Keywords

teenage boys, gender roles, adolescent behavior, young adult literature

Abstract

Today's world is loaded with dangers and dangerous people; it's a place where kids-good and bad, naive and worldly, cautious and reckless-are at risk. The sources of these risks are sometimes masked in the mixed messages children learn from society-messages about gender roles, about behavior, about what's right and what's not.

Some of the fuzzy messages that concern me most are the ones that influence the behavior of young adult males. All teachers know that teenage boys can be some of the most obnoxious creatures on earth. I know this from personal experience as a former obnoxious boy and as a teacher.

Original Publication Citation

“An Antidote for Testosterone Poisoning: YA Books Girls—and Boys—Should Read,” English Journal 91.3 (January 2002): 135-138.