Middle school student publishes her first novel

Jon Fishman, a sixth-grade English teacher who has worked at North Broward Preparatory School since 1995, was happy to have a student be so excited to be in his English class. In Jon Fishman’s class, everyone is a writer, “I just call them writers. It takes over if you hear those words and believe that's what you are.” When Lila was in his class, they were both finishing a novel at the same time. Encouraging each other daily to keep pushing on, especially during writer’s block. Lila will come by after school or start the beginning of the class by asking, how do you see this scene ending? This is the joy of being a teacher, “such a thrill to see that they do grow, change, and develop as writers. Being at North Broward for so long, the kids changed my perspective on what students can and can’t do. I get to see that change in them.”

 
Mr. Fishman is proud of Lila’s book. “Carl’s Side is a great story. It’s in her voice. She’s able to get through a lot of different rising actions, climaxes, and falling actions. She’s a wonderful writer, it will be a part of her career. Hopefully one day, both of their books will be on a table next to each other in Barnes and Noble.”
 
When Lila dreams of being an esteemed author in the future, she “hopes to publish more, to keep writing, to keep learning. And when I’m an adult, I imagine I’ll hopefully have a lot of books in process, books published, stories to share and tell.” Lila just wants to continue empowering students around her to have the confidence to write a novel, “you can publish too even if you’re under 18. Some people will say no, and that’s okay. That happens to everyone. I just want to inspire people. I want to do it for them as much as I’m doing it for myself, because it’s something I love and find fun, and I just want to keep writing. That’s my dream.”
 
Lila’s book Carl’s Side is available for purchase on Amazon.

Watch full CBS news story, Miami Proud shines light on North Broward Prep student Lila Drowos