Have you ever re-watched a movie more than one, possibly you have even watched a favourite movie countless times. So why do we feel like our teens should not read and reread their favourite books multiple times? How is finding a book (possibly a book series) that you love and then going back to reread it different from finding a movie that you love and going back and re-watching it.

I think as parents we want our teens to be learning and reading new things so we have a tendency to not encourage them to reread their favourites as many times as they want. But when our teens find a well-written book or series (and I do mean well-written), one that they can’t get enough of they are often picking up little details without even realizing it. They are learning about character development, story arches, plot twists, how to create tension, how to get your readers to adopt a character and so much more. And actually it is when they go back and reread the books again and again that these writing tricks really start to come out. On a first reading we may miss some links, some details that hinted at what was going to come or hinted at how a character might turn out, we may miss small writing tricks the first time but on the second or third read we pick these up.

Now I am not saying it is not good to read a wide range o books, I am a bookworm of note. I am always hunting for new books that might be interesting or inspiring and I love watching my teens discover a new character. But as much as finding a new book is exciting sometimes those old ones can be comforting especially when our teens need a break from their studying. Sometimes being able to lose yourself in a familiar story when you know how it will all end is actually what we need,

So if you are like me and have a teen who keeps going back to a few favourites, enjoy it, let them have their comfort reads.