Student Voices

Student Voices: Looking At Characters from Favorite Books from Omayma H., Abigail D., Cassie W., Ethan S., and Gabriela T.

by
Share

Looking at Characters from Favorite Books

“Top Ten Favorite Book Couples” by Omayma H., 8th grade

Romance in books is special. Readers feel connected to characters as they experience love and challenges. Whether it’s enemies to lovers or friends to lovers, here are my top 10 favorite book couples. (Note: These couples are NOT in order.  I can’t pick!)

Powerless – Kai and Paedyn
Trope: Enemies to Lovers

Kai and Paedyn come from two different social classes. Kai, the prince and the future Enforcer of Illya, and Paedyn, an illegal ordinary, who lives in the slums. They aren’t supposed to meet, not when Peadyn is supposed to be hiding from Kai and his job as the enforcer to get rid of all ordinaries. But when Kai gets into trouble in the slums, Paedyn saves him without really knowing who he is, and that results in her getting chosen for the purging trials, all because she saved the prince. Now, Kai and Paedyn have to compete in the trials against each other. But instead of becoming rivals and hating each other, they form a relationship of teasing, pretend hatred, and care. They help each other through the trials, slowly falling for each other at the same time. Despite a small problem that happens in their relationship, Kai and Paedyn grow to trust and love each other through the trilogy. Facing challenges to be with each other, but always caring for each other.

The Cruel Prince – Cardan and Jude
Trope: Enemies to Lovers

Fae and mortal, prince and outcast. Carden and Jude were enemies from the beginning, ever since Jude and her sisters were brought to faerie when they were small. Carden, the youngest and meanest of the kings’ children, had always seemed to have something against Jude. Though during the progression of the series, Jude and Carden get closer as they work together and fall in love. Their relationship is filled with heartfelt words, filled with adorable nicknames, confessions, and teasing. Not to mention supporting each other all the time. Their sharp banter hints at a growing attraction. Cardan’s harshness hides sensitivity, while Jude’s strength draws him in. Their journey shows that love can develop even in rivalry.

The Selection – Maxon and America
Trope: Friends to Lovers

Maxon and America’s relationship starts as a friendship. They get to know each other during the Selection competition. America enters the Selection for other reasons, but begins to have real feelings for Maxon. Maxon is kind, understanding, and supportive. America struggles with her feelings and her past. They share sweet moments and face challenges together. They learn to trust each other. Their relationship is built on friendship, respect, and a growing romantic bond as they navigate their world. Both of them face hard challenges, but are always there for each other. Filled with sweet first times and love like no other.

The Inheritance Games – Jameson and Avery
Trope: Friends to Lovers

Jameson and Avery’s relationship begins as a friendship. They work together to solve puzzles and uncover secrets in a game set by Jameson’s grandfather for Avery’s inheritance. As they spend time together, they develop a strong connection and trust. Jameson is protective and supportive of Avery, while she brings out his softer side. Their bond grows as they face challenges, leading to deeper feelings for each other. No matter what challenges they face, both of them stay by each other’s side and help each other no matter what. 

Percy Jackson and the Olympians – Percy and Annabeth
Trope: Friends to Lovers

Percy and Annabeth’s relationship begins as a friendship, but it slowly develops into something deeper. They face many adventures and challenges together as demigods, supporting and protecting each other along the way. Their bond is built on trust, loyalty, and mutual respect. They also share a lot of playful banter, which adds a fun dynamic to their connection. Over time, their feelings grow, and they become a strong couple, always there for one another through thick and thin. 

Shatter Me – Aaron and Juliette
Trope: Enemies to Lovers

Aaron Warner and Juliette’s relationship is intense and complicated. At first, they are enemies, with Warner being a powerful figure who represents the world Juliette is trying to escape. However, as they spend more time together, they start to understand each other’s struggles. Warner reveals his softer side, showing he cares for her deeply, while Juliette learns to trust him. Their relationship evolves from hatred to a deep emotional connection, filled with passion and support as they face challenges together. At the end, they become a strong couple who help each other heal and grow.

Once Upon a Broken Heart – Jacks and Evangeline
Trope: Enemies to Lovers

Jacks and Evangeline’s relationship starts with them as enemies. Jacks is mysterious and often manipulative, while Evangeline is strong and wants to protect herself and her loved ones. As they spend time together, they begin to understand each other. This leads to unexpected feelings between them. Despite the tension and challenges they face, their connection grows stronger. They learn to trust and care for one another, turning their rivalry into a romantic relationship.

Caraval – Julian and Scarlet
Trope: Enemies to Lovers

Julian and Scarlet have a strong friendship that grows into a romantic relationship. They start by supporting each other and face challenges together. As they spend time together, their trust in each other deepens, and they develop romantic feelings. Throughout their journey, they help each other grow and overcome obstacles. Even though their relationship has some problems like lies and hidden secrets, they learn to trust each other.

Keeper of the Lost Cities – Keefe and Sophie
Trope: Friends to Lovers

Keefe and Sophie are close friends with a complicated relationship. They start as friends and build a strong bond based on trust and support. Keefe is playful and brings fun to their friendship, while Sophie is serious and focused on her tasks. Their differences balance each other. They understand one another and help each other with challenges. As they go on adventures together, their feelings for each other deepen. Overall, their relationship includes friendship, loyalty, and growing emotions. Keefe had feelings for Sophie from the beginning, and even so, Sophie was oblivious to it all and had her own crush. And despite it not being him (and also feeling all her emotions, which makes it harder), Keefe always supported her and was happy for her no matter what. And when she finally realized her feelings for him, Sophie did not wait to tell him, hoping he still felt the same, which started this relationship.

Carval – Donatella and Legend
Trope: Enemies to Lovers

Donatella and Legend have a complicated relationship that changes throughout the story. At first, they seem like enemies because they have different goals and backgrounds. As they spend more time together, they start to understand each other better. Tella sees that Legend is more than just mysterious and manipulative, and Legend appreciates Tella’s strength and determination. Their relationship has tension and challenges, but they learn to trust and care for each other despite their differences.

“Thoughts on Characters from my Favorite Graphic Novels” by Abigail D., 7th grade

The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat

I’m making my thoughts on  Christina because I love her story and how much of a good impact she made in this book. She’s the kind of girl with confidence in everything she does which I admire so much.

Ghost by Raina Telgemeier

I’m making my thoughts on Catalina because I love how much she inspired her little sister. I’ve noticed this in every book but this one is my favorite yet. I enjoy their relationship and how Raina was the best role model she could be.

Logan Likes Mary-Anne! by Ann M. Martin

I’m making my thoughts on Mary-Anne because at first in the story she was really shy around new people but as the story went on she progressed to be herself more and even when she would be embarrassed she always had someone by her side and Mary-Anne wasn’t afraid.

The Squad by Christina Soontornvat

I’m making my thoughts on Megan because when Christina was going through a really hard time in this book, Megan stood by her side and never left. She was an amazing friend toward Christina which I love most about Megan.

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

I’m making my thought on Cassie because I love how she has a love and passion for theater/drama because it suits her incredibly well which makes the story so much better, In my opinion when you can see that in a story the actually have a passion for what they do, it makes the story 10x better.

Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

I’m making my thoughts about Amara because while they were on a road trip they all got to spend quality time with each other and even though it got to a point where they got tired of each other, Amara was always making the story more and more interesting for me.

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

I’m making my thoughts on Raina because when her teeth got ruined, she thought that she didn’t look pretty and she was in a lot of pain but later in the story she learns that she’s pretty no matter what and doesn’t let that define who she is. Meanwhile her teeth end up looking so much better in the end!

Guts by Raina Telgemeier

I’m making my thoughts about Raina’s mom because in this book Raina was so afraid of sickness and she was very overwhelmed but her mom was by her side attempting to make her feel better and was really trying to the best of her abilities for her daughter.

Real Friends by Shannon Hale

I’m making thoughts on Jen because I feel like her perspective on things is real and genuinely takes things seriously. She has a whole group of friends but doesn’t know if some of them could be real or not is a big determination that is important to realize.

New Kid by Jerry Craft

I’m making thoughts on Jordan because when he moved to a whole new place and school he was very shy and didn’t have any friends but soon enough he made friends. I love how he also had an amazing passion for drawing and how much he admired it.

“10 Characters I’d Be Friends With in Real Life” by Cassie W., 8th grade

Percy Jackson from Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

Percy would do absolutely anything for his friends, he is very funny, and his mom is arguably the best book mom out there. Who wouldn’t want to be friends with him?

Molly Frost from Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone

Molly stands up and does something when her friends aren’t being treated right. I want to be more like Molly and speak up more.

Apollo/Lester Papadopoulos from The Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan

Lester is dramatic and sassy,(I mean when you get cast down to Earth from Mount Olympus, who wouldn’t be?) which is a lot like me, so I think we would have fun together.

Marlee Tames from The Selection by Kiera Cass

Marlee is a very fun and happy person to be around. She knows how to turn a bad situation into a good one. I really like being around people that are happy, so me and Marlee would have lots of fun together.

Taylor Jewel from The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Taylor is a very good friend to Belly. Even when they are fighting, Taylor still loves Belly and helps her through her problems. I would love to have Taylor as a friend.

Hazel Levesque from The Heroes of Olympus

Hazel is very sweet and she has been through a lot, so I really want to be her friend and comfort her.

Annabeth Chase from Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Annabeth is very smart and she likes designing things. I also like design, so we could talk about design and she could help me with Geometry.😭

Bianca Di Angelo from The Titan’s Curse

Bianca is someone who would do anything for her brother, and I would also do anything for my family. I think our brothers would get along well because my brother likes Pokemon and Nico likes Mythomagic.

Bronwyn Rojas from One of Us is Lying

Bronwyn would not give up until she found out how Simon died. I also like investigating things and figuring out how things happen.

Harper Lancaster from 12 to 22

Harper is a big fan of Taylor Swift and likes makeup. I also like those things, so I think we would have a good time together.

“Books That I’d Want to Be the Main Character In” by Ethan S., 7th grade

The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown

The main character in this book is so interesting, she was able to lead a whole group of fish and whales and basically the whole ocean to destroy a ship that was producing a lot of pollution which was killing a lot of sea life. I would want to be Roz (the main character) in this because I would want to know how it would feel when your whole family is dyeing and you had to do something to stop it. 

Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland

I’d love to be the main character in Wings of Fire because getting to be Clay, a dragon with a big heart and hidden strength, sounds amazing. He’s brave even when he’s scared, and he cares deeply about his friends, which I really admire. Being part of a secret prophecy and going on wild adventures would make life so exciting. I think it would be incredible to discover who I really am while helping save the world. Plus, flying and breathing fire? That’s just awesome.

The Liars Society by Alyson Gerber

I’d like to be the main character in The Liar Society because Kate is fearless, clever, and never gives up, even when the truth is buried deep. She’s willing to risk everything to solve a mystery and stand up for her best friend, which I really admire. Being in her shoes would be intense, but also thrilling—I love the idea of uncovering secrets and outsmarting people who think they can get away with lies. Kate’s loyalty and determination make her someone I’d want to be. Plus, who wouldn’t want to wear a pink hair ribbon and take down a secret society?

A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga

I’d love to be the main character in A Rover’s Story because getting to explore Mars and learn new things every day sounds incredible. Even though I’m a robot, I start to feel emotions, which makes me unique—and I think that’s something really special. I’d get to help people by sending back important information, and that would give my journey a real purpose. It might be lonely out there, but I’d still feel connected to the humans who believe in me. Being curious, brave, and learning what it means to care—that’s the kind of adventure I’d want to have.

“Top 5 Best Book Characters” by Ethan S., 7th grade

While reading books, there is always that one character that gets you attention. Whether it’s for their good acts and intentions, or even for their sense of humor, these characters are often loved by all. Here are my top 5 favorite book characters:

  1. Celeste Newsome – The Selection series

Although Celeste is one of the main “villains” in the first book, she has grown a lot throughout the series. She has shown guilt by what she has done wrong, and changed to be a better person after the selection, even though life had other plans for her.

  1. Cammie Morgan – Gallagher Girl series

Cammie is a brave, smart character, who is determined to do everything for what she believes in. She and her friends use what they learned to protect their sisterhood and investigate Cammie’s first love.

  1. Lina – Love & Gelato

Lina shows how good her heart is by attending to her deceased mother’s last wish, even though it was something she did not want to do. By moving to Tuscany with her long lost father and visiting Italy with her new friend ren, she shows bravery to end up discovering a secret that will change everything she knows.

  1. Melody Brooks – Out of My Mind (series)

Melody is the definition of bravery and determination, after everything she went through. Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, her life started out as a challenge since the beginning. It was hard for her to make friends because of her disability, but even then, she was able to prove herself into making a national TV competition. She says that although her body might be broken, she is not.

  1. Paedyn – Powerless

Paedyn is brave and fights for her survival everyday. Being an ordinary, she has to live in the shadows and steal in order to survive. After making a good deed, she is given the place in the Purging trials, a deadly battle that could make her rich, or dead. She sacrifices everything and goes to these trials, where unexpected things happen.

Thank you so much to my student voices today and their look at characters in books they love!

Student Voices: Impact of Author Visits from Leonardo V., Faten I., and Mia G.

by
Share

Impact of Author Visits

“2023 vs. 2024 vs. 2025 Author Visits” by Leonardo V., 8th grade

As the 2024-2025 school year comes to a close, some of us will be saying our goodbyes as 8th graders will move on to high school and remember all the memories we made in middle school. One of those memories we made were the 3 author visits. They are fun days where we meet an author in person and learn about their books and about themselves! Which one was the best overall though? I will be answering this question with mine and other opinions from around the school!

2023 Author Visit: Christina Diaz Gonzalez

About Author Christina Diaz Gonzalez

The 2023 author visit (2024-2025 8th graders first one) invited Christina Diaz Gonzalez to HCMS. She had the most diverse options for books out of the 3 authors with the most genres. In HCMS, she is most known for the book Invisible and Concealed [We’ve been very lucky because she visited our two-way dual language program in 2022 then we won a] a virtual author visit in 2023 in the 2023-2024 school year [also]! She is also visiting the school again for the 2025-2026 author visit,  so the next generation can see our 1st one!

“I think it was very fun and it was a very new experience for me” Valiya T.

2024 Author Visit: Jerry Craft

The Horn Book | Read Jerry Craft's 2020 Coretta Scott King Book Award Author Acceptance Speech American Library Association ALA Virtual Book Award Celebration

The 2024 author visit (2024-2025 8th graders second one) invited Jerry Craft to HCMS. He is the author that visited HCMS that got the most awards like the John Newberry medal. In HCMS he is most known for the “New Kid” series. He also made a special appearance in the house meeting after that to play basketball. He does have the least amount of books out of the 3 though. 

“It was really fun and I’m really thankful that I got to meet him. Being the really successful author that he is, and all the advice he gave us for the future, it was a great time for me.” Raegen B.

2025 Author Visit: George O’Connor

George O'Connor | Authors | Macmillan

The 2025 author visit (2024-2025 8th graders final one) invited George O’ Connor to HCMS. He has the longest series out of the 3 authors which is called “Olympians” George O’ Connor is also best known for that same series in HCMS. He was the author who explained all of his books in depth and also explained the most about himself and gave a good lesson. 

“I liked his visit because I feel like I got to know his background on why he started writing his books in the first place.” Ellie M.

Conclusion

 All the author visits has their (mainly) highs and (rarely) lows and have a place in our hearts, and we should thank Ms. Moye for coordinating these! To all the next author visits and beyond!

“The Impact of Author Visits” by Faten I., 7th grade

Sometimes we get so lost in such a good book, but we never look at the magic behind it. We never really pay attention to how the author came up with the idea of the book, what inspired them to start writing, or even what their life was like. Sometimes we don’t even pay attention to the author at all! 

But HCMS decided to change that. Every year, we have authors come and visit our school. These authors share their background, what inspired them to start writing, how they came up with the ideas of their books and so much more! 

For example, last year (2024) we had Jerry Craft come and visit our school. To prepare for this, everyone and their ELA classes read his book New Kid. We also decorated the library with posters, we decorated the doors, and we displayed art from Mr. Gomez’s (art teacher) class in the front office. When Jerry Craft came some language arts came in and Jerry had a presentation about his past, books, what inspired him to make books, drew some drawings for us, told us about his journey, and even played in our staff vs students basketball game! 

This whole experience impacted so many kids and I  because we got to see an author talk about his life and what inspires him. We have some very talented artists in our school who took some of his art advice and benefited from him. He also inspired many students by pushing them to read more!

So many students and I were so amazed by the fact that one minute we were reading his book and the next minute he was right in front of us! He really did inspire students a lot especially with his drawings. He taught us so much about books, diversity, he even taught me how to draw a background which actually saved me in art. I loved this experience so much! 

This year we had George O’Connor, and I learned SO much! I never really knew anything about Greek mythology, but his presentation and the events, and decorations we had for him taught me so much!

Before George O’Connor came we prepared for him by making and hanging up posters, door decorating, having his books on display, hanging up some of Mr. Gomez’s kid’s artwork, making paper cutouts of characters from some of his books, and we even had an Olympians night where you could play games based on the Greek goddesses, purchase food drinks, and get stamps for each station you complete! I was so glad because this year as a student literacy leader I was able to help with all of this and it was so much fun.  

When Gorge O’Connor first came many students including myself knew nothing about Greek Gods or him, but throughout his presentation he shared a lot and taught us a lot. He taught us about his past, his drawing techniques, his school life, how he was when he was a kid, what inspired him to start writing books, and so much about the Greek gods. 

This experience was so cool because it taught me and other students that even if we think we  can’t do something we always can, you just have to have faith and try. He also taught me and others  so much about Greek mythology, and gods and goddesses which we all found so cool. Gorge gave a lot of kids fun memories by signing books and bookmarks for them, talking with them, showing us cool activities, etc.!  

Overall I think author visits should continue because they benefit me and many kids in so many ways and have big impacts!

“How Yearly Author Visits Impact Students” by Mia G., 7th grade

Careers

Yearly Author visits are really helpful to students when it comes to choosing careers. Many authors like to introduce careers like publishing, arts, writing, and more which can make a student feel a type of connection with that career. When authors come to schools and talk about their story/background on how they became authors it can motivate students making the idea of becoming an author or another career related to it feel more real to them.

Encourages to Read

Most of the time Author Visits encourage students to start reading by discussing their books, their characters and themes of the book making students feel more interested in their books. This motivates students to start reading more not only specific author books but similar books from different authors or by discovering which genres they like. Authors also let students ask questions which makes them more interested in reading.

Understanding the process of writing

Authors often share their process like everything they have had to go through to be where they are right now; they share their success and the challenges they have gone through over the years. This can make the students learn to understand the process of writing and make them clearly  understand that everything takes time.

Participation

Authors often let students ask questions  out loud and tell them their thoughts, questions or opinions. This activity helps students to communicate in front of a lot or a group of people making them more confident in speaking out loud

Conclusion

In conclusion, Yearly author visits benefit students in many good ways which can have a big impact on them!

Thank you so much to my student voices today and their look at our yearly author visits!

Student Voices: Benefits of Reading and School Libraries from Annarita A., Leo S., Scarlet-Gray S., Arden W., and Diogo R.

by
Share

Benefits of Reading and School Libraries

“Impacts of Reading” by Annarita A., 7th grade

Love Heart Made With Book Pages | A love heart shape made us… | Flickr

Reading can be beneficial, not only to learning scholars, but even to full grown adults. Reading is amazing for everyone. It can help with so many things, varying from improved memory and concentration to mental health. Reading can even reduce the risk of dementia! After school most people stop reading. But some people refrain from reading even in their school years ! Reading while you are young can help so much. Let’s go over the benefits and impacts of reading. At the end of this post I will link some book recommendations. 

CONCENTRATION

Reading can provide long term benefits to concentration. It increases the amount of white matter in the brain which is known to help focus and learning skills. It also improves attention spans. Concentration is very important and in the present world our attention spans are slowly drifting away to social media. So instead of scrolling through your favorite apps, take a few minutes to open a book and read! 🙂

ENHANCED VOCABULARY

Have you ever stumbled across a word and have absolutely no idea what it means? Well when you are reading you will most probably stumble across those words more often. Especially in more advanced reader books. When you come upon the words your brain will learn to connect these words with context clues and slowly you will learn what that word means.

INCREASED CREATIVITY

Reading books, more specifically fiction books can boost your creativity. Immersing yourself in different worlds and characters can definitely help you. It will boost your brain’s creativity and help with the real world. Especially if you are thinking of or have a job that requires a lot of creative thinking!

MENTAL HEALTH

Reading is also amazing for your Mental Health. Have you ever felt so stressed out? Well open a book and start reading. Reading books can help reduce stress and can make you forget about the stressful things. It can also help with sleep. Have you thought about  why parents read to their children at night? It can also reduce heart rate and blood pressure. Reading overall can make you feel calm and relaxed.

HOW TO FIND THE PERFECT BOOK FOR YOU

Well all these benefits I went over can only help if you actually read! Reading can be really, really fun and you will enjoy it so much. But first you need to find a good book that you will enjoy. Most kids hate reading because they are usually forced into reading books that others pick for them. They can’t find something that they would like. So find something that clicks with you. To do that you need to think about what you like. For example if you were interested enough to get this far into this post, you might like reading non fiction or informational articles/books. If non fiction doesn’t really connect with you, you can explore different options. For example if you love magic and adventure you can find books like that. My recommendation is Harry Potter by J.K Rowling or Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland. Or if you are more into Mystery/ Dystopian fiction I would recommend Cinder by Marrisa Meyers. If you like Murder Mysteries, A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson is the most amazing Murder Mystery series EVER! These are just some of my personal recommendations. There are so many other books out there. You just have to find the perfect one for you!

CONCLUSION

After reading this do you realize how amazing reading is? Reading can be so good for many things like concentration, mental health, and creativity! After you read this post I hope you will be convinced to start reading or if you already read a lot, you can check out my personal book recommendations from above. I hope this post convinced you to read and collect all the amazing benefits from it! 🙂

“Benefits to Reading” by Leo S., 8th grade

lovely book ! | Press "L" to look in full screen Don't forge… | Flickr

When you come to think of reading you may see it as just a way to make the   time go by faster or simply a way of entertainment. However reading can help you in many different ways that you probably haven’t heard of before.

IMAGINATION

One of the things that reading can help you with is developing your imagination, especially non-picture books. You know how when you read a book with little to no pictures and you have to imagine how the characters look and the setting. Well this actually makes your brain and your imagination work since you are having to force your brain to imagine everything happening in the book since the book itself can’t show you everything. And graphic novels are great and all but if you actually want books to benefit your imagination then text-only books are the way to go.

BETTER TEST SCORES

Not only can reading help develop your imagination but it can even make you get better grades on tests and assignments in school! You know how on most tests you have to do some reading especially for language arts tests. Imagine if there is a question that tells you to find the definition of a word or there is a confusing word in general in the question. If you happened to read more books before that test then you probably would have a much easier time doing the test and would probably get a better grade. Not only would it help on language arts tests but also for science and math since it could help you to read more carefully and have a higher chance of getting the question correctly.

ATTENTION SPAN

Your test grades and imagination aren’t the only things that can improve through reading so can your attention span! Reading long books trains your brain to get used to having to deal with longer events or even movies. Because most kids in middle school often have lower attention spans so it becomes harder to pay attention in class and when you are watching movies or even short videos at home. Reading could make you able to watch a 3 hour long movie without wanting to watch something else in the first 10 minutes of the movie. Overall doing this could even make you want to read longer books as well!

(Don’t get the attention span of a goldfish!)

DECREASES STRESS

Now one of the best things that reading can do for you is decreasing your amount of stress. You see imagine if you were worried about a test in school or an event, reading could help calm your mind. Reading can even make you sleepy sometimes since you are making your brain work while you are reading and it has for me and when you are tired you may feel less stress then before reading. Not just that decreases stress if you are reading a book that is funny then laughing could make you feel better. And if you were reading an interesting book then it could keep you excited or invested in the story making you forget about the things you were worrying about.

So overall you should read whether it’s in the summer or this week, reading gives you so many benefits. It gives benefits like lower stress, a bigger imagination, a longer attention span, and even better grades in school. So overall I would recommend reading 2 books a week if you can because reading gives you tons of great benefits for you.

“Reading Has Several Positive Effects on the Mind” by Scarlet-Gray S., 7th grade

THE EXPLOSION OF KNOWLEDGE by AllanSantos26 on DeviantArt

Reading can have several positive effects on the mind. Reading can help us learn new words. Every time we read a book, no matter what book it is, we discover new words that can improve our speaking and writing skills. Using these new words that we’ve learned from reading when we talk or do our schoolwork can help us speak more clearly. Reading also helps our creativity by getting our imagination working.  For example, when we read a mystery book, we try to figure out the clues with the characters, which can help us think more creatively. Also, reading can make us more empathetic. Like when we read about different characters and their experiences, we start to understand their feelings, which helps us be more considerate and more open minded. So in conclusion, reading helps us learn new words, boosts creativity, and helps us understand others better. So, the next time you read a book, remember that you are learning new skills. Reading is a very important thing to do and can have many benefits to our minds.

“The Positive Effects of Having Libraries in Schools” by Arden W., 8th grade

No photo description available.

School libraries are more than just a collection of books; they are warm and inviting places that encourage  curiosity, fun, and opportunities for learning 

As the school year kicks off, school libraries play an important role in helping students grow as readers and thinkers, from picture books and graphic novels to chapter books. Engaging with a variety of different genres not only boosts their creativity but also sharpens their critical thinking skills. 

Most children start school at the age of 5, a time where they are improving their communication skills and engaging more with their peers. Reading helps children articulate their ideas more effectively, especially in academic settings or when interacting with classmates. This is why having a school library is so important. 

A warm and welcoming school library invites students to explore its cozy spaces, embarking on adventures through the stories on the shelves, holding countless books and endless opportunities to learn.

Some of my most fond and cherished memories are tied to the school libraries back in elementary school. My school librarian always recommended the best books for me based on my interests at the time. Her dedication to her job definitely made visiting the school library a wonderful and enjoyable experience. 

“The Impact of a Library Inside a School” by Diogo R., 8th grade

No photo description available.

A school library isn’t just a place to find yourself some books, and I’m going to prove it to you.

1) A Safe Space

Inside a library students can read, study, and do other things without being interrupted, making them get more focused and also have a good time, which is very important for the mental health of a student, to just have a time off

2)  Literacy

Books are the main purpose of a library and one of the most important, because books are so versatile, they can be used to study, they can be used to solve problems, they can be used to have fun, and way more other things, they are the key for everything in life.

3)  Technology

Most school libraries have something related to technology like tech help, which saves lives, because no one wants to have a broken computer. Which is the future of learning, because technology makes learning way easier and simpler, which will make smarter and smarter kids.

Conclusion

School libraries are one of the most important places in a school, because they are a place that develops a student’s brain, by reading books, by giving them time to focus, and the technology to study. Libraries also have the power to help students have some time off to relax and have a good time.

Thank you so much to my student voices today and their look at reading and school libraries!

Student Voices: What Kellee’s Middle Schoolers are Reading, Loving, and Promoting

by
Share

My Student Literacy Leaders (students who help out in the library as their elective) recently were asked them to pick books they’ve loved that they feel should be checked out more than they are.

For these titles, they completed reading promotion projects which included Book Snaps (a snapshot of a book that is supposed to help get kids interested in the book), Title Talkers (a summary and extra info about the book to help share books with students), and Book Trailers (like a movie trailer but for a book).

Here are the titles they decided to promote (alphabetical by title) with some examples of their projects:

  • 12 to 22 by Jen Calonita
  • All’s Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson
  • A-Okay by Jarad Greene

  • Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
  • Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

  • Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova
  • Baby-Sitters Little Sister: Karen’s Witch by Katy Farina, Created by Ann M. Martin
  • Bedhead Ted by Scott SanGiacomo

  • Big Apple Diaries by Alyssa Bermudez
  • Blended by Sharon Draper
  • Class Act by Jerry Craft

  • Concealed by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
  • Coraline by Neil Gaiman

  • Cross Game: Vol. 1 by Mitsuru Adachi
  • Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
  • Daybreak on Raven Island by Fleur Bradley

  • Delirium by Lauren Oliver
  • The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

  • The Dirt Diary by Anna Staniszewski
  • Divergent by Veronica Roth
  • The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander

  • Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone
  • The Dumbest Idea Ever by Jimmy Gownley
  • Escape by K.R. Alexander
  • Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

  • Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
  • Fourth Stall by Chris Rylander
  • Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega and Rose Bousamra

  • From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
  • Frost Blood by Elly Blake
  • Fruits Basket: Omnibus 1 by Natsuki Takaya

  • The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable by Dan Gutman
  • Goddess Girls: Athena the Brain by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
  • Go with the Flow by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann
  • Grace Needs Space by Benjamin A. Wilgus and Rii Abrego

  • Ground Zero by Alan Gratz
  • Holes by Louis Sachar
  • Hooky: Vol. 1 by Míriam Bonastre Tur

  • House Arrest by K.A. Holt
  • How I Became a Spy by Deborah Hopkinson

  • How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
  • Huda F Cares? by Huda Fahmy
  • Insignia by S.J. Kincaid

  • I Survived: The Destruction of Pompeii, 79 A.D. by Lauren Tarshis
  • I Survived: The Eruption of Mt. St. Helens, 1980 by Lauren Tarshis
  • I Survived: The Nazi Invasion, 1944 (Graphic Novel) by Lauren Tarshis and Álvaro Sarraseca
  • Join the Club, Maggie Diaz by Nina Moreno

  • Just Roll with It by Veronica Agarwal and Lee Durfey-Lavoie
  • Katie the Catsitter by Colleen A.F. Venable and Stephanie Yue
  • Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
  • Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer
  • Legend by Marie Lu

  • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time by Akira Himekawa

  • The Lizzie Borden Ax Murders by Carla Mooney
  • Looking Up by Stephan Pastis
  • The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

  • Making Friends by Kristen Gudsnuk
  • Matched by Ally Condie
  • Measuring Up by Lily Lamotte and Ann Xu

  • Midnight at the Barclay by Fleur Bradley
  • Miss Quinces by Kat Fajardo

  • Moo by Sharon Creech
  • The Murders of Tupac and Biggie Smalls by Sue Bradford Edwards
  • No Place by Todd Strasser

  • One Punch Man by ONE
  • Orange: The Complete Collection, Volume 1 by Ichigo Takano

  • Orbiting Jupiter by Gary Schmidt
  • Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder
  • Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

  • P.S. I Like You by Kasie West
  • Querido Evan Hansen by Val Emmich, Steven Levenson, Ben J. Pasek, and Justin Paul
  • Puzzled by Pan Cooke
  • Real Friends by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham

  • Refugee by Alan Gratz
  • Renegades by Marissa Meyers
  • Restart by Gordon Korman
  • School Trip by Jerry Craft

  • Scout is Not a Band Kid by Jade Armstrong
  • The Selection by Kiera Cass

  • Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
  • Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
  • Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz

  • Sink or Swim by Veronica Agarwal
  • Sisters by Raina Telgemeier
  • Slacker by Gordon Korman
  • Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
  • Spy School by Stuart Gibbs

  • Trapped by Michael Northrop
  • The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat and Joanna Cacao

  • Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm and Savanna Ganucheau
  • Twins by Varian Johnson and Shannon Wright

  • Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
  • Unplugged by Gordon Korman
  • Unwind by Neal Shusterman
  • War Cross by Marie Lu
  • When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

  • White Cat by Holly Black
  • The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
  • Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland
  • Wonder by R.J. Palacios
  • The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Thank you to my students for sharing their favorite books and creating these great reading promotion projects!

Student Voices: George O’Connor’s Visit to Kellee’s Middle School

by
Share

I am so lucky because my principal began an initiative at my school where we get to have an author visit our school yearly (2024: Jerry Craft, 2023: Christina Diaz Gonzalez, 2022: Nathan Hale, 2020: Neal Shusterman, 2019: Jennifer A. Nielsen). The author sees all students in the school, so it is a great community literacy event for my school, and I love being able to bring this experience to all of my students each year!

 

This year, we hosted New York Times Best-selling Author George O’Connor!

We are so thankful to George O’Connor for being with us all day. Not only did he present to over 1,000 students, he did a signing time for any student who wanted his autograph; he did an author lunch with students who read over 6 of his books; he stayed after school to draw us a special image, finish signing anything left to sign, including bookmarks for each of our Olympians Community Night finishers (our literacy night that we hosted 2 days before his visit), and take pictures with the library team. It  was phenomenal!

Here are some reflections from my students after the visit. I asked them to think about what they learned, what they enjoyed, how they were impacted, or anything else they wanted to share:

  • I really liked the day. It was a fun experience learning about him and how he became an author.
  • I really liked the day! Meeting the author was exciting, and their presentation was inspiring. The workshop helped me think creatively, and I enjoyed sharing ideas with my classmates. It was a great experience that made me love reading and writing even more!
  • I liked it. George O’ Conner was funny and I liked how he gave a description of the god’s story.
  • I really like how the authors show the process of how they make the books that we read everyday
  • he said that we shouldn’t try to erase our mistakes and try to learn from them
  • George O’Connor taught me that you have to keep trying for your dreams because he got rejected from a job at marvel but eventually got it.
  • My biggest takeaway is that nobody is perfect, and it takes a while to get where you want to be.
  • My biggest take away from George O’Connor’s visit is that it’s ok to make mistakes. He talks about even as an adult, and artists, he still regularly makes mistakes, and going over how it is ok to do so was so refreshing to hear in a world where people are so often afraid to be anything but perfect. Really motivating and inspiring!
  • My biggest take away was when he told us that he started drawing at such a young age and has always had a passion for the Olympian books he has written.
  • An author visit is important because it inspires us to read and write. Meeting a real author shows us that we can be writers too! They share their stories and challenges, which motivates us to keep trying. It makes reading more fun and exciting, helping us appreciate our own creativity!
  • This visit was very important because these author visits can really help people get inspired and help them not doubt themselves.
  • This visit was important because it made me understand how George O’Connor made his books and his journey in general. It’s important and powerful to have an author visit our school because it gives us a chance to learn from people who have experience in actually making a book.

  • His advice about drawing about not being perfect was a HUGE takeaway for me.
  • My biggest take away was that nobody is perfect because I draw a lot and I make mistakes and I learned that it is okay to.
  • My biggest take away from this visit was that our changing moment in life can happen wherever and whenever.
  • My biggest takeaway was that your imagination can take you anywhere in life.
  • That it takes a long time to do things perfectly and to achieve something you are want so you have to be patience
  • George O’ Connor taught me some very valuable life lessons and made the presentation funny.
  • It impacted me because it allowed me to learn more about the writing and illustrating process, something which I didn’t know much about before.
  • It helped me understand better on how the author makes his books and connect to the author better which was good.
  • I learned some new stuff about Greek mythology that I didn’t know before.
  • It helped me understand the whole journey to become an author.
  • It’s important to have authors visit our school because it could help people who want to be authors in the future. It could also help someone find a new favorite book or series.
  • It is important and powerful to have an author visit the school in order to inspire kids to read more books and make the author more relatable and real, which I think could also encourage kids to pick up books and start reading more.
  • This visit was important because he first off is a New York Times best author which is crazy to think that he actually came to our school and that some people really like mythology books and George O’Connor is the best author for that.
  • Author visits are important because it can encourage people to read and for people who want to become authors to learn from them.
  • I think that it’s important and powerful to have an author visit our school because they can help give us advice and tell their story to people who enjoyed reading their books.

  • It was very impactful since I got to see the POV of an author’s life and how he draws!
  • This visit impacted me because it let me learn that even New York Best Time Selling authors make mistakes and learn from them to help them grow as a person and author.
  • The visit impacted me by showing me how much work goes into these books.
  • The visit really inspired me! Hearing the author share their journey made me want to write my own stories. Learning about their creative process showed me that it’s okay to struggle sometimes. The interactive workshop was fun and helped me think more creatively. Overall, it made me excited about reading and writing!
  • I thought it was really cool as his upbringing as an author and it is really motivating.
  • Having a yearly visit means getting to learn about the lives of authors, how they got to where they are, and what inspires them. This. in turn, inspires me to stay motivated and chase my dreams no matter what goes wrong.
  • Yearly author visits mean a lot to not just me but I bet to so many others too because its so cool getting to have a well known author come to our school and tell us their story and their perspective of their own books they wrote.
  • Author visits let me meet “famous people” that other people don’t get to meet and I get to meet the authors of the books that I love.
  • Having a visiting author yearly is something that excites me and is something for me to look forward to.
  • Having a visiting author yearly makes me read more books that I might not have read if it wasn’t for the author visit.
  • Yearly author visits mean that kids get to explore different genres and books. Like I did not know who George O’Connor was and I had never read his books but then I read them and now I love them.
  • Having an author yearly means a lot to me because they are really inspiring.
  • Author visits mean a lot to me because it shows that our school and staff want to put together something fun for us and that they care, Gorge O’Connor also took time out of his day to come see us.
  • Author visits educate children; it always makes them more tempted to read more and learn about the author. Also the author can teach us valuable things.
  • This visit was important because it helped us see and talk to George O’ Connor in-person, it also helped us learn more about Greek Mythology. It is important and powerful to have an author visit our school because it helps us talk or see our favorite authors and learn more about them. In addition, it also gives us a small break from school.

Another teacher also shared her students’ responses to “What I liked the best was…”

  • the way he explained his book and the way he drew ZEUS in 28 seconds; how he is able to make a small period of time into something really cool; When he showed his drawings/drawing fast
  • Book signings and pictures with him after school; seeing him at lunch; really enjoyed when I met him because he was really nice and caring
  • When he said that nobody is perfect and we can all make mistakes, that was really nice of him; 
  • My favorite moment from the author’s visit was when he told us the lesson which was like don’t be afraid to make mistakes and fail
  • How he used the errors without being scared
  • Funny stories; when he was making us laugh
  • I love this part because he explains books and explains how he did it. That’s why I love it.

As you can see from the comments and love, my students and I would highly recommend George for a school visit!

Signature

Student Voices: The Impact of School Libraries from Juliet D., 7th grade, and Leticia R. & Lauren Q., 8th grade

by
Share

The Impact of School Libraries

“Libraries” by Juliet D., 7th grade

Libraries are important. In a library, there is more than just books there is knowledge. With shelves organized in a section of books, genders, and eras the library is a symphony of intelligence and Imagination. It’s a place where stories come alive where history unfolds and secrets and where the pursuit of knowledge knows no bounds.

With its resources, the library remains an indispensable cornerstone of any community life and empowers the minds of each visit. Beyond its walls of books lies a lot of resources, accessible to all regardless of background or means. It fosters a love for learning, providing a sanctuary for the curious to explore diverse perspectives and ideas.

In an information age, the library remains a trusted guide, offering curated collections and expert guidance. It levels the playing field, bridging gaps in access to information and technology. Moreover, it cultivates a sense of belonging, serving as a hub for gatherings, discussions, and cultural exchanges. The library is not just a repository of books, but a vital hub of intellectual, social, and personal growth, shaping generations and fostering a brighter, more informed future for all.

To me, school libraries are important cause I need books to know a lot of things. When I was younger, at my elementary school I loved the library. There was no public library to me so used the school library. Every Monday we would go to the library and check out books. It doesn’t matter what my teacher said I would check out 3 books. I couldn’t read but my mom read them to me. She would reread many of them because they were my favorite books. As I got older, I learned how to read. I would always ask my teacher if I could go to the library. As you can see, Now that I have experienced school libraries I say that they are amazing. They have books for your grade level, they are colorful, and some of them have activities. I just really love school libraries.

Resources: School Libraries | Student Success

“The Impact of Being a Student Literacy Leader” by Leticia R., 7th grade

*Note: Leticia is my first student who was a literacy leader for all three years of middle school!

The bell rang, signaling the start of my first day in middle school, a mix of nerves and anticipation. Questions flooded my mind: Would I fit in? Could I keep up with the workload? However, as the days passed, those worries gradually faded away. I found my place, and it was in the library. Despite being the youngest, the only 6th grader, I soon discovered a sense of belonging and started bonding with my peers. The Student Literacy Leader program is a program that provides experience and showed me a good path to follow.  

The Student Literacy Leader program is for 7th and 8th graders who want to take charge and make a difference in their school. We work on projects, plan for when authors visit, and come up with ideas to make the library better for everyone. Being a literacy leader means being brave and taking charge, showing everyone what your school is all about.

Being a literacy leader has been a transformative journey for me. Initially hesitant to dive into books, Ms. Moye showed me that reading is open to more than lengthy chapter books. It can be diverse and enjoyable, a source of both entertainment and relaxation. For many years I only read graphic novels, mainly because I was scared of the “what ifs.” In my last months of middle school I decided to dive into pros books, at first I was scared but then I started seeing that all I had to do was try and put my best effort forward.  Through my role as a literacy leader, I’ve understood the proper depth and breadth of reading.

The library became my sanctuary, where I expanded my literary horizons, found peace, and made connections. In my 3 years at the library I have made friendship that I never thought I would need in life, some friendships from my very first year until my last year, and all of them I kept in touch. Connecting through not just books but classes, projects, and personal experience is the best feeling ever! It’s remarkable how literature has the power to unite people and make friendships.

A lot of people ask, “Why did you choose this class?” Being A literacy leader means everything to me! It’s given me opportunities that I would never be able have. I got to meet award winning authors, create special connections and learn about the literary. Being a SLL helps me to stay on track with my grades and make sure that I am always representing my school in the best way possible. I wouldn’t change this experience that I received for anything! 

And all of this would not be possible without Ms. Moye allowing us to have this elective. By allowing students to make decisions about the library teaches them responsibility and demonstrates how much we care about and love our school. I believe that if this program were to continue in high school, it would provide a safe space for students to connect with each other.

In my final year, I’m determined to spread my love for reading to others. Being a literacy leader means more than just promoting literacy; it’s about inspiring a passion for reading and helping others find joy in books. I’m grateful for this experience, and I’m sure anyone who joins this program next year will have an incredible time too.

“Author Visits” by Lauren Q., 7th grade

Author visits are something that I am very lucky to have experienced every year since I started middle school. They are very fun to have, and it is also very interesting to hear our authors tell their stories. At HCMS we help the kids get excited about the author visits. Our literacy leaders make posters to put around the school, and kids in art make drawings that we hang up around the library. And during our author visits our students can interact and ask questions. But the author visits can teach us valuable lessons once we really sit and reflect on it. They teach us to never give up even when things are rough. Also never give up on something you are passionate about because it can lead to something wonderful. 

This year we welcomed Newbery Medal winner Jerry Craft to our school. His visit was very fun but also very inspiring. He was telling us about how it was a hard journey to get to where he is now, but after all of that he didn’t give up he kept trying to pursue his dream. And all of that hard work paid off because now he is a Newbery Medal winner. Last year we had Christina Diaz Gonzalez who won the Edgar Award come to our school . She talked about being from a Hispanic background while being in the U.S. She talked about her experiences in some of her books. She is very inspirational because no matter how you grew up, different backgrounds, if you work hard enough you can achieve anything. This is why I am so thankful for the author visits because they teach us so many valuable lessons that we take and can use on a daily basis.

Thank you so much to my student voices today and their look at how the literacy program at our school, and libraries in general, affect them!

Student Voices: Book Editorials from Cooper T. & Trinity P., 8th grade, and Talia N., 7th grade

by
Share

Book Editorials

“What’s the Difference Between Single Books and Series?” by Cooper T., 8th grade

Character Development

From personal experience, I have enjoyed reading series over single books because of the connection you make with the characters. Getting to know the characters personally throughout 3+ books helps me to get engaged with the plot and series in and of itself. Many series authors also like to introduce twists in the characters as the books go on. While some readers may enjoy the less in-depth connection that single books bring, I appreciate books that allow me to connect with the characters, even if it means being more upset when the series ends. For example, most Gordan Korman books are standalone, so I read them if I need a quick read and not something to delve deep into, but I enjoy them less than series like The Testing trilogy by Joelle Charbonneau where new information about each character is revealed in ever book.

But that’s just the beginning. It’s pretty obvious that series will have better character development than single books because there’s more time to develop the characters. Going back to the example of The Testing compared to a Gordan Korman book like The Unteachables, we can look at the character development from just those two books (the first book in The Testing series has that same name). For those of you who haven’t read these books, here’s a quick summary because I’m going to try to use these as examples whenever possible (may contain spoilers):

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau: When Graduation Day rolls around for Malencia Vale, she finally gets the chance to be part of The Testing, where the brightest kids from each of the post-apocalyptic United States colonies are chosen to become the nation’s future leaders. The only problem is that no one from Cia’s colony, Five Lakes, has been chosen in over a decade, and on Graduation Day, no one is chosen. But life will always find a way, and the day after a Tosu City official from the capital of the nation comes to pick up Cia and 3 others to be transported to The Testing. As Cia tries to get through the Testing, she begins to discover the dark secrets it holds.

The Unteachables by Gordan Korman: When Kiana moves to Greenwich, Connecticut, her temporary home while her mother is filming a movie, her time in the city starts about as bad as can be. She has to stay with her stepmom, who forgets to enroll her in the school she’s supposed to attend. She ends up with another kid’s schedule though and decides to follow that instead. But that schedule has just one class that spans all day in one room. Turns out, that room belongs to the so-called Unteachables, now taught by the most burnt-out teacher in the whole town, Mr. Kermit. The Unteachables never knew there could be a teacher who cared less about learning than them, and Mr. Kermit never thought he would want to teach again, not since the cheating scandal that turned his career upside down. But they learn to accept each other and as Mr. Kermit works to bring education to kids that teachers never gave a chance, they work to give Mr. Kermit his career back.

Back to the point, we don’t get a lot of information on the characters other than Cia in The Testing and we get just enough information on all the characters in The Unteachables (there are around 5 main characters, if I remember correctly). However “just enough information” on the characters in The Unteachables is still a lot of information, which makes it feel more complete than The Testing even if not having information on a lot of the other characters matches the plot of The Testing. 

In the end, the character development can be better in single books because they’re more rushed to get information on the characters, whereas series have more time.

Plot and Storytelling

I decided to group these two because they’re very similar and the plot can come down to personal preference. I have enjoyed single books more here in the past because the plot is more rushed and suspenseful than series, where the plot can be slow to develop because they have multiple books to cover.

The books that will be used for this section are Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan for the series and Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus. Here are the summaries:

Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan: Percy has always been the misfit. His dad left before he was born, he’s dyslexic and his only friend is the weird kid on crutches, Grover. Every teacher seems to have something against him, especially Ms. Dodd, the algebra teacher. When they go to the museum to study Greek mythology, Ms. Dodds takes it to a new level. After it’s all finished, Percy learns that his father is one of the Greek gods, and he is forced to leave his home and everything he’s ever known to go to Camp Half-Blood, where demigods can hone their skills and survive against creatures whose job is to destroy them, like Ms. Dodds. On his way, Percy, his mom, and Grover get attacked by a minotaur, who takes Percy’s mom to the Underworld. After a couple of months at Camp Half-Blood and learning the identity of his father, Percy is assigned to go on a quest to retrieve his mother. He only has so much time to retrieve his mother and more importantly, Zeus’ stolen master bolt.

Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus: Tripp, Shane, and Charlotte were the only ones who were around when Mr. Larkin was murdered. Shane’s fingerprints were on the weapon and Mr. Larkin’s class trip money was in Charlotte’s locker. Tripp got their stories straight. After his murder, Brynn had moved away, but now she’s back, is interning with a true crime show, and is determined to solve the case. As soon as she gets back, she brings it up to her boss who immediately agrees to cover the story. Brynn is told to stay out of it, but she wants to find things out for herself. But the more she finds out about the case, she’ll find things that probably were better left undiscovered.

So, back to the point, which of these was better, and what makes it better? Both of these books were amazing, and I enjoyed reading both of them, but the plot of Percy Jackson was on another level. The events that occur in the book are so realistic but improbable that it makes for such a great story. It’s entertaining and there’s never a dull moment in the book. The author’s knowledge of Greek mythology and his way of explaining the myths makes the book so immersive and easy to understand. Nothing More to Tell was incredible as well, but the plot was very quick to develop and might’ve been better if there had been more explanation of some of the events.

The storytelling of Nothing More to Tell was great, and the amount of twists in the story made it very intriguing, especially with the very little information that is known about the case. However, the immersion in Percy Jackson is incredible, and the way the author blends the real world into Greek mythology feels so real. After reading the first book in that series, I was so excited for what was coming next, and the books never disappointed. I think series take this category simply because they can often be more creative because they have to span their ideas over multiple books.

In conclusion, a series is better in this category because the story keeps evolving throughout the books and since the first book is the introduction, it can be very intriguing. Single books do normally have good plots, but the fact that there is less time to develop the plot can lead to a decrease in quality.

Conclusion

In the end, it all comes down to preference. I tried to make this as unbiased as I could, but as I enjoy books like The Testing more than books like The Unteachables, there’s bound to be some bias. But when it comes down to comparing books, there always will be. These comparisons may not be the most accurate because every book is different and I haven’t read every book and every series but I hope the basis of this was valuable. Happy reading!

“Why Fiction is so Popular” by Trinity P., 8th grade

Fiction is very popular, and due to its abundance, everyone knows about it and seems to love it. But what is it about those books that makes it so loveable? 

Fiction is an imaginary story that contains characters or events that are usually not in the real world. 

One of the reasons why fiction is so popular is that it can have many topics like sci-fi, fantasy, romance, and mystery, and it can even be based on events in history like Refugee by Alan Gratz, because of the different options the readers would have a wider variety of books they can enjoy. 

With fiction, anything you think of can become a book. It allows authors and creators to have fun imaginations and express what they enjoy to others. 

From a young age, kids would usually start to read using fiction because it is easier to understand than books about history. Many movies are from fiction books like The Lord of the Rings, and The Hunger Games. Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan is very popular because it takes Greek mythology and adds it to the real world and because we can’t see it in the natural world it is still fun to learn about it.

Fiction also has more representation because most of those books may not be centered around our world where some concepts or opinions are not respected, shone, or agreed with. Still, the story doesn’t take place in our world, it may be a totally different universe where some of those concepts are normal or don’t have an effect on the point of the book, so the reader can understand and know more about those opinions and apply them to the real world. 

We are naturally curious so fiction can give us more to explore in a different way than in the natural world, we have to think and come up with what characters look like, act, sound like, or the setting whereas in the real world, you can look up images and pictures which limit your imagination. Fiction can also distract people from the real world, which can be stressful and overwhelming, allowing us to take a break and travel into an imaginary world that can relieve the pressure of society. It can also bring back childhood memories and enjoyments that have been discarded over the years.

Fiction has had a big influence on me. Before, I rarely read or held a book in my hand but when I was introduced to the book Wings Of Fire, it showed me what book I liked or would enjoy which is fiction, then I explored other books and now I actually enjoy reading.

**SPOILERS FOR ORPHAN ISLAND BY LAUREL SNYDER AHEAD!!!**

“Rewriting Orphan Island‘s Ending” by Talia N., 7th grade

The original ending of Chapter 25, A Direction:

“Jinny sat up all night, in the darkness. Staring at the boy in the bed. Watching for any sign of change, anything but stillness. Loo made no sound at all,” (Loo got bit by a snake) “Every few minutes, Jinny forced herself to lean over, touch his lips, make sure there was still a faint stream of breath passing between them. The longer she sat, the more certain she became that this was the end, the very worst thing. Guilt and fear rasped inside her. Not even Ess’s whistling snore could comfort her now. Jinny had broken a rule, the rule” (The rule is that when the time comes you MUST go in the boat, but no one knows where that boat goes) “and nothing had been the same since. She had ruined the world. Unfortunately, that didn’t mean she could fix it. The mist would knit itself back together, or it wouldn’t. The wind would return to the cliffs. The snakes would settle. Or they might not. But she couldn’t change those things. They were too big for her, beyond her. She couldn’t undo them, or even understand them. She could only hope.”

“Then she stepped over Ess, leaned down, and scooped up Loo. Without word, without hesitation, Jinny turned, crossed the small room, and kicked the door open with a barefoot and strength she had no idea she possessed.”

“Then Jinny heard a shout. Many shouts. People were pointing up into the sky; and when she looked up. She saw it herself. Something was falling, like sand. Sand from the sky. Only the sand was white and soft, and it fell slowly—landed cold on her shoulders”

Jinny and Loo both leave on the boat and leave the other behind on the island with the sky falling.

What I want to rewrite is instead of Just Loo and Jinny leaving, I want them all to leave the island, not knowing what’s on the other side, I want them to pack some light supplies first. I also, this will happen before Loo gets the snake bite, Ben will be the first to come up with the idea. Jinny at first, doesn’t like this idea. She thinks that the boat will sink before they even get to the other side, but after some persuading from Ess and the others, she finally agrees, packs her belongings, and with the others gets on the boat one by one. At first, the boat looks like it’s about to sink, but lifted by the waves, it moves gently off the shore, into the water, and towards the sunset.

Thank you so much to my student voices today and their opinions on aspects of books!