“Meeting the girls at Gardner Betts was one of the most gratifying author visits I’ve ever done; it gave me a new perspective on what it means to be a teen reader with challenges. Despite their difficult circumstances, the girls we met were incredibly gracious, engaged and interesting: great kids, and great readers. Devo and the staff could not be more accommodating and enthusiastic. I hope any author who has the opportunity to visit at Gardner Betts will take it.” - Rachel Cohn
“I spoke with about 18 boys in the Leadership program. These are kids who have already been before a judge and are in long-term detention. I could not have asked for a better audience. They asked perceptive questions and were polite and enthusiastic. Many of the kids had turned into big readers since they were put into detention, partly because of the fantastic program put into place by the Austin Public Library. I’d encourage other authors to visit the facility. It’s a rewarding experience. Many of the young men told me they wanted to write their memoirs some day. Many were poets. There was a lot of talent in that group!” - Rick Riordan
“On a Friday night in February, the 24th 2006 to be precise, a night when most teenage girls most everywhere are either out on dates or doing some other kind of fun stuff, I had the chance to spend an hour with a group of nearly a dozen girls locked up in Austin Texas's Juvenile Detention facility. As an author of books for young adults, visits with teens in a variety of settings are part of what I do, but this evening was special. These incarcerated young ladies were extremely polite and attentive, forthright in their questions and seemingly sincere in both their appreciation of my being there and their reactions to my candid responses to them. There was of course a bittersweet feeling to the evening for me; what could these girls have done to be in such a crappy situation? As an old school liberal I always like to think that there must be some better way for us to take care of our kids than by locking them up, but as an older guy who has been on the planet a long time, I know that such idealistic thoughts are just that, reflective of an ideal rather than reality. Not to put to fine a point on it, however, I have to say that for that one evening, in that one setting, thanks to Patti Cook and Devo Carpenter and the staff at the detention center, and most of all to the girls themselves, we had a great hour together and it's my hope that they enjoyed the break from their routine as much as I enjoyed my time with them.” - Terry Trueman
“I found the student's at Gardner Betts to be bright, enthusiastic, and a
pleasure to visit with. I was greatly impressed with their insightful comments.” - Lori Williams
“The kids at the Gardner Betts detention Center in Austin, Texas, were among the best audiences I
have ever had. They were interested, polite, and very much into reading. They asked very smart questions
about writing, and not stupid ones about my personal life. That place has very little TV and a lot of books.
The kids understood about reading being the best entertainment there is. I didn't know what to expect, but
it turned out to be a pleasure for me to relate to them. I believe that their reading experiences at
Gardner Betts will really improve their lives.” - William Sleator
Funded in whole or in part by a Loan Star Libraries Grant authorized by the Texas Legislature and awarded by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission to the Austin Public Library.
