Their eyes wander around the pages, capturing all of the information that meets their mind. After a while, the thought remains in the back of their mind: “What is the person who created this like? Are their own experiences reflected upon the characters in this book? Are they as kind and caring as one character or are they shy and sophisticated like another character?”

Members of the Library Club attended the North Texas Teen Book Festival in Irving, TX, on April 21. Those who attended had the opportunity to meet selected authors and discuss their novels.

“Every year they invite a bunch of authors from really popular young adult books and they have a keynote speaker where everybody can go in and listen, and this year it’s Dav Pilkey,’’ Library Club sponsor Rachel Epley said. “They have different panels and you can go in and listen to authors talk and kind of explain their inspiration.”

The excitement the attendees felt were evident in their experiences. Students also had the chance to receive a one-on-one experience with their favorite authors who spoke at the event.

“I’m excited because there are going to be a lot of authors there, they’re going to have panels and you get to interact with different authors,” Library Club member Andrea Loredo said.

After meeting their favorite authors, another dimension is added to the experience for the readers.

“It kind of makes the book come alive for the students, especially ones that have a book and a favorite author that they have followed for a long time. Actually getting to meet that person in person makes everything seem so real,” Epley said.

At this festival, those who attended created memories of their favorite authors that could influence how they read their novels from that point on.

“Me personally, I benefit from it,” Loredo said. “I get to read these exciting ideas about what the person came up with, so I like knowing how they came up with the ideas and the person behind the idea of what was created.”