Announcing the Teen Advisory Board 2018-2019

25 Jul 2018

The first meeting of the Readings Teen Advisory Board for 2018-19 was a joyous celebration of books and reading.

We initially played a few getting to know you games, including saying what you liked most or least about your name, and telling everyone your Hogwarts house (we had mainly Ravenclaws in the group – perhaps the biggest book nerds of Hogwarts).

Everyone was also asked to name their favourite author or book, although it was hard to stop at one. Recommended authors included well-known names such as Sarah J. Maas and Patrick Ness, with Angie Thomas’s bestseller from last year, The Hate U Give also a favourite. Australian authors Cath Crowley, Jay Kristoff and Lynette Noni were given plenty of love.

There were also a few unexpected mentions such as Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar, which is about a Scottish werewolf and her clan. I had also never heard of the intriguing Arcana Chronicles by Kresley Cole, where the characters on tarot cards come to life. The first book in the series is The Poison Princess. I’ve ensured we have copies of these titles for the Kids shop so that we can have the teens’ recommendations in store.

New friendships were initiated, connections were made over shared love of particular authors and we all went away with new ideas about what to read next. It goes without saying the teens left Readings laden with books to keep them engaged until next month when we will have our first industry guest visitor.