At one point, Bowie had three book clubs. Today, the Book Alliance (otherwise known as the Book Club) is the last one standing. Teachers at Bowie can host student-run clubs in their classrooms, but once upperclassmen leave and nobody takes over, the club often shuts down. 

“Last year we met virtually, every other week,” Book Alliance leader senior Andrea Hasenbein said. “It was a really small club, and there were only four members. This year it has grown a lot.”

The purpose of the Book Club is to allow members to connect through reading and expand their imaginations.

“I think that most people who read in high school try to escape to other places,” Hasenbein said. “Books help our imagination grow, and readers can connect through them.” 

Hasenbein has seen the growth of her club over the last four years.

“I joined Book Club freshman year, along with one of our other leaders Tess,” Hasenbein said. “Then a year later Olivia joined. Olivia is our third student leader, she mostly just helps us schedule meetings and come up with fun ideas.”

After being impacted by COVID-19 and virtual school, the Book Club now has 15 student members.

“We were super excited to find everyone in Ms. McCaffrey’s room on the first day of book club,” Hasenbein said.

Underclassmen members have also enjoyed their time as members of the club.

“I think Book Club is a great experience to meet new people and read great books.” freshman club member Adele Sprissler said. “I just wish that the book selection was a little differe​​nt. We need a wider selection. I think we have read too many dystopian books.”

Once the book club has read their chosen book, they pick a new one. Members do this by suggesting books, and then reading the summaries. At the end they vote, and the book with the most votes wins. 

“People should join the club, because we like to welcome new people and make others feel involved. We start a book every so often, and others can always jump into the book, because we give short summaries in the beginning of the meeting.” Hasenbein said. “We also like to do fun events for the holidays, like having a Halloween party or swapping books for Christmas.”

This year the book club had a small Christmas party to celebrate before finals. There was food, a book swap, and a new book choice. 

“I like when we have parties, because everyone brings food and we do fun activities,” freshman member Keira Scannell said. 

“You don’t even have to keep up with the books, it’s just a club where creative readers can come together and talk about a book that we pick,” Hasenbein said. “Reading is just calming, and it can improve our vocabulary.”