Kendall Junior/Senior High School librarian Alicia Charland says it’s, “just the beginning,” of a community reading event she hopes will get bigger every year.
Charland started the first-ever Kendall Reads event over the winter and participants gathered at the Junior/Senior High School Library Thursday, March 23, to discuss the book The Adoration of Jenna Fox, by Mary Pearson.
The book is set in the near-future America and confronts ethical issues such as where to draw the line with fast developing technology and medical advances. Charland says she likes books that raise ethical questions because, “they make me think.”
Participants said they enjoyed the opportunity to discuss the book and work through questions they encountered as they read. Refreshments were served as part of the event.
The story focuses on 17-year old Jenna, who wakes up from a coma following an automobile accident. She is told her name is Jenna Fox but has no memory of her previous life or the accident. Her parents try to help her remember by showing her home movies, but she begins to question if she truly is the same girl she sees on the screen.
Charland says the Kendall Reads program is structured after the annual Rochester Reads program initiated by Writers & Books, a non-profit literary center. The programs seek to encourage people to connect with others through reading and discussion and the shared experience of literature.
The Rochester Reads program takes place in multiple locations including libraries, colleges and Senior Centers. This year’s selection for Rochester Reads is The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld.
“It’s about getting people talking about the same book,” Charland says. She hopes the event will take place annually.
This year she gave Junior/Senior High School students who participated the option of discussing the book while in school, but Charland says her goal is to have young adults and adults discuss the book together.
