Teen Readers Start Season with Gusto

Around a heavy wood table in a study area, they gathered, for about an hour, chatted, joked, snacked and talked about one of their passions: Books. 

A college study group? No.  Adult book club? Nope.

On Monday evening, the Teen Reading Group held its first meeting of this school year this week. Eleven energetic students attended the meeting.

As a group, the students, mostly middle school students, will be reading a mystery, The Blackhope Enigma by Teresa Flavin, for their next meeting.  The author would be happy to answer questions about the book from the group, group leader Christi Showman-Farrar told them. Flavin lives in Scotland, Showman-Farrar, the library’s teen librarian, said, and has family in Arlington.

Group members also talk about other subjects, like school, teachers, assignments and their favorite books.

Individually, the groups’ reading taste run the gamut.

Among their favorites:  “Nightshade” by Andrea Cremer. “Cujo”  by Stephen King. “Tangerine” by Louis Sachar. “Crashed” by Gerry Spinelli.  “Eragon” and “Harry Potter.”  Jane Austin’s “Emma,” is Showman-Farrar’s “favorite book of all time,” she told the group.

Nam Nguyen joined the group this year because she liked Christi’s book recommendations during the summer and the group “looks like fun.” Nam, an eighth grader at the , described “Nightshade” as ”the best book ever,” even though she “hated the ending.”

Zachary Santoro, a Joyce Middle School seventh grader, returned to the group for the second year because “I really like books” and the group is “fun.”

“You get to say what you want,” Zachary elaborated, not just what’s expected of you. His favorite book is “Hero” by Mike Lupica. It has sports in it, Santoro explained, with a “superhero twist.”

The group meets once a month, on the third Monday evening of the month, from 7 to 8 p.m.

The library hosted a middle school reading group when Showman-Farrar came to Woburn, in 2006, she said. She started a high school reading group.  The groups merged, she said, because library staffing was cut.

The group reads the same book before each meeting. Showman-Farrar chose the first book because Candlewick Press in Somerville offered to donate a number of copies, she explained, through Raquelle Matos, who works there. Matos contributes to Woburn Patch as our food columnist.

New members are welcome to attend one or more reading group meetings. Extra copies of the book that will be discussed at the next meeting on Oct. 17—along with other subjects—are available, Showman-Farrar said, at the library’s front desk.

Besides asking the students what genres of books they prefer and their favorite book, Showman-Farrar asked another key question.  What’s your favorite snack?

The group sang happy birthday to member Emily Messina, a WMHS junior, who is turning 17.  Birthday cupcakes were served.

Reading group members also signed on to a national library information campaign, “Geek the library,” by listing on a poster what they geek—like—about the library.

The group is far from a lecture-like one-way street. Showman-Farrar recommends books to group members who ask, she said and group members also bring their book recommendations to her.