![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Library provides Advanced Reader Copies for Book Blog
Chetana Kalidindi (11) examines the book cart. Students can write a review of the book on the Book Blog.
The upper school library, in an effort to increase the amount of reviews published, started to allow students to take home Advanced Reader Copies of books and requires readers to write reviews for the Harker US Library Book Blog.
Authors use Advanced Reader Copies to allow people to read their works before they are released to the public. These books are usually free and oftentimes libraries and reviewers receive them to help advertise. The librarians tried to get copies of books that would appeal to students, such as “Those Who Wish Me Dead” by Michael Koryta, “The Night Parade” by Kathryn Tanquary, and “Oh the Moon: Stories from the Tortured Mind” by Charlyne Yi.
Students can go to the library and take books from the cart to read and then write about for the book blog. This system promotes the reading of books, writing of reviews, and exploring of new titles from authors.
The Upper School Library Book Blog, created in May 2013, acts as an outlet for students and faculty to submit reviews of books they have read. Reviewers provide short summaries of the book and discuss their ratings and thoughts on each book.
“Every year there is an American Library conference and tons of publishers come with advanced copies of their books,” said Meredith Cranston, a librarian.
This year, the conference was in San Francisco, and Ms. Vaughan, another librarian, took books back to freely give away to students.
Jenny Bourke (12), shared her thoughts on the advanced reader copy system after having read “Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel” by Sara Farizan and reviewed it.
“We need more of the types of books, more variety of genres and topics, but it’s a good start,” Jenny said.
Tiffany Zhu (11), who has written several reviews for the blog since its inception, expresses a similar opinion.
“I don’t know if they will really increase the readership or participation in the book blog,” she said. “I do think that if we got more advanced copies and we take a wider selection, a more eclectic selection of them, it will probably help.”
Because these books have not been published yet, reviews on the blog let readers know what others think of it before they read it themselves. Though the library only has a small selection of advanced reader copies, the librarians plan to expand their collection in future years.
Andrew Rule (11), a main contributor to the blog, believes that the new advanced reader copy system will help promote it.
“I think the book blog is really starting expand now after sort of a fallow year last year when we got maybe sixty reviews over the course of the whole year or fewer than that,” he said. “This is a good way to rejuvenate the book blog and get people interested again.”
Ever since the library introduced this new cart of books, students have taken many of them home and two reviews have already been posted on the website.
Trisha Dwivedi (12) is the Managing Editor of Harker Aquila. She was a reporter her freshman year, Business Manager of the Winged Post her sophomore year...