Interview with an Adolescent Reader

This is an interview with RL, a senior student at North Rockland High School. RL is an honor’s student who is considering studying English at UAlbany or SUNY Plattsburgh. RL’s final average is 92.3 GPA and she will be applying to many scholarships her school has to offer.

During her free time RL is a member of North Rockland High School’s marching band and is involved in Drama / Acting.

When I asked RL about her relationship with reading she explained to me that her mother and father grew up reading to her and her favorite book when she was younger was “ Love You Forever” by Robert Munsch. RL loved doing book reports as a child and even though she loved playing outside and doing other outdoor activities she always resorted back to reading.

After Study Skills was conducted, I reached out to Rhiannon to hear her point of view of reading and how it has impacted her life.

Good Morning Rhiannon, what are some books you enjoy reading?

“The books I enjoy reading would definitely be horror, a total change from Love You Forever right? I started to enjoy horror books maybe around the age of 13, this is when I started watching horror movies on TV with my brother.

2. Since Summer ended, what was your go to book this summer?

“ So I love Booktok, I’m not sure if you know what that is but I’ve been looking on there the entire summer to find a good book. I read “The House Maid” by Freida McFadden. This book was absolutely amazing. If you really want to feel like you’re on edge then this is the book for you.”

3. What made you decide that reading was one of your favorite things to do?

“ So only recently reading became my new hobby. Last year it was really hard to kind of revolve my life around social media, so I decided to take a break from social media and resort to reading. After the pandemic, I really got sick of being reliant on social media.

4. How many hours a day would you say you read?

“ I don’t read as much as I wish as school is in session now, but I do read just about every night. I am currently reading “ Bad Witch Burning” by Jessica Lewis. I won’t spoil it but tell your friends to read it for sure.”

5. What words of advice would you give to new readers?

“ One word of advice I would give new readers would be to always make time for yourself and your interest in reading. It is very hard to find time for yourself especially with the senior year course load. Reading is something I will always find time for and I hope other students my age will too.”

Reflection:

After talking with Rhiannon, it was great to see her different perspective of her other than seeing her in class. Rhiannon has a passion for reading and loves to talk about how reading has changed her life for the better. I really liked speaking to her about current books I have read and asking her point of view on them as well. I have never met someone who really liked horror books other than her which I found interesting. I also really liked how she told me her “fun fact” was that every Sunday she goes to Barnes and Noble and picks out a book of her choosing. She loves the ambiance of the place as do I. One thing I learned from Rhiannon was no matter how much schoolwork you may have, always make time for yourself and your interests. I often forget about that with the balance of a full-time job and school. I would like to create more time for myself and reading and that’s one goal I would like to achieve starting the new year.