Table of Contents

Introduction
Section I. Where has YAL been?

Chapter 1: Young Adult Literature: Defining the Role of Research
Judith A. Hayn and Amanda L. Nolen

Chapter 2: The Changing Face of Young Adult Literature: What Teachers and Researchers Need to Know to Enhance Their Practice and Inquiry
Jeffrey S. Kaplan

Chapter 3: Literacy Teacher Education and the Teaching of Adolescent Literature: Perspectives on Research and Practice
Susan E. Elliott-Johns

Section II. Where is YAL Now?

Chapter 4: Identifying Obstacles and Garnering Support: Young Adult Literature in the English Language Arts Classroom
Kelly Byrne Bull

Chapter 5: Using Young Adult Literature to Motivate and Engage the Disengaged
Michelle J. Kelley, Nance S. Wilson, and Melanie D. Koss

Chapter 6: Dystopian Novels: What Imagined Futures Tell Young Readers about the Present and Future
Crag Hill

Chapter 7: Out of the Closet and into the Open: LGBTQ Young Adult Literature in the Language Arts Classroom
Laura Renzi,Mark Letcher, and Kristen Miraglia

Chapter 8: Multicultural Literature: Finding the Balance
Judith A. Hayn and Melissa Comer

Chapter 9: Updating Young Adult Literature Reading Lists While Retaining Quality Titles
Lisa Hazlett

Chapter 10: Crossing Boundaries: Genre-Blurring in Books for Young Adults
Barbara A. Ward, Terrell A. Young, and Deanna Day

Chapter 11: The Bestselling Adult Novelist and Young Adult Fiction
Steven T. Bickmore

Chapter 12: Young Adult Literature as a Call to Social Activism
Lois T. Stover and Jacqueline Bach


Section III: Where is YAL Going?
Chapter 13: Beyond the Language Arts Classroom: The Dynamic Intersection of Young Adult Literature and Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge
Colleen Sheehy and Karina R. Clemmons

Chapter 14: Reading with Blurred Boundaries: The Influence of Digital and Visual Culture on Young Adult Novels
Linda T. Parsons and Melanie Hundley

Chapter 15: YAL in Cyberspace: How Teachers are Following TheirStudents into New Literature
James Blasingame

About the Author

Judith A. Hayn is associate professor of English education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She is the chair of the NCTE Conference on English Education Commission on the Study and Teaching of Adolescent Literature and of SIGNAL, the Special Interest Group Network on Adolescent Literature for the International Reading Association. Hayn began her career in education as a middle and high school English language arts.
Jeffrey S. Kaplan is associate professor of English education at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Kaplan is President-Elect for ALAN, the Assembly for the Study of Literature for Adolescents. He is also the Research Connections Editor for the ALAN Review, a leading peer-reviewed journal on the study and teaching of young adult literature. Kaplan is a former middle and high school English Language Arts teacher.

Both Hayn and Kaplan have published widely in the field and recently coedited a themed issue on Young Adult Literature for Theory Into Practice.

Reviews

English education scholars Hayn (Univ. of Arkansas, Little Rock) and Kaplan (Univ. of Central Florida, Orlando) have created a small gem: a book on young adult literature (YAL) that offers a solid introduction to major pedagogical issues of the field and a taste of a YAL survey course. Readers unfamiliar with YAL texts and issues would do well to begin with the first section. Hayn begins with a call for empirical research studies, especially concerning assessment. Kaplan follows with "The Changing Face of Young Adult Literature," which defines, grounds, and surveys YAL, including genres such as series romance and books with religious overtones. This section concludes with an examination of YAL teacher prep: Susan Elliott-Johns observes that more research and better training is key. Concerns raised in part 1 are taken up in part 2, "Where Is YAL Now?," in which contributors, most of whom are or have been middle and high school English teachers, offer practical and scholarly methods on how to build student access to and interest in YAL, work around rigid curricula expectations and censorship threats, and embrace multiple literacies by using postmodern YAL and digital technologies in meaningful ways. A concluding section looks at where YAL is going. Summing Up: Highly recommended.
*CHOICE*

Intended for language arts teachers in middle and secondary schools, this volume consists of fourteen chapters covering such topics as dystopian novels, LGBTQ young adult literature, and genre-blurring literature. In addition to discussing various examples of works for young adults, the contributors provide practical advice for teachers on how to incorporate such literature into classroom activities.
*Children's Literature Association Quarterly*

The first word that comes to mind is 'refreshing.' Using research and best practices, these editors have created a great companion text to the classic YA methods texts currently available. This text fills in the gaps previously unaddressed in other texts.
*Joan F. Kaywell, professor of English education, University of South Florida; senior executive director, Florida Council of Teachers of English, 2010-2011; membership secretary, Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English; and author of Dear Author: Letters…*

This book covers the ground in YA literature up to the present moment, and then plows new ground.  The sections on research issues in YA literature fill a new niche in the professional literature, and one that sorely needed filling. More than anything, this book shows why teaching YA lit matters, and how to pursue it so it matters most.  It also explores why researching its instructional use also matters. The connections of YA lit to 21st century literacy are astute and timely. Several chapters, on their own, are worth the price of the book.
*Jeffrey Wilhelm, professor of English education, Boise State University*

A much needed addition to the field of young adult literature. Respected young adult scholars address the changing face of young adult literature. Covering such topics as the role of research in the study of young adult literature, enhancing practice and inquiry, motivating young readers, identifying obstacles to teaching young adult literature, and the myriad emerging themes and topics, this text is a cutting edge addition to the field. A must for the young adult literature library!
*Pam B. Cole, author, Young Adult Literature in the 21st Century*

There are 'few' worthwhile books for teachers using YA literature. I am delighted to have this book.
*Phyllis Fantauzzo, Rider University*