"The kids, they completely amaze me every single time," says Sherry Elswick, Barnes & Noble Booksellers community relations manager.

Elswick, an experienced book club attendee, organizes and attends several clubs each month for the store, but those are for adults. She recently joined in a literary discussion with high school students.

"They come up with such insightful opinions about the books that they read," she said.

Last month marked the debut of the High School Literary Society, a teen book club sponsored by the Barnes & Nobles store in Ellicott City and by Howard County public schools.

The new club is the latest outgrowth of a longstanding partnership between Barnes & Noble and county schools.

There is also a popular book club for middle school pupils and a peer-writing group, the Howard County Student Writers' Alliance. All three are designed to support students who love to read and write.

The middle school club has had 50 members in the past. The High School Literary Society has an estimated 12 to 15 students, while the writers' alliance hopes to draw a dozen.

The students involved in these groups have an outlet to discuss literature with their peers without the pressure of grades or class participation.

Sindy Parrott, a Gifted and Talented (GT) program resource teacher at Reservoir High School, has advised the writers' alliance for about 10 years.

"We felt that we had a number of students who were wanting to do various kinds of creative writing," and the schools wanted to provide a venue that would "give kids a richer feedback," Parrott said.

Last month, Chris Heady, a 10th-grader at Hammond High School, attended his first writers' alliance meeting.

Chris said he was surprised to find that he was not alone in his love of literature.

"It was really kind of an eye-opener that you're not the only one who's trying to strive to write something," he said.

All three literary clubs are advertised at Barnes & Noble and at Howard schools, where teachers hope to attract youngsters who are genuinely interested in literature.

Students initiated the high school book club.

Elswick, three GT teachers and three students drew up plans for the club last summer. With a school-mandated focus on multicultural books, the panel chose The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter and Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson as the first two selections. Later, participants will be asked to recommend books. The students usually read about seven books a year.

Penny Zimring, a resource teacher in the Office of Advanced Programs and Fine Arts, said the goal is, "having the students begin to understand ... how cultures define people." Centennial ninth-grader Mabo Imoisili, 13, identified with the Native American protagonist in The Education of Little Tree.

"They don't see him as a human being, they see him as a virus," potentially spreading Indian culture in America, he said. Daniel Howse, 15, an Oakland Mills sophomore, is one of the student co-leaders of the club.

Daniel said he liked the fact that the author, at times, wrote from a child's point of view.

Katie Chesler of Long Reach High School and Mona Ameen of Atholton High are the GT resource teachers advising the club. Along with Elswick, they used the first session to model book club etiquette and discussion techniques.

"They see how we do it - when it's their turn, they would also come up with questions and they would lead the group in a similar fashion," Chesler said.

For some youths, Zimring said, the literary clubs helps them realize that "there are other kids who share your passion for reading and discussing literature."

"If they already have that impulse anyway, this is just an outlet to share their ideas," Elswick said.