Breaking the Taboo with Young Adult Literature

This text offers 6th - 12th grade educators guided instructional approaches for including diverse young adult (YA) literature in the classroom as a form of social justice teaching and learning. Through the YA books spotlighted in this text, educators are provided pre-, during-, and after reading activities that guide students to a deeper understanding of topics that are often considered taboo in the classroom - race, racism, mental health, immigration, gender, sexuality, sexual assault - while increasing their literacy practices.

Victor Malo-Juvera is a former middle school teacher and current associate professor of English Education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington where he teaches courses in young adult literature and multicultural young adult literature.
Paula Greathouse is associate professor of secondary English Education at Tennessee Tech where she teaches English methods and literacy courses. She was a secondary English and Reading teacher for sixteen years.