Rockville High School's Young Adult Literature Class

In high school, I know so many people who don’t like to read. In fact, they despise it. “It’s so boring.” and ”I hate reading! ”are typically the comments that I, among many others, hear spread amongst teenagers across America as we break out the required class books. I should specify that I was never one of these people. I have always loved reading. To me, it is something I can use to escape the world and jump into a new one. I remember freshman year when I got called down for scheduling. I knew immediately that I wanted to take the Young Adult Literature elective. At the time, I really didn’t have much of an idea of what the class would be about. I was about reading, and that’s all I cared about. Before I signed up for YA Lit, I figured reading was just, well, reading. I didn’t care really about the different genres, how books are published, or even the trends books have. But that’s when this class changed me as a reader. I was dumped into a classroom full of bookshelves with all different genres that we would learn about. Not only did it make the journey to publishing a book make sense, but it made it realistic now. I have realized that the books I have read aren’t all just realistic fiction. The books that fill my mind now consist of classics, humor, sci-fi, and so many more. Young Adult Literature had broadened my knowledge of books, and in a fun, positive way. I truly feel that because of this class, my reading has extended and become deeper. Young Adult Literature has brought my reading level from just a high school student who likes reading to someone who understands that reading can be much, much more. -Ashley Starrett Sophomore, Rockville High School