The Hate U Give top pick, Harry Potter still favorite
By Sohi Kang/Staff Writer
During the last three years, the top 10 book titles checked out from Indian Trail High School & Academy’s library compose of mostly fiction novels, many of which have been adapted to film.
The most popular book checkout is The Hate U Give, which has a 2018 film adaptation that grossed $34 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
Jennifer Lindsay, Indian Trail High School & Academy media teacher, featured the novel in a library book club.
“It has a very compelling message about social change in the area of police violence against African Americans,” she said. “We have 10 copies, and they are always checked out.”
Other book-to-film adaptations on the list include Everything, Everything, The Fault in Our Stars, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Similarly, 13 Reasons Why was adapted into a Netflix television series.
The top 10 titles primarily fall into the realistic fiction genre.
“People are definitely drawn to real and compelling struggles,” Lindsay said. “That’s what makes a story interesting, right? When it’s like, ‘What are they gonna do?’ and then having characters respond to it in a fascinating way.”
One long-standing novel on the list is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first book in a fantasy novel series. Kate Martin, an IT English teacher, said this popularity is due to its strong fandom.
“It definitely has a really strong community online, especially on Tumblr, Reddit, things like that,” she said.
She also said the themes in Harry Potter are what draw students to the novel.
“Friendship, doing the right thing, good versus evil, social justice, these are all things that are still very popular with kids,” she said.
Med-Sci freshman Alexa Sanchez-Nava has read many of the novels on the top title list and said that she would recommend these books and reading in general.
“People should read more. In high school, it’s rare to see someone picking up a novel and really enjoying it. Some of these are really good books, and I would suggest reading them,” she said.