Learning in the Library

On 10 August the Youth Review Forum was held in the Lecture Theatre, with a group of keen readers from Year 10 joining with students from St Patrick’s College and Meriden to share thoughts about the 2022 CBCA titles with students from Year 9. SSC was represented at the forum by Georgia Long, Bronte Sprotte, Amanda Yparraguirre, Sienna Bova, Alyssia Rostirolla and Eloise Dahm. These students were articulate and demonstrated great critical and creative thinking in their analysis of the books they had read.

We discussed our views on the 6 books that were nominated for the Children’s Book Council of Australia Awards in the Older Reader’s Category. These books explored a range of issues facing teenagers, introducing unfamiliar concepts and challenging stereotypes facing minority groups such as the LGBTQIA+ society.  The forum gave us the opportunity to express our individual viewpoints about the multitude of aspects of novels that appeal to young adult readers, allowing us to develop a greater appreciation and understanding of literature. What’s more it also gave us the opportunity to share our opinions and listen to others’ perspectives, which was valuable to assist us to diversify our thinking and understanding of the novels. Through listening to the opinions of other readers we were exposed to alternative attitudes furthering our appreciation of literature. We would like to thank Mr Paul McDonald from the Children’s Bookshop for moderating our discussion and for his insights into YA literature. Elouise Dahm

Susan Lombardo

Head of Library and Information Services (Acting)