On Monday November 28, 2016, members of the student book club Books ‘R’ Us and the  Young Adult Book Club were joined by the author of the book Kalisha Buckhanon to discuss her novel Upstate

Buckhanon shared her own personal story and how Upstate was created.  One activity created by the students involved a Kahoot! game where members were given an interactive quiz of questions focusing on the content of the book.

Upstate is a novel composed of letters written by a 17 year old named Antonio who is in jail, accused of murdering his father, and his girlfriend who is struggling with his incarceration. The book has won many awards, including the Audie Award,  ALA Alex Awards and is on New York Public Library’s List for best Book for Teens.

The group ended the discussion with specific questions for Buckhanon and some even asked for a sequel to novel.  Buckhanon said that she wanted to come to our discussion because she was very appreciative that adults and students alike were reading and appreciating her work.

Buckhanon also stated that she would love to come back and visit ETHS and share her book even more with students, if possible.

The  Books ‘R’ Us Book Club is open to every student. They meet every other Monday after school in the East Library’s Reading Room.