Write about a character stumbling upon a library book that changes the course of their life, for better or worse.

Posted in Middle School on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 207 stories

“In the Library” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #91

“So I’m in the library and I stumble across this book.” As he is saying this, the large man holds out a small leather volume, that is clearly old, and has seen better days. He is a big man; nearly 190 centimeters tall with broad shoulders and tipping the scales at 18 stone. The man hands the book to a small figure and continues; “I mean I literally stumble on the thing.” The one now holding the book smiles brightly and opens the old volume as the bigger man keeps talking. “It must have fallen off its’ shelf;” he continues, “I snatched ...

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“Life In Print” by Liam Ashby

Submitted to Contest #91

The library was cool and smelled like the soothing mix of old books, new magazines, and half-decent coffee – a stark contrast to the mixture of sweat, cheap aftershave and fried food that filled the streets with the carnival in town. Reynold Powell, a short, stocky gentleman with a slight widow’s peak, sat down heavily in one of the lime-green, partly plasticised chairs, backed by a thin-topped desk. He leaned back, took in a deep breath of filtered air, and relaxed for a moment. Powell hated crowds, loud noises, and anythi...

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“Discovering I Am An Empath” by Tiffany Pullie

Submitted to Contest #91

This day started off normal just as every other day when I would make my trips to the library, but when I got there I decided to browse through a new section called learning who you are. I began to look at the titles and something quickly caught my eye, it said learn to protect your energy and manage your emotions. I thought this was very interesting because I have had a hard time throughout my life trying to do both of the things mentioned. The picture was very eye-catching, it showed a woman with her back turned on what looked like a st...

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“Well, Whaddya Know” by Deborah Curci

Submitted to Contest #91

So's you know, libraries ain't my thing. I never opened a book in my life 'cept when I had to. School, right? What a trip. Goons and whores, pretending to be kids. Not the other way around. And a fucking zoo. Who could learn? I don't even really like movies, either. TV's okay if you can find a fight or some basketball. Or a classic car auction, although not many cars beat my beauty. But movies, books... just a buncha lies some sucker wrote for other suckers to buy and read. What's the point? Funny, it was my beauty that landed me in th...

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“The library life” by Judith Veder

Submitted to Contest #91

LOVE THE LIBRARY LIFE I inherited my library love from my mother. She loved books. She learned to read at an early age. Her mother, a Yiddish speaker from someplace in Poland, learned English too at the Seward Park branch library on the lower east side opened in 1909. My mother always had books in her house. My mother Florence used to say when her last days were upon her, she wanted to spend them in a library. She also said that about Barnes and Noble. Or m...

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“Jaden and The Book” by Lexie Palmer

Submitted to Contest #91

It’s crazy to think that this morning, I woke up at 7:03 a.m., like normal, got dressed in my flamboyant clothes, ate a quick meal consisting of Lucky Charms cereal, and headed off toward junior high. My name is Jaden, and this is my story of how one library book changed my life. I was never one for popularity, and when I arrived at school, I saw only one person was waiting for me. That’s Gem. (Her parents were going through a “We’re gonna’ be rich!!” faze, and went to Diamond Crater to search for diamonds, quickly retiring back to t...

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“The Library Monster” by Samantha Ayala

Submitted to Contest #91

The library wasn't very busy that day. The librarian, a teenage girl with an intimidating nose-piercing sat bored at her desk, feet slung over the table, and had already dozed off in the evening sunlight. In the kids area, a group of preschoolers sat huddled around their middle-aged teacher, who was reading them nursery rhymes in an obnoxiously expressive manner. Some of the children were actually listening, but most were either roaming freely in the towering maze of bookshelves or picking their noses. The janitor was also ...

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“Hazel Eyes” by Veda Vivek💎

Submitted to Contest #91

Mekka slams the book shut, irritated. “There’s nothing here about the American Revolution,” she says, throwing her hands up.“Well, there has to be something. The librarian said that the book was somewhere here. Maybe we didn’t look hard enough,” I offer, standing up and searching the books again. Mekka rolls her eyes. “As if. We’ve searched for an hour, Dean. there’s nothing. Come on, let’s go back home,” she says, putting her things in her bag. I was about to do the same when my eyes fell on a book. I pulled it out, the cover...

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“Zebras with a Z” by L Rivera

Submitted to Contest #91

Marisol had a bit of a love/hate relationship with summers.Summers meant no school, hours of playing in the hot, burning sun with her cousins, an excuse to run around in the sprinklers with her dog. Summers meant dealing with a finicky, window AC that only cooled one room, that dripped water at odd times and broke down regularly, and never got quite as cold as the library could.Mom had so many books. They were all about medicine and cooking and had a bunch of big words that Marisol didn't really understand. Sometimes the small words were har...

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“Altair's Adventure” by Amber Willis

Submitted to Contest #91

Altair wandered down the brightly lit aisle, sniffing the mingling woodiness, mustiness and oddly vanilla scents wafting from the bookshelves. His long blue arms swinging happily as he meandered along the timeworn remnants of old-style physical forms of fantastical stories and factual information. All his friends, who were few, and everyone he knew never used these primitive physical books at all, some did not even know these relics even existed. Everyone for decades has used their techeloids for reading, entertainment, and communication. Wh...

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“Risk” by Mary Winter

Submitted to Contest #91

Risk Bored bored bored. Martin was sick to death of his room. Why on earth had he picked that puke-green shade of paint? His parents had warned him he’d get tired of it – but even they could not have foreseen a time when he’d be spending fourteen hours a day in here. Every waking moment, apart from the one hour of exercise that they insisted he take outside. And meals, of course. Meals were a bit of a problem. Not that he wasn’t hungry; it was just that mealtimes involved sitting across the table from his da...

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“The Book of Mysterious Places and Adventures.” by Larry Rhoton

Submitted to Contest #91

Romy rolled her wheelchair over to her bedroom window; she sat watching the birdbath. The redbird was having a wonderful time playing in the water. She didn’t know how much water it took to clean a bird, but one thing for sure, the redbird was getting a good bath. She wondered if today would be like yesterday, or the day before, or the day before that day. To the nine-year-old girl, each day seemed to be repeating itself, uninteresting and boring. School was closed for the summer, and she enjoyed that, but she longed for an adventure...

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“Deal with the Devil” by RIC .

Submitted to Contest #91

This is way more difficult than I remember… Raquel thought. Despite the internet, Raquel always preferred the library. She liked the feel of the book in her hands… hand, as she read. Also, she doesn’t want to buy a book only to not like it. The library was a good medium. Plus, the memories, it was hard not to come back. So here Raquel was, recently missing an arm, and th...

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“The Human Library” by Katharine Widdows

Submitted to Contest #91

‘Shh! They’ll see you.’ Cassie crouched behind a large oak, signalling to her twin to do the same. Kasey ignored her, stepping closer to the edge and peering over the drop. Below them their father and uncle galloped along the forest path following the witch who ran, scared, through the trees to the east. ‘She’s dropped something!’ Kasey hissed back to her sister. ‘Just leave it – we’ll be beaten if they find us out here.’ ‘I won’t get caught, I’m quicker than you.’ The two horsemen dashed past. Seconds later, bow in hand, qu...

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“Da Mortem Mihi” by Thistle Arellano

Submitted to Contest #91

It was in the Geography section. I remember it being strange because of how old the book looked. It was something I would have expected to see in a museum, not in the public library downtown. The day was hot, the windows in the stifling library cracked open to let in the slight breeze that blew outside. I was the only one in the library other than the receptionist that stood at the desk, talking loudly on the phone and blowing a bright pink bubble before snapping it. I was searching for something, I wasn’t quite sure what. Ju...

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Write about a character stumbling upon a library book that changes the course of their life, for better or worse.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 207 stories

“In the Library” by John Del Rio

“Life In Print” by Liam Ashby

“Discovering I Am An Empath” by Tiffany Pullie

“Well, Whaddya Know” by Deborah Curci

“The library life” by Judith Veder

“Jaden and The Book” by Lexie Palmer

“The Library Monster” by Samantha Ayala

“Hazel Eyes” by Veda Vivek💎

“Zebras with a Z” by L Rivera

“Altair's Adventure” by Amber Willis

“Risk” by Mary Winter

“The Book of Mysterious Places and Adventures.” by Larry Rhoton

“Deal with the Devil” by RIC .

“The Human Library” by Katharine Widdows

“Da Mortem Mihi” by Thistle Arellano

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone going to extreme lengths to return an overdue library book.

Start your story with a stern librarian scolding two characters for making noise in the library.

Write about a character who meticulously catalogs everything in their life, until something disrupts their system.

Set your story in a library, after hours.

Contest #91

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

770

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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