, I’ve asked these questions repeatedly of both myself and the educators I meet. How do we help reluctant readers discover that “one right book” which will, rumor has it, ignite in them a lifelong love of reading?
Every reader, reluctant or not, is unique, and requires unique encouragement. There’s no “one size fits all” tactic for encouraging reluctant readers just as there’s no one book that will appeal to each of them. But throughout my years meeting readers at schools, festivals, libraries—and my own experience raising a reluctant reader—I’ve learned there is a secret map that helps us guide reluctant readers to just the right books.
The key to that map is surprisingly simple: Ask the right questions. Then listen without judgment.
When I meet a reader, I want to find out A) what they like, and B) why they like it. “Do you like video games? You do? Well, what do you like to play? What’s your favorite TV show? Do you play a sport?”
And while, yes, I hear a lot of “Dog Man, Fortnite, and Demon Slayer,” I never get tired of seeing their faces light up as they describe what they love. When a kid tells me what they like, they’re offering me something enormously valuable: a precious, precise manual of how to get their interest.
And that’s completely changed how I write books and how I connect them with young readers.
From the time I start a new story to the time the finished book finally hits store and library shelves, I’m thinking about my reader: What is she watching on TV? What is video game is he obsessed with? What is it about those stories that captures her imagination? How will my story fit into the cultural map of their lives? How can I connect it with what they already know and love?
“Oh, you like the intense battles in Demon Slayer? Me too! Hey, you should try reading Monster and Apprentice. It’s also about kids who fight monsters and use cool battle magic!” or “You play a lot of Fortnite battle royale, huh? Imagine if battle royales were real, and kids had no choice but to fight in one. That’s exactly what happens to this girl named Katniss in The Hunger Games!”
Of course, being able to make these connections requires us adults to cultivate awareness of what kids are into these days. That helps us know whether it’s the intense battles in Demon Slayer they like—or if it’s the brother-sister bond at the heart of the story, or the unique art style of the manga, or the hilarious friendship dynamic between the main characters. That’s where the “Why do you like it?” question becomes important, helping us create deeper connections between the concepts they’re drawn to and the books that will best reach them.
I do find this easier now that I’m a parent, I’ll admit. There’s no ignoring K-Pop Demon Hunters blasting on my TV for the thousandth time this year! But even if I didn’t have that immediate insight at my fingertips, the great thing about kids is they love to tell you all about what interests them. We just have to be curious and, it must be stressed, nonjudgmental.
I think there’s a part of us adults, born from good intentions, that can’t resist correcting a kid’s interests, to redirect them to what they “should” like. After all, don’t we know better? Isn’t it our job to help them grow and make better choices?
Well, maybe. But the fastest, surest way to discourage a potential reader is to dismiss their interests out of misguided didacticism. They hear us say graphic novels aren’t “real books,” that they should try reading something either easier or more challenging, or that books are better for them than video games—and they feel belittled and rejected. A negative judgment of what they enjoy will feel like a negative judgment of them. A book then becomes not an enticing story, but a punishment. Of course that will be met with reluctance, if not downright resistance!
Setting aside our own opinions and judgments long enough to see the reader in front of us is the first step to real connection. Once we know who they are and what they like, we can thoughtfully introduce books that will most naturally fit into the cultural map of their lives. We can know that this reader will like this book, not because we told them they must—but because we’ve taken the time to understand them and respect their interests. Kids know what they want. We just have to listen!
Monster and Apprentice by Jessica Khoury
Published July 14th, 2026 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
About the Book: After a life on the streets Rolan is chosen to apprentice under a feared monster hunter to slay Cryptics—deadly magical creatures born of secrets in this middle grade fantasy perfect for fans of Witcher and Demon Slayer.
Rolan Strider has never belonged—not at school, not in the city of Crisanth, and definitely not in the life of his crime-lord father. So when he’s caught vandalizing one of the city’s lanterns—a serious offense in a world where darkness breeds monsters—he expects prison. Instead, he’s claimed by the Arcanist, a legendary warrior who hunts Cryptics: terrifying creatures born from the secrets people hide.
Dragged beyond the safety of the city, Rolan is forced to train under Luc’s harsh guidance—learning to read, fight, and wield Arcana, the strange power drawn from slain Cryptics. And for the first time, Rolan begins to feel at home.
But the beast Luc has been hunting for years is closer than Rolan ever imagined—and tied to his own past in ways that could destroy them both.
To survive, Rolan must face the truth, wield the power of the very secrets he fears, and decide who he wants to be in this action-packed adventure: an outlaw, a hero…or something else entirely.
(For the first printing only! This hardcover features sprayed stenciled edges while the special edition supply lasts.)
About the Author: Jessica Khoury is an acclaimed author whose books for teens and young readers have been translated into over a dozen languages and recognized by awards like the South Carolina Junior Book Award and the Ignyte Award. Her bestselling middle grade debut, The Mystwick School of Musicraft, was named one of Audible’s Best Audiobooks of 2019 and is among the Top 20 Most Listened To Children’s Books ever. Also, a fantasy cartographer and illustrator, Jess’s artwork has appeared in New York Times bestsellers, games, and her own books. Drawing inspiration from her Scottish and Middle Eastern heritage, childhood, and the world around her, she lives in Greenville, South Carolina, with her husband and daughters, spending free time hiking, gaming, and creating new stories.
Thank you, Jessica, for the reminder to LISTEN because if we listen to kids, they will tell us!
