Happy New Year!
Last year I did my usual reading challenge. It used to be to
read 55 books, but for 2016 I decided to up it to 60 books. As usual, the mix of books
I've read range from middle grade to teen to young adult to adult, and they
include a vast range of genres.
I read the middle grade and teen books for the library
reading group that I run in Finchley Church End library, which now also includes
some pre-teens as well as 13 to 15 year olds. Here are a few of our
favourite reads for 2016. These books made the kids laugh, cry, hold their breath, or cheer. They have held them captive and made them seek out the authors so they can read more by them.
Some of the older teens in the group are now interested in
reading young adult books, but I remember when they first started, just under
two years ago, when all they wanted to read were older middle grade and young
teen books. Some of them only managed to read a book a month then. Now they're
are all taking up to four books a month to read for the reading group. It has
been so satisfying to see the kids' reading habits develop and their love of
reading increasing month by month.
The only thing that's holding us back is the budget for teen
books. I'm sure the problem is the same for all libraries. I would love for my group to have more choice available to
them.
So if there are any publishers out there who would like their teen books
read and reviewed by a teen reading group and would like to donate some books
in exchange, or would just like to donate teen books, then please feel free to get in touch with us!
Savita's WEBSITE