Congratulations Teen Summer Reading Club Participants!

Congratulations to the 58 teens who read at least 5 books or for at least 25 hours in the Teen Summer Reading Club, which ended August 1st, and to all who signed up and made reading a part of their summers.

Congratulations also to middle-schooler Bookfan101 and high-schooler roma bella, who will receive $20 gift cards for their prize-winning entries/reviews.

As some of you may have discovered, writing about books isn't always easy, particularly explaining WHY you liked or disliked a particular book. (On the entry form you were asked not only to rate the book from 1 to 5, but to answer: "Why did you give it that rating? What did you think of the book.")

Bookfan101, in her review of The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks, impressed with, among other qualities, her ability to convey why she liked the book, as well as her insight into character. "I loved this book because of the writing style, emotions you feel when you read the book, and the fact that you can view things from each characters point-of-view." Also impressive was her insight into the book's main character. She writes: "[S]he realizes how her actions could either hurt or help her future and the fact that music, something she gave up so long ago, could help her connect with people around her."

Roma bella reviewed Tom Brokaw's nonfiction title, The Greatest Generation, with grace and style, praising this book that "tells the stories of different men and women who lived and fought in WWII," people "who despite many hardships in their lives, they still went on to do great things for our country."

Thanks to all the rest of you participated in Teen Summer Reading Club, and who took the time to write thoughtful, interesting entries that made selecting only two winners difficult. You can read many of these entries in the "Comments" sections of the last few blog posts. They're a great resource to learn of books you might enjoy, written not by librarians or other adults, but by other teens.

Three teens deserve a special shout-out for reading more than 20 books--for catching the spirit of Teen Summer Reading Club.

Jemma
Library
vwong124

Finally, we hope you'll continue to make reading for pleasure--for the pure enjoyment you experience when you've found just the right book--a part of your daily lives year round.