This book illuminates methods for drawing upon young adult literature to facilitate students' critical literacies and to prompt social action in their local and broader communities.

This book illustrates how middle level English language arts teachers can draw upon young adult literature to facilitate students’ understanding of issues of oppression and allow them opportunities for social action. Each chapter centers on one novel that represents a contemporary topic including the refugee crisis, Indigenous rights, trauma, and bullying. In each, authors provide pre-, during-, and after reading strategies for teaching that connect the social issues in the texts to students’ lives and to the world around them. Research, writing, and digital literacies are emphasized...