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Test Prep Book Was No. 1 Checked-Out Item at Bronx Libraries in 2015

By Eddie Small | December 23, 2015 8:47am
 A Kaplan test prep book for the TASC was the most popular book checked out of Bronx libraries this year.
A Kaplan test prep book for the TASC was the most popular book checked out of Bronx libraries this year.
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DNAinfo/Eddie Small

THE BRONX — A test prep book for a high school equivalency exam was the most popular book at libraries in The Bronx this year, according to the New York Public Library.

The No. 1 book checked out of Bronx libraries for 2015 was a Kaplan prep book for the Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC), a high school equivalency exam that serves as an alternative to the GED.

This was followed by the James Patterson and Marshall Karp thriller "NYPD Red 3," which focuses on an elite police task force charged with solving the most high-profile crimes in New York City, and "Leaving Time" by Jodi Picoult, a book about a teenage girl's search to find her mother.

Michael Alvarez, head of the Bronx Library Center, said he was not surprised to see a TASC prep book top the 2015 list for The Bronx and expected it to be at least in the top three next year as well.

"The test prep books in general go out extensively," he said, "and we end up having to replace them because after they circulate over and over again, they tend to fall apart."

"With us being able to purchase more materials for TASC, we’re seeing them go out that much more," he said.

The graduation rate for The Bronx in the 2013-14 school year was 59.1 percent, the lowest out of all five boroughs.

The city has worked to increase these rates by lengthening the school day at struggling schools and launching a program in District 7, which covers a large portion of the South Bronx, that provides every middle school student with individual support to help get them to college, according to the Department of Education.

Harper Lee's hugely anticipated book "Go Set a Watchman" made it to number five on the 2015 list, which Alvarez said he found to be a little low based on the amount of excitement surrounding its release.

"There were so many individuals that were looking forward to reading that book. It was years in the making," he said.

Gillian Flynn's blockbuster thriller "Gone Girl" was number nine on the list, and closing out the list at number 10 was "Grey," the installment of E.L. James' hugely successful "Fifty Shades of Grey" series told from the perspective of Christian Grey.

Shalima McCants, who oversees high school equivalency preparation at BronxWorks, said it was a good sign that Bronxites were determined to do well on the test.

"Regardless of why they left high school or how many left ... I’m at least happy to hear that they’re taking the examination seriously," she said.

Here is the full list of the Top 10 books checked out at libraries in The Bronx for 2015:

  1. "TASC: Test Assessing Secondary Completion: Strategies, Practice, & Review" by Kaplan Publishing
  2. "NYPD Red 3" by Marshall Karp and James Patterson
  3. "Leaving Time" by Jodi Picoult
  4. "Prodigal Son" by Danielle Steel
  5. "Go Set a Watchman" by Harper Lee
  6. "The Family Business 3" by Carl Weber with Treasure Hernandez
  7. "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
  8. "Pegasus" by Danielle Steel
  9. "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn
  10. "Grey" by E.L. James