“…YAL is particularly well suited to initiate these sensitive conversations. When students identify with characters or situations portrayed in YAL, they may be able to extend those connections to their own lives, or at least begin asking questions about their own perceptions (Alsup, 2015;Alsup & Miller, 2014;Glenn, Ginsberg, Gaffey, Lund, & Meagher, 2012;Hayn, Kaplan, & Nolen, 2011). Additionally, as students use novels as entry points to discuss the politics of daily life and ultimately move toward action and social justice, they must think critically about the literature they are reading, which allows them to question both their own and the characters' identity (Freire, 2005;Lewison, Flint, & Van Sluys, 2002).…”