Research has shown that literature discussions can scaffold pupils’ understanding of texts, but there are few studies focusing pupils ́ perception of such discussions. This article is based on interviews with pupils in the ninth grade and aims to contribute with further understanding of literature discussions in grades 7-9. The main focus lies on how the pupils reflect on their usage of reading strategies and discussion strategies. A tool based on Bernstein’s conceptual pair, vertical and horizontal discourse, is used to analyse the pupils’ reflections on literature discussions. The result shows that literature discussions seem to enable a movement towards a vertical discourse, which represents a school-valued, specialised discourse rather than an informal one. It is suggested that, in relation to literature discussions, teaching should include both reading strategies and discussion strategies.