YA Lit 2024

What to Expect in EN263

We’ll be reading YA novels and exploring their depths and literary qualities.

This class satisfies both GWR and CE components of Core. That means you’ll be writing a research essay on your unique Research Novel and workshopping your original fiction to produce a YA novel synopsis (summary) and a original chapter.

Dr. Moore’s Welcome Message

Learn More about the Research Project

Each student will be asked to select a YA novel for the research essay from an approved list. Browse this book list of possible Research Novels on Goodreads. Email me to claim one of the novels on the list. Because we’ll be working on the research novels the first week of class, you will need to have the novel in hand before class starts. You may even want to do your initial reading for plot over the summer. Titles are available on a first come first served basis. I remove titles from the list once students claim them.

Email me to claim one of the novels on the list. Because we’ll be working on the research novels the first week of class, you will need to have the novel in hand before class starts. You may even want to do your initial reading for plot over the summer. Titles are available on a first come first served basis.

All books on the list are available for free, either from the High Library or your local library. Students who have not made a selection by the deadline will be assigned a novel for the project.

As you read your novel, look for recurring themes, symbols, or social issues. You’ll select one of these to zero in on when you write your research essay. I like to jot down relevant page numbers as I track themes. Sometimes I mark passages with sticky notes. I often read through the novel a second time once I’ve selected my theme because then I see all of the novel in a new light.

Required Course Texts 2023

You should be able to check the novels out of your local library if you do not wish to purchase them. We’ll be reading the top two novels and discussing the YA film adaptation all together as a class. We will not view the film in class.

All-class books: Ship Breaker and The Hate U Give.

Ship Breaker is the second book we’ll read this term.
We’ll be working with the novel version of this narrative, which is different from the film. We’ll read this toward the end of the course.

All-class narrative #3: The Netflix film Moxie.

Moxie poster
Moxie is available on Netflix. You may need to buy a 1-month subscription to view the film.
**I recommend viewing the film right before our class discussion so that the details and symbols are crisp in your memory.

This will be the first novel you read for the course. You’ll sign up before a set date to choose your novel, or I’ll assign you a good one if I don’t hear from you.

You’ll definitely want your copy in hand before the semester starts. Some writers find they need to work through their book twice to gather close reading evidence.