Thank you to the 1223 teenagers who participated in the eighth week of our 10-week Summer Reading Contest, and congratulations to John Fernandez Philippides, our winner, as well as to our many runners-up and honorable mentions.

Scroll down to take a look at the variety of topics — from North Korea and ocean-polluting plastic to affirmative action and shelter dogs — that caught the eyes of our participants.

And remember: Our 2017 contest ends on Aug. 25.

Winner

John Fernandez Philippides, from Boston, Mass., chose “Cars Suck Up Data About You. Where Does It All Go?” and wrote:

Born in 2000, I have rarely worried about the risks of the digital age. But this article about the information that cars collect about us spurred a dramatic shift in my opinion about privacy and data-tracking. For a long time, I didn’t care what information companies and the government knew about me. I couldn’t believe that my mom required us to keep our new Amazon Echo turned off and far from where we talked. When I complained about her unfounded paranoia, she revealed that her reasons for moving Alexa were more complex than I thought. My mother’s family lived in Argentina during part of the “Dirty War,” a period starting in 1976 when the government abducted and killed thousands of Argentine citizens. Her father suspected that the government was spying on his family. When a group of soldiers entered their apartment and tore through his family’s belongings without their consent, they fled to the United States. I learned that the fear of surveillance is more deeply instilled in my mother than it ever could be in me, and my apathy began to erode. Last week, as I read how auto companies sell information about our driving habits and daily routines, sometimes without our consent, I wondered whether my family would have survived if the Argentine government had access to that kind of data and technology. Now, unless I need her, Alexa remains turned off in my study.

Runners-Up

Lauren Coppins on “The Secret Life of Pain”

Caitlin Gainey on “The Immense, Eternal Footprint Humanity Leaves on Earth: Plastics”

Sally Meseret on “After an Interlude of Outrage, a Lobster's Star Turn Ends”

Nicholas Romano on “Outcry Over EpiPen Prices Hasn’t Made Them Lower”