Sports-Related Young Adult Literature—Coaches, Youth-Athletes, and Life

Leverage (Joshua C. Cohen, 2011) Cohen’s novel challenges the win-at-all-costs culture that is all too common in sports. And it does so with an extremely dark depiction of a football team and its coaches. A coach paying players? Check. A coach distributing steroids? Check. A coach emasculating players? Check. A coach getting teachers to raise players’ grades? Check. A coach encouraging players to injure the opposition? Check. A coach ignoring sexual assault allegations to win a game? Check. In the thick of all that scandal—each offense perpetrated by Coach Brigs, the head football coach—an unlikely friendship emerges between the new football star Kurtis Brodsky, who has already experienced too much trauma, and gymnast Danny Meehan, offering a bit of light in an otherwise dark tale.  Awards & Recommendations YALSA Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2012; Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth, 2011; Starred review, Booklist, 2011

Box Out (John Coy, 2008) It’s easy to appreciate characters that stand up for what they believe in despite others challenging their convictions. Liam Bergstrom, the main character in Box Out, fits that description. The sophomore is excited to play for the men’s varsity basketball team at his public high school. However, he’s not comfortable with Coach Kloss requiring players to participate in mandatory prayer sessions. After confronting his coach, doing a little research, and recognizing his coach’s manipulative ways, Liam discovers that he must walk his own road, even if it means making a difficult decision. With mentoring from Jack Franzen, the coach of the women’s varsity basketball team, and an introduction to the writings of Walt Whitman, Liam comes to terms with the decision he made.      Awards & Recommendations Booklist Top Ten Sports Books for Youth, 2009; Starred review, Booklist, 2008; chosen as a Junior Library Guild Book

Foul Trouble (John Feinstein, 2013) It’s true that sports-related literature is about so much more than sports alone. Still, Foul Trouble is a basketball book; it is steeped in the world of amateur hoops and explores the dark underbelly of big-time college recruiting. Playing for Coach Wilcox, Terrell Jamerson has become the top-ranked high school basketball player in the country. His teammate Danny Wilcox, the coach’s son, is a budding star drawing attention from Division I college basketball programs as well. The two navigate life as elite prospects, which isn’t easy when boosters, coaches, agents, and hangers-on—each with their own self-serving agenda—are making promises that, undoubtedly, come with strings attached. Unfortunately, playing the recruiting game does not come quite as easy to Terrell and Danny as competing on the hardwood.   Awards & Recommendations YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2014; Starred review, Kirkus Reviews, 2013; Starred review, Booklist, 2013

Exit, Pursued by a Bear (E. K. Johnston, 2016) Johnston sensitively tackles another systemic problem in our society—the pervasive sexual assault on women. The story begins with Hermione Winters, captain of the high-profile cheerleading squad at her high school, leading her team during the annual summer cheerleading camp. The summer, however, ends with her being drugged and raped at the closing social. Coach Caledon, Hermione’s cheerleading coach, is a pillar of support for Hermione as she endures her senior year through the ensuing trauma. While the connection with the Shakespeare play seems flimsy, Johnston does well to engage the reader, both in terms of building empathy for Hermione—and, thereby, for lived others suffering similar trauma—and creating suspense for whether Hermione’s attacker would be discovered or not.   Awards & Recommendations Canadian Children Book Centre’s Amy Mathers Teen Book Award, 2017; YALSA Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, 2017; a Booklist Best Book, 2016

Not if I See You First (Eric Lindstrom, 2015) We also recommend Lindstrom’s novel as one of the better choices on this list, primarily because of the dynamic characters of Parker Grant and her father but also due to its focus on a female athlete finding ways to continue competing despite losing her sight after a car accident. Parker wears colorful head scarves that cover her eyes and has created a set of non-negotiable rules for how others should act toward and around her. Unfortunately, “The Rules” has disrupted formerly close relationships, including one with an ex-boyfriend who has recently transferred to her high school. As she works on her track skills with Coach Underhill, who recruited Parker after seeing her run in the park, she also works on building stronger relationships with her family and friends.   Awards & Recommendations Handi-Livres Prize: Best Teen Youth Book, 2017; YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2017; a Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book, 2015

Darius & Twig (Walter Dean Myers, 2013) If Foul Trouble is a sports-related novel for sports fans, then Darius & Twig can be considered sports-related literature for readers who aren’t clinging to the sports angle. The novel is a coming-of-age story about a pair of best friends, each with their own unique talents, growing up in Harlem. Darius is a creative writer developing his own alter ego, Fury, a peregrine falcon. Twig is steadily climbing the ranks as a successful middle-distance runner. Together each is learning how to live his own dream, but interactions with sketchy relatives, run-ins with members of a local gang, and dealings with an assortment of sordid characters from the sports world—namely Coach Day and his associates—aren’t making it easy.      Awards & Recommendations ALA Coretta Scott King Author Honor, 2014; Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth, 2013; a Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book, 2013

Ghost (Jason Reynolds, 2016) The first installment of Reynolds’s “Track Series,” Ghost relates the story of Castle “Ghost” Crenshaw and his budding relationship with his new track coach. Ghost and his family have a tragic past, which he keeps a secret from even his closest friends. This past and his decision to attempt to bottle it up has stirred an angry view of the world. However, Coach Brody—who grew up under similar familial and cultural circumstances—realizes that Ghost is holding something back and wants to give Ghost a chance to use track as a way to further understand how he can lead a more productive life. Ghost doesn’t always make the best decisions—he gets in fights at school and commits petty crimes—but Brody continues to give Ghost a chance at redemption while holding him accountable for his missteps. Ghost is another strong contribution to YAL by Reynolds, and we recommend reading the entire series.   Awards & Recommendations National Book Award Finalist, Young People’s Literature, 2016; YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2017; Starred review, Kirkus Reviews, 2016

All American Boys (Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely, 2015) There probably isn’t much more we can say about Reynolds and Kiely’s story that hasn’t already been said by critics, award committees, educators, and youth, so we’ll simply add our praise to a book that represents the best of YAL. Quinn Collins’s high school basketball coach, Carney, provides a stark reminder of the tension present in race relations in U.S. society. As Quinn grapples with how to feel about what happened to Rashad and what to do about his relationship with the brother of the police officer who brutally beat him up, his coach’s actions and words greatly contribute to his final decisions on how to act. Reynolds and Kiely’s novel is timely and should be part of any secondary classroom library.    Awards & Recommendations Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Literature, 2016; ALA Coretta Scott King Author Honor, 2016; YALSA Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers, 2017

Winger (Andrew Smith, 2013) Ryan Dean West (aka Winger) is an up-and-coming rugby player at his boarding school. He is also hopelessly in love with an older girl, Annie, who only sees him as a friend. Making his life more complicated, he must endure several bullies who dominate the dorm life and his free time, causing him to constantly evade certain contexts and attempt not to get into trouble with the two teachers who serve as dorm monitors. Under the tutelage of Coach McAuliffe, Winger improves his play on the field, but his personal life becomes more complicated—both in terms of romance and friendship—leading to several new highlights but also tragedy. This selection was not one of Mark’s favorites, but it and its sequel Stand-Off (the preview on this Amazon link includes a spoiler for Winger) have received numerous good reviews.   Awards & Recommendations YALSA Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2014; Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth, 2013; a Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book, 2013

​The Running Dream (Wendelin Van Draanen, 2011) Readers are sure to find inspiration in multiple characters in The Running Dream. Jessica Carlisle, the main character, is a track star whose life has been forever altered in a traffic accident requiring the amputation of her right leg below the knee. She struggles adjusting—to her crutches, to her first prosthesis, to the stares of her peers and passersby—yet receives support from Rosa, a classmate with cerebral palsy. Jessica soon returns to the track with the aid of Coach Kyrokowski, who trains her and helps raise funds to purchase a prosthetic leg for running. This time, though, Jessica’s not running for herself; she’s running to help Rosa experience the thrill of crossing the finish line. Who can’t get behind that?   Awards & Recommendations Schneider Family Book Award, 2012; YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2012; Golden Sower Award – Young Adult, 2013

“I thought coaches were supposed to  set an example”:
Coaches’ Divergent Roles in Young Adult Literature
​by Luke Rodesiler and Mark A. Lewis 

“Indigenous peoples are the experts of their own realities and histories”
Excerpt from the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network’s brochure on How To Be An Indigenous Ally

Primary Books

Secondary and UP

Dr. Stacy Graber is a frequent contributor to the blog. In fact she just had a post in January and you can read it here. Leave it to Stacy to figure our how to combine Toys, YA, and Roland Barthes. Every post from Stacy is an intellectual adventure. Take a few minutes, you are going to enjoys what she has to say and how she engages preservices teachers and ELA students. ​She has posted on four previous occasions and all of them are worth rereading and including in a YA syllabus. You can find them here, here, here, and here. They are all worth bookmarking.

On the Semiotics of Toys and YAL as a Strategy in Defense of the Humanities by Stacy Graber

My thoughts on toys began when I was invited to co-facilitate a literacy enrichment program for middle grade students in an urban school in Youngstown, Ohio.  That is, I forwarded students a list of possible subjects informed by numerous YA works of nonfiction and, to my delight, the kids selected the subject of toys as framed by Tanya Lee Stone’s (2010) social history of the Barbie doll: The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll’s History and Her Impact on Us. ​ Stone’s (2010) book is provocative and dreamily malleable in terms of being able to model and catalyze any number of spin-off inquiries on the toys of kids’ choice (if Barbie dolls aren’t necessarily their thing).  Meaning, what Stone’s book does especially well is blueprint how a teacher might shape a conversation on an artifact according to discrete semiotic inquiries directed by the toy’s capability for sending messages with respect to race, class, and gender.

During reading, we consider, through layered critical lenses, how Barbie “works on” kids by proposing contentious values as to what it presumably means to be beautiful, powerful, and successful, and kids’ reciprocal power to transform Barbie through re-imagination or refusal of ideologically scripted play.  This reflects Fiske’s (1989) challenge of the characterization of kids as dupes of commodities and/or pop-cultural practices, and introduces a layer of agency as well as the potential for resistance.  The general idea is made comprehensible by Stone (2010) in her chapter titled, “Barbie as Art,” in which she discusses the tendency for kids to revise and reclaim Barbie through some highly stylized and often hardcore modifications and forms of rough play reminiscent of the sadistic techniques of Sid from Toy Story (1995).

References

Moving to Sameness: Climate Change through the Lens of The Giver by Katie Sluiter

click this image for a link to buy The Bridge Home

No Problem with "Problem" Books by Padma Venkatraman

When my daughter was little, she declared with touching faith, "I told the kids in my class, my mommy never writes sad stuff about mean people."              "Ummm..." I responded, as noncommittally as possible.             "Even though I've never read any of your books," she continued, "I know you'd never, ever write about anyone getting hurt or having troubles, because you're the best mamma in the world."              The truth is, of course, that without problems, we wouldn't have novels. Every novel in the world has, at its heart, a problem. Every novel is a "problem novel."              Yet we've created a category of novels that we refer to as "girl problem novels." At the NCTE convention in 2018, authors Alison Myers, Kim Briggs, Katherine Locke and Abby Nash invited me to speak on a panel with them, entitled fierce females. This post, in fact, summarizes the suggestions I made that day on how we might celebrate female authors and female protagonists.

A related issue: males are always considered the heroes of their stories; females are more often referred to as victims. When we speak of females as victims we do them a disservice, because we deny their heroism - they are heroes, too (or heroines if you prefer).  The narrator of my fourth novel, THE BRIDGE HOME (released February 2019 by Nancy Paulsen Books), is a female who leaves home with her sister to escape domestic abuse. The siblings find themselves homeless on the streets of an Indian city, but there, they also find friends who become the family of their choosing. So, at face value, there are two social justice issues at the forefront of the novel: domestic abuse and poverty (hunger/homelessness).   Both issues certainly impact females more severely than males; and it's important that we understand and acknowledge this. It's also important, however, that when we speak about such issues - whether in connection to a novel or not - we speak of the females who're subjected to such injustices as survivors and heroes, not victims. Rukku and Viji in THE BRIDGE HOME are survivors of a personal catastrophe, just as much as Brian Robeson is the surivor of a plane crash in Gary Paulsen's HATCHET.

​Brian, by the way is often shown on the cover of the many versions of HATCHET in existence. His white male face doesn't decrease sales, because we, as adults, have no problem distributing books with males on the cover to female readers. Unfortunately, however, to this day, we do have trouble recommending books with females on the cover to male readers. I've heard too many librarians, teachers, and authors speak of "girl books" and "boy books." I'll never forget the day I walked into my local library (less than ten years ago, which doesn't seem that long to me) - and saw a list of "books for girls" and "books for boys." I was pained (but unfortunately not surprised) to see that this list, which breaks the world up into two gender categories, went on to list books about fossils, volcanoes, maps, etc. as books for boys, and listed books on cooking, knitting and princesses for girls (I'm not sure princesses  knit - but that's a minor point).

I had a long conversation with the librarians and after that I must say I never came across a list like that at that library. But it was hard to convince them of my point - which was that they needed to actively promote books they enjoyed to everyone, regardless of gender. And that they needed to look at their patrons as human beings first, not consider their patrons' genders as a defining feature of reading interest. After all, isn't Malinda Lo's ASH a book for anyone who enjoys a richly imagined fantasy written in lyrial language, with well-defined characters? Does the gender of the author or the love interest of the protagonist limit who, as a reader, might love the book? I sincerely hope not - because this is a book (and an author) who deserves to be embraced by many readers, and who has, I am happy to note, found a wide following. Yes, I know the reality is that boys gravitate toward books featuring male protagonists, not books depicting females on the cover, for the most part. But I, for one, am not willing to accept the status quo. I never have been. As long as I am alive, I hope to fight for equality - and that includes fighting against gender divides in books.

Through my Daughter’s Eyes: Lessons Learned from YA Lit  
Dr. Susan Densmore-James, a.k.a. The Book Dealer
Elena, a.k.a The Junior Book Dealer

​As a researcher and lover of knowledge, the first impulse was to read every piece of research I could find.  After near-memorization of “Attack of the Teenage Brain” (Medina, 2018) and books on bibliotherapy, I realized there are a huge number of researchers who, in many respects, can speak to the adolescents’ needs way better than I.  In fact, every time I write an article, my first reaction is panic; I label myself unworthy, so I feel the need to read every publication related to the topic.  I spent many hours down “the rabbit hole” reading further research on bibliotherapy, adolescence, and the value of YA lit.   What did I realize? Well, a lot, but first off, I am an expert.  An educator of 29 years (teaching middle and high schoolers for 17 of those), my student-given nickname of The Book Dealer based on my ability to match readers with text, and now a mom to my own teen are not weak credentials.

Navigating Middle School and Coming Out: Why You Need to Meet Eric Bell's  Alan Cole by Emily Wender

Voices and Voices: An Epiphany, a Plan, and a Plea by Jennifer Paulsen

​...How often did they ask me why I would not wear a dress. How they frequently berated me and urged me to confess that To put on the clothes of men was   a foul abomination. They said it was a mortal sin and even promised me salvation from the smoke and scorching fire if I would just recant and put on women’s attire, the way, they said that God himself intended (74).

I would face my death unafraid and proud. If that meant that my tunic would also be my shroud, then I would enter Paradise a bright and shining jewel, not an abomination but the way that God has made me, his singular creation (75).

Lesley Roessing reminded me that Feb. 9 was Stop Bullying Day. With a bit more research I also found out that Feb. 22 is Anti-Bullying Day in Canada. Lesley is one of the most prolific readers I know. It was great to finally meet her in person at NCTE last November. She has written for the blog several times before. You can find her previous entries here, here, here, here, here, and here. In addition, she provided the Weekend picks for May of 2018.  If you don't have a ready list of books about bullying, you should bookmark this post. It will serve you and your students well. In fact, if you need a list of books about any topic it is time you had a conversation with Lesley.

Books to Build Conversations about Bullying Lesley Roessing

1. Thompson, Holly. Orchards. Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2011.

In addition to the statistics above, a study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying and that 10 to 14 year old girls may be at even higher risk for suicide. As the social hierarchy intensifies in middle school, girls form cliques and can get meaner. PBS Parenting explains that much of this behavior stems from the intense desire to belong, the need to feel powerful, and the conditioning that many girls have to not express their feelings directly. Some girls function as leaders, others as followers, and the rest live outside the groups. In this powerful verse novel, Kana Goldberg, an American middle school girl, feels guilty when Ruth, a classmate, commits suicide:

Weeks, Sarah and Varadarajan, Gita. Save Me a Seat. Scholastic Press, 2016

​3. Cerra, Kerry O’Malley. Just a Drop of Water. Sky Pony Press, 2014.

4. Wilhelm, Doug. The Revealers. Square Fish, 2011.

The Revealers presents bullying as the entire focus of the novel—not just a side issue. The story emphasizes the efficacy of cooperative action when three students who are bullied collaborate on facing bullying with nonviolent action, scientifically studying why students bully. They publish their experiences, and others begin sharing their stories as victims and bullies to be posted on school-wide media. The book highlights creative solutions to problems, using the scientific method, and the three students’ research—in cooperation with many members of the student body, including the school’s most feared bully—becomes a science fair exhibit which brings the problem to the notice of the principal and a school board member. The novel highlights the problem of administrative denial and even acceptance, which, unfortunately, is too realistic.

5. Harmon, Mike. Stick. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2015.

​Patterson ("Stick") is a football player, but with the overwhelming pressure from his father and his coach, he has lost the love of playing. Preston is an individual who has no friends but lives life on his own terms as he struggles with the guilt and trauma of his father's death; to compensate, he dresses as a superhero and, in disguise, he helps others in need. When the two teens become friends, Preston encourages Stick to decide if he wants to remain on the team. His decision to quit appears to derail his life when his father kicks him out of the house and his former friends on the team savagely bully not only him but also Preston. Taking charge of his life actually helps Patterson get back on track, a track that follows his heart and helps him save his father. The relationship between Stick and Preston shows the importance of standing up for others and how that action can lead to standing up for oneself.

6. Magoon, Kekla. Camo Girl. Aladdin, 2011.

​Camo Girl is an important story, written for readers in Grades 5 and up. Ella and Z are sixth-grade outcasts, and they are best friends. But they are not best friends because they are outcasts; they are there to support each other against bullies—no questions asked, no matter how weirdly Z acts and how Ella looks. When a new student befriends Ella, she thinks she may have to choose between popularity and her friendship with Z, but just maybe the popular Bailey, who has his own view of reality, can help both of them. This novel provides a good read for young adolescents, both boys and girls, who just want to be accepted by their peers.

7. Holt, K.A. Rhyme Schemer. Chronicle Books, 2014.

​Seventh-grader Kevin, main character of this hilarious verse novel, is bullied by his older brother. In turn, he bullies kids at school. When he gets in trouble, he can no longer be caught bullying, and, as a result, two things occur: his former victims begin bullying him and he finds a secret way to bully others—through black-out poetry. The school librarian shows him that he actually has a talent, Kevin realizes he can be important though his poetry, rather than through his reputation as a bully.

8. Erskine, Kathryn. Quaking. Philomel, 2007

Quaking hits one of the most important topics in adolescent life—bullying—from all sides. Bullies are not only teenage boys (although there is one of those in this novel) and their followers but can be teachers, parents, and adults who bully each other, misusing their power over others. And bullies are bullies for a variety of reasons. This novel can serve as a map, illustrating ways to deal with bullies. The reader cares about eighth grader Matt—possibly more than she does about herself—and her new family, Quakers, who helps her value herself and find her voice. ​

9. Sonnenblick, Jordan. The Secret Sheriff of Sixth Grade. Scholastic Press, 2017.

​Much bullying begins in sixth grade. The Secret Sheriff of Sixth Grade provides important topics for middle grade students to read and discuss—bullying and abuse—told with engaging, addictive humor. Reluctant readers will cheer for Maverick, a young hero readers will love.

10. Gregorio, I.W. None of the Above. Balzer + Bray, 2015.

11. Deloza. Lara. Winning. HarperTeen, 2016.

Another type of bullying is manipulation. Alexandra Miles’ main ambition, actually obsession, of the year is to be crowned Homecoming Queen—a step on her way to Miss America. Alexandra carefully orchestrates every step, every word, every emotion—hers and those of others around her. She is mean, but not the typical mean girl; she is an actual frenemy—friend of enemy, depending on what it gets her. And Alexandra always has a plan. Many chapters are narrated by Alexandra; others are narrated by her victims and accomplices or victims who become accomplices and vice versa. At the end, others stooping to her level but no one is hurt, and the ending could generate classroom or book club discussions on how to beat bullies at their own game without becoming them.

12. Rawl, Paige and Benjamin, Ali. Positive: A Memoir

​Positive relates a true story, the story of Paige Rawl who was born HIV positive. In sixth grade she shares her secret with her best friend who tells all their friends.  Paige is then bullied by her classmates, and her coaches, her counselor, and administrators refuse to intervene, resulting in a suicide attempt. Positive is actually a story about surviving bullying rather than surviving illness and having the courage to face the world and share her journey.

13. Dean, Carolee. Forget Me Not. Simon Pulse, 2012.

Shaming is defined as the act of publicly criticizing and drawing attention to someone and, therefore, is a form of bullying.   One of the more interesting novels is the multi-genre Forget Me Not in which the author creatively employs a variety of poetic forms (and script writing) to identify the characters and alter the mood of the plot so subtly as to not disrupt the reading and the reader. The storyline, will provoke important conversations among teens about cyberbullying, shaming, and suicide. In response to a compromising photo of her that is texted and causes all her schoolmates to shame her, Ally commits suicide —or so she thinks—as her only way out. A friend tries to save her by showing her that her life has value and that she can make the decision to live.

14. Blount, Patty. Some Boys. Sourcebooks Fire, 2014.

​This unforgettable novel features an adolescent who has been raped and shamed but stands up for herself, even again the rapist’s best friend. In this provocative novel Grace and Ian narrate alternating chapters, and when Ian questions the way she dresses, Grace asks why her clothing choices should matter or be assumed to send a message.

15. Summers, Courtney. All the Rage. St. Martin's Griffin, 2015.

​In All the Rage Romy has been assaulted by the sheriff’s son. No one believes her allegations and, by coming forward, she is bullied by her former friends. As other girls become hurt, Romy has to decide how hard she will fight to be believed.

16. Thompson, Holly. Falling into the Dragon’s Mouth. Henry Holt and Co., 2016

17. Korman, Gordon. Restart. Scholastic Press, 2017.

18. Squint. Morris, Chad and Shelly Brown. Shadow Mountain, 2018.

19. Haston, Meg. How to Rock Braces and Glasses. Poppy, 2013.

20. Baskin, Nora Raleigh. Runt. Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers. 2013.

21. Kelly, Erin Entrada. Hello, Universe. Greenwillow Books, 2017.

22. Connor, Leslie. The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle. Katherine Tegen Books, 2018.

23. Buyea, Rob. The Perfect Score. Delacourte Press, 2017.

24. McAnulty, Stacy. The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl. Random House,
2018.

25. Friend, Natasha. How We Roll. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018.

26. Magoon, Kekla. The Season of Styx Malone. Wendy Lamb Books, 2018.

27. Abbott, Tony. Firegirl, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2006.

28. Abbott, Tony. The Great Jeff. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2019.

29. Shovan, Laura. Takedown, Wendy Lamb Books/Random House Children's Books, 2018.

30. Lenz, Niki, Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen. Random House, 2019.

31. Nesbet, Anne. The Orphan Band of Springdale. Candlewick Press, 2918.

32. Perkins, Mitali. Forward Me Back to You. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019.

33. Hunt, Lynda Mullaly. Shouting at the Rain. Nancy Paulsen Books, 2019.

34. Warner, Sally. EllRay Jakes the Dragon Slayer. Viking Books for Young Readers, 2013.

35. Warner, Sally. Absolutely Alfie and the Worst Best Sleepover. Puffin Books, 2018.

36. Kerascoet.  I Walk with Vanessa: A Story about a Simple Act of Kindness. Schwartz & Wade Books, 2018.

And last, a picture book to introduce conversations about bullying and the decision to be a bully, a bystander or an upstander is a wordless picture book with an essential message.

Preface ​Ashley Boyd ​Ashley S. Boyd is Assistant Professor of English Education at Washington State University. Boyd’s current research project investigates the development and enactment of social action projects with secondary students.  Her recently published book with Teachers College Press, Social Justice Literacies in the English Classroom:  Teaching Practice in Action, analyzes case studies of practicing English teachers to identify specific pedagogic approaches for advancing equity both inside and outside of the classroom.

​SECTION I:
​Gun Violence in Schools: What Does History Tell Us?

Ch. 1 
​It’s the Gun     
​Chris Crutcher

Crutcher’s years as teacher, then director, of a K-12 alternative school in Oakland, California through the nineteen-seventies, and his subsequent twenty-odd years as a therapist specializing in child abuse and neglect, inform his thirteen novels and two collections of short stories.  “I have forever been intrigued by the extremes of the human condition,” he says, “the remarkable juxtaposition of the ghastly and the glorious.  As Eric ‘Moby’ Calhoun tells us at the conclusion of Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, ‘Ain’t it a trip where heroes come from’.”   He has also written what he calls an ill-advised autobiography titled King of the Mild Frontier, which was designated by “Publisher’s Weekly” as “the YA book most adults would have read if they knew it existed.” ​

Ch. 2  ​ 
​History of Violence: Guns, U.S. Education, and American Exceptionalism 
P. L. Thomas

P. L. Thomas, Professor of Education (Furman University), taught high school English for 18 years in South Carolina before moving to teacher education and teaching first-year writing. He has been a column editor/co-editor for English Journal (National Council of Teachers of English) under two editorships and is author of Beware the Roadbuilders (Garn Press) and Teaching Writing as Journey, Not Destination: Essays Exploring What “Teaching Writing” Means (IAP). Follow his work at  @plthomasEdD and  http://radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/  Abstract: High-profile school shootings from Columbine in Colorado to Newtown in Connecticut and Parkland in Florida have been met with public shock and political “thoughts and prayers.” This chapter explores the history of school shootings, and the important research base on how to respond against public and political numbness and flawed responses in the U.S.

Ch. 3
Unreal: How the Rest of the World Views U.S. Gun Policy
​David Belbin

​David Belbin is a novelist, a senior lecturer in Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent University and the Chair of Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature.   Abstract: David Belbin's chapter, 'Unreal' considers how the rest of the world views U.S. policy on gun violence from the perspective of a YA author living in a UK city that briefly had a reputation for gun violence.

Ch. 4
#NeverAgain: Considering the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Student Activists’ Media Representations through a Youth Lens
Christian Z. Goering  

Christian Z. Goering is professor of English education at the University of Arkansas and currently serves as Director of the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project and Chair of the English Language Arts Teacher Educators. Goering has co-authored one book, co-edited three books, authored or co-authored over 65 articles and book chapters, served as PI or Co-PI for over $1,000,000 in grants and contracts, and has given numerous refereed and invited presentations at regional, national, and international conferences. In 2018, his co-edited book, Critical Media Literacy and Fake News in Post Truth America, was selected as a recipient of the 2019 Divergent Award for Excellence in 21st Century Literacies Research, http://www.initiativefor21research.org/the-divergent-award.html.

Section ​II: 
Reading About School Violence: Books that Explore School Shootings and Their Aftermath     

Ch. 5
What We Know and What We Can Do: Using  Mercy Rule to Help Students Understand the Causes and Warning Signs of School Violence
James Blasingame

James Blasingame focuses on young adult literature, Indigenous education, secondary writing instruction, preparing pre-service teachers, and cowboy poetry. He is the executive director of the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English (ALAN) and has also been ALAN president and The ALAN Review co-editor. For 14 years he was editor of the “Books for Adolescents and Adults” pages of the Journal of Adult and Adolescent Literacy. He is the author or coauthor of John Green: Teen Whisperer, Stephenie Meyer: Into Twilight, Using Mentor Texts: Middle School, Books That Don’t Bore ‘Em: Young Adult Literature for Today’s Generation, and several others.

Ch. 6
Looking for Hope—and Helpers—in Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock 
​Gretchen Rumohr-Voskuil

Gretchen Rumohr-Voskuil (ghr001@aquinas.edu) is an associate professor of English and department chair at Aquinas College, where she teaches writing and language arts methods.  She lives, happily reads, and walks her five-pound Yorkshire Terrier in west Michigan, despite its epic lake effect snowfall. Abstract: This chapter proposes before, during, and after reading activities that can help students discuss, empathize with, and learn from the perspective of a potential shooter and suicide victim.

Ch. 7
Adolescent Counter-Storytelling: Finding Youth Voice and Truth in That’s Not What Happened
Shelly Shaffer

Dr. Shelly Shaffer is Assistant Professor of Literacy in the Department of Education at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, WA. Dr. Shaffer earned her PhD in English Education from Arizona State University in 2015. Dr. Shaffer taught middle school and high school English for 13 years in Arizona, and she now uses her experience to teach courses in content area literacy and writing, secondary methods, Young adult literature, children’s literature, and various graduate courses. She has published in The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, English Journal, and Journal of Multicultural Education. She has also written several book chapters and co-edited the recent book Contending with Gun Violence in the English Language Classroom. Her current research interests are Young Adult literature, reading motivation, flipped classrooms, mentoring, and multimedia integration in teacher education programs.

Ch. 8
Exploring the Blame Game Through the Lens of the Scout: Reading and Writing About Give a Boy a Gun
 Melissa Williamson-Pulkkinen  

Melissa Williamson-Pulkkinen is a writing professor at Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth, NH and the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. She has published articles in English Journal and Signal Journal. Prior to earning her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction at Arizona State University, she taught high school English in Northern Virginia. ​

Section III:
Recovering from Trauma, Finding Allies, and Taking Action Towards Social Justice

Ch. 9
Welcoming Ghosts into Our Classroom: Long Way Down 
Sarah J. Donovan

Sarah J. Donovan, PhD, is a junior English language arts teacher and adjunct professor in middle and secondary education. She wrote Genocide Literature in Middle and Secondary Classrooms (2016) and the young adult novel Alone Together (2018).  Dr. Donovan’s writes the  the Books in Review (2019) column for The ALAN Review and serves as a state representative and board member for The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE (ALAN). She presents at local, national, and international conferences about readers’ and writers’ workshop and has hosts a weekly blog, Ethical ELA. She has contributed chapters to The Best Lesson Series (Talks with Teachers, 2018), Queer Adolescent Literature as a Complement to the English Language Arts Curriculum (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018), and Moving Beyond Loss to Societal Grieving (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018).

Ch. 10
This is Not a Drill: Exploring the After-Effects of Traumatic Events with Are You Still There by Sarah Lynn Scheerger
​Maria Hernadez Goff

Maria Hernandez Goff is an Assistant Professor of Literacy Education at California State University, Fresno. Her previous experience as a secondary English language arts teacher shapes her research interests centering on adolescent literacies, multiliteracies, and teacher learning and development.    Abstract: This is not a drill: Exploring the after-effects of traumatic events with Are you still there by Sarah Lynn Scheerger provides before, during, and after reading activities to prompt teachers and students to explore the post-bomb threat experiences of the novel's characters and creates inquiries into how schools and communities respond to similar events.

Ch. 11
What He Knows and What He Will Say: Voicing for Justice in All American Boys 
Alice Hays

Alice Hays is an Assistant Professor of Education at California State University, Bakersfield. After 19 years of teaching high school English and coaching and judging winter guard, she recognizes the amazing power of secondary students to be agents of change. She earned her PhD in English education from Arizona State University in 2017. Her current research interests are Young Adult Literature, Youth Participatory Action Research, rural educational systems and residency programs. This has led her to study the ways that young adult literature can tap into that capacity and her research explores the ways YA impacts students’ and teachers’ pro-social behavior. Some publications can be found in the ALAN review, Study and Scrutiny the Southern Oregon English Journal, and the Journal of American Indian Education. ​

Ch. 12
Making Good Trouble: John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell’s March  Trilogy and the Lessons of the Civil Rights Movement
Meghan Sweeny

​Meghan Sweeney is an associate professor of English at UNC Wilmington, where she teaches courses in children’s and adolescent literature and popular culture. She has published articles in Children's Literature, Children's Literature in Education, The Lion and the Unicorn, Children’s Literature Association Quarterly, and The ALAN Review, among others, and in the collection Letting Go: Feminist and Social Justice Insight and Activism. She is the co-editor of a collection of essays on the cultural, economic, and aesthetic significance of campus spaces entitled Remaking the American College Campus.

Section IV:
​Writing Beyond Fear by Addressing the Issues 

Ch. 13
On Rhetorical Analysis, Teaching, and the American Culture of Guns
​Jonathan Bush

Jonathan Bush teaches English education, writing, and rhetoric at Western Michigan University, where he also directs the Third Coast Writing Project. He is also a public affairs officer in the Navy Reserve and an Afghanistan veteran.    Abstract: This chapter provides a method and a discussion of how to use rhetorical analysis as a means of better understanding the rhetoric used around discussions of gun culture. By teaching these sorts of methods, we can empower our students and ourselves to engage critically with messaging and rhetoric designed to influence the conversation around guns and gun control.

Ch. 14
Writing through Pain: How Teachers can Support Writing as Therapy for Students Processing Trauma
Jason J. Griffith

​Jason Griffith is an Assistant Professor of Education at Penn State University. A National Board Certified Teacher and Fellow of the National Writing Project, Jason taught middle and high school English for 12 years before earning a PhD in English Education from Arizona State University.    Abstract: What happens when students self-select personal writing as a way to work through violent trauma they've experienced? This chapter features strategies and suggestions for teachers from a student who wrote personally in response to violent trauma.

Ch. 15
Writing in the Margins: Students’ Voices in the Aftermath of Trauma
Jim Fredricksen and Joe Dillon

James E Fredricksen is an associate professor of English Education at Boise State University and a co-director of the Boise State Writing Project.   Abstract: This chapter inquires into the ways two young people involved in the March for Our Lives Movement, Edna Chavez and Kai Koerber, create texts (a speech, tweets) to move their audiences to take action.

Section V:
​Arming Teachers with Words, Stories, and Power 

Ch. 16
​When the Gun isn’t Metaphorical: Educating Teachers in the Age of School Shootings
Melanie Shoffner

Melanie Shoffner is Associate Professor of English Education at James Madison University. Her recent work includes the edited book Exploring Teachers in Fiction and Film, articles in The Journal of Language and Literacy Education and Ubiquity: The Journal of Literature, Literacy, and the Arts. Her research and writing focus on the dispositional, relational and reflective development of preservice English teachers. A former high school English teacher, Dr. Shoffner recently spent a year in Romania as a Fulbright Scholar and currently directs the JMU College of Education’s Semester in Salamanca program.