On March 6, the library hosted author Jessica Brody for a question-and-answer session. Brody has previously written for adult audiences. Later on in her career, Brody realized she had a more natural draw for teen-fiction. Currently, Brody is promoting her books, Unremembered, Unforgotten and Unchanged, a science-fiction trilogy that she recently finished.

“We were so excited when Book People told us Jessica could visit Westlake,” librarian Jackie Clifton said. “In 2011 when she came to the Austin Teen Book Festival, she was a real bubbly person and I thought it would be great to bring her to Westlake.”

During her visit, Brody related to the students by telling stories of her high school experiences and how they have inspired her writing.

“Jessica is very young and relatable for high school students,” Clifton said. “She’s a pretty young author and seems to know how to speak to the students on a personal level.”

Freshman English classes attended the presentation and book signing which was during seventh period.

“I liked how Jessica was a pretty casual in her presentation,” freshman Zoe Jaye said. “Although I haven’t met very many authors, Jessica made a really great impression and idea of what a good writer should be like.”

Students were able to ask Brody questions during her visit. Many students asked about her writing style and how a student can find inspiration.

“What I say is, don’t be afraid to write crap,” Brody said. “After all, crap makes great fertilizer. Get out a clean sheet of paper and just start writing what’s on your mind. Eventually, you will find some inspiration.”