There are lots of amazing books that have been written and are now read in school. As students, we are introduced to and read books at such a young age. Many of these books leave marks on our childhood and we can still remember their impact to this day. 

“I like reading books because of the time and the impact that books have on you. Also, the perspectives that they have on your life and the different perspectives that you get from other people? You only live one life, you can’t live like 100,000 lives and if you read a book, you open it and then you get a totally new one,” stated Leah Van Dorst, senior. 

Students connect to books when they talk about mental health and they don’t romanticize mental health as a whole. They like to feel connected to the book and it’s a sense of comfort knowing that they aren’t the only ones going through it, they feel seen and understood. 

“Throughout the whole story (If I Run) she has a lot of anxiety, some depression, and stress/overthinking, which the way the author words it makes it really relatable. Granted I’ve never been in that exact situation before, but it was cool to see that other people think that way too.  And I don’t really cry for books unless they are really good, but I definitely cried a little for this one,” said Kathrine Eskes, sophomore. 

Novels are known to influence the readers who read them. The books can influence people in different ways but it also depends on how the readers interpret the book. But, having a different perspective on the book, that is different from other peoples, isn’t a bad thing, it just makes the book more meaningful to the reader.

“The book that has affected me the most is We Were Liars. It was one of the first books I read when I came back into reading. My favorite thing about the book was that it’s about her mental illness and her coming to realize what she had done. The great plot too also made it better,” Emily Sesser, junior. [sno-poll id=”13375″ result_color=”#bf0d0d” tile_color=”#ffffff” align=”left” background=”on” background_color=”” border=”all” border_color=”#888888″ border_size=”1px” shadow=”on”]