Langley Middle School student Ava Fry was on the honorable mention list in Level 1 of the 2017 Letters About Literature contest.

The competition requires young readers in grades 4-12 to read a book and write a letter to the author about how it changed their view of the world or themselves. Fry, a sixth grader, wrote about “The Only and Only Ivan” by Katherine Applegate. It is a children’s novel about a silverback gorilla named Ivan who lives in a cage at a mall.

Fry was one of 1,100 students to submit letters. Champions, runners up and honorable mentions were selected by state judges from 82 semifinalist letters. Fry attended the awards ceremony on Friday, May 12 in the Columbia Room of the Legislative Building in Olympia.

“She’s a great reader,” Rosie Donnelly said, her English and social studies teacher at the middle school. “She’s quiet and works hard.”