Read what teens are reading!

How long has it been since you have read a science fiction book? For many, it may have been a long time, but hopefully that will soon change. The Newport Library Foundation recently announced the choice for this year's Newport Reads! campaign. "Ender's Game", written in 1985 by Orson Scott Card, was selected with the help of teen readers. The slogan this year is: "Read What Teens Are Reading!"

The winner of many literary awards, "Ender's Game" tells the story of Ender Wiggin, a highly intelligent young boy who is taken from his family to be trained in interstellar warfare. His skills make him a leader in the school, but the artificial environment of the soldier community leads Ender to suffer from many psychological battles. Ender also has two equally intelligent and unusual siblings. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake the world ... that is, if it survives.

The kickoff event for this year's Newport Reads! promises to be a very interesting and fun evening, according to committee members. It will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 6, in the Boone Center at Newport High School. The featured speaker will be University of Oregon Science Fiction Professor Margaret McBride. She will talk about how to read science fiction and its importance as a literary genre. In addition, the theme for the night is: "Play What Teens Are Playing!" This year's selected novel revolves around video games, and in order for people who have little experience with these games to have an appreciation for this activity, there will be several different games set up in the Boone Center. High school students will help give everyone a chance to experience some of the games they have heard about but may not have actually played.

Members of the committee said they read several excellent novels before finally choosing this one. They said "Ender's Game" is a captivating read, and its many themes should lead to very interesting discussions at all levels and among all ages. Also as part of the program this year, the NHS Advanced Junior English classes, under the instruction of Tiana Tucker, will read the book as a class assignment and will be very involved in the scheduled events.

The book is available at the Newport Public Library, as well as at many local bookstores.

More information will be announced in the coming weeks, but for now, people are urged to mark their calendars for the kickoff event on March 6.