Shaping Youth Reading Engagement, Agency, and Identity Through Near-Peer Mentoring: Year Two of a Secret Society of Readers

Abstract The Secret Society of Readers program emphasizes affective dimensions of reading experiences by fostering meaningful connections between young adolescent mentees, university-student mentors, and texts. Grounded in the concept of affective literacy as an emergent, dynamic process, the program employs mentorship and choice to create transformative reading experiences that prioritize reader identity, agency, and engagement. By blending intrinsic motivation with near-peer mentoring, the Secret Society of Readers seeks to empower youth to explore diverse texts, develop autonomy, and cultivate lifelong habits of reading enjoyment and success. This study employs a formative design approach to explore the effects of Year Two of a near-peer literacy mentoring program designed to support transformative reading experiences that prioritize reader identity, agency, and engagement. Through semi-structured interviews and focus groups, insights into the impacts of the program were gathered from young adolescent mentees in Grades 5–7, their family members, school leaders involved in program coordination, and university-student mentors. We found that participants in our near-peer mentoring model reported choice reading and increased access to books led to improved reading interests, attitudes, and habits. In some cases, these outcomes supported increases in mentee self-efficacy.