A huge thanks to Millennium Charter Academy for having me speak with their students today. I had a great time, and came away very impressed with their school and their students.
I spoke for an hour or so with the middle schoolers (Half of that was my talk on writing and reading, the other half was a Q&A). Then, Mrs. Kesler’s contemporary literature class had me for pizza and almost two full hours of gabbing about books. Both opportunities were a blast.
I was really impressed with the questions these young adults came up with. The things they’re learning seem far beyond what I was studying at their age. We chatted about other books they’re reading, I got to see the reading journals they’re keeping (which included reviews of the first two books), and they peppered me with plot-related questions. It was really cool to hear which characters they loved and hated (they way they argued back and forth reminded me of an SNL Twilight skit. I nearly cried!)
Speaking of Twilight, these kids aren’t fans. That’s how awesome and discerning they are. They were mad for MOCKINGJAY (the third HUNGER GAMES book), and almost equally excited about the third Molly book (more on that in a later post).
All-in-all, it was a wonderful way to spend my morning. Seeing Mrs. Kesler’s class (complete with lounging therapy dog, shelves and boxes loaded with books, and full of students eager to read and learn) made me want to either moonlight as a middle school teacher, or go back in time and live seventh grade all over again.
Once again, a huge thanks to all the kids. It was truly an “epic” day.
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