Sixth grader Alison “Ali” Amirault knew exactly who to write when her homework assignment was to pen her favorite author.

Rob Buyea’s book “Because of Mr. Terupt” resonated with the Eastside Catholic School student when she first read it in fourth grade, and it’s been her favorite book ever since. The impact it had on Amirault, now 12, compelled her to write Buyea.

“It changed my life,” she wrote in her letter. “It changed my view of the world.”

Her homework assignment won the 2015 Letters About Literature contest at the state level, in the fourth through sixth grade category. Amirault will collect a $125 check at an award ceremony in mid- May. Her letter will go on to compete for a $1,000 prize at the national level.

The contest encourages students to write letters to their favorite authors, living or not. Nearly 90 schools throughout the state submitted student letters from September 2014 through January.

The Washington State Library and the Library of Congress sponsor the contest and partner with schools to promote reading and literacy.

“It’s a celebration of reading and the impact it can have,” said Crystal Lentz, acting central library services manager and coordinator for the competition in Washington.

There were about 3,250 Washington students who submitted letters to their favorite authors explaining how his or her work influenced their perspective on the world or themselves.

In her letter, Amirault drew comparisons to her new blended family, a stepmom, step-siblings and a half-brother.

Suddenly living in a packed house, Amirault said she fled to her books.

“I always liked reading because it’s an escape,” she said.

Buyea’s book was more than just a retreat, it was an “escape to a real world with problems that you can relate to,” Amirault said.

At the time her father remarried, Amirault decided to join Battle of the Books at her school. “Because of Mr. Terupt” was on the reading list.

“I thought it might be boring,” she wrote to Buyea. “Then when I started reading I couldn’t stop!”

In the letter, she tells Buyea how his characters, a group of middle schoolers, helped her understand her feelings about her new step-siblings.

“I didn’t know how much it helped her until the letter,” Amirault’s mom, Katie Jacques, said. “The timing of her reading that book was perfect.”

Two other students from Washington also won the letter contest in separate age groups.

Emily Cordero, an eighth grader at McFarland Middle School in Othello, was chosen as the seventh and eighth grade winner.

Teresa Zahn, an 11th grader at Interlake High School in Bellevue, was chosen as the ninth and 10th grade winner.

Secretary of State Kim Wyman and the State Library, a division of the Secretary of State’s Office, will recognize the state champions, three second-place runners up and 30 honorable mention letter writers during an awards ceremony in the Columbia Room (first floor of the Legislative Building) on May 15 at 1:30 p.m.