Tennessee Tri-Star Reads Contest Winners Log Thousands of Summer Reading Minutes by Traveling to ‘Different Places’
The 2025 Tri-Star Reads winners (From left to right: Delia Sigler, Brextyn Poetzel, Kristav Parajuli, and Noah Little) pictured at the State Capitol on Wednesday, Sep. 24, 2025.
A wizarding world. A magical farm. Other places human beings can scarcely imagine.
These are just some of the places the Tri-Star Reads summer reading contest winners traveled to this summer.
How did they do it?
Through their love of reading.
Together, the four Tri-Star Reads winners (Delia Sigler, Brextyn Poetzel, Kristav Parajuli, and Noah Little) read tens of thousands of minutes this summer.
The Tennessee Firefly spoke to each one to talk about just how they accomplished such a feat.
Delia Sigler Travels to Panem of The Hunger Games Series
11th grader Delia Sigler being interviewed at the Tennessee State Capitol after the 2025 Tri-Star Reads Ceremony.
11th grader Delia Sigler may spend most of her time in the hallways of Tipton Rosemark Academy now that school’s back up, but over the summer, she was found somewhere else. At least, in her imagination, that is.
Delia spent quite a bit of time in Panem during her summer break, the famous dystopian society created by Hunger Games trilogy writer Suzanne Collins.
That’s because Delia says her favorite book she read this summer was Hunger Games prequel Sunrise on the Reaping.
Delia says herself that reading takes you to places beyond reality, which is why she enjoys it.
“I like getting drawn into different worlds, or different versions of the real world where it’s completely different,” said Delia.
Beyond spending time pouring over Suzanne Collins’ #1 instant bestseller this summer, Delia says she made sure she was proactive about working towards amassing the nearly 33,000 minutes she read this summer.
“I set goals,” said Delia. “I tried to get at least four hours a day at a time, or even more than that.”
Brextyn Poetzel Time Travels through the Watchmen Book
9th grader Brextyn Poetzel answering interviews questions at the Tennessee State Capitol, after being honored in the Tri-Star Reads Ceremony.
Farragut, Tennessean high-schooler Brextyn Poetzel, on the other hand stayed in the United States this summer in his reading adventures. But, he did travel back in time: to an alternate version of New York City set in 1985.
How did he do that? Through author Alan Moore’s Watchmen, a Hugo Award winning graphic novel from 1986 that involves superheroes shifting the course of history set against Cold War tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
Brextyn says Watchmen was his favorite book this summer. It certainly took part in the 26,000 minutes he turned in to become the high school winner in the Tri-Star Reads contest.
Just like Delia, he says he enjoys going to different worlds when he reads. It’s why he prefers Fantasy or Fiction the most genre-wise.
“I mostly read Fantasy or Fiction,” said Brextyn. “I like those because they’re different worlds, and there’s usually a lot of action in those genres.”
Kristav Parajuli Travels to the Wizarding World
Kristav Parajuli answering interview questions at the State Capitol after being honored in the 2025 Tri-Star Reads Ceremony.
Warren County Schools fifth grader Kristav Parajuli had the aid of a character with special powers to win the middle school category in Tri-Star Reads this summer.
That character is J.K. Rowling’s star character of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter himself, who Parajuli confirms was “the best wizard” in the series.
“I liked reading Harry Potter. I’d already watched the movies, so I wanted to read the books,” said Kristav. “So, I read the whole series this summer.”
While Kristav says he physically read the series and other books mostly on the couch and in the car, as fans of the Harry Potter series will know, Kristav got a chance to go to many places in his imagination such as Hogwarts, the Tri-Wizard Cup, and more in his time spent reading this year.
Noah Little Spends Time with Princesses this Summer
Noah Little being interviewed at the Tennessee State Capitol following the 2025 Tri-Star Reads Ceremony.
East Knoxville Kindergartener Noah Little wasn’t alone when she spent time engrossed in books this summer. While she said she and her parents chose many books for her to read this year, she also had a favorite book with characters that kept her company, with one book, in particular.
“My favorite was Horsetail Hollow...it had a lot of princesses!” said Noah.
Noah confirmed that just like the other Tri-Star Reads winners, reading takes you beyond the world we know oftentimes.
The Tennessee Firefly asked her why she likes reading so much (enough to read 16,000 minutes in one summer!) and her response echoed our other winners.
“Reading takes you to lots of places,” Noah. “Maybe even your favorite place!”
