Students sound off on inspiring literature

Ridgefield — Ten View Ridge Middle School students were chosen this month as semifinalists in the state’s annual “Letters about Literature” competition. Essays by nine eighth-graders and one seventh-grader were picked by judges as some of the best of the 3,400-or-so they received. Including the View Ridge students, 325 young writers made it to the semifinals in the competition, which was sponsored locally by the Washington State Library and the Library of Congress. In Letters about Literature, which has competitions across the country, students write about the books that changed their perspectives on the world or their own lives. The letters are addressed to their favorite authors, whether living or dead. The state competition is part of the Washington Reads program.