The best part about summer is that I can read what I want. I just finished Lock and Key by the phenomenal best-selling author, Sarah Dessen. Lock and Key is about a 17 year old girl named Ruby who was abandoned by her mother. Ruby is then moved to her sister’s custody where she plans to spend a couple months before her 18^th Birthday; once she is 18, she will not have to rely on anyone else, just herself, the way she likes it. Ruby cannot make her journey alone; she needs help. People are more than willing to help her, but will she let them? Will she let Nate, her genuine next door neighbor, help her? Will he receive help from her in return when he needs it most of all? I have now read all eight of Sarah Dessen’s novels. Lock and Key is my second favorite of her books after Someone Like You.

High schools require students to read classical, verbose, and difficult novels, and this causes students to forget the joy of reading. When I tell teens that I love to read, most of them tell me that they either hate to read or that they only have time to read their school books. I feel that I can only truly enjoy a novel if it is my choice to read it. I loved the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I was not “forced” to read it. I think high schools should allow students to read free choice books occasionally

I encourage you not to spend your entire summer on the computer, watching TV, playing video games, etc. Read a good book.

- Danielle Douvikas