The READING ROOM: Local teen book club defies the gender odds
BY KATHY HICKMAN / for The Sun Chronicle

When 70 percent of a teen book club's members are male, you can't help but wonder: What in the world are they reading? Club moderator Nan Loggains is well aware that her Murray Teen Book Group is unique.

"As I'm sure you know, boys often drift away from reading by the time they hit their teens," she notes. So she is especially delighted that the group she "loves" has so many boys in it.

The abundance of tasty snacks on the back table would have been enough to entice most kids out on a frigid night. And truth be told, a fair amount of them were devoured the Tuesday evening I visited. But these young men and women gather with a far more voracious appetite for passionate discussion, and an easy camaraderie born of shared experience.

Several core members originally belonged to a children's book club sponsored by the Attleboro Area Homeschoolers. It met from 1999-2002 at the Attleboro Public Library with Nan as its facilitator.

"I like that the group has a history," Nan says. "We still laugh about the times when the kids were younger and most of the girls were reading 'Pony Pals' and most of the boys loved 'Animorphs.'"

The Murray Teen Book group is fortunate to have Nan's impressively credentialed and enthusiastic leadership qualities. Her easy rapport with all of the kids, combined with gentle direction when needed, creates an open and supportive atmosphere for discussion.

Since 2002, meetings have been held at Murray Universalist Church in Attleboro. Currently, just over half of its dozen members are home-schooled. They and other students hail from Attleboro, North Attleboro, Norton, Sutton, and several communities in Rhode Island. The group is open to any area teens, 13 and up, and all are welcome.

Isabel Samuel, a North Attleboro Middle Schooler, is a case in point. She joined the book group at the end of last school year. "What I like best is that I connect to the kids. I keep coming back because I like the book, the discussion, and the group of kids," she says.

And the makeup of the group may well be another reason for its success. These are teenagers who sparkle with curiosity and bring an astounding array of eclectic interests and involvements to their book discussions.

Isabel, for example, plays the sax, sings in the school chorus, acts in Rhode Island's All Children's Theater and volunteers at a soup kitchen. Homeschooler Colt King is interested in Chanbara (Japanese fencing), Boy Scouts, Japanese history and culture, and snowboarding. Dylan Sahakian swims on the Foxpoint Swim Team and volunteers at the local Audubon Society. And aspiring writer Marisa Natale recently attended a writer's conference with Susan Cooper, author of the "Dark is Rising" series. Marisa, who enjoys the study of genetics, also volunteers for "Roots and Shoots," a program of the Jane Goodall Institute.

Like many of the kids, 15-year-old Robert Loggains, son of the moderator, is politically active. In addition to taking a class focusing on the 2008 election, Robert attends an AP government class in the DELVE program at MIT, and participated recently in the We the People state competition in Boston. Just to balance things out a bit, he has a part time pet-sitting job.

So what were they discussing the night I arrived? A contemporary superhero novel called "Soon I Will Be Invincible" by Austin Grossman. And it was clear that, for a group whose tastes characteristically run to more sophisticated fare, this book was both a departure and a disappointment.

The vocal, articulate Hunter Parent-Wetmore, a ninth grade homeschooler, was disgusted with the author. "He tries to write literature, but he's writing a comic book. He tried for satire, but it didn't work." Hunter adds, "I love discussing books and reading ones from genres that I don't usually read. I also like to use (the book group) to refine my abilities to take a story down to the base level and build it up from there. I prefer to do this in a talkative social environment." Hunter, who fences at the Rhode Island Academy and designs movies and documentaries, dreams of being a politician, "a mover and shaker."

Homeschooled ninth grader Christy Rozek said she initially found the book amusing, but in the discussion "others convinced me that I don't like the book that much." Christy joined the club five to six years ago. Her reading interests mirror those of many in the group, with favorites including Harry Potter novels and classics like "Animal Farm," "1984," "Catcher in the Rye," and "Black Like Me." A number of the boys rave about Janet Tashjian's young adult novel "The Gospel According to Larry," as well as the Pendragon, Redwall and Eragon series books.

But it's not just about the books. "Coming is just plain fun," comments 13-year-old Liam Kenney of Norton Middle School. "It gives me something to like about Tuesdays."

"We have such a diverse group that we never entirely agree on anything," said seventh grader Marisa Natale. "We all think differently and read books differently, so whenever we're discussing any given topic, we will have read the book in so many different ways that the people there always keep it interesting."

The Murray Teen Book Group meets on the first Tuesday of each month from 7-8:30 p.m. It is open to teens 13 and older. For more information, contact NLoggains@aol.com.

KATHY HICKMAN can be reached at news@thesunchronicle.com.'