North Whidbey Middle School students are preparing for battle.

About 40 students and 15 teachers are teaming up for the school’s Battle of the Books competition, which will culminate in a quiz-show style competition to see which team knows the books on the reading list best.

An extracurricular, after-school activity, Battle of the Books is being headed by North Whidbey Middle School librarian Anthony Kendrick.

Though the competition has already begun, he said students are able to join at any time.

“I’m never going to tell them ‘no,’” Kendrick said.

Kendrick said Battle of the Books, which is meeting once a month through March, not including the final battle scheduled for on March 10, gives students a chance to meet new people and participate in a group activity.

“If we start forcing them to read these books, then it’s just not fun anymore,” Kendrick said, “and then they don’t want to read.”

Noelle Boilek, a language arts teacher at the school, is participating in the competition to “support and encourage” her students.