Whether they’re from a favorite novel or a meaningful poem, words hold a powerful influence over people. Authors and literary figures can forge a very personal and sentimental place in the hearts of students.

“A Harry Potter [series], especially Hermione because she inspired me to be okay with being a dorky person,” senior Mary Grant said.

Grant’s love of learning caused her to feel out of place at her old school, and author J.K. Rowling’s character Hermione helped her learn to embrace her passion. Hermione’s courage and brains continued to impress her throughout the series.

“I just really liked learning which is something that not a lot of kids did… especially at my old school,” Grant said.

“She is just really brave and really smart and she uses her wits to figure out how to achieve her dreams and I just think that’s really cool and inspiring,” Grant said.

Rowling is also someone that Grant looks up to as more than just an author, regardless of her many books.

“Rowling is a really cool person. She started a lot of cool organizations and I’m pretty sure she was a single working mother when she was writing these books,” Grant said.

“She [Rowling] writes all of these books and gets all of this fame and uses that fame for good.”

Similarly, author of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, Rick Riordan has impacted sophomore Ben Putaski’s lifestyle.

“I’m a really big reader now,” Putaski said. ”I didn’t really start getting into reading until I read [Riordan’s] books, which is what triggered my love for [reading],” he added.

“I found the mythology aspect really interesting; it was the first kind of adventure books I had started reading that really had a set plot,” Putaski said.

Putaski found Greek Mythology interesting because of the differences it had to the cultures and religions he has been surrounded by. Subsequently, he researched and learned more about mythology.

“Christianity is what I had been mainly exposed to because it’s pretty common—I was interested because the ideas of [Greek mythology] were a lot different than [Christian] ideas, [for example] different gods [who] control different things,” Putaski said.

“After I read [the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series] I started getting really into Greek Mythology; I know a lot about it now and I’m still pretty interested,” Putaski said.

“Now I mainly read fantasy books kind of like that one but ones [that are] a little bit more mature [including series] like The Lord of the Rings,” he said.

However, it could be a single book that leaves a mark on students of our community. Sophomore Anna Perleberg was moved by John Boyne’s The Boy in Striped Pajamas.

“[The Boy in Striped Pajamas] really hit me hard because I’m Jewish myself and knowing that people went through things like that is just really heartbreaking,” Perleberg said.

The novel’s plot revolves around the Holocaust.

“[The book] opened my eyes to the struggles that many Jewish people have faced throughout history and makes me feel really fortunate to be living now and not when these horrible things were happening,” she added.

Being influenced by a piece of literature doesn’t always mean running a fan page or donning a shirt with a popular line. It is at the very least an emotion or a feeling of some intensity that has come to exist after reading a specific piece. Although every person is affected by literature in a differently, no one escapes the influence of books.