READ FOR A LIFETIME
Brought to you by the Illinois State Library
READ FOR A LIFETIME is an annual statewide reading program that solely targets high school students. It promotes the enjoyment of reading by encouraging students to read contemporary literature and rewards them for their efforts.
Each year, a Read for a Lifetime Book List is made up of 25 titles that is created to appeal to all students through a wide variety of high-interest subjects to provide many opportunities for enjoyable, thought-provoking escapes from the demands of high school academics. By participating in the program and making these book connections, students will benefit from increased verbal skills, and creativity, acquire a greater capacity for empathy, and develop a love of reading that will last – a lifetime.
Certificates (from the State Librarian) are given to students at the end of the school year who read:
at least four titles from the annual booklist during the school year.
all 25 books on the annual booklist.
at least four titles from the annual booklist all 4 years of high school.
all 25 books on the annual booklist all 4 years of high school.
Program Statistics
Over the history of the program 19,567 students and adults from more than 500 high schools and public libraries throughout Illinois have read 90,777 books.
490 high school seniors have received special recognition for having completed the program requirements during all four years of high school.
161 students have read all 25 books on the list in a given school year.
12 high school seniors have received special recognition from Secretary of State Jesse White for completing the program requirements all four years, by reading all 25 titles each year.
The Read for a Lifetime Booklist can also be found here. This version includes pictures of the book covers and a brief synopsis. Book List
Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives it Changed by Dashka Slater
All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban
Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz.
Baby & Solo by Lisabeth Posthuma
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
Four for the Road by K.J. Reilly
Furia by Yamile Saied Mendez
Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach.
Golden Arm by Carl Dueker
Here to Stay by Sara Farizan
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
Huda F Are You? by Huda Fammy
Impossible Escape: A True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Europe by Steve Sheinkin
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
Legends & Lattes: A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes by Travis Baldree
My Lady Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows
Rez Ball by Byron Graves
Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim
Sunshine: A Graphic Novel by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
The Loop by Ben Oliver
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson
Thieves’ Gambit by Kayvion Lewis
What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez