Hi!

I wanted to share a RARE occurrence from my Special Education English class.
My football playing, reluctant reader walked into English this block and stated, “When are we gonna read that book today?” Yes, he was speaking of The Meg.
No, those words have NEVER come out of his mouth!!! Teacher WIN!
My husband encouraged me to join Adopt an Author and I am a total believer!! Meg is a hit with my RELUCTANT readers.

Thanks!

Mr. Alten:
I just wanted to say thank you for the amazing Meg books you have written they have changed the way I look at reading. My name is James J. McNew I’m about to turn 37 on May 9th and I have fought with dyslexia throughout my life. I have always hated reading and just did the bare minimum to get by. I’ve bought books throughout my life but always lost interest, struggled reading them, eyes got heavy and eventually gave up on them. However, about 4 months ago I was in a half price book store and came across your Meg book “Primal waters”. I love sharks and am completely fascinated by them but at the same time completely terrified of them. Anyways, I picked up your book thinking I’ll read this but most likely It’ll just be another book I’ll add to my collection and I’ll likely lose interest. Instead it engulfed me I wanted to know what was happening to Jonas and I couldn’t wait to start reading again to find out. After that I started searching on Amazon and Barnes and Noble for your other books and found you had a whole series dedicated to the Meg books. I then bought all of them. I just finished ”Hells Aquarium” and I’m starting “Night Stalkers” tomorrow. I’ve never got into books but with each book I just get more and more excited! In “Hell’s Aquarium” I really like Jason ‘Monty’ Montgomery I know he’s a very small part of the book but he’s hilarious. Thank you…you’ve opened up a world to me that I thought I would never be a part of.

My name is Connor McMurray. I am an 18 year old out of Texas. Throughout my high school career I have never read any books. None. Your meg series is the only book series I have ever read. This is a book I’ve read a thousand times. Thank you so much.

Dear Steve,
Hello my name is Christian Hayward. I wrote an email to you many years ago when I was in high school, and I have recently felt the need to express my gratitude to your work as an adult. I have read the majority of your books, and the Meg series is my absolute favorite book series in the world. I was raised by my father who was almost completely illiterate, so books for my early part of life were not extremely common in our household. At the start of my 6th grade year of school my aunt brought me to a library, and it was there that I found a book named Meg. I spent several days reading and rereading that book. It was the first book I had ever read in my life, and I was extremely sad when I had to return it. I started offering to mow people’s lawns as a way to save up money for Meg and The Trench, and within a few weeks I was a proud owner of both of these books. My father and my step mother had substance abuse problems, and threw much of my childhood I was exposed to the horrors that come along with these problems. Your books were the one thing that helped me threw those nights. As soon as I heard screaming or things breaking I would go into my room lock my door, and read your books. This continued all threw my middle school and high school years, and six years ago I had decided to write you a email after one of those nights. I wanted so badly to convey my appreciation at that time, but I wasn’t in a place where I felt comfortable talking about my situation. As a married adult who’s going threw college I felt it was time to sincerely thank you for your books. Your books to this day continue to be a saving grace in my life. I suffer from extremely bad symptoms of PTSD due to the nature of my childhood. My wife works all day, and I can’t hold a job due to my problems, so most days I’m alone at home with no one to help. When I start coughing up blood, get anxiety, or when I start to go into a blackout, I will read your books to try and pull myself out of it. I have recently hunted down hard copy’s of the Meg series, because my paperbacks are falling apart from being read so much, And am hoping to buy one of the Meg special anniversary editions soon. I just wanted to write this letter to thank you for all the help your work has been in my life. Your books gave me a love for reading, saved me threw many dark nights as a kid, and continue to aid and influence my life to this day. From the bottom of my heart thank you so much!

Sincerely Christian Hayward – Your dedicated and thankful fan.

Dear Mr. Alten,
Many years ago I picked up a copy of MEG and became a huge fan of your writings. I have always passed around my copies of your books to family and friends to share in the enjoyment of your work. Over this past holiday season something has happened that I felt compelled to pass along to you. My oldest son, Stephen is 14 years old and has struggled all his school years with reading. He is several years behind from his classmates and never will pick up a book unless it is for school work. His reading teacher has been optimistic with him this year and I am thrilled to report that you are the break through that we have been hoping for. Stephen had to pick a work of fiction and complete several assignments based on the story. He was in no mood for this project and was worried due to the percentage of his grade that this would play on him this semester. I went to my book shelf and handed him my original hard copy of MEG. Within the first two chapters he was hooked. We live in South West Florida and have often gone on fossil hunts to the Peace River and have collected many MEG teeth. With our hobby of fossil hunting, I had hoped that your book would spark an interest within him to want to read the story. I am proud and ever so thankful to report that he finished the book and started to read my copy of the Trench on his own without any pressure from school to do so. He plans on reading the entire collection from the Meg series and then move onto the LOCH. I have never seen him so interested and focused on such a task in regards to any reading activity. I have enjoyed the evening conversations we have going over the story and the discussions that come from your work. The words Thank You feel too small to cover the appreciation I have for this major step in Stephens’’s reading skills that have opened up. I hope this e mail can express the thanks I have for your efforts as an author and the continued work you do.

A very thankful and grateful father, Curt Vokoun – 1/3/2011

Dear Mr. Alten
Until I was a freshman in high school I hated to read. I just always thought that if the book was any good somebody would make a movie out of it (I guess MEG proves this theory). That year was the year that I read The Loch, the first book I had ever read that had ever grabbed me from the first page. Now I am a junior and I have read all of your books at least twice, and countless other works from authors of the same genera. I went from absolutely hating books to reading at least two books a month. I just wanted to write and say thank you for making reading a hobby instead of a chore. I am so hyped for Hell’s Aquarium!

Thank You,
David Baxter

Dear Steve,
Three years ago, you spoke to the 7th graders at Southwest Middle School, in Palm Bay. It was the first year my students read MEG. Since then, I have been transferred to Kennedy Middle School, in Rockledge. I have both 7th and 8th grade students in advanced science classes. I presented MEG to my new department chair, and she loves it almost as much as I do. My 8th grade classes are almost finished reading the first MEG book. Many of them have read ahead, and are working on Trench and Primal Waters. As I experienced before, I have seen so many kids excited and challenged by reading these novels. I showed the website with the news of the 4th book, and have used the MEG images as my screensaver. I’m not sure why it still surprises me, but I hear them talking about the book, telling others about it, and looking forward to reading in my class. I’ve ordered the AR tests for MEG and Trench for use in the media center. I know some have taken the tests already. Some have gotten extra credit points in their language arts class as well. Thank you for the adopt an author program! It was a great resource for me as a teacher. It has helped my students with their understanding in science. I bought HELL’S AQUARIUM last Wednesday, and it’s been almost impossible to put it down since. I just finished the book today. I loved it! It will be hard not to tell my students what happens, but we’ll discuss some of the concepts. Thank you for visiting my students at Southwest, for signing my MEG shirt and the kid’s books, for inspiring our teenagers to read, and mostly for the MEG series! It was a pleasure meeting you then, and a joy to share your work with others now.

A very big fan,
Monica Sagan

My name is Brian Allen. I am a secondary Health/PE teacher at an inner-city, south Dallas charter school. I want you to know that Meg is making a difference with students that literally HATE to read. After not being able to put down the books until I completed all 3 in the series, I told my students about Meg and bought a copy of it for one of those students 3 days before school let out last year. When school started this year, I asked the same boy if he’d finished it and he said he “never finished reading a book before ’cause [he] hates reading, but [he] finished Meg a week into the summer break”. Please be encouraged Mr. Alten, that your work is making a tremendous difference in the lives of students…even those that “hate to read”. Thank you for what you do…for your passion and commitment to students across America.

Thank you again and God Bless,
Brian Allen
Health/PE – 08/09
Faith Family Academy Charter School
South Oak Cliff, Dallas, TX

Hi Steve,
I am a teacher at Nease High School in Ponte Vedra, FL. I teach 12th grade marine science and have used your book in my class ever since you were the key note speaker for the Florida Marine Science Education Association conference years ago. Throughout this time many students have thoroughly enjoyed the book and many immediately go out and buy the sequels to read and they are always interested in the possibility of a movie. Up until now the best comment a student has ever said directly about the book has been that, “it’s the best book a teacher ever made me read”. However, today a student made a comment that I just knew you would want to hear. He and another young man were talking about The Trench and one said he had already bought it so I told the other one to just wait and borrow it. When second young man said no he had to read it now and I quote, “…this book is like the guy Twilight”I want you to know how much my students and I enjoy reading the Meg series and I can’t wait for Hell’s Aquarium. Thank you for writing a book that is interesting to them and yet has the scientific information in it that I want them to learn.

Jennie Fagan
Nease High School Science Department Chair Marine Science Teacher

I am a HS reading teacher. I purchased seven copies of Meg and gave them out to various students. I want to tell you about 2 of them in particular. The first one is junior. After reading all of your books he has decided to pursue Marine Biology in college. The second student is a freshman and has read all of your books that I could find. I couldn’t get The Loch. He began the year reading on a 6th grade reading level and now after post testing, his scores went up to 11.6 , that is amazing. So thanks for your support for our kids who have a difficult time reading. You really make a difference.

Thanks again,
Sue Backus
Literacy Specialist – Arlington High School

I would like to start off by saying thanks you have reinvigorated me to start reading. My name is Dustin Pegg and I’m a senior Simon Kenton High School Independence, Kentucky. When I was younger I loved to read and as I grew I felt pressured to read to much so I just stopped reading for fun and I read strictly for school. After my English teacher handed out an assignment for a book of our choice I quickly turned to my friends for help in seeking the perfect book. When one said what about The Loch I gazed at him with confusion and asked what he was talking about then after a brief description of the book I agreed to read it. Once I had read the first page I was hooked. from then on I read everyday until finally last night I read the last page. Amazed as I was I had finished the book and wanted more. Although when I went to find a sequel or something similar to that I couldn’t find anything but your domain series and Meg series are they similar in the effect of having characters with troubled pasts and not focusing mainly on the “monster”?

Sincerely your newest fan,
Dustin Pegg

Hello, my name’s Brandon and I am in Ms. Bortners English class in North Platte, NE. She gave us a choice on which novel to read, and I am VERY glad that I chose Domain as my novel. I am on page 300 and just waiting to see what happens next. I have never been a big fan of reading…….. until I started reading Domain. I started reading the book last Sunday afternoon and ever since, I have found any opportunity I can to read this fascinating book. You’re style of writing is uncomparable and it keeps the book interesting. The one thing in particular that I really like is the scene changes and all of the characters that we meet. It really reminds me of some sort of a great screenplay for a movie. I would not be happier if somehow Domain was made into a movie, although I know you are working on making Meg a motion picture (which I will probably read next.) Anyways, thank you for writing this wonderful book, it really is interesting and pretty easy to follow as well. Looking forward to having the conference call with you in December!

Mr. Alten
To be honest with you, I never read books. I hated reading, period. I am a huge fan of sharks. I am drawn to their mystery, beauty, and ability to have that changed by one bite. I never read the book jaws only because I had seen the movie so many times. My friend overheard me at work one day talking about sharks and how I watch shark week and the books I have read have been information about these beautiful creatures. He told me he had read The Meg Series by you and I needed to check it out. So hesitant I did being fiction and all. I bought the first one and started reading it. I could not put it down. It was so amazing I finished it in 3 days the day I finished it I rushed out to get the others. These are the first books in which I could in vision everything I was reading going on it my head, as if I were watching it on TV. For instance when the subs are in the trench and all the power is out and they are sitting ducks for the shark I got cold chills imagining being in that situation. I cant wait for the movie and I’m sure you get email and letters like this all the time but you truly are the best author I have ever read.

Nathan Hutton, Knoxville TN

Hey Steve:
You probably don’t remember me but I went to school at New River Middle school and had Mr. John Vetter as my teacher for 7th grade marine science. I remember every year you came in and signed our books and talked to us. I was never really a kid who read books until Mr. Vetter made us read MEG. It was great because from there I read the Trench and when Primal waters came out I read that. I also read Goliath and Domain. I just wanted to say thanks because I haven’t read a good book in a while but I picked up my copy of The Loch that I had sense 7th grade but never read because it was to hard but I really noticed my improvement in reading because I can breeze through it.

Just wanted to say thanks,
Cody Kiess, 10th Grade South Plantation High School

Dear Mr. Alten,
My son is a student at Worthington Kilbourne High School in Worthington, Ohio. He is in Mrs. Clark’s English class. I am writing to you to let you know what a profound effect your writing has had on my son. Eric has learning disabilities. Reading is a gift that came late to him. While he can now read at grade level, it is a difficult process. I never expected to see him reading for pleasure. Then he read Meg. I bought him his own copy of the book because he WANTED to read ahead. He kept a list of questions. He thought about the book. He made predictions. These are all the things a good reader does, and he has never done naturally. Now he owns a copy of “The Trench,” “Primal Waters,” and “Goliath.” Yesterday and today, we’ve sat, both engrossed in books. As he reads, he looks up and shares with me passages from Goliath. Over the years, I’ve read to him and tried to interest him in every genre of literature. I was happy when he learned to read, and resigned myself that it was a chore and not a pleasure for him. I haven’t read your books (yet), but something in your books has helped him to turn another corner. I thought you would enjoy knowing this. Thank you for writing books and for working with Mrs. Clark to bring the book to life for my son.

Mary Gerard

My name is Brian Coe, I’m a high school special educational teacher in the south Boston area. After graduating from college last January, I took on a role of head teacher at a behavioral program for grades 11 and 12. Most of the students in the class have had pretty unfair lives, with the majority of the class coming from foster care and DSS backgrounds, needless to say that school was never really high on their list of things to do. About a month after I started teaching I noticed that the students really connected with me emotionally, but not yet academically. Reading was consistently a problem with the students, due largely to the Suicide Society or Atticus Finch’s inability to hold the students interest. So I decided to pick some books from my personal library, I chose a few Michael Crichton classics, and several from my new favorite author Steve Alten. I had the students break into groups and had several of them working on MEG, while a few others would read THE LOCH. After the students read their assigned books they made movie posters for the books, they even went as far as writing book reports. I was extremely pleased to see that type of passion with the students. Several of the students even took it upon themselves to go to the bookstore and purchase the sequels to MEG. It literally started a shark craze with my students, and they began showing stronger interest in books and academics altogether. I am extremely grateful to you for making such an impact on my students. We are all anxiously awaiting Hell’s Aquarium and Jan De Bont’s take on your classic…Good luck with everything Steve, and I hope with this movie deal your name will become more of a household name than Michael Crichton.

Brian Coe

Dear Mr. Alten:
I am sure you do not read these yourself, but I do hope that your screener passes it on to you. I have raised 6 children. 2 of which I got before having biological children and I am girl heavy. Having had a very tough childhood and being an only child I have overcompensated a great deal and when the teenage years hit-the challenges surfaced. I never wanted to work-after having my kids – I wanted to stay home. Money made it difficult; I began working. I got into a terribly demanding field. I was a mortgage processor. I got home and was exhausted and Shane being on the computer and quiet was fine with me. I realized too late that he was addicted. I have a minor in ocean engineering and a major in psychology. I always said-if nothing else I want to have a college degree so I will be a smart-educated mom. Besides, I believe in laughter and the more knowledge one has, the funnier they become. I left my career to focus on my kids and after exhausting myself with what to do, I was sending Shane to military school. One night, I was cleaning the kitchen-we were the only two awake and I was busting his chops about school. He started telling me how he was doing his work. He was even ahead of the class in a reading assignment-MEG. He was spouting off facts about the ocean and the marianna trench. I elaborated with depth details explanation of chemosynthesis etc… and for the first time in over a year my son looked at me with respect. He ran and grabbed the book; told me to read first 6 pages and I did and I was hooked. It is the best book I have read in a long time. I was so interested in it that my youngest son(6) asked me about it; I began reading it to him, paraphrasing and explaining words etc… . I cannot begin to express what you did for my son. From that we have built a relationship again. The thing is I had always been a stay home mom and I have great kids. They laugh together, take care of each other and rarely argue. Mr. Alten-If there is anything I can ever do for you-I am here for you. Thanks for saving a great kid.

Laura Johnson

My eleventh grade intensive reading class recently finished reading Meg. I wanted to let you know that I had to buy extra copies of both Trench and Primal Waters for the students who wanted to keep reading the series. One of our final assignments asked the students to be the casting director for the movie version of Meg. Here’’s the consensus: Nicholas Cage as Jonas, Cameron Diaz or Angelina Jolie as Maggie, Bruce Willis as Mac, and Drew Barrymore (if we changed her nationality) as Terry.

Teri Smith – Reading teacher

Hello Steve..
I met you at the Science Museum this past Saturday and have to say how wonderful it was to hear about you and your amazing books! I teach middle school science-grade 6 and I have many advanced students who can’’t stop reading……I have introduced a few of my kids to your Meg book and they have started a reading frenzy among other 6th graders……..the 8th grade teachers here at my school have already been using your books. I have been teaching for 28 years and never before have I seen such excitement over reading! Keep it coming!

Lori L. Stafford – Western Pines Middle School

My Marine Science II students have finished reading MEG and TRENCH respectively. The demand for the book was so great that I had to order extra copies for Marine Science I who had the books for extra credit assignments. Everybody wanted the books! They were fairly leaping out of my room. Students asked for copies for their parents. The US Navy military recruiter saw a copy of MEG on my desk and asked for a copy. I sent an e-mail to my fellow faculty members(and my principal) advising them of the “Adopt-An-Author” program, and how to log on, and they have been investigating the books for use in the science department. I’ve had several of my students blast thru all three books in less than a week, and beg for my copy of the LOCH from my desk. My copy of DOMAIN is also loaned out as well, and the other teachers are catching the “Steve Alten fever !” I have literally made our school reading coach, Denise Smith, cry when I told her that I had kids who had never read a book read MEG, TRENCH and MEG : PRIMAL WATERS. She is touched beyond belief!

The Zoology teacher came to me this week and borrowed several copies of MEG and TRENCH for her students as well. She brought in a young lad on Tuesday to tell me that he had never, ever read a book before, yet he finished MEG and politely asked to borrow TRENCH. I am just thrilled that the book (indeed, all the books) is going over so well. Oddly, I had MEG in class last year as a loaner book, but there was little interest except for a few students. This year, I had the school order a classroom set of each of the three books, gave them to the students as an assignment in Marine Science II, put your poster, photos from the website and e-mails up on my board, and the kids lost their minds ! Soon MEG MANIA was gripping my classes. The word spread……..MEG was COOL !!

Here are some quotes from some of the more recent book reports: From Kim C. “The book Meg was a very satisfying book. It was everything I enjoy in a book. Meg was suspenseful, romantic, scary , and a pleasing book to read.” From Tyler J. “Anyone who can sit through an action movie will love this book.”From Brittany S. (Trench) “The book is thrilling and you can’’t stop reading it once you’’re started.” I believe the word ““addicting”” has been used as well !At least half a dozen students told me they had never read/finished a book before, and they couldn’t wait to read the second and third in the series. One young lady was distraught at finishing her third book, so I gave her my copy of the LOCH, and she happily went home to devour it in two days. I have students going out and buying their own copies of all the shark books and the LOCH and then donating them to me after they read them ! ( I got my second copy of the LOCH that way !)I also picked up all three and read them over again just to make sure I had plot lines and characters straight in my head. During the school day we have a twenty minute reading period. Imagine looking on a room and seeing an entire class, including the instructor happily devouring MEG!! (No pun intended )

I love watching my students’’ faces as they read, and next semester when we do ““shark week,”” we will discuss the good scientific data used in all three of the books. (Another reason I use them.) We will also speculate as to the existence of Megs ! I have several Meg teeth, and copies of some of the bigger ones. I cannot begin to image the joy you must receive from knowing that your books are inspiring new readers. Being the daughter of an English teacher, I am also delighted to see them so moved, and particularly hunger to continue reading the stories. You are a raconteur extraordinaire. I’ll keep you posted on our MEGMANIA here at Orange Park High. I can’’t wait for the fourth book to come out, and neither can the students. Any news on a release date on the new book and the movies ?

Sincerely,
Vicky Loehr – OPHS Marine Science Instructor

It has been an amazing two months here at Hudson High. We have had students who never read a book, or wouldn’t even pick up a book, reading like crazy! Their fingers can’t turn the pages fast enough. I had one young man reread Meg because he couldn’t get a copy of Trench right away. When we finish FCAT this week, Charlene and I are going to go on our school newscast to give the kids more specifics about your up coming visit.

Thanks,
Ellen Ray – Media Specialist Hudson High, Hudson, FL.

Hi Steve,
Can’t begin to tell you how your MEG series has changed my life. In a nutshell, MEG was the first book I ever read from beginning to end (I was a “cliff notes” guy in high school). Furthermore, my interest in your writing style has brought me to read all of your current novels. I read them on the exercise bike, the beach, and sometimes in bed. If it wasn’t for your books and my newfound desire to read, I may not have had any interest in finishing college – but I did! I truly believe a large portion of my degree I owe to you and Jonas. It would be an honor to meet you and have you sign a book for me, or a signed poster or something.

Best regards,
Tony Ordonez, San Diego