What are students reading?
Grace Tran (11): The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
For Grace Tran (11), taking a break from the brimming, bustling distractions around her takes the form of a realm beyond her own — a good book, where time slows down and the imagination is free to work with its material.
“It is so much more entertaining than watching a movie or anything because you can insert yourself into the world,” Tran said.
Genres from thought-provoking fiction to nuanced romance feed Tran’s literary appetite.
“I usually get recommendations for books from my friends when I want to start a new book, or sometimes it’s a fun adventure to go to Barnes and Noble and explore the sections I know I usually gravitate toward,” Tran said.
It is exciting for Tran to weave a new web of a world, an ideal world, based on the writing before her and her own personal experiences.
“I have always liked reading, because I started on the big things like Harry Potter and fantasy and my love for reading just grew for them,” she said.
Sydney Robinson (12): Powerless by Elsie Silver
“I’d say because they are very different from reality, they are not things I’m experiencing, and I like reading about things I don’t really know about.”
Lucy Holcombe (11): Better than the Movies by Lynn Painter
Down the hallway, Lucy Holcombe (11) can be seen with a book in hand. Currently, she’s re-reading Better than the Movies by Lynn Painter, which she received on her recent 17th birthday.
“It’s expensive at the rate I go through [books], and there’s a long wait at the library, so I re-read a lot of my favorites,” Holcombe said.
A book enthusiast, Holcombe reads multiple books at once –– one for school, a personal physical book and a personal digital book from Sora, a catalog of books accessible on her Chromebook.
“Sometimes I can get through seven books in a week. I can read one a day,” Holcombe said. “I can get through at least 15 or 20 in a month.”
A dedicated student and TPHS Dance Team member, Holcombe has built reading into her schedule. She reads for at least 30 minutes when she wakes up and before she goes to bed, and during or in between classes.
“It’s helped me learn a lot of vocabulary and improve my reading comprehension,” Holcombe said.
Her daily reading also carries into English classes, helping her read timed assignments and better understand passages. Holcombe encourages other TPHS students to fall in love with the practice of reading.
“You can take 20 minutes out of your day to read,” Holcombe said.
John Liebig (12): The King of the West by Pedro Urvi
“I like the book I’m reading because it’s almost an escape from all the stress of life, it’s just something that’s fun and relaxing.”
