Off the Page
Story and Visuals by Kate Auger, Digital Content Specialist and Photographer
Beneath your feet is the soft feeling of carpet. Its fibers muffle your steps and create a cozy feeling in the space around you. It holds a smell, too — the pleasant combination of parchment, glue and ink. You like it: this scent, the bounce of the carpet. But you’re not here for that — you’re on a quest for knowledge and looking for your next read.
Through the stacks of tall wooden library shelves, you search for something to pique your interest. Your eyes land on colors, graphics and titles, each representing a new world, new people, new information and new stories. All the while, your gaze speeds by numbered and lettered labels on the spines of bound artifacts.
Maybe you’re timidly looking for something (really anything) to write your book report on. Or you might be searching for the sequel to a beloved favorite. You could accidentally stumble upon a genre you’d never thought you’d try. Your sci-fi fixation could diverge into historical fiction. A graphic novel could lead you to a history of the thumbtack. A memoir might call your name.
But if you’re still unsure of your next read, Meera ’38, Claire ’34, James ’31 and Nolan ’29 know just what to suggest. These Durham Academy students each have a book they love, and they want you to read it, too. For them, DA libraries are places to explore, read and dive deeply into worlds both similar and dissimilar to our own lived experiences. Sometimes they find solidarity in the characters they read; other times they appreciate a different perspective. Either way, the libraries host a wealth of insight worth taking advantage of. Ready for a pause in your search? Let’s hear their thoughts and recommendations.
Meera ’38
Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
The Frog and Toad picture books chronicle the adventures of their namesake amphibians and the lessons they learn along the way. Meera dashes to the library to find the first of the series, Frog and Toad Are Friends, but the 1970 classic is, unsurprisingly, checked out. Instead, she searches for her second favorite title of the series, Frog and Toad Together.
She recounts the plot of its 64 pages before making her case for fellow readers to give the book a read. Yes, it’s funny, and yes, Frog and Toad might eat too many cookies in this book. But Meera points something else out, something she says she already knows how to practice: This tale teaches patience.
While Frog and Toad sometimes encounter conflict, Meera is sure it doesn’t come between their friendship, even when Toad attempts to match Frog’s beautiful garden and meets the frustration of slow-growing seeds. No matter how much he demands his seeds to grow, he must learn patience for his garden to succeed.
James ’31
The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
What if your books were interactive? James’ recommended read is more than historical fiction; it’s part puzzle and code. The Bletchley Riddle is a middle-grade novel following two siblings as they navigate life in Bletchley Park, a British code-breaking factory during World War II. Life inside the mansion is already mysterious, but now 19-year-old Jakob is breaking Nazi codes while his younger sister, Lizzie, is breaking the code that matters most — the mystery of their mother's disappearance.
This book challenges the mind and is full of surprises. It’s not just reading; it’s also a part code-breaking challenge. James says there are reasons to read it twice (no spoilers here!) and to examine each chapter closely. Also appealing, he says, are the book’s characters. James most closely relates to Lizzie, as they both are firm in their beliefs and ideas, thinking critically and moving against the flow when necessary.
James lists The Bletchley Riddle among his all-time top 10 books — quite the endorsement from a Battle of the Books competitor who reads at least 30 titles a year.
Claire ’34
The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty
Claire’s excitement is palpable as she walks the stretch from Jean Coene’s fourth grade classroom to the Preschool/Lower School Library. She needs no direction to find her book and immediately runs to her favorite reading spot, the cozy gray loveseat in the middle of the library.
Claire’s book of choice, The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, follows a girl named Lucy who was struck by lightning four years earlier. The lightning strike rewired her brain — giving her both genius-level math skills and obsessive-compulsive disorder — and her challenges with OCD lead to her being homeschooled for the next few years. As a 12-year-old mathematical prodigy, Lucy thinks she’s ready to head straight to college. But her grandmother convinces her to enroll in a conventional middle school for one year, make one friend and read one non-math book before making the leap. Lucy’s ensuing experiences — as she navigates campus social dynamics and neurodivergence — show the power of getting out of one’s comfort zone. Claire describes who this book is for: “It’s great for people really good at math… I didn’t understand the numbers at all in this book. What [are] the digits of pi again? What is she talking about?” And while the math might be a little out of a reader’s reach, Claire enjoyed the read all the same because overall, “It’s about friends and family.”
Also figuring heavily in the story is a shelter dog named Cutie Pi. That’s right, 3.1415926535 and onward. Lucy connects with the pup, who has brain cancer, while volunteering at the shelter. For Claire, Cutie Pi’s story was so moving that she was brought to tears while reading. “It’s heartwarming because the dog is just wanting a home. … It was really actually surprising to me that I cried, because I never cry during a book.”
And just like Lucy’s grandmother pushed her to read outside of her favorite genre, Claire’s mom encouraged her to do the same — try something other than the graphic novels she adores. As it turns out, Claire was hooked after the first chapter of Lightning Girl: “It’s interesting the whole way through.”
Nolan ’29
The Martian by Andy Weir
Would Nolan consider living in the story of The Martian? “Probably not,” he says. “It seems very stressful from either point of view, as the astronaut who’s trapped or the people who are trying to rescue him. I would never want to be an astronaut anyway, but it’s good to read about.” The sci-fi novel explores dark, unsettling elements, the fight for survival and hard science, while tempering the story with humor and a lighthearted tone — a balance that Nolan appreciates.
Attempting to avoid spoilers, Nolan tiptoes around plot points when explaining why the book so resonates with him — but one interesting theme, he says, is the wonder of the world’s population working together in harmony to save the stranded Mars explorer.
Nolan credits his discovery of The Martian to a timely recommendation from the DA Upper School library team — librarian Shannon Harris and library assistant and English teacher Katherine Spruill — during January’s unexpected snow days. What a perfect time to read about a cold red planet, while hunkering down on a cold blue one.