Books and Details and…More Books!

Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas atop The Eyes of Kid Midas by Neal Shusterman and Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen are two other favorite summer reads.

Westbury Christian is trying something new this year to encourage students to read more books over the summer. The school has created a goal of a total number of 1000 books read by the 6th-12th graders. Students can read as many books as they like and keep track of them online.

During the first week of school, the names of the students will be put into a bowl for a raffle and the winner will receive a prize. With this, the school is working to “encourage students to read, increase reading comprehension, and inspire a reading community.”

Julia Poage, a senior, said that one of the books she read this summer was The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm by Nancy Farmer. It’s a modern/dark children’s classic set in Zimbabwe in the year 2194. "The thing I loved about the book is that Farmer creates a complete picture of future

Zimbabwe replete with ancient tribal spirituality, sci-fi details of future technology, details of life in the various inner-city slums—tons of detail into a completely unique fictional scenario." Julia said, "And because she’s a massively skilled writer, by the end of the book you get the feeling that you know the characters and the setting so intimately and so thoroughly that you could pretty much settle down in the book yourself."

My personal favorite book I read this summer was Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz - a favorite also due to the amazing details of the story. What was your favorite book you read this summer?