Six MTHS sophomores were honored in this year’s Letters About Literature contest, sponsored by the Washington State Library and Library of Congress. The contest encourages students to write letters to their favorite authors, living or dead.

Cassandra Cariker, Blake Christianson, British Fort, Rachel Olson, Lillian Simpson and Sydella Yonker were honored as state finalists in the level three contest open to students in grades 9-10.

Christianson wrote to Orson Scott Card, author of “Ender’s Game.” He said, “When I was writing to the author, I basically relating the main character, Ender, to my life, digging through his emotional and physical troubles and realizing how much I have in common with him.”

Nearly 100 schools sent entries this year in the contest that ran from September to January. Students wrote about the literary work influenced their perspective of the world or themselves.

“I came to realize that everyone goes through these types of struggles and the only way to get by them is through facing your fears and staying confident,” Christianson said