Teen Reading Lounge is an award-winning, nontraditional book club for teens ages 12-18. Teens help to create the reading list for their program sites and, working with trained facilitators, to design creative projects that bring the books to life. Participants report stronger interpersonal, communication, literacy, and critical-thinking skills, and increased confidence.
In 2018, the teens at Hallahan read Liliana Velásquez’s Dreams and Nightmares, an account of the author’s harrowing journey from her village in Guatemala to the United States. They had the opportunity to meet the author in person at a local Teen Reading Lounge event. Their readings and discussions taught them how to have meaningful dialogue around sensitive issues.
Read: Teen Reading Lounge Inspires Healthier Model For Dialogue, Nurtures Empathy
During their first round of Teen Reading Lounge, the teens at Hallahan High School explored one of their major interests, gaming, through text and discussion. Their discussions around the graphic novel In Real Life by Cory Doctorow were centered around issues of inclusivity, gender, and identity. Additionally, they created both the artwork and backstories for their own "original characters" that reflects their larger discussions of identity in a technologically-driven world.
Learn more about Teen Reading Lounge and participating program sites across the state.
