Adolescent vulnerability, and that represented in young adult literature (YAL), largely focused on common social or relationship concerns. Today, however, more teens and novels describe those literally unsafe in America and facing harassment, physical assaults, denigration, or worse, all due to family situations.

The protagonists from the titles below represent being undocumented, the working poor, an immigrant, and homelessness. None of these conditions (several unexpected and shocking) are of the teens’ own doing, with all initially unequipped to handle them.

While these protagonists must find ways to cope and move forward, they also experience being an outsider, some for the first time, and now vilified by society, friends, teachers, and perhaps even themselves in the past. Many, like contemporary readers, judged and blamed quickly, having naïve views of situations and issues rather than understanding complexities and aware of individual circumstances. Still, these novels end with hope, their solutions ones readers with
similar issues could emulate.

Educators can assist all students, and those most vulnerable, by using or recommending YAL featuring characters in the above situations and others, along with providing accurate, non-biased information about them. Likewise, their classrooms should be safe for all students, regardless of situation, whether known, or not. Adolescents also need to learn, understand, and discuss these issues as well as others’ responses and views.

This discussion can be difficult, as some students may be experiencing these circumstances, others terrified of their probable appearance, and some contemptuous of them. By considering characters (rather than particular individuals) objectively in novels, their entire story can be heard, surely resulting in greater comprehension and compassion, along with providing hope and sense of commonality to those likewise vulnerable.

The following four novels depict vulnerable teens and were used for the activity below:

• de la Cruz, M. (2016). Something in between. Harlequin Teen.

Jasmine has worked and studied hard, wanting to make her immigrant parents proud while eager for college and a career. After receiving a full scholarship to her dream school, she learns her parents let their visas expire and they are all undocumented, her ambitions replaced by fears.

• Evison, J. (2018). Lawn boy. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.

Mike is a stellar gardener but can only find menial work. He knows he must make immense changes for a better life, but as a member of the working poor, he has neither the resources nor connections needed, his life beginning to seem hopeless.

• Nayeri, D. (2020). Everything sad is untrue (A true story). Levine Querido.

Khosrou (called Daniel for teacher/peer convenience) relays his dangerous trek from Iran to Oklahoma to his new middle school classmates. His harrowing, yet fascinating, narrative is met with disdain and suspicion from his largely unaccepting peers.

• Strasser, T. (2014). No place. Simon & Schuster.

Dan is a popular baseball star and dating the hottest girl in school, so when his family suddenly falls from middle class to homeless, his entire world changes.

The following chart may be used to describe emotions/situations (many may be selected) experienced by these protagonists, which can be used for discussion of both individual treatments and comparing/connecting titles. Of course, a single novel could be examined or other combinations; students may enter multiple examples under each category, perhaps the three, or one, felt most important, etc., with its classroom talk surely perceptive and valuable. For space issues, table content is summarized, another format fitting whole class discussion.

​​It’s [reading] a wonderful opportunity to meet those who may – in whatever way – be different from us. By taking us into characters’ minds, hearts, and lives, literature has an uncanny ability to help us understand that those we previously regarded as “the other” are – in terms of our common humanity – actually “us.” Michael Cart, Editor of How Beautiful the Day, Twelve Stories of Identity.

60 Minutes recently covered book bans, spotlighting a school board's approach. Despite facing 97 challenges, the board, including a self-identifying conservative retired military member, upheld true freedom by reviewing books with 140+ diverse volunteers tasked with reading and reasonably discussing the merits and appropriateness of books. Their inclusive process resulted in 92 books remaining, recognizing them as stories of human experience rather than falsely identifying them as tools of indoctrination. This stood in stark contrast to another interview in the segment featuring a group well-known for their divisive rhetoric and advocacy for book banning. As the retired military office board member stated in the 60 Minutes episode, “diversity breeds tolerance. The more you understand what other people think, and what they say is important…the more you see the power in diversity.” He urged against judgment and keenly noted in his interview, knowing we can never live another’s story, that reading the stories of those different than ourselves helps increase our empathy and decrease our othering.

I began to think about the analogy of mirrors and windows. I’m good at the mirror. As a former school librarian, I know how to curate titles for readers. However, the window is not my strength but a much-needed focus. With division in the country at the highest I’ve ever seen, and exclusion policy and legislation wielding its hurtful powers to prevent students from reading the stories of people different than themselves, I look to youth today as the solvers of this crisis that some of the adults have created. That is the power of books and stories that kids love to read. If the window or sliding door is open, and kids begin to read the stories of others, they won’t see people different from themselves as something to fear and ban the way some adults currently do.

At my public library, I found an impressive array of YA anthologies. I'm drawn to their short form and annually splurge on The Best of series, intrigued by the editor's curation. Unlike school anthologies, which can feel outdated, those in the YA section were modern, diverse and visually appealing. They serve as mirrors, windows and sliding doors, offering insights into different lives and experiences for young readers.

Each of these anthologies highlights often overlooked groups.

• How Beautiful the Day, Twelve Stories of Identity edited by Michael Cart has short stories with LGBTQIA+ characters at the forefront. With the inclusion of some of the most prolific writers like Jacqueline Woodson and David Levithan, students not part of the LGBTQIA+ community will find commonalities with the characters and familiar situations on love, home, and being a young person.
• Black Enough, Stories of Being Young & Black in America edited by Ibi Zoboi showcases stories by award-winning authors like Jason Reynolds and Renee Watson. The stories allow for students to metaphorically try to step into the shoes of the Black, youth experience in this country that breaks stereotypes and expectations of a monolith often placed on Black culture. The storis show young, Black Americans as diverse persons in experiences and cultural tastes.
• The graphic anthology, Our Stories Carried Us Here, edited by Julie Vant, Tea Rozman, and Tom Kaczyniski, and curated by the Green Card Voices (which has a fantastic website of stories) breaks the migrant invasion narrative that dehumanizes immigrants. The artwork and stories are alive on the page and like all of these anthologies, helps all readers break down stereotypes and understand just how hard, and brave, life is for those who seek a different life in America.
• Don’t Call Me Crazy, 33 Voices Start the Conversation About Mental Health edited by Kelly Jensen is perhaps the most appealing to young readers visually with a wide array of people from all walks of life including famous actors and elite athletes writing with abandoned honesty creative nonfiction essays about their experiences with mental health.
• ​Lastly, Allies, Real Talk About Showing Up, Screwing Up, and Trying Again edited by Shakirah Bourne and Dana Alison Levy serves as a valuable companion to other anthologies. It addresses the delicate balance of being an ally, especially for those in positions of privilege, without overshadowing the groups they're supporting. This anthology offers practical guidance on listening, learning, and relinquishing power to those being advocated for. It's essential reading for anyone seeking to navigate allyship effectively.

I aim to use anthologies as a means to offer marginalized students’ reflection and others a window. However, mere access isn't sufficient; we must take further steps akin to the sliding doors analogy, fostering exploration and understanding through curated literacy experiences.

I propose employing these texts in a book club format rather than assigning mass readings. Through student surveys, I'll form groups to facilitate discussions on texts, intentionally pairing students with characters vastly different from themselves. Moreover, I'll appoint a student who mirrors the stories as the discussion leader, providing a platform for marginalized voices.

While using these anthologies in a classroom setting, I would also involve an elevated level of collaboration with those tasked leading SEL in our schools. This provides a number of opportunities for students and teachers to dig deep into conversing about the texts as well as providing supervision of conversations to help decrease misunderstandings.

By leveraging short stories and essays, we can replicate this process to maximize exposure to diverse perspectives, fostering empathy and reducing social barriers as we have learned through Allport’s Contact Theory.

As always, there must be some metric to measure success. I would offer two. The first would be a traditional response to literature. An analysis of style and structure could be utilized. The second would be narrative about experience. I would seek to see if indeed this did succeed in providing a window and sliding doors to those often overrepresented to marginalized persons in our society, and if the mirror for those that are marginalized, was a considerable experience and
opportunity to see, and lead, discussions about themselves and others like them.

As a final note, all of the anthologies I checked out of my public library had a name plate on the front cover imploring readers to write in the margins on the pages. While my former school librarian-self stopped and held my breath when reading that, I then read what was written in the margins by young readers over the next few days. My heart was warmed and encouraged that indeed, the youth will solve this issue of books. While I fully appreciate the school board from
the 60 Minutes segment and how they dealt with book challenges so reasonably and responsibly I realized something. I didn’t see any of those most impacted by the bans and challenges at the table reading and discussing the merits and appropriateness of books. The students. That is the group who is most needed at the tables, and whose voices we need to listen to the most.

Today's post is written by Roy Edward Jackson. He is an assistant professor of education at Goshen College and holds degrees in English, Education, Library Science and Creative Writing.