Romantic Horror Show: Building Readerly Identities through Blood, Guts, and the Long Kiss Goodnight

In too many high school classrooms, genre-specific young adult (YA) literature—particularly romance and horror—is dismissed as lesser, unserious, or developmentally unworthy. Yet these genres dominate teen reading and offer rich, standards-aligned learning opportunities. This session invites educators to reflect on genre reading, its value in fostering readerly identity, and its untapped potential for engaging teens in rigorous analysis.