At Lowellville High School many different electives are offered such as Forensics, Art, Film and Young Adult Literature. Young Adult Literature, or YA, is taught by Mrs. Deluca. This elective offers those who enjoy reading an opportunity to read new books and connect with other students that also have a love of reading. In the course the students read around 8-10 books throughout the school year while also keeping a journal with their daily questions to go along with their reading each day. This course offers students the opportunity to discover new authors, books, and genres they might enjoy.
I had the opportunity to take this class last year and really enjoyed it. In the class I enjoyed reading books such as We Are Not Free by Traci Cheeand We Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys. The aspect of the class I enjoyed most was being able to share what I was reading with classmates to share my own opinions and hear theirs as well. My favorite project in this class went along with the book Where the Crawdads Sing because it allowed us as students to show our artistic ability.
When Mrs.DeLuca was first hired at Lowellville she proposed the idea of Young Adult Literature due to her involvement with the English Festival. She shared, “I liked the idea of the English Festival and students being able to share what they are reading.” Her favorite projects to do with her YA students have been the Where The Crawdads Sing project and The Little Women project because they allow the students to show their creativity.
This year, Mrs. DeLuca has sophomores Aubrey Kester, Abrianna Whittingham, McKenna Lewis, Eliza Primous, and Josariah Estevez, along with junior Brylee Durfy, enrolled in her YA class. Josariah and Eliza were excited to take this class because they enjoy reading in their free time and sharing what they’re reading with classmates and friends.
Sophomore Abrianna and junior Brylee both shared that their favorite book so far this year has been With The Fire On High. Brylee shared, “I can relate to the main character a lot because we are around the same age.”
Last year Kenna Beeson was in class. Kenna shared with me she took this class because of her love for reading. Her favorite book read in this class was We Must Betray You because of how similar it is to The Book Thief. When asking Kenna her favorite project in this class she said, “The fairytale project because it allowed us to make our own original stories.”
Mckenna Lewis shared, “I would recommend this class to anyone who enjoys reading and writing.” Taking this elective could even help a student who may not enjoy reading gain a new and exciting love for reading.
