After our class from two weeks ago, I asked Sam if he would give me some more realistic book talk scenarios, since the 6-10 minute format felt very awkward and hard to pin down. In typical Sam fashion, he came through wonderfully and gave me four different prompts:

Scenario 1: Young, white male, 14, in with a parent who says he doesn’t like reading anymore, but plays a lot of sports and Fortnite. He did like the Avengers movie and enjoys Stranger Things.

Scenario 2: 12 year old, African American female, in by herself, who enjoys romance novels, but nothing to ‘steamy’ or mature. She is interested in either historical or contemporary romance and would prefer a series or author with multiple titles.

Scenario 3: 16 year old, voracious reader, who wants scfi/dystopia, but she has read all the staples/popular series. She wants good, complex characters and worldbuilding.

Scenario 4: 13 year old, white female, who wants stories with LGBTQIA+ characters, but she enjoys horror and graphic novels and does not want romance as a primary driver.

I know I want to give the 16 year old Dread Nation by Justina Ireland, but I need to think on the others a but more before I select my titles. More to come.