Reading is one of the crucial aspects of the learning process. The learning efficiency depends on the motivation and involvement of students. The paper aims to determine whether the developed online course enhances student motivation and engagement in contemporary American literature. For this purpose, questionnaires were used. The sample consisted of 126 students enrolled in Yulin Gaoxin Secondary School, who had English proficiency at a high enough level to read English literature in the original language. Before and after the course, the Reading Motivation Questionnaires test was administered, with its scores validated using Student's t-test for dependent samples. Significant progress is observed in the internal and social components of motivation (23-25%), as well as in the Engagement category (31%). The course also positively affected learning effectiveness. None of the participants scored less than half of the possible points for the course assignments. Most children obtained high (95-119 points) and very high scores (120-140 points). This finding demonstrates the suitability of the tools used (videoconferencing, learning management systems, discussion forums, and interactive exercises) in online learning when studying modern literature. The research findings are of interest, first of all, to instructors who adopt technological innovations in their lessons or want to motivate students to read. Second, school administrators and education sector officials can draw information from the findings for corrective action. Third, software developers may be inspired by the data and create new technology solutions.