Supernatural Youth

Edited by Jes Battis - Contributions by Michael Cisco; Alison Ching; Cary Elza; Gideon Haberkorn; David Kociemba; Alice Mills; Jennifer Moorman; R.C Neighbors; Verena Reinhardt; Hugh H. Davis; Anastasia Salter; Tiffany S. Teofilo and Jason L Winslade

The goal of Supernatural Youth: The Rise of the Teen Hero in Literature and Popular Culture, edited by Jes Battis, is to analyze the ways in which young heroic protagonists are presented in popular literary and visual texts. Supernatural Youth is essential for educators who work in the fields of English, media studies, women's studies, LGBT studies, and sociology, as well as undergraduate students who are interested in popular culture.

Introduction: Supernatural Youth, by Jes Battis Chapter One: Spiritual, Not Sexual: The Plight of the Adolescent Human Wizard in Diane Duane's Young Wizards Series, by Alice Mills Chapter Two: Magical Learning and Loss: Hermione Granger and the Female Intellectual in Harry Potter, by Alissa Burger Chapter Three: Magic, Adolescence, and Education on Terry Pratchett's Discworld, by Gideon Haberkorn and Verena Reinhardt Chapter Four: "Does the Phrase 'Vampire Slayer' Mean Anything to You?": The Discursive Construction of the Just Woman Warrior Trope in Joss Whedon's Buffy, the Vampire Slayer TV Series, by David Nel Chapter Five: Why Xander Matters: The Extraordinary Ordinary in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, by David Kociemba Chapter Six: "Kinda Gay": Queer Cult Fandom and Willow's (Bi)Sexuality in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, by Jennifer Moorman Chapter Seven: Postfeminism in a Postmodern Landscape: Navigating Difference on Veronica Mars, by Cary Elza Chapter Eight: "Bigger Things to Worry About": Allusions and the British Fantasy Tradition in Hex, by Hugh H. Davis Chapter Nine: Being Harvey Kinkel: The Laws of the Other Realm in Sabrina the Teenage Witch, by Tiffany S. Teofilo Chapter Ten: Closed Minds: Tamora Pierce's Teenagers and the Problem of Desire, by Anastasia Salter Chapter Eleven: Nerds, Geeks, and Dorks, Oh My!: The Teen Wizard as Social Outcast, by R.C. Neighbors Chapter Twelve: Breaking the Spell: Power and Choice in Holly Black's Valiant, by Alison Ching Chapter Thirteen: Enrolling in the 'Hidden School': Timothy Hunter and the Education of the Teenage Comic Book Magus, by Jason L. Winslade About the Contributors Index