Many may argue that schools only offer extracurricular activities that spurn competition and intense mental or physical bouts. Are the any clubs for the sole purpose of intellectual stimulation, relaxation, discussion and pure enjoyment? If you think the answer is no, think again. La Porte High School’s Tattered Pages Readers club is just the solution to the problem.
The club meets a few times throughout the school year to discuss of-the-moment books or classics. Past books have included Unbroken, A Christmas Carol, One Breath Away, Beastly and Pride Prejudice and Zombies. The broad range of selections is meant to please and entertain a variety of salacious readers.
The club meetings are relaxed, informal and meant to provoke thought and analyze concepts. Each meeting is facilitated by an appointed person, but the discussion mainly comes from the students. This past year La Porte School Corporation Superintendent Dr. Glade Montgomery even stopped by for a session.
“Tattered Pages gives students a chance to read for fun and discuss books of high-interest,” club sponsor Christine Rosenbaum said. “If anyone enjoys reading and discussing books then they are highly encouraged to attend.”
This month’s discussion, which took place on Wednesday, March 27, focused on the novel Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. The novel follows the life of a young girl who appears to have it all. However, there is one snag- she relives the last day of her life seven days in one week. The session was facilitated by La Porte Public Library librarian Elizabeth Johnson.
“We chose the book because it was recommended to us,” Rosenbaum said. “All of our selections are chosen through recommendations of students, La Porte Public Library or word of mouth.”
The students gathered, and while nibbling on refreshments, offered their opinion.
“The book taught you how bad bullying affects people and that you don’t have a chance to take it back,” student Melissa Coffeen said.
Tattered Pages Readers will close out the year with its final book talk in May. The discussion will focus on Close to Shore: A True Story of Terror in an Age of Innocence, which tells the story of the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916.