The Park City Senior Center welcomed a group of local high schoolers Tuesday for a first-time gathering to build connections through literature.
Gathered into three groups, the seniors and teens talked about Shelby Van Pelt’s novel “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” launching the intergenerational book club.
In the novel, 70-year-old Tova Sullivan and 30-year-old Cameron Cassmore strike up an unlikely friendship while working at an aquarium. Together, they learn the importance of forgiveness and building new connections.
Park City High book club president Rachel Riff said the relationship between the two characters inspired her to organize a meeting with Senior Center members.
“The whole point of a book club is to find different perspectives on a book,” she said. “Doing it with people of a whole other generation … really helped us to expand our perspectives and our horizons,” Riff said.
Jennifer Beckham, who was one of about 20 seniors at the meeting, agreed.
“I liked hearing a different perspective, because they're coming from a very different place than we are, maybe 50 years later,” Beckham said.
But the meeting was more than just a book discussion — it was an opportunity for the Parkites to form their own unlikely friendships.
Senior Center member Amanda Norton said she learned a lot about what high school is like today, including how kids use artificial intelligence for class. Sue Bhanos [BAH-nohs] took the opportunity to advise the kids, telling them not to take life too seriously.
“Don't get so overwhelmed with all this stuff that's expected of you. You also have to enjoy your life. That's my big take,” she said, “and read, read, read.”
With conversation flowing throughout the meeting, students and seniors alike are excited to gather again this fall, when the students are back in school. They haven’t decided which book to read yet.
