When people discuss the popular fiction book, The Fault in Our Stars, most teenagers swoon at the love story between beloved characters Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters.

A select few teenagers also admire the creative brain behind the operation‒author John Green. Those teens are members of Bethesda Teen Reads, a group of middle and high school students who read, review and discuss books at the Bethesda Library.

The Bethesda Teen Reads group, which began eight years ago, focuses on attracting young people to reading and reviewing books. The group meets monthly at the library as well as holds special events like the one in Jan. 2012, when teens from around the county met John Green.

For eight years, Kathie Weinberg was the adult head of Bethesda Teen Reads until her departure in September. Weinberg helped the group get access to advanced copies of books and sent teen members’ reviews to the publishers.

Weinberg commends the student members for their meticulous reading to find errors and well-thought-out reviews of the books.

“At one point, an editor with a major publishing company said that she would take these corrections to her next staff meeting and tell the staff that some high school students were doing a better job than they were,” Weinberg said.

Without Weinberg’s connections, the members can no longer receive advanced copies of novels, but the members continue to get SSL hours for reading the books, completing the reviews for the library, and attending various Teen Read events.

Freshman Ellie Spies has been a member of the group for four months. She writes book reviews and attends monthly meetings to discuss new books and ways to increase teen involvement in libraries.

“I joined the group because I wanted to be involved in my community and help support libraries,” Spies said. “I love to read and I wanted to advocate for something I enjoy doing.”

While the teens can no longer read advanced copies of novels, the program still keeps them busy.

The students often get the chance to conduct Q&A’s with famous authors. On Nov. 5, the group held an event with teen science fiction author Gail Carriger, and on Nov. 10, two members of the group interviewed teen fiction author Robin LaFevers (author of the His Fair Assassin series). Other children and teen authors like Jay Asher, Cassandra Clare and Carl Hiaasen have visited the library through the program.

Members give back to the community by helping fellow library patrons download library materials onto their e-readers. The group runs tutorials for library members on weekends as a way to help smoothly integrate technology into the traditional library setting.

Spies hopes that the group will continue to grow and increase teen involvement in the upcoming years, she said. She plans to continue to take part in the group throughout the rest of high school because of the social and academic benefits.

“It has helped me improve my writing and prepared me to meet new people in the future,” Spies said. “I hope that I can continue being part of it for the next years of high school.”