WIRW

So, it's Wednesday again, and I did say I would try to do a What I'm Reading Wednesday post....I did not disappoint! Not yet anyway.

This week is a little different than normal, I am of course reading a book on my Kindle, but that's not what I want to spotlight. Instead I want to tell a little story. This is my fifth year in the library...for the first four years I was primarily at the elementary campus. Close to the end of last year I started splitting my days between the high school and the elementary. I wasn't sure how I would feel about this, as I've always been at the elementary. I was shocked last year at how much I enjoyed having, seeing, and talking with those high school students. 

This year has opened my eyes to where I eventually want to be as a librarian. Do not get me wrong, I love my time at the elementary, that is where they first learn to love reading....but they can't take a book, break it apart, dissect, and then discuss with you what they got out of it like the high school kids are capable of. I treasure my daily chats with those students that come in and tell me what they love or hate about the book they just finished reading. I love when they walk in with excitement in their eyes because I helped find a book for them that has "so totally" changed their life. Let's be honest getting a high school student to like anything, much less a book, is often times difficult. Most importantly though, I treasure the trust that these students choose to place in you when they really get to know you. 

This week I have had the opportunity of reading three manuscripts that students in our school have written. They each walked in the library at separate times and said they'd love to have my opinion on a story they were writing. My opinion! Do you know how much of an honor that is that they would trust me with their piece of writing? Well, it's a huge one. I will be honest with you, I was blown away. Do you know how much talent kids have hidden deep inside them? I didn't. I do now. These stories that they have started are unbelievable. I've read a lot of books, and one requirement I have is that it needs to catch me and draw me in within the first few paragraphs. All three of these student written stories hooked me from the start and carried me through until the end.

So, this week, my What I'm Reading Wednesday goes to Tristin Mitchell, Jayelin Jordan, and Robert Strisko for their unbelievable starts to what I can only imagine will be amazing novels.