South is taking part in Battle of the Books this February, a fun competition where teams of three to five students study a featured book they receive in December and test their knowledge in battles between rivaling teams, both fighting for the advancing prize.

Gwendolyn Kuhns, head librarian and host of Battle of the Books at South, says that she anticipates “fun and victory” for this year’s competition.

“This is the first time we’ve done it. I feel like South currently has the most teams, the most excitement, the most interest, and I hope that continues so that we do beat everyone else,” Kuhns said.

There is a process that comes with choosing the featured books for the battles. Kuhns revealed that they had a total of 20 books being considered. 

“We started out last semester with five books, and none of us had read all the books. We just were kind of going on vibes based on the descriptions,” Kuhns said.

The featured books for this year include Cracking The Bell (realistic fiction), Love In English (romance), Hollow Fires (murder mystery), Star Splitter (science fiction), and The Getaway (horror). 

“We also wanted books that reflected the lived experiences of our students so that everyone could hopefully see themselves in at least one of the books,” Kuhns said.

Kuhns wasn’t just thinking about how the books would appeal to the competitors, but she was also thinking about timeliness and how the students could read them without it getting in the way of school and other extracurricular activities.

“In high school the kids who read are the kids who are in sports, clubs, honors classes and maybe have jobs. That’s a lot, so we wanted books that were short and of high interest. We also wanted to appeal to a lot of different kinds of readers,” Kuhns said.

Amelia Grisius is one of the student competitors this year. Grisius decided to join Battle of the Books because she relished the experience she had with her team in elementary and middle school.

“I’m looking forward to working with my friends and getting to read a book I otherwise would not have,” Grisius said.

As host of the battles, Kuhns is challenged to create the questions that will be given to the competing teams. It is her job to read all of the featured books thoroughly and mark the pages as she goes so that she has leverage for the detail chosen. Kuhns is not alone in this feat.

“Because all of the high schools are doing it, theoretically, we are sharing the load of writing questions. We’ll see how that actually goes. I don’t have that many questions written yet but that’s ok because you guys [participants] have until February and we have until February,” Kunhs said.

Kuhns explained that the teams will start with written rounds, and then it will come down to eliminations through a bracket. Where the battles are taking place in the building is to be determined.

Each team is allowed to include one staff member if they wish to. Kuhns decided to add this detail because she felt that it was vital for students to realize that teachers are people and enjoy reading as well.

“All of us need allies and having that person [teacher] be your ally is helpful. Then you have a friend. It helps to create a sense of belonging for everybody,” Kuhns said.

Kaitlin Mahoney is one of the staff members who decided to be a part of the competition this year. She is interested in reading Hollow Fires, the featured murder mystery.

“I decided to join Battle of the Books because I thought it was a great opportunity to participate in the competition and encourage my students to do the same. I’ve always heard of Battle of the Books from my freshmen, so I’m thrilled that it’s going to be happening here at South,” Mahoney said.

Kuhns asks that South “wish [them] luck!” as the battles get closer and the competitors begin reading.