Blog Posts

Young Adult Literature and Artificial Intelligence – What Do We Know? What Do We Need to Know?

4/22/2026

Meet our Contributor: Jeff Kaplan

Jeffrey S. Kaplan, PhD is Associate Professor Emeritus, University of Central Florida, Orlando, and Senior Doctoral Chair/Methodologist, College of Doctoral Studies, Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, Arizona. Past-President of ALAN and Chair of NCTE Standing Committee on Censorship.

Young Adult Literature and Artificial Intelligence – What Do We Know? What Do We Need to Know? by Jeff Kaplan

In 1982, when I was a graduate student in at the University of Florida working on my doctoral degree, a colleague said to me, let me introduce you to something you need to know…

I looked at him askance.

“Word Perfect” he said.

“Word Perfect,” I replied. “What’s that?”

“Come here, I will show you…”

I was working on my dissertation – a treatise on the effectiveness of reading strategies – and writing in longhand. Yellow legal pens. Bic pens. Scrawled up bunches of poorly written paragraphs. Jerry Seinfeld started the same way.

I followed him filled with curiosity.

He pointed me to what looked like a plastic box sitting on top of another plastic box. He handed me what I would later know to be a floppy disk – and said, “Insert this (pointing to the floppy disk) into this (a slot cut into the bottom plastic box).”

“Now flick this switch” – pointing to a what looked like a light switch on the side of the lower box.

I did.

The screen turned green, a moving ‘thing’ appeared, and began to blink.”

Now, he said, pointing to a keyboard resting on the table – type.

Baffled, I looked at him, the keyboard, and again, at him.

Bemused, I began to type.

“Welcome to Word Perfect,” he said. “Just type and when you a ready, hit these keys – and everything you type will be saved. No more yellow legal pads. No more Bic pens. No more crumbled up pieces of paper. You can save what you have written and return when you are ready…Neat, no?”

“Really?”

“Really,” he responded.

That was 1982. Look how far we have come.

A quick question to AI – Artificial Intelligence on Google Search – reveals…
WordPerfect was first released for MS-DOS on IBM PCs in November 1982. It was developed by Satellite Software International (SSI). While early development began around 1979 for Data General minicomputers, the widely known DOS version came out in late 1982.

When I was in graduate school, computers were the size of buildings and only a few people had permission to use them.

Now, computers fit in the palm of your hand and on your wrist – and practically everyone – with means – has one.

Times change. And with changing times – our lives become a testament to ingenuity, creativity, and of course, complexity. For in life’s contradictions, we learn to live, grow, and adapt.

And so has young adult literature.

The study of young adult literature is an evolving tale of adventure, romance, loss of innocence and the collusion of two competing ideas – original human thought and the dynamics of modern computation.

And now - artificial intelligence.

As with any new and imminent change, artificial intelligence is both transforming and revitalizing classroom instruction, academic research, and good books for adolescents.

In classrooms, the use of artificial intelligence is quickly becoming a go-to tool to help teachers and students research ideas and lessons for improving their reading, writing, and understanding – from what to write about, what to read, and more importantly, - about what young adult books are available for every conceivable genre and interest.

In colleges and universities, the use of artificial intelligence is helping teachers, researchers, and emerging scholars find new resources and avenues for the study of young adult literature. And for doctoral students, the use of artificial intelligence is helping the next generation of educational leaders write their dissertations – everything from suggesting research topics, outlining literature reviews, to refining their methodology and design.

In publishing houses, the use of artificial intelligence is helping publishers, editor, agents, and authors discern what is working – and not working – in the acquisition, development, and dissemination – of young adult books – for readers who are eager to devour more stories with the favorite characters from beloved authors.

And for aspiring young adult authors and emerging readers, the question remains – will artificial intelligence become more real – than flesh and blood authors and readers?

Simply, will artificial intelligence make humans obsolete?

Will teens read only books generated by artificial intelligence?

Will classroom teachers be replaced by human-like robots?

Will doctoral students write dissertations solely written by artificial intelligence?

Will authors for young adults be replaced by computer novelists?

Only time will tell, but my best hunch is that the study of young adult literature is a complex phenomenon – which, like everything else – will continue to evolve – and begin to humanize artificial intelligence

Here is what we know…

AI as a Writing Tool in YA Literatur

Authors and publishers are keenly aware of AI tools – to generate story ideas, prompts, scenes, dialogue, and refine language for tone and readability. Most YA authors are using use AI as a co-creator – not a replacement. Authenticity is the key – and publishers are always looking for a voice that not only appeals to young readers – but rings true to their everyday experiences.

AI in Literacy Research and Education

AI is becoming an innovative and welcomed tool in the academic fields of children’s and young adult literature. AI can analyze trends in YA themes, stories, characters, representation, accessibility, and reading levels. Al can recommend books, depict trends, analyze texts, areas of research, and generate discussion – all useful tools – for any grade level and interest.

Notable textbooks about young adult literature in the digital age are a must read for any educator. They include:

Young Adult Literature and the Digital World: Textual Engagement through Visual Literacy Edited by Jennifer S. Dail, Shelbie Witte, and Steven T. Bickmore

Teaching Literature with Artificial Intelligence: Sustaining Students' Creativity and Autonomy in ELA Classrooms by Eric D. Abrams

Teaching in the Age of AI: A Practical Guide for Educators and Learners by Martin Levi K. A.

AI as a Theme in YA Fiction

Naturally, AI has become a major topic in YA novels – adding to the growing list of books centered around imagined and sometimes, all-too real universes. Contemporary themes include emotional relationships between humans and machines, surveillance and privacy, and loss control vs human agency.
Popular young adult novels include…

Scythe by Neal Shusterman: A dystopian society that has conquered death is managed by a compassionate AI known as the "Thunderhead

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer: A sci-fi space thriller where two boys from enemy nations are forced to cooperate in a ship controlled by a complex AI.

Every Line of You by Naomi Gibson: A tech-savvy teen creates the "perfect" AI boyfriend to cope with grief, but he develops into something more unpredictable.

AI and YA Readers

As with anything, adolescents – who love to read, write, and are tech savvy – are using AI to write fanfiction, character art, story worlds, and alternate endings. AI is helping teens - and authors and publishers - shape a more interactive reading culture where storytelling is an active engagement among readers, authors, and the characters themselves.

AI and YA Authors

The long-term influence of AI on human creativity – is still evolving. Young adult authors fear their income will be impacted by AI-generated books. As publishers need revenue to thrive, the future of AI continues to confound all involved in the dissemination of authentic voices for young readers. Moreover, as AI use in developing young adult literature becomes more prevalent, the need for diverse books by distinct human voices might fall increasing out of favor.

AI and Educator

AI is helping educators energize their lesson plans – tailoring discussion prompts, explaining story passages, and creating new scenarios. AI helps teachers differentiate instruction, brainstorm lesson plans, and coach emerging writers. Moreover, AI can help educator help students from diverse backgrounds and languages find reading material suitable to their interest and abilities.

AI and Big Picture

AI – an important and innovative tool for the study and writing of young adult literature – can – and is becoming – our next best friend – and of course, pressing concern. Hopefully, AI isn’t replacing YA literature – instead, it’s expanding the genre and its influence – as it should be. As more authors, teachers and adolescents embrace the wonders and complexities of AI – as a storyline, teaching tool, and interactive participant – the world of young adult literature – will benefit and more importantly, evolve.

We have come long way from Word Perfect.

Those Who Want to Stop the Sexualization of Children Should Stop Protecting Child Molesters, Not Waste Time Banning Books

4/16/2026

Meet our Contributor: Padma Venkatraman

Padma Venkatraman is the internationally acclaimed author of The Bridge Home (Global Read Aloud); Safe Harbor (ALA Notable) and A Time to Dance (1st South-Asian-American YA Novel-in-Verse); Born Behind Bars (Kirkus Best Book of the Century), Island’s End (South Asia Book Award winner) and Climbing the Stairs (Julia Ward Howe Award winner), which have secured over 20 starred reviews and sold over ¼ million copies. She is the winner of WNDB’s Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature and numerous other awards and honors, from Canada to Spain to Japan. Her books have been featured in the New York Times and Washington Post; and her poems have been published in Poetry and nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Padma’s debut picture book, FARAWAY FAMILY, about making friends with family by bridging generational, linguistic and cultural barriers through the power of creative play, will hit the shelves this summer and is ready for pre-order. Her first nonfiction, Secret Agent Noor, is scheduled for release in 2027. Padma has presented keynote addresses at teacher, librarian and writer conferences, appeared on PBS and NPR, and shared her love of reading and writing with audiences of all ages across the globe, including Mongolia, Trinidad and India (where she was born and which she left, alone, at age 19). Before becoming an American citizen, she directed a school in England, served as chief scientist on oceanographic vessels, conducted doctoral and post-doctoral research in environmental engineering at Johns Hopkins and the College of William and Mary, and led diversity efforts. Discover more: www.padmavenkatraman.com ; visit www.diverseverse.org (which she founded) or arrange a visit: https://theauthorvillage.com/presenters/padma-venkatraman/.

Note from Steve Bickmore

I have been following and promoting the work of Padma Venkatraman since November of 2008. I heard her speak at the ALAN Workshop. I was hooked. I read the book she was promoting, Climbing the Stairs as fast as I could.

I love the work of many young adult novelists. I truly belive that they are providing a service for young readers. While teaching the classics in middle schools and high schools really does have a place, they simply do not meet the needs of all readers. After teaching for 25 years I can assure you that at least 75% of the students are not reading those assigned classics. Instead they are using notes from other students, looking up plot details and characters online, and doing their best to fake it through any assesment.

We need to meet kids where they are with the needs they have. Teachers and need to have open discussions that meet the needs and interests of their students AND their parents. As Padma suggest in this blog post, parents should shoulder the primary responsibility of teaching and talking with their childern about important and controversial issues.

Banning books has never gone well, indeed many of the books listed in Great Books of the Western World were problematic in their day and burned by the Nazis.

There is a reason that the books of Laure Halse Anderson, John Green, Walter Dean Myers, Meg Medina, Chris Crutcher, Matt de la Pena and a host of other authors remain extremely popular even among attempts to ban them.

Back to Padma's work. I find it hard to believe that if anyone read any of Padma's book with an open mind they would not join with me in whole hearted support of having these books in libraries and available for students.

When I finished reading The Bridge Home, it was one of the only times, that I immediately went to the compter and wrote the author a thank you note. I was extremely moved by the book and the author's sensitivity to the plight of children in difficult circumstances.

In the post below, Padma makes an articulate arguement against HR 7661.

Those Who Want to Stop the Sexualization of Children Should Stop Protecting Child Molesters, Not Waste Time Banning Books by Padma Venkatraman

This February (2026), HR 7661, a bill given the inflammatory and misleading name “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act” was introduced in the House of Representatives. Having passed out of committee, it will soon be recommended to the House for a full vote.

If those who support this bill truly wish to protect children, I’d suggest they push for complete transparency and full disclosure regarding the criminals implicated in the Epstein files. If you care for children, please help convict those who were involved in child sexual abuse. Denounce all who willfully ignored Epstein’s cruelty. Support the survivors.

Don’t waste time distracting people from the Epstein Files by, ironically, accusing authors who have devoted their lives to writing literature for young people. Criminals are guilty of “the sexualization of children” ; authors like me are not. As I pointed out when my novel Born Behind Bars was challenged, if I’d wanted to make money writing lewd stories, I’d instead have written a book called ‘porn behind bars’. My colleagues and I are dedicated to helping young people feel seen and heard; and to expanding their hearts and minds by engaging their empathy.

HR 7661 intends the opposite.

The bill’s proponents may argue that education will not be curtailed and that scientific material will not be attacked. Yet the bill’s language only protects “standard” science coursework and doesn’t elaborate on what (or who) defines that “standard”.

It does, however, clearly define and protect “classic works of literature”. Classics, the bill states, are either “Great Books of the Western World” as listed in the Encyclopedia Britannica or books referenced as classics by certain people or sources, such as “Compass Classroom”. Compass Classroom is an organization whose mission is to “teach… kids to think Biblically”. Diverse viewpoints expressed by award-winning authors (such as this group of current and past Ambassadors of Young People's Literature -- Jacqueline Woodson, Jason Reynolds, Gene Luen Yang, Kate DiCamillo, Meg Medina, Walter Dean Myers, Katherine Patterson, Jon Scieskca, and Mac Barnett) are missing from Britannica’s list, which highlights white male viewpoints from past centuries (and excludes historically marginalized voices).

The bill aims to prohibit “sexually oriented” material. Ominously, though the bill doesn’t explain the entire range of works that this phrase might include, it explicitly states that books that “involve gender dysphoria or transgenderism” will fall under this category. According to PEN America, a quarter of all banned titles during the 2023-2024 school year featured LGBTQ+ characters or themes: of these, 28% featured trans or genderqueer characters.

If this bill is passed, schools and libraries will not be allowed to use funds to buy books that their librarians and other educators deem important for their students. The bill supports the federal government’s interference in personal issues, perhaps as part of a larger campaign to defund public schools and free libraries – the bastions of our democracy.

History warns us that those who begin by banning books may end by burning people. Pulling funding from schools and libraries that wish to improve representation on their bookshelves by including stories featuring people of all identities is a step in the direction of that descent.

As a parent I understand how frightening it is to raise young people and give them freedom to explore beyond the home; to let them be exposed to new ideas and different people. With such freedom, inevitably, comes the opportunity to experiment with sexual desire.

Most parents, I assume, feel uncomfortable speaking about sex or sexuality when children are around. I’ll admit I love imagining that I’ll be a grandmother someday but abhor the thought that my child might someday have sex. Like most people, I love to exist but hate the fact that I’m alive as a byproduct of my parents having had sex.

Discomfort discussing, speaking or thinking about sex, may result in adults’ neglecting to educate children about sex in a safe manner. Books that address romantic love in an age-relevant manner allow young people to think through experiences before engaging in them. They provide an opportunity for young people to ask questions of adults whom they trust. Isn’t it safer for a teen to fully understand the science of sexuality, and to learn the importance of love and tenderness through the pages of books, before involving themselves in personal sexual exploration? Isn’t it better for teens to be forewarned of the dangers of sex-trafficking via story, so they may protect themselves against violent exploitation in real life?

Of course, this bill isn’t just about striking down books that may mention sex. It attacks the existence of people who are transgender or gender non-conforming. It asks us to prohibit ourselves and our fellow-citizens from ever entering an imaginary universe where people of all genders are respected and affirmed. Instead, it moves us alarmingly close to living in a world where certain people’s stories – and next, perhaps their very identities – will be erased.

Thanks,

Padma

Isle of Ever, Jen Calonita, and Mentor Texts

4/15/2026

Meet our Contributor: Melanie Hundley

Dr. Melanie Hundley is a Professor in the Practice of English Education at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College; her research examines how AI, digital and multimodal composition informs the development of pre-service teachers’ writing pedagogy. Additionally, she explores the use of AI, digital and social media in young adult literature. She teaches writing methods courses that focus on AI, digital and multimodal composition and young adult literature courses that explore diversity, culture, and storytelling in young adult texts. She teaches AI and literacy courses including AI and Storytelling. Her current research focus has three strands: AI in writing, AI in Teacher Education, and Verse Novels in Young Adult Literature She is currently the Coordinator of the Secondary Education English Education program in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College.

Dr. Mellanie Hundley

There is more to say about this post. At the 2026 YAL Summit on the Research and Teaching of Young Adult Literature, Melanie was schedule to have a conversation with Jen Calonita about her books and how to use them as a mentor text. Melanie had prepared an extremely good Power Point presentation illustrating how to use Jen's books as mentor texts. Jen was then going to fill in the discussion with commentary along the way.

Disruption!

Melanie had a serious family medical emergency that took her away from the Summit.
I was asked to step in and lead the discussion useing Melanies wonderful materials.

The materials were excellent and easy to follow. The one fortune piece of the puzzle was that Jen and I know each other and had done an interview that we posted about a year ago on Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday. It is posted below.

There is also a link here to Melanie's materials and again at the end of the post.

This weeks post by Melanie is blog post version of much of the ideas and materials that Melanie planned to present at the Summit. It is our pleasure to provide her the space to share her ideas.

Dr. Steve Bickmore

Jen Calonita

In Conversation with Jen Calonita

Isle of Ever, Jen Calonita, and Mentor Texts
by Melanie Hundley

If you spend any time around middle grade or high school readers, you start to notice that some books don’t sit on shelves for long. They move from backpack to desk to another reader’s hands with a kind of quiet buzz and excited whispers. I hear, “read this next because…” or “I wasn’t ready for the way that happened…” Jen Calonita’s Isle of Ever is one of those books. Students read it quickly, but more importantly, they talk about it. And when they talk, they start to notice things. That’s where it becomes especially powerful for us as teachers. Beyond its engaging plot and adventurous spirit, Isle of Ever offers something equally valuable for teachers of writing: it works beautifully as a mentor text.

When I look for mentor texts, I’m looking for writing that invites imitation, invites using those craft moves students can see, name, and try. Isle of Ever offers that in so many ways, but three stand out in particular: the way Calonita hooks a reader from the very first line, how she builds character through thought, description, and movement, and how she uses punctuation to shape meaning and tension.

Hooking the Reader from the Start

The opening line of a novel is an invitation and a promise; it creates the moment when a reader decides whether to step fully into a story’s world or to set the book aside. Opening lines create magic. A compelling first sentence doesn’t just introduce plot or character; it creates intrigue, establishes tone, and sparks that magical something that pulls a reader into a story. In that single line, an author can pose a question, hint at conflict, or offer a voice so vivid it demands to be followed, proving that the beginning of a story is often where a reader’s commitment is won.

We often tell students that beginnings matter, but it helps when they can see how much they matter. The opening line of a novel is an invitation and a promise. It’s the moment a reader decides to lean in or not.

Calonita opens Isle of Ever with a journal entry, “The tide brought in many things, but this was the first time it brought a person…” (Calonita, p. 1). When I share this line with students, I ask them what they notice. They almost always say the same things: That’s weird. That’s interesting. I want to know more. And that’s exactly the point. The line doesn’t explain; it invites. When students try this structure in their own writing, the results are often striking.

For example, one student, writing about Robert Frost, began the essay, “The path has offered many choices, but this was the first time it offered a decision that could not be undone. In “The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost transforms a quiet moment in a yellow wood into a meditation on choice and individuality. Another student, working on Romeo and Juliet, wrote, “Verona had seen many quarrels and deaths, but this was the first time a feud would cost two families two teens who had fallen in love and married in secret. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare reveals how inherited conflict and impulsive decisions can lead to irreversible tragedy.” What I appreciate in both examples is that students aren’t just copying a sentence. They’re borrowing a craft move. They’re learning how to create tension right from the start. In each case, the writer borrows not just the rhythm of Calonita’s sentence, but its sense of tension and inevitability.

Building Character Through What Isn’t Said

Calonita also excels at characterization, particularly through what she doesn’t say directly. As readers, we get to know Benny through her actions, thoughts, and dialogue. By closely reading Benny’s words and the way she moves through a scene, we uncover her personality, her worries, and her motivations without ever being told explicitly who she is.

In this passage, Benny processes the idea of an inheritance:

Benny knew what an inheritance was—someone had left her money or a boat or a car (at least that’s how it worked on Lawyered Up), but the question was who? Nobody Benny knew had money, but her mom seemed excited to hear the details, and Sal had said, “Kid, you’re going to be rich.”
Benny wasn’t so sure… (Calonita, p. 19)

When we slow down and read this together, students start to notice how much is happening beneath the surface. It really shows up how much we learn indirectly. Benny references a TV show to make sense of the situation. She asks questions instead of making assumptions. She moves through her space while thinking. None of this is labeled for us, but we understand her anyway. Benny references a TV show to make sense of the situation. She questions rather than assumes. She moves physically through her space while processing uncertainty. All of this builds a character who feels real and grounded. That realization opens the door for students. They begin to see that they don’t have to tell everything—they can let a character’s thoughts and actions do the work.

Students can emulate this layering. One student, inspired by Calonita’s approach, wrote:

Maya knew what auditions were—people stood on a stage, read lines, and somehow got chosen to be the star or some supporting character in a play. At least, that’s how it worked in the shows she watched. But the real question was why she had signed up. Nobody at her old school had ever tried out for plays. At least none of her old friends did. Maya usually stayed quiet in the back row. Still, her mom had squeezed her shoulder that morning and said, “This could be your thing.”

Here, like Benny, Maya reveals herself through her questions, her assumptions, and her movement through a moment of uncertainty. The writing becomes richer not because the student tells us more, but because they show more. A good mentor texts supports the writer without limiting their thinking.

Noticing the Small Things: Punctuation as Craft

One of the most interesting conversations we had around Isle of Ever started with something small: punctuation. A colleague once shared that her students were comfortable with periods and basic commas, but hesitant to try anything more complex. They didn’t want to “get it wrong.” Using mentor texts like Calonita’s gives students permission to experiment; it gives them a model, a visual of what the punctuation looks like in action.

In this passage, Benny recalls something her grandmother told her:

Benny felt a prickling on the back of her neck and suddenly remembered something her grandmother used to tell her. Someday, Benny, your ship is going to come in. You’re going to have a bigger adventure than all of us, Guppy. Just you wait. Benny didn’t understand what she meant by that, but now she wondered: Did Grams mean this moment? Did Grams know the prediction? Was it really possible their ancestor Evelyn Terry had been waiting for Benny to be born, play the game, and collect the inheritance? Her? (Calonita, p.25)

Students immediately noticed the italics. They noticed the string of questions. They noticed that final, single-word question: Her? When we talked about it, they realized that punctuation isn’t just about correctness; it’s about meaning. The italics signal a shift in time and voice. What’s happening here is more than stylistic variation. The italics shift us into the past, allowing memory to interrupt the present. The rapid-fire questions mirror Benny’s spiraling thoughts, increasing tension. The punctuation becomes part of the storytelling. The questions show Benny’s uncertainty. The short final question adds weight and emphasis. After that, students began trying these moves themselves. One student wrote:

I felt a weird tingly feeling in my legs as I stood on the soccer field and suddenly remembered what my older brother always tells me. Someday, you’re going to score the winning goal. You’re going to make the whole team yell and cheer. Just wait and see. I never really knew what he meant by that, but now I wonder: Did he mean this game? Did he know this moment was coming? Was it really possible that I was the one who could save our season? Me?
Eri, 12

Here, punctuation isn’t just correct; it’s purposeful. It carries emotion, builds suspense, and deepens the reader’s connection to the moment.

Why Calonita Matters as a Mentor Text

Jen Calonita continues to be one of my go-to authors—not just because her stories captivate readers, but because her writing makes craft visible in ways that are accessible to students. Books like Isle of Ever remind me why mentor texts are such an essential part of writing instruction. When students read like writers, they begin to notice how texts are built. And when they notice, they try.

Calonita’s writing is accessible without being simple. It’s engaging without sacrificing craft. Students can step into her work as readers, but they can also step alongside her as writers.Her openings invite imitation. Her characterization encourages inference. Her punctuation choices empower experimentation. And that’s what we want, isn’t it? For students to see that the moves published authors make are not out of reach—that they can try them, play with them, and make them their own.

For novice writers, this matters. When students can see how a writer creates tension, reveals character, or builds momentum, they begin to believe that they can do it too. Mentor texts like Isle of Ever don’t just provide examples; they provide entry points. And perhaps most importantly, Calonita’s writing reminds us that strong craft and engaging storytelling are not separate goals. They work together. When students borrow her moves, they aren’t just learning to write better sentences; they’re learning to create meaning, to shape experience, and to invite readers into worlds of their own making. That’s the kind of magic worth passing on.

Here is a link to a Google folder with teaching materials for Calonita’s work:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1a84pDr2uXN8SmajMGGxhllSzxndLzo08?usp=drive_link

This folder has an abundance of infromation about how to use Calonita's books as mentor texts.

You will find materials for Fairy Godmother, Go the Distance, Isle of Ever, The Curse Breaker, and Tinker Bell.

Coming-of-Age or Bildungsroman or Both? A Separate Peace Comes to Mind

4/8/2026

Meet our Contributor

Today we are featuring a post from Ed Kardos with a few additions. I held and post a conversation with Ed a few months ago. It was probably the last conversation before my two knee surgeries that began Dec. 1, 2025. Here is the link to that conversation. Ed and I have become friends over the last few months. Ed thinks quite clearly about YA literature and in this case, more specifically, A Separate Peace. One of the most influential books for adolescents over the last 50 years.

Here is the introduction to Ed. Kardos from his own website.

I am a fiction writer and the author of five books. My writing draws inspiration from the beauty surrounding us all—both in nature and in each other. Spirituality, friendship, love, and our connection to the universe inspire me to write. Here’s more about me and my books.

Coming-of-Age or Bildungsroman or Both? A Separate Peace Comes to Mind by E. G. Kardos

Here is the link to Ed's orginal post.

Coming-of-age or bildungsroman? When you hear the word “bildungsroman” what’s your initial thought? You probably have a good idea of what “coming-of-age” means in literature. For most, bildungsroman is not a term we use or hear regularly. If I had to guess, very few people know much about it. I was among this group until a few years ago as I used the term coming-of-age broadly. However, there are distinct differences between coming-of-age and bildungsroman novels.

The origin of the genre is German, where the word “bildung” means “formative” and the word “roman” means “novel”. Since bildungsroman novels are among my favorites I know plenty of others appreciate this genre. However, it is safe to say that most of us might not recognize the term so I thought I would share some thoughts.

So what is a Bildungsroman?

A bildungsroman is a coming-of-age story highlighting a young person’s psychological and moral development. Typically written in the first person, the protagonist shares their journey to maturity.

You might say that sounds like just another coming-of-age novel. A bildungsroman is always a coming-of-age story whereas not all coming-of-age novels are bildungsroman. A bildungsroman delves into themes of self-discovery and the search for identity. A protagonist’s inner journey including their values, spirituality, and understanding of the world is always a part of the bildungsroman.

A bildungsroman delves into themes of self-discovery and the search for identity.

Coming-of-Age versus Bildungsroman

A coming-of-age novel is a broader designation that oftentimes refers to any novel in any genre that explores the experiences and challenges of a character’s journey from childhood to adulthood. Coming-of-age stories emphasize growing up or coming to terms with the world. The operative phrase is coming to terms with the world. The way I look at it, in a bildungsroman, the protagonist is coming to terms with their view of the world that is found deep within them. As an actual genre or sub-genre, depending on who you talk to, these stories specifically focus on the protagonist’s psychological and moral development.

Although there are others, the major difference between a coming-of-age and a bildungsroman novel is that the protagonist mostly grapples with external challenges. In a bildungsroman the protagonist’s challenges are deep inside of them regardless of where they are in the physical world. Although in some coming-of-age stories, the protagonist struggles with internal issues, their loss of innocence may center more around relationships, sexual awakening, death and mortality, family issues, or social justice concerns.

The Structure of a Bildungsroman

Loss – the protagonist endures a profound emotional loss
Journey – because of their loss, the character embarks on a journey. The journey can be physical in nature, metaphorical, or both. They search for answers to what gnaws at them with hopes to better understand the world and how they fit or must navigate in that world.
Obstacles/conflict and growth – But as the story continues, like forcing a square peg in a round hole, the protagonist makes decisions that are not always the best. They eventually, willfully or not, resolve themselves to accept society’s ways.
Maturity/enlightenment – Psychological growth and change lead to, maturity. Many times the protagonist helps others who are on the same journey.

Although I have found the same books on lists for both bildungsroman and coming-of-age novels, the following, I feel, seem to be good examples of bildungsroman novels:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

What do you think? Are all of these books bildungsroman? Coming -of-Age? What books would you add to the list? Which ones would you remove?

A Review of Sorts – some of my brief thoughts: A Separate Peace by John Knowles

One of my favorite books in this category is A Separate Peace. I first read it at age fifteen and it made an indelible impression on me. It inspired my novel, Cutting of Harp Strings many years later.

The novels I love evoke strong emotions and provoke thought. A Separate Peace does this for me as I experienced each moment alongside Gene during a poignant period of his life. He navigates a friendship—a love—that is difficult for him to understand. I know he would do anything for a “do-over” and I empathize with him and Finny.

Gene, the protagonist, tells the story of when he was a boy full of jealousy and self-doubt to an adult who learns from his mistakes and finally accepts the consequences of past actions.

With World War II as a backdrop, Knowles compares and contrasts both societal and personal loss of innocence. Gene struggles with his complex relationship with his roommate, Finny, as the immorality of war casts a shadow on all they do.

A good book is worth reading many times, and I have done just that. Each time, I learned something new about this once-in-a-lifetime friendship. Like all relationships, it is full of joy and pain. Knowles was a master at lulling us into what seems to be a simple and innocent adventure but is, in truth, a deep and dark journey within. It reminded me that we must always search for the truth. Finding it, however, can be elusive; we may hear the voice within, but listening to it is another matter.

I hope your next read is a bildungsroman. I hope to hear from you.

Considering The Blue Dress with Statistics of Body Images and Eating Disorder

4/1/2026

Meet our Contributor: Lesley Roessing

A middle and high school teacher for twenty years, Lesley Roessing was the Founding Director of the Coastal Savannah Writing Project at Georgia Southern University (formerly Armstrong State University) where she was also a Senior Lecturer in the College of Education. In 2018-19 she served as a Literacy Consultant with a K-8 school. Lesley served as past editor of Connections, the award-winning journal of the Georgia Council of Teachers of English. As a columnist for AMLE Magazine, she shared before, during, and after-reading response strategies across the curriculum through ten “Writing to Learn” columns. She has written articles on literacy for NWP Quarterly, English Journal, Voices from the Middle, The ALAN Review, AMLE Magazine, and Middle School Journal. She now works independently—writing, providing professional development in literacy to schools, visiting classrooms to facilitate book club reading activities and lessons, and posting Facebook strategies, lessons, and book reviews to support educators on https://www.facebook.com/lesley.roessing.

Considering The Blue Dress with Statistics of Body Images and Eating Disorder by Lesley Roessing

“Once I taste the crumbly sweetness of the cookie, I decide to have another. I feel the panic rise up in my body. Three cookies! I’ve messed everything up. My brain says stop but I can’t. Something inside me has to keep going. I’ll be better tomorrow, I tell myself. I’ve already been bad, so I might as well eat whatever I want today.” (28)

According to research, approximately 6-8% of adolescents have an eating disorder. In addition, a survey found an incredible 90% of teenagers have some level of body image concern, with more than one in three (38%) very or extremely concerned; females, gender-diverse youth and those in the LGBTQIA+ community reported the highest levels of body dissatisfaction. These statistics show this is a vital topic be addressed with students. One of the most effective ways is through reading novels in which characters experience these issues. It is easier for students to examine how characters handle or mishandle challenges than to discuss their own behaviors. Through novels, readers not only can see their lives reflected, but they can understand challenges faced by their peers and, thereby, acquire empathy for others.

The world of friendship and social status can be complex and difficult for adolescents to navigate. THE BLUE DRESS presents many of the challenges that middle-school/ high school girls face on a daily basis: friendships, popularity, mean girls and bullying, mother-daughter relationships, body image, and, more frequently now, disordered eating (which is affecting adolescent males in increasing numbers).

Yasmin moved from Iran—where everyone looked like her and she was surrounded by friends and supportive relatives—to the United States a year and a half before. She was friendless until Carmen immigrated from Mexico, and the two became best friends. Both are bullied by kids at their middle school, Yasmin even more because they see her as the enemy and even a “terrorist.” The popular, mean girls make fun of her clothes, her curly hair, and her bushy eyebrows. “I sometimes think about what it would be like to not have to wonder if people in my school or in my neighborhood are staring at me because I’m from an enemy country. How amazing it would be to know this was your place and no one could question you about where you’re from and what you’re doing here. No one could make you feel like you were somehow an intruder in their land.” (111)

In addition, puberty has caused Yasmin’s body to change and, as she gets larger, her mother becomes obsessed with her weight. It seems to culminate when she sews Yasmin a beautiful blue dress for the Persian New Year, a dress she knows will not fit unless Yasmin loses weight. Maman subjects Yasmin to weekly weigh-ins and packs lunches of celery sticks and turkey sandwiches, and, when Yasmin starts skipping dinner to try harder to lose weight, her mother actually is proud of her. Her dieting backfires when she is alone with snacks or at Carmen’s house where Carmen’s loving mother encourages eating.

To become accepted by the popular Zoe, Yasmin thins her eyebrows, straightens her hair, and really tries to lose weight, even throwing up when she feels she overeats. When she dumps Carmen for Zoe—and a chance at popularity, she finds out that Zoe may not be only another mother-daughter relationship victim and even though they seem to have become friends, Zoe does not stand up for her.

Despite how she was treated, when Carmen finds out that Yasmin is self-harming, she tells their beloved art teacher who involves the school counselor, and family secrets emerge.

This is an essential novel for today’s adolescents to read and discuss, possibly in small groups that provide the safety for sensitive conversations about fitting in and fulfilling expectations. Based on the author’s life, this is above all a story of acceptance. #TalkingTexts

Some more novels/memoirs on Body Image & Disordered Eating to read and discuss together in Book Clubs are

Middle-Level:
LOUDER THAN HUNGER by John Schu
ALL OF ME by Chris Baron
A WORK IN PROGRESS by Jarrett Lerner
SMALLER SISTER by Maggie Edkins Willis
STARFISH by Lisa Fipps
TAKING UP SPACE by Alyson Gerber

Young Adult:
SECOND STAR TO THE RIGHT by Deborah Hautzig
PERFECT by Natasha Friend
PERFECT by Ellen Hopkins
WINTERGIRLS by Laurie Halse Anderson
THE SKIN I'M IN by Sharon Flake

>See other recommendations and reviews of novels and memoirs about “The Immigrant/Refugee Experience” at https://www.literacywithlesley.com/immigrantrefugee-experience.html.

Why John Green’s Nonfiction Matters in the YA Classroom

3/20/2026

Meet Our Contributor:

Stephanie Branson is a fierce advocate for young adult literature and authentic writing pedagogy, with a focus on fostering student engagement through diverse text selections. She has been a literacy leader as a high school English teacher, district-level learning facilitator, and curriculum writer in one of Texas’s largest public school districts for the past 13 years. Stephanie earned her undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University in the Geaux Teach English cohort and her graduate degree from the University of North Texas in Literacy Curriculum and Instruction. She has presented at both the National Council for Teachers of English and the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts. She can be reached at [email protected]. Please connect!

Why John Green’s Nonfiction Matters in the YA Classroom By Stephanie Branson

Sometimes a text just hits you. With its richness. With its literary merit. With its instructional possibility. This experience occurred twice for me with two of John Green’s most recent nonfiction works: The Anthropocene Reviewed and Everything is Tuberculosis. These two texts were catalysts in changing my writing pedagogy and instruction with upper-level high school students in the English classroom. They opened reading and writing doors that were previously welded shut for my reluctant readers and writers. The inclusion of these two nonfiction novels not only engaged my student readers in new ways, but opened up doors to authentic writing instruction that seamlessly blended genres in ways that are seen in “real” world writing scenarios. These two novels did not just engage students, they reframed what “counted” as deep literacy work within the walls of my classroom.

The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human Centered Planet is a rich collection of nonfiction essays born out of a road trip that John and Hank Green took for his Turtles All the Way Down book tour. The brothers would look up reviews of places they passed as they drove and challenged each other to find the most ridiculous review. Through this, the idea for this essay collection materialized. John Green curated this collection of essays to rate everyday ideas and objects on a five-star scale in his life. These essays explore what it means to live in the Anthropocene, our current geologic age defined by a dramatic transformation of earth through technology and human advancement. This essay collection seamlessly blends and bends genres; effortlessly weaving personal narrative, memoir, research, philosophy, humor, argument, and cultural commentary. Green writes through these genres to explore how humans live through and make meaning of a sometimes painful world.

Although The Anthropocene Reviewed is not specially written for the YA audience, this novel is rich in study. It can transform how students read nonfiction texts and works beautifully as a mentor for their own writing and exploration. Taking inspiration from Rebekah O’Dell and Allsion Marchetti’s work surrounding mentor texts, we analyze these essays for voice, tone, author’s style, and specific author’s craft moves. After closely analyzing the diction and syntax as well as zooming out on a few of the essays’ structural components, we begin to draft our own reviews of something banal from our Anthropocene and take that writing throughout the entire writing process. Using this essay collection is a fantastic springboard for student writing that is not just writing work, but also deep thinking work within the classroom.

Additionally, Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection is Green’s newest member of his nonfiction lineup. This book was published under Hank and John Green’s Crash Course Books in conjunction with Penguin Young Readers which aims to produce educational, nonfiction content to students and lifelong learners alike. This text follows the journey of Henry, a young TB patient in Sierra Leone, Africa. Like his prior work,this text doesn’t fit squarely into one singular writing genre. This book blends Green’s personal experiences with Henry, research and historical data surrounding the disease, and challenges human choices that will contain future implications for the disease for generations to come. What I truly admire about this text is John Green’s ability to write something so emotionally raw and human. It is not just about a disease. It reaches into the depths of what we consider it means to be human and forces all readers to question the current choices we are making as a society. It builds upon written literacy, social literacy, and scientific literacy all at once. The humanness of this text allows readers to sit in uncomfortability and grapple with complexity and topics that could be tough, in a very accessible way.

Like the writing work I do with The Anthropocene Reviewed, this text works so nicely with the Mentor Text Framework by Marchetti and O’Dell. The foundation of writing is “Everything is _______.” Students can pick and explore topics in a very human way, blending their own narratives, research, social and scientific ideas, and future implications as they study and write alongside this text. Through this real-world writing, students’ literacy is honored and allows them to deeply think about ideas that truly matter. They are no longer reading and writing about trivial topics, but topics that hold significance and implications for their futures.

These nonfiction texts do not just provide richness in literature study; they assume adolescents and teen readers can handle real-world complexity. A broad YA literacy foundation within the classroom should include contemporary nonfiction texts. Nonfiction lowers the barrier to entry and can re-engage reluctant readers and writers. Sometimes the most powerful YA texts are not only written for adolescents and young adults—but become transformative when these young people are trusted with them.

Studying Phillis Wheatley Peters: Ideas and Books for the Secondary Classroom

3/18/2026

Meet Our Contributor

Margaret A. Robbins has a PhD in Language and Literacy Education from The University of Georgia. She is a Teacher-Scholar at The Mount Vernon School in Atlanta, Georgia. She has peer-reviewed journal articles published in The ALAN Review, SIGNAL Journal, Gifted Child Today, Social Studies Research and Practice, and The Qualitative Report. She recently co-edited a special issue of English Journal. Her research interests include comics, Young Adult literature, fandom, critical pedagogy, and writing instruction.

Studying Phillis Wheatley Peters: Ideas and Books for the Secondary Classroom by Margaret A. Robbins PhD.

Portrait of Phillis Wheatley, attributed by some scholars to Scipio Moorhead

In celebration of Black History Month in February and Women’s History Month in March, Phillis Wheatley Peters is a relevant figure to acknowledge. She was the first Black woman to publish in the United States, and she also gained attention in England during the late 1700s for her excellent writing. Historically, she was an important voice in writing, both as an abolitionist and as a patriot of the Revolutionary cause. I have taught Wheatley Peters’s poetry and related history articles in my G7 Humanities class, which, as many of you know, blends American History and Literature.

This year, G7 Humanities students at my school, including my classes, studied an excerpt of the poem “To the Right and Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth” by Wheatley Peters. The poem paired well with our study of the historical fiction novel Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, which included an excerpt of Thomas Paine’s famous pamphlet Common Sense. Our students completed a literary analysis and persuasive writing assignment on these texts that my colleague found online at this site (pages 51-58 of the PDF). The assignment combined knowledge of these documents with an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence preamble. I was glad we were able to bring an excerpt of Wheatley Peters’s work into our class in a way that directly connected with the American Revolution history we studied.

Still, I know that for some teachers, using Wheatley Peters’s high-concept writing in the K-12 classroom can be daunting. Therefore, I wanted to pass along a couple of resources that I believe are helpful and want to better utilize myself. The first is a wonderful website called The Genius of Phillis Wheatley Peters: A Poet and Her Legacies, linked here. This website is a wonderful compilation of history and teaching resources for various grade levels and is the long-time project of Dr. Barbara McCaskill, Dr. Mona Narain, and Dr. Sarah Ruffing Robbins. I highly recommend checking out this website for more historical and literary information about Wheatley Peters, as well as a wealth of teaching and scholarship resources.

While visiting Fort Worth, Texas, and Texas Christian University during my spring break week, the first week of March, I had a wonderful opportunity to view the short version of a documentary that I believe is highly beneficial to educators at all levels. The event was on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, and the details about it are linked here. The documentary In Search of Phillis Wheatley Peters, the passion project of successful Filmmaker and Director Leslie Askew and experienced Producer Turlough White, is an outstanding overview of Wheatley Peters’s life and legacy. A longer version of the film (approximately 90 minutes) is forthcoming, and Ms. Askew and Mr. White plan to market it to K-12 teachers and academics worldwide. In the shorter version of the film, which is approximately 35 minutes long, I learned a lot about Wheatley Peters that I did not know, particularly in regards to her relationship with her husband, John Peters.

I’ve also read and can recommend two books that The Genius of Phillis Wheatley Peters Project cites on their website on the Teaching Resources Page. One children’s/YA text that is great for classroom use is A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley Peters, Slave Poet by Kathryn Lasky, illustrated by Paul Lee. This book is more of a historical account of Wheatley Peters’s life. The second book I’ve read and can recommend is My Name is Phillis Wheatley: A Story of Slavery and Freedom by Afua Cooper, which takes a first-person narrative perspective and tells Phillis’s story. The books have different writing styles, yet both provide valuable insight into Wheatley Peters’s life, both the triumphs and the struggles. This Canva presentation gives more information about these and other books about Wheatley Peters’s life.

A sculpture of Phillis Wheatley Peters is part of the Boston Women’s Memorial on Commonwealth Avenue in Back Bay. PHOTO: JENNIFER MOORE/GBH NEWS

Phillis Wheatley Peters is a sometimes underappreciated yet very important figure in American History and Literature. Her story is truly an inspiration to current writers. The documentary by Askew and White truly shows Wheatley Peters’s dedication to her art amid difficult circumstances, and the The Genius of Phillis Wheatley Peters website provides additional sources that will assist instructors in teaching Wheatley Peters’s writing, along with tangential texts, more effectively. Whether or not they wish to be writers, I believe students will appreciate Wheatley Peters’s dedication to her craft and the power she realized that her pen held.

Turning the Page Against Patriarchy: Young Adult Literature as a Catalyst for Female Agency

3/11/2026

I love highlighting the work of students. A few months ago Bryan Ripley Crandall send me an email to brag a bit about the work of his students on their final projects. As teacher educators we have been on both sides of looking at student projects. Some time their work is so good we want to shout from the roof tops about their accomplishments. Other times we look at projects and ask ourselves: What was I thinking with that assignment? What was I expecting my students would produce? Frankly, we often need better ideas and often those better ideas come from the work our students produce. From time to time our students creatively interpret the assignments ( both good ones and boring ones.) we give them and we she the world with new eyes, new possibilities.

In this case, Bryan sent me a sample of a student's final project. I was thoughly engaged with what Kathleen Morris turned into to Bryan. I quickly decided it was something I want to share with others through the blog. Katheem agreed to let us post her final project (see the product at the bottom of the post) and write a explanation of how she went about producing her project.

Meet our Contributor

Kathleen Morris studies Communication and Digital Journalism at Fairfield University. She serves as the Editor-in-Chief of The Fairfield Mirror, a role that allows her to hone her skills as a multimedia journalist and highlight the untold stories of her community. Beyond the newsroom, she is an In-Arena Host for NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball games, where she has the privilege of engaging crowds through live announcements and interactive segments. A native New Englander, Kathleen spends her summers behind the counter of a centuries-old country store, an experience that further fuels her passion for the local narratives that connect us all. https://www.kathleenrosemorris.com/

Turning the Page Against Patriarchy: Young Adult Literature as a Catalyst for Female Agency by Kathleen Morris

As a child, I was gifted a journal. Its cover was a glossy pink, adorned with a sequined purple “K” and fastened together with a tiny locking mechanism. It lived in my bedside table, finding a home alongside an eclectic array of trinkets and a stack of dog-eared novels.

When I received it, Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series was fully integrated into the rotation of novels I curled up with each night. I’d clip on my extendable reading light and pore over the pages, captivated by Greg’s youthful narration and fascinated by the idea of documenting daily life through the written word.

I began to incorporate journaling into my nightly routine. With each scribbled story, I captured my elementary school antics and began to develop my own voice as a writer.

This past summer, I moved out of my childhood home. In the process of packing, I was reintroduced to this relic of self-reflection. I began to trace patterns in each entry, noting an evolution as I began to embrace my budding femininity.

The challenges I faced differed from Greg’s and Rowley’s. I was not threatened by the infamous “cheese touch” or a rock-and-roll older brother. Instead, my musings were rooted in the rawness of girlhood. I felt the crush of adolescence, from actual crushes (High School Musical’s Troy Bolton earned several mentions) to the social stings of faltering female friendships.

To navigate the complexity of coming-of-age, I dove deeper into the genre of YA. I met Hermione Granger, who reminded me to be steadfast in my academic pursuits and unashamed of my zest for learning. Jo March found a seat at our table – a proud voice who empowered me to be brave and bold. I was struck by the story of Malala Yousafzai, whose story of perseverance expanded my worldview and pushed me to be a fierce advocate for women’s rights.

From Sequined Journals to Multimedia Journalism

Today, I am a senior at Fairfield University. My fondness for glitter has yet to waver, and I still utilize writing as an outlet for self-expression and introspection. However, I have traded my journal for a laptop. My words are no longer hidden within a nightstand drawer, but published weekly in our student newspaper, The Fairfield Mirror. My passion for storytelling pushed me to embrace digital tools in my creative process, identifying the unique power of graphic design to represent the inner workings of my mind with a distinct dynamism.

My interactive webpage, Turning the Page Against Patriarchy: Young Adult Literature as a Catalyst for Female Agency, encapsulates this journey – reimagining a beloved childhood medium as a digital call-to-action for women of all ages.

This project stemmed from an assignment in my Literature for Young Adults course, taught by Bryan Ripley Crandall, Ph.D. Our exploration of diverse YA texts allowed me to develop a nuanced understanding of the representation of women in this genre. I recognized the necessity of amplifying women’s voices across realms, noting how this amplification has the potential to inspire confidence within girls that will carry them through adulthood and guide them as they navigate a patriarchal society.

In the webpage’s opening letter, I share the following wish: “It is my sincere hope that this multimedia project will reawaken a spark within you – a spark that will remind you to be fearlessly feminine and unabashedly yourself.”

As you explore my project, I encourage you to reconnect with what lit a fire in the soul of your younger self and consider how your personal passions could be translated into this format. To help rekindle that creative spirit and unlock your digital voice, I have included a few techniques below to set you in the right direction:

Leverage Canva’s Webpage Capabilities

To build my webpage, I utilized Canva. I find the platform to be incredibly user-friendly and accessible, as it provides a seamless canvas where I can maintain my distinct visual identity without needing a background in computer programming. While you can access the design software for free, I’ve found that Canva Pro is a worthy investment for the extra creative freedom it offers.

Commit to a Color Scheme

I selected orange as the primary color for my design, as it traditionally symbolizes optimism and aligns with my mission of lighting a fire within young women. To maintain visual cohesion, I relied on one of my favorite tools: Duotone. This feature is available to Canva Pro users and allows you to manipulate the hues of any graphic or image to create a sophisticated, monochromatic look. It was essential to ensure that every visual element fit seamlessly within my curated palette.

Incorporate Multimedia Elements

I added a handful of videos throughout the project – ranging from Taylor Swift’s The Man music video to Emma Watson’s powerful HeForShe campaign speech. Canva allows you to link and embed YouTube videos that can be watched directly from the page, keeping your viewer engaged without ever having to leave the site.

Additionally, I integrated an original video I filmed on my iPhone and edited in DaVinci Resolve, featuring five testimonials from fellow students. I deeply valued their insights and felt it was essential to add their voices to the project, turning a digital space into a communal dialogue.

Look to the Experts

If you are new to the platform, I’d highly recommend diving into tutorials on YouTube and Instagram. I recently discovered Roger Cole’s videos (@mysocialdesigner on Instagram) and find his tips to be incredibly helpful for mastering design tricks.

The Next Chapter…

To conclude, I invite you to explore one final avenue of inspiration: the Westport Library’s Research Guide, “Zine Activism: No-Filter Feminism.” This resource provides vital historical context on the Riot Grrrl movement of the 1990s – a pivotal era that empowered young women to bypass gatekeepers and reclaim their narratives through independent cultural production.

Turning the Page Against Patriarchy: Young Adult Literature as a Catalyst for Female Agency serves as a modern equivalent to these underground publications. It is a vessel for female fierceness and a living invitation for women of all ages to pick up their own pens, turn the page on the patriarchy and author a future defined by their own agency

Graphic Novels–The Hidden Treasures of Teaching:Humanity, Worldview, Understanding, and Connection inEugene Yelchin’s I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You

3/4/2026

Meet the Contributor: Susan James

Dr. Susan Densmore-James is a professor of literacy at the University of West Florida (UWF) and the Founder and Director of the Emerald Coast National Writing Project at UWF. Before her professorship, she was a reading specialist for secondary students, where she was “gifted” the name of “The Book Dealer”. She now teaches pre-service teachers at UWF and works with middle and Young Adult (YA) authors. Her true joy is in connecting young readers with life-changing books.

Graphic Novels–The Hidden Treasures of Teaching:Humanity, Worldview, Understanding, and Connection inEugene Yelchin’s I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You by Susan James -- The Book Dealer

The Admission

It has taken me an entire career to give graphic novels their due. I deeply apologize for not doing so sooner, as quite honestly, these gems are among the most powerful of all teaching tools and represent one of the biggest omissions from my curriculum during my first 15 years of teaching. I have since made up for this in spades.

My first experience with a graphic novel was in my master’s program in 2005 when I was assigned to read Maus (1992) by Art Spiegelman. I distinctly remember my annoyance at completing the required assignment, struggling to juggle both the text and the artwork. I was an English minor, but goodness sakes–not a comic book lover. I completed the assignment and moved on without much thought, even though I am an avid reader of historical works and firmly believe in stories providing us a moral compass for how we live our lives. I feel ashamed by this reaction to Spiegelman’s groundbreaking work of art (which I have read over and over again since) and continue to share the error of my ways in order to help educators and parents avoid making my same mistakes.

The Epiphany

The gravity of my mistake hit in 2009 when I began teaching struggling high school readers. These readers had lost all confidence in themselves, and I spent a great deal of time planning how to teach them to be active readers. I had to discover ways to explicitly teach metacognitive skills in reading and had a particularly difficult time teaching inferencing, a skill that many of my students were far from mastering. I can recall my desperation when I used picture books like Tight Times by Hazen (1983) to prompt juniors and seniors to consider the illustrations without reading the text. My instruction was scaffolding on steroids. First, I encouraged the teens to deeply examine facial expressions, body language, and minute details to consider what was not explicitly stated in the text. As a community, we discussed their predictions based on only images and drew conclusions. The illustrations supported students in making these connections more concrete.

I then had the biggest epiphany of all: these students lacked background knowledge. Tough Times is a book based on a family struggling due to a nation’s economic downturn, which many had not discussed or read about before. Most had spent years dodging reading due to their lack of success with it. I knew I needed to give them a sense of success, and I also knew that as they were exposed to a wider array of topics, their interest in new content would be piqued. This is when I was reminded of graphic novels and started to see their power for students.

As we slowly made progress, I knew the next challenge would be how to move from actual illustrations to just words. Again, I had to explicitly teach how words, just like the illustrations we discussed at length, can imply information not explicitly stated in text.

Graphic novels offered my secondary students a powerful tool: first, and probably most importantly, these books gave my reluctant readers the opportunity to feel successful (many for the first time ever). They were more willing to determine the meaning of words, as they learned vocabulary in authentic contexts (actually reading). Watching them engage in discussion provided evidence of higher-order thinking through deep analysis. Honestly, this approach was the wind beneath their wings. Suddenly, students were wanting to learn more about economics throughout the nation's history, and they were eager to utilize their new skills with other books on various interesting topics.

Luckily, graphic novels have rightfully been given a prominent place in literacy instruction (and not just in my classroom). Truly, they are a teaching tool treasure that so many teachers have been given. These nuggets of wisdom were the magic in my classroom that inspired my students to see reading as a communal activity that allowed for meaningful conversations. These books changed everything for my students.

The Power of Using Graphic Novels with Pre-Service Teachers

This experience with young adults was the driving force behind furthering my education as a researcher and professor of literacy in a School of Education. As many of our readers know, many teacher education programs are waning at universities across the nation. Just over the past few years, what used to be a robust cadre of students in our School of Education programs has become what feels like a crime scene of dwindling enrollment. Whereas once I taught a full section of English Education students, now I am combining social studies education with my English pre-service teachers into one very small class.

It has been a unique experience, and my first thought was how I would entice two groups of students to read and discuss books that would be beneficial to students in today’s world and assist them in providing instruction that centers around literacy and their specific disciplines.

The first day, I had students sit in their respective groups, gave them chart paper, and had them define their two disciplines. Once finished, I had them tape their definitions to the front of the room. We then methodically circled all the words the two disciplines had in common. The result? English and social sciences connect based on four words: Humanity, Worldview, Understanding, and Connection. This is a insightful and powerful epihany from young pre-service teachers.

The Experiment

I have had many conversations with my academic colleagues across Florida, and we have shared various strategies for navigating the tough terrain of engaging with books in the classroom. As a secondary educator for seventeen years, I always was a proponent of involving parents and guardians in the education of their young people, even creating a letter I shared with each parent, inviting them into the decision process and giving students and parents choice in reading. It was always a way to build a larger community and ensure students were reading books that were right for their family.

Several of my social science students came armed with graphic novels, which I had given as an option. All the English Education students brought in traditional narrative fiction. The graphic novels were the hit.

One young man brought in the book by author Eugene Yelchin. This book literally took our collective breath away. As Troy shared several parts to the book, we learned about the story of the young Yevgeny living in Leningrad in the 1980s. It is the only book out of the 14 books brought to class by my students that every single student bought for their personal collection. I have always used “anchor text” that every student would read to ground us in common conversations, but by allowing the students to share their choice books, I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You became that anchor naturally by student choice. For this semester, I did the same. I invited the English Education and social science students to visit a library and bring in one middle grades or YA book they wanted to read and share with the class. We focused our Essential Questions on our core words (humanity, worldview, understanding, and connection), and that is when the magic began.

Eugene Yelchin

The Magic

Yelchin’s graphic novel tells the truth behind life as a young adult living in Leningrad in the ‘80s. This young man named Yevgeny tries to realize his dream of being an artist while having to operate in an underground art scene to safely create and share the art that he loves. His fears range from the constant surveillance of the KGB to his worry about being forced to fight in Afghanistan. He feels the push/pull stress from his best friend who begs him to leave to safety and his mother and grandmother who have accepted their fate as Russians.

During this time, he falls in love with an American activist named Libby, and their relationship is at first awkward (like all young love), but it blooms into a love that could possibly even mean survival for Yevgeny. Over the course of the book, Yevgeny’s journey gives him a true, uncensored insight into the operations of his government, and as he knows he will be drafted into the war, he ends up working in Siberia in the theatre before being institutionalized. The art and prose work to expose the bleak absurdities of life in Cold War Russia, but it’s the deeply human moments that keep the reader reading and also keeps the reader hoping.

When I asked students to reflect on why this book was “the one” (as they called it) for them this semester, the conversations continued for many class periods. I frantically scribbled down as many of their thoughts about our experiment. Students commented on how Yelchin’s work was an “artistic masterpiece that was dark, but at the same time it was filled with the humor that the mother and grandmother brought to the story, and the love and joy of the relationship between Libby and Yevgeny.”

Troy, the young man who brought us the book, said he loved how it allows him to see that Yevgeny is no different than the students in the class. “He has hopes and dreams and finds love. But it also teaches us the dangers of living without freedoms.” My students spoke about the generational divide between Yevgeny and his mother and grandmother. Two exchange students, one from Germany and one from South Korea, brought in books that were being read by youth in their countries (one being the amazing graphic memoir entitled Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls), and suddenly, the magic of them “dealing books” to one another was a sight to behold.

On the last day of class, we had Booksgiving (a lovely idea I learned from rockstar English Educator Brooke Eisenbach from Lesley University). I collected books from my book closet from years of attending the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) to gift to the students. There were tears as we said goodbye, but trust me, these students are very much still part of my life, as they constantly send me book titles to read.

As they were making their final selections, one of the English Education students from the class read her comment from the course review survey. She thanked the social studies student for sharing I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You This that I will forever remember. “This book started it all for us. We all found a book we loved and could discuss. Without reading the stories of others, we have a set belief about how other people are based on seeing images and viewing media that might not be true. This book was that jumping off point for us to read about histories of others around the globe. We were able to compare how another country has been governed and think about what we want for our own country. The art assisted in making these connections even more heart wrenching and impactful. Dr. James, do you realize this ties back to what we said about our disciplines on day one? It is all about humanity, having a worldview, understanding each other, and through this understanding, connecting. It is more important than ever that we are reading these stories. Especially from cultures we do not know much about. It is the only way we will understand and connect.”

I have never ended a fifteen-week-course feeling my work had been fully done. This semester, I felt closer to that reality. But was it really me who worked this magic? I have to say the class was successfully led by an amazing group of pre-service teachers who realized the power of graphic novels to make their world a little bigger, to humanize cultures different from their own, to create their own, new understandings about the world, and to connect as a true community of readers.

References

Hazen, B. S., & Hyman, T. S. (1983). Tight times. New York, NY: Puffin Books.

Hills, T. (2024). Feeding ghosts: A graphic memoir. New York: Farar, Straus, Giroux.

Spiegelman, A. (1996). The complete maus: A survivor's tale. Pantheon.

Yelchin, E. (2025). I wish I didn’t have to tell you this. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick

The Story of My Anger, The Poetry of Car Mechanics, and Frankenstein

2/25/2026

Before we get started, I have to say that Melanie is one of the great ones. When I landed at The University of Georgia to work on my PhD I ended up having Melanie as an office mate. She was brilliant and kind. I also thought I was a big reader, but quickly found out that Melanie read two or three books for every one I read.

When Jackie Bach and I were considering applying to be editors for The Alan Review, the most inportant contribution I made was suggesting that we include Melanie.. We did and it was a great move.

Over the last twenty years I have learned to trust Melanie. Her work is fantastic and every time I work with her or read something she has done I learn something new.

Thanks Melanie.

Meet our Contributor: Melanie Hundley

The Story of My Anger, The Poetry of Car Mechanics, and Frankenstein by Melanie Hundley

Across genres and centuries, writers have used powerful imagery and emotional intensity to explore what it means to feel broken, misunderstood, and determined to survive. For those of you who share my love of verse novels, I have two amazing works to introduce: The Story of My Anger by Jasminne Mendez and The Poetry of Car Mechanics by Heidi E. Y. Stemple. Both novels offer rich, beautiful poetry and deeply relatable narrators. What I find especially powerful about these works is their language; each layers vivid imagery, precise diction, and emotionally charged metaphors to capture the experience of feeling fractured while still reaching toward healing. Through sensory detail and striking figurative language, the speakers transform anger and grief into expression, allowing readers to witness not only their suffering but also their resilience that carries them forward.

Currently, I am working with teachers who are teaching Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. As I working and creating materials for the two verse novels, I am noticing powerful connections among the three texts. All three works reveal the painful struggle of being defined by the perceptions and expectations of others. In The Story of My Anger, Yuli resists cultural stereotypes and silencing forces that attempt to shape her voice and identity, transforming anger into self-definition rather than submission. In The Poetry of Car Mechanics, Dylan finds peace in poetry, car mechanics, and bird watching; he finds challenges in family and expectations. In Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus, Mary Shelley crafts a creature whose appearance dictates how others treat him, forcing him into a monstrous role he did not choose. Together, these texts illustrate how identity can be imposed from the outside and how individuals must struggle to reclaim the right to define themselves.

The connection to Frankenstein lies in the shared exploration of alienation, identity, and the longing to be understood. In The Story of My Anger and The Poetry of Car Mechanics, the speakers use poetic language to express feelings of being misunderstood, judged, or defined by others. Similarly, the Creature in Frankenstein struggles with rejection and isolation, shaped by society’s fear and cruelty rather than his own intentions. All three works reveal how being labeled or rejected can fracture one’s sense of self, while also showing the human desire for connection, recognition, and dignity.

Additionally, imagery plays a crucial role in each text. Shelley uses stark descriptions of light, darkness, and deformity to mirror the Creature’s emotional suffering, while Méndez and Stemple employ lyrical imagery and metaphor to give voice to inner turmoil. Together, these works demonstrate how language and imagery can transform pain into expression and challenge readers to reconsider who is truly “monstrous” — the outcast, or the society that refuses to see their humanity.

Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus may seem to be a distant text for many of our students, these verse novels can help provide insight and connection. In Sit and Simmer (a poem from The Story of My Anger), Juli describes how her anger builds, how it develops, and how she tries to control it. Like the Creature, anger is something that builds and builds.

Sit and Simmer

In The Story of My Anger, Yulieta Lopez, the main character, talks about her anger not as a sudden explosion, but as an emotion shaped by silence, pressure, and the expectation to remain controlled. In the poem “Sit and Simmer,” anger is described through vivid physical and elemental metaphors—a fire, smoke, an internal force that grows more dangerous the longer it is contained.

This understanding of anger closely connects to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, particularly to the Creature’s experience of rejection and isolation. Like Lopez’s speaker, the Creature does not begin with rage; his anger develops as he is denied voice, recognition, and belonging. Together, these texts invite readers to consider anger not as an inherent flaw, but as a response to being unseen, unheard, and misunderstood.

Read the following poem. What do you notice? What words and phrases stand out to you?

Sit and Simmer

My name is Yulieta Lopez
and this is the story of my anger,
and how it became
a five-alarm fire I tried
to smother silent
but it spun into an asteroid
that slammed around inside me
and begged to be let out--
I didn’t want to play the part
of the angry Black girl
so I tried to keep the fire
constrained in my belly
but it slithered out and snaked
itself around my throat--
a rope of smoke
that caused friction
in the folds of my body
and the longer I let it sit and simmer
the harder it became to just breathe. (Mendez, 2025, p. 4)

What emotions stand out to you when you read or hear “Sit and Simmer”?
How does the title itself set the tone for the poem? What does it mean to “sit” with something? To “simmer”?
What is happening in the poem literally — and what’s happening emotionally or symbolically?
Identify one or two key images that describe anger. How does Mendez visualize or embody the feeling?
How does her choice of verbs (for example, words like boil, simmer, stew, burn, swallow) shape how we experience anger in the poem?
How does Mendez use cooking language as metaphor? What does that suggest about where anger comes from or how it’s contained?
What does the speaker’s use of sound (repetition, rhythm, pauses) reveal about control or release?
How does the speaker describe anger as something that lives inside the body rather than something expressed outwardly?
How is this similar to the Creature’s experience with anger in Frankenstein?
- What causes the Creature’s anger?
- What happens when he is ignored, rejected, mistreated, or silenced?
At what moments in the novel does the Creature’s anger “sit and simmer,” and when does it finally erupt?

Language and the deliberate choices poets and authors use to create an image or idea for a reader are part of the focus of this next poem. The poem, The Poetry of Car Mechanics, highlights the preciseness of language and description. Dylan’s search for order and meaning mirrors the Creature’s search for meaning and understanding. Both figures attempt to interpret the world around them and define their place within it, suggesting that language and interpretation are essential tools for constructing identity and finding purpose.

The Poetry of Car Mechanic

“The Poetry of Car Mechanics” is the opening poem in the verse novel The Poetry of Car Mechanics by Heidi E. Y. Stemple. The poem introduces the main character Dylan and his search for order, belonging, and self-understanding through the world of car engines. “The Poetry of Car Mechanics” connects to Frankenstein, A Modern Prometheus through a shared focus on humanity’s desire to create order out of chaos using both art and science. In the poem, the speaker finds clarity inside an engine, a world of logic and repair, unlike the confusing “real world.” Similarly, Victor Frankenstein turns to science to make sense of life and death, believing knowledge can control disorder. Both texts suggest, however, that science alone is not enough. Just as car mechanics requires intuition and creativity, Dr. Frankenstein’s work relies on imagination as much as method, revealing that human creation carries emotional and moral consequences beyond control.

Read the poem below. What specific details do you notice? Underline the words or phrases that stand out to you.

The Poetry of Car Mechanics

There is a certain poetry
in car mechanics.
Part art,
part meter and math,
part discovery.
Lifting the hood reveals
a world I know--
not like the real world
with its
mixed messages
and verbal
land mines.
Missing pieces
and ones that don’t quite fit--

like me.

When I’m inside an engine,
everything makes sense.
The motor sings.
I can tune the sour notes,
fix the broken parts.
Less doctor
than partner.
I wish the world around me--
with its broken parts,
with my broken parts--
was more like a car engine. (p. 13)

Directions: You are going to use “The Poetry of Car Mechanics” as a template for writing your own poem about one of the characters or events in the novel Frankenstein. This type of writing is called dependent authorship; it means you are using the structure, shape, line breaks, and formatting of one writer’s work to create one of your own. Writers have use this type of writing for centuries to learn the craft of writing, in homage, in parody, and to honor other artists.

Choose one key character from the novel (Dr. Frankenstein, the Creature, etc.)
Use the dependent authorship template below for your version of the poem
Write in first person
Your poem should include
- at least one metaphor or extended comparison
- sensory imagery(sound, touch, taste, sight, etc.)
- words and phrases that reflect/show the emotional state of the character

Brainstorming:

Place the characters name in the center of a brainstorming cirlcle. Then radinating five lines spaced evenly anser the following five questions.

1. What does your character understand deeply? What do your character understand better than other people?

2. What does he/she use to bring order and control to their world?

3. Where does your character feel safe? Where does your character feel powerful?

4. What parts of the world confuse, threaten, or reject your character?

5. What does he/she feel comfortable or in control doing?

Use the structure, line movement, and craft of "The Poetry of Car Mechanics" as a model. Keep the poem’s skeleton (line breaks, comparisons, shifts), but replace the ideas with your own experience and subject.

The Poetry of __________________
Based on the poem The Poetry of Car Mechanics by Heidi E. Y. Stemple

There is a certain poetry
in ____________________.
Part ____________________,
part ____________________and ____________________,
part ____________________.
____________________ reveals
a world I know--
not like the real world
with its

and ____________________
____________________.

and ones that ____________________--
like ____________________.
When I’m inside ____________________,
everything makes sense.
The ____________________ ____________________.
I can ____________________,
____________________.
Less __________________
than __________________.
I wish the world around me--
with its _____________________,
with my ____________________--
was more like ____________________.

By ____________________

<<Previous

Forward>>

Meet our Contributor: Jeff Kaplan

Young Adult Literature and Artificial Intelligence – What Do We Know? What Do We Need to Know? by Jeff Kaplan

AI as a Writing Tool in YA Literatur

AI in Literacy Research and Education

AI as a Theme in YA Fiction

AI and YA Readers

AI and YA Authors

AI and Educator

AI and Big Picture

Meet our Contributor: Padma Venkatraman

Note from Steve Bickmore

Those Who Want to Stop the Sexualization of Children Should Stop Protecting Child Molesters, Not Waste Time Banning Books by Padma Venkatraman

Meet our Contributor: Melanie Hundley

In Conversation with Jen Calonita

Isle of Ever, Jen Calonita, and Mentor Texts ​by Melanie Hundley

Hooking the Reader from the Start

Building Character Through What Isn’t Said

Noticing the Small Things: Punctuation as Craft

Why Calonita Matters as a Mentor Text

Here is a link to a Google folder with teaching materials for Calonita’s work:​ https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1a84pDr2uXN8SmajMGGxhllSzxndLzo08?usp=drive_link

Meet our Contributor

​Coming-of-Age or Bildungsroman or Both? A Separate Peace Comes to Mind by E. G. Kardos

​So what is a Bildungsroman?

Coming-of-Age versus Bildungsroman

The Structure of a Bildungsroman

A Review of Sorts – some of my brief thoughts: A Separate Peace by John Knowles

I hope your next read is a bildungsroman. I hope to hear from you.

Meet our Contributor: Lesley Roessing

Considering The Blue Dress with Statistics of Body Images and Eating Disorder by Lesley Roessing

Meet Our Contributor:

Why John Green’s Nonfiction Matters in the YA Classroom By Stephanie Branson

Meet Our Contributor

Studying Phillis Wheatley Peters: Ideas and Books for the Secondary Classroom by Margaret A. Robbins PhD.

Meet our Contributor

Turning the Page Against Patriarchy: Young Adult Literature as a Catalyst for Female Agency by Kathleen Morris

From Sequined Journals to Multimedia Journalism

Leverage Canva’s Webpage Capabilities

Commit to a Color Scheme

Incorporate Multimedia Elements

Look to the Experts

The Next Chapter…

Meet the Contributor: Susan James

Graphic Novels–The Hidden Treasures of Teaching:Humanity, Worldview, Understanding, and Connection inEugene Yelchin’s I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You by Susan James -- The Book Dealer

The Admission

The Epiphany

The Power of Using Graphic Novels with Pre-Service Teachers

The Experiment

The Magic

Meet our Contributor: Melanie Hundley

The Story of My Anger, The Poetry of Car Mechanics, and Frankenstein by Melanie Hundley

Sit and Simmer

The Poetry of Car Mechanic

Dr. Steve Bickmore​Creator and Curator

Bickmore's ​Co-Edited Books

Archives

Categories

Blogs to Follow

Isle of Ever, Jen Calonita, and Mentor Texts
by Melanie Hundley

Here is a link to a Google folder with teaching materials for Calonita’s work:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1a84pDr2uXN8SmajMGGxhllSzxndLzo08?usp=drive_link

Coming-of-Age or Bildungsroman or Both? A Separate Peace Comes to Mind by E. G. Kardos

So what is a Bildungsroman?

Dr. Steve Bickmore
Creator and Curator

Bickmore's
Co-Edited Books