Books | Women | Mentoring
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| Luisa Porter / The Commercial Dispatch/AP |
Columbus, Miss.—Four years ago, eighth graders Wrishija Roy, Laurel Yarborough and Damare Baker all read "Fat Chance" by Leslea Newman in a girls' book club at Columbus Middle School run by Emma Thompson, then a senior at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science.
Now MSMS seniors themselves, they're back at the middle school reading the same novel, which tells the story of a girl with an eating disorder. This time, though, they are leading the book club.
"It's been nice to give back to the girls because I know how helpful it was for me," Yarborough said. "And I just hope I'm having the same effect."
The Women Influencing Lives Through Literature – or WILL – program is Thompson's brainchild. She wanted a way to mentor younger girls using literature. Read more....
