What Books Should Be Included in a YA Course?
The above question is a loaded question. There are so many things to consider -- History, Genre, Literary Lenses, Cultural Representation, and on and on. It is also important to teach what you like and what you hope your students will like. It doesn't matter if your students are pre-service or in-service who are being introduced to YA for the first time or just need a bit of reintroduction to this classification so they can introduce it to their students or If you are teaching middle or high school students.
With that in mind, I have selected 20 books that I think would create a dynamic course in Young Adult Literature and cover concerns of genre - race, class and genre - a sense of history - and the use of a variety of critical lenses.
Clearly there are other concerns, but these are mine.
With that in mind, I have selected 20 books that I think would create a dynamic course in Young Adult Literature and cover concerns of genre - race, class and genre - a sense of history - and the use of a variety of critical lenses.
Clearly there are other concerns, but these are mine.
As I wrote this I kept thinking that I need a space for a few more titles. There are at least five books that would could be added to add more to nonfiction -- Bomb, Symphony for the City of the Dead or to diversity -- Mexican White Boy, All My Rage or to reach down a bit to middle grades -- The Bridge Home, Redwood and Ponytail.