Literary Escape Room: Innovative Strategies for Inspiring Young Readers’ Response

In an era where digital media increasingly competes with traditional reading practices, educators face the ongoing challenge of reengaging young readers with literature in meaningful and imaginative ways. This article presents a literary escape room based on the Greek youth novel Mission Logos: The Mystery of the Mobile Phone by Petros Panau as an innovative approach to reading motivation. Designed with the Genially platform, the digital game transforms the novel’s central mystery into an interactive experience composed of 15 riddles that can only be solved through close reading and critical interpretation of the book. By combining narrative immersion, puzzle-solving, and suspenseful aesthetics, the escape room functions as both a motivational trigger and a reading comprehension scaffold. Preliminary feedback from adolescent participants suggests that even non-habitual readers were drawn into the story world, driven by the desire to unlock its secrets. This paper argues that literary escape rooms can serve as powerful tools for promoting reader engagement, fostering collaborative learning, and reimagining how literature is encountered in digital contexts. Future research will examine the impact of such interventions in classroom settings.