AUTHOR COURTNEY STEVENS AT HHS

This past fall, I was one of the students who read the novel “Faking Normal” for our school’s book club. When I found out that the award winning author who wrote it, Courtney Stevens, is planning to visit here at Heritage High School on Wednesday, March 29, for a book talk during our lunch hour, I was personally excited. If you aren’t in book club but are still interested in hearing Stevens speak, you can speak with Mrs. Sixto in the media center. If circumstances allow, any other students who want to be there but are not club members will still be allowed to come. The book club has had a professional storyteller and several other writers speak in the media center in the past, including Greg Wilkey, Susan Gregg Gilmore, Julian Vaca, Janie Dempsey Watts, and several more. “Faking Normal” was an entertaining novel that gave teen fiction a twist. The protagonist, Alexi Littrell, works to find the courage that she needs to overcome her circumstances and deal with the trauma that she has experienced. When I spoke to sophomore Britney McKenzie, she told me that she too was extremely excited for Stevens to be visiting for one of the upcoming book club meetings. She said of the novel, “I enjoyed the author’s writing style and the way she kept the reader on edge.” While Stevens’ writing style is distinctly hers, she will still be offering tips and advice for any aspiring writers who go to listen to her speak.