YA Book Stack
YA Book Stack is an in-conversation podcast with Australian authors who discuss the application of their text in the middle years English classroom and the ways their text is reflective of the experiences of young adult readers and the world they engage with. Through a focus on the text in the classroom, YA Book Stack aims to encourage educators to embrace the flexibility of the middle years and explore a broader range of texts in their curriculum.
YA Book Stack
Ange Crawford on How to Be Normal
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Victorian Association for the Teaching of English
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Season 4
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Episode 9
This episode includes a discussion of How to Be Normal, as well as reading recommendations including:
- Someone Like Me: An anthology of non-fiction by Autistic writers
- Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta
- The Complete Dramatic Works by Samuel Beckett
- Vikki Wakefield
- How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox
- Living on Hope Street by Demet Divaroren
- When Michael Met Mina by Randa Abdel-Fattah
- Ghost Bird by Lisa Fuller
- The Skin I'm In by Steph Tisdell
- Blood Moon Bride by Demet Divaroren
- Still Life with Tornado by A.S. King
- The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction by Ursula K. Le Guin
Also discussed are:
- The ways in which English teachers give students the frameworks to understand the people they want to be, in terms of critical thinking, feminist thought, anti-racism, etc.
- A defence of young adult novels as serious literature, capable of tackling complex issues like abuse, identity and resilience, in ways that resonate with students.
- The ways personal experiences (queerness, neurodivergence, family dynamics) can inform fiction, and shape more honest, nuanced representation.
- How schools can approach “dark” themes in text studies in way that is supportive, trauma-informed, and empowering.
- Using “normality” as a lens to interrogate social pressures and difference, and embrace diversity.
- How texts foster empathy, open dialogue, and give students language for experiences they may struggle to articulate otherwise.