Zombies In The Classroom Analysis

Zombies in the Classroom

Does zombie lit have a place in the high school classroom? In my opinion, zombie lit does have a place in the high school classroom like all genres have a place. Stephanie Meyer’s vampires, J.K. Rowling’s wizards, and Maggie Stiefvater’s werewolves are already on high school library shelves. However, the issue arises of what books within the genres should we include. Breathers is a novel that I would not include in a high school classroom. Breathers is an adult novel with adult content. The students in a high school classroom are teen readers. There is a fine line of content that should be analyzed to determine if the novel is a young adult novel or an adult novel. In the library Breathers was found in the adult section. It has mature content that could upset parents and students alike.

To compare, P.C. Cast is one of my favorite authors. I read most of her books when I was in high school. The House of Night series was a young adult series. I knew many other students who read the books and enjoyed them. However, I dug deeper into an P.C. Cast’s other works and found The Goddess Summoning series. I enjoyed this series. However, it held many adult themes and explicit scenes that made me embarrassed to read at school.

It was an interesting novel. I believe that it had some scenes that are too inappropriate for students. I would not include this book on my shelf for that reason and the fact that the book is listed for adults due to the story’s unique elements. However, I would include other zombie novels in my classroom that are appropriate for teen readers. As teachers, it is our duty to review books before placing them onto classroom shelves. I do not see this as censoring students from novels. I believe this to be more of an outward show of providing students with literature that is in their zone of proximal development. Any literature outside of their zone of proximal development can hinder students