ix Acknowledgments I am grateful to Northern Michigan University (NMU) for granting me sabbatical leave in 2017–18 to write this book and for financial support in the form of an NMU Faculty Research Grant. This funding allowed me to purchase the literary texts and other materials necessary to complete this book. In addition, the grant permitted me to share my research at confer- ences sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the NCTE (ALAN) as well as at the Summit on the Research and Teaching of Young Adult Lit- erature, sponsored by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The grant also funded my giving a series of guest lectures at the University of Central Florida. The NMU English department has been my academic home since 2001, and, from the beginning, I received encouragement for my scholarly endeavors from administrators, faculty, and students alike. In particular, I appreciate the support of my current department head, Lynn Domina my former department head, Ray Ventre my mentor Tom Hyslop and col- leagues Liz Monske and Wendy Farkas. I also want to acknowledge the phenomenal preparation I received in graduate school at Texas A & M University—Commerce (with special thanks to Donna Dunbar-Odom, Dick Fulkerson, and Bill Bolin) and, subsequently, Illinois State University (with appreciation for the guidance of Jan Neuleib, Patricia Dunn, Ken Lindblom, and Claire Lamonica). Many educators in the field of English find a professional home in national and state organizations such as NCTE, the English Language Arts Teacher Educators (ELATE), the Conference on English Leadership, and the Michigan Council of Teachers of English. I am no exception. I have been fortunate to attend many conferences sponsored by these groups and to share my ideas and research with generous colleagues from across the United States. Specifically, I would like to thank Nicole
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