a refreshing interchange

 A young woman came in the library the other day - she was maybe, junior high age. She asked my help in finding some books she wanted. One of them was in graphic novel form, and there was no one else around, so I asked her if she really liked graphic novels; I said I thought they were - honestly, I forget the word. But they don't appeal to me. She said she did like them, and thought because she's grown up with them, and I hadn't, that was maybe why. A refreshing girl! Then she said graphic novels were like "the candy of literature", and regular novels were the meat. Ah! I was relieved to hear that she understood the superiority of a full novel but could still enjoy other things. I would never disparage anything a child was longing to read - you don't want to discourage anybody, so normally I keep my thoughts to myself, but there was that something about her which led me to comment. She knew what she liked, and why.