Young adult literature provides a mirror in which adolescents can observe themselves and their world with an ease and security that other kinds of texts fail to provide. It is a logical starting point for planning middle school learning experiences across the curriculum, but one that, up until now, has never fully been explored.

Stover's book is designed to help middle school teachers develop concept-based, transdisciplinary units that reflect what we know about the value of students working together to construct knowledge and the value of putting young adult literature at the center of such a planning process. The author presents a process for planning transdisciplinary units, a rationale for using young adult literature, and an overview of teaching strategies that best reflect the synthesis of this evolving knowledge base.