A local mom’s goal was to limit screen time. She started a book club for youth of color 

Vanessa Nelson just wanted to find a way to lessen her son’s screen time.

Little did she know, she’d have an established book club in Puyallup two years later.

Nelson is the CEO of the Young Black and Brilliant (YB&B) book club. It meets at 5:45 p.m. on the first and third Thursday of every month at the Puyallup Public Library at 324 S. Meridian. Teens ages 11-16 and their parents can join at bit.ly/3x7btnn.

Members have been joining through word of mouth, Nelson said. There are about a dozen teens in the club.

The club aims to foster personal growth and positive social interactions among youth of color, Nelson said. This is done through literature, discussions, social events and enrichment activities.

Guest speakers also visit the club from time to time. Pierce County Superior Court Judge Clarence Henderson, Jr. did a mock trial with the teens, during which they had to convince him why the book they were reading at the time was or wasn’t good, Nelson said.

The books are chosen in a way where the teens can see representations of themselves, Nelson said. Some books they’ve read so far include “Black Brother, Black Brother,” by Jewell Parker Rhodes and “Dear Martin” by Nic Stone. Nelson and library staff work together to choose the books.

Books, snacks and ‘a lot of fun’

Nelson, 39, grew up in Seattle and moved to Puyallup in 2012. She used to work at Firgrove Elementary School. Now she’s a family service coordinator at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

She established the book club in January 2021. As the COVID-19 pandemic hindered youth from socializing with one another, she said she wanted to find a way to get them off things such as video games.

At the time, book club meetings started on Zoom. Teens would play Jeopardy! games and discuss the book they were assigned to read that month. A few months later, the book club had its first session in person — with pizza.

The book club started its partnership with the Puyallup library in September 2022. Nelson asked the library if she could hold a book club session in one of the conference rooms. Staff told her they’d love to bring the book club to the library. The library supplies the space and offers book kits (15 copies of a book in a bag) if they want them. Nelson supplies the snacks and other books they read.

“The books are what brings them together,” Nelson said. “We definitely want to make sure the kids have a safe place.”

This month, they’re reading “March” by former congressman John Lewis. It is a graphic novel trilogy about the civil and human rights movement in the U.S. told from Lewis’s perspective.

Taina Harrison, 12, has been a book club member for about a year. She said “March” is her favorite book so far, as it highlights certain things that happened in U.S. history, which some may be unaware of.

Harrison advises other teens to join the book club, because they “have a lot of fun.”

Virtually meeting the author of one of the books they read, “Secret Saturdays” by Torrey Maldonado, was one of Harrison’s favorite moments. Another thing she likes about the book club is having the freedom to be herself.

“We don’t have to pretend to be something,” Harrison said.

This story was originally published February 13, 2023 at 5:00 AM.

Angelica Relente

The News Tribune

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Angelica Relente covers topics that affect communities in East Pierce County. She started as a news intern in June 2021 after graduating from Washington State University. She is also a member of Seattle’s Asian American Journalists Association. She was born in the Philippines and spent the rest of her childhood in Hawaii.