Developing her love for books, Lillian Sobery, junior, read a book from last year’s Gateway Readers Award Preliminary Nominee List.
“My favorite book was definitely ‘The Sunbearer Trials’ by Aiden Thomas because it was super interesting,” Sobery said.
“The Sunbearer Trials,” a book about ten Mexican demigods competing in a dangerous, televised tournament for the chance to carry light to the world, was 1 of 25 Gateway nominated books last year.
The Missouri Association of School Librarians annually gives books Readers Awards. These awards consist of the Show-Me Award, Hawthorne Readers Award, Mark Twain Award, Truman Readers Award and Gateway Readers Award, and are differentiated by grade level. The Gateway Readers Award is given to fiction books geared toward high school students.
Every year, the Missouri Association of School Librarians sends out Gateway reading lists to high schools throughout Missouri as recommendations for students to read. Librarians and students later vote for these books to be given the Gateway Readers Award, Holmes said.
Sobrey said reading is important because it allows people to see different perspectives, especially through realistic fiction novels, and because it can teach readers about different cultures.
“I think the librarians have really helped me love books because anytime I need any recommendations, Mr. Holmes is always ready to help me,” Sobery said.
Raymond Holmes, librarian, was recently appointed as a reader on the Gateway Selection Committee. Readers on this committee read books selected a year later for the Gateway Readers Award Preliminary Nominee List.
“At Marquette, students can participate in the selector program if they read 7 of the 25 books on the reading list,” Holmes said. “After reading, students vote on the books in January.”
Holmes said the library has always pushed out Gateway novels just because they’re great books for teenagers.
“As a reader, I spend a lot of time reading potential Gateway books for the readers selector list for next year, and later, everyone on the committee will meet and select books for the selector list,” Holmes said.
Maya Aldan, sophomore, is an active member of the library club, Library Is Basically Really Outstanding (LIBRO). LIBRO organizes library events and decorates the library.
Aldan has read two of the Gateway books this year: “That’s Not My Name” by Megan Lally, and “The Black Queen” by Jumata Emill.
“Some of them [Gateway books] have a lot of deeper meanings. For ‘The Black Queen’ it’s a lot about oppression and racism, which I think is important for a lot of people to learn about,” Aldan said. “There are also a few other books that are about that message as well.”
Aldan enjoys fantasy and mystery-horror novels because of all of the stories involved in the book.
“I guess it’s just nice to escape the real world for a bit,” Aldan said.
