Added later

I spoke to a kind young man in the Research Department at Harpo Studios this afternoon. (He indicated that he was not permitted to give me his name.) I explained to him that the language in the official rules and regulations for Oprah's National High School Essay Contest seemed to preclude participation by home-educated teens. He didn't seem to think so, but he put me on hold to confer with a colleague. No, he asserted when he returned to the call, it didn't seem that homeschooled students were prohibited from entering.

I explained that the language is somewhat misleading, though:

Oprah's National High School Essay Contest (the "Contest") is open to all legal residents of the United States, who are currently enrolled full-time in a public or state-accredited private or parochial school in grades 9–12 in good standing.

The Research Department staff member continued to maintain that he didn't think homeschoolers were excluded, but he recommended that the best way to confirm this would be to send an email through the website.

If you are interested, I urge you to write in before speculating. You don't want to be stranded on the Island of Conclusions (the place at which we arrive "every time you decide something without having a good reason").

"The only way back is to swim, and that's a very long and a very hard way."

(Yes, The Phantom Tollbooth.)

Whatever the outcome, I stand by my assertion that today's selection is a remarkable book and, yes, perhaps even mandatory reading. It can reshape the landscape of readers' hearts. Read well, it can change lives.

Read. Think. Learn.