This book contains a collection of 14 original essays. The purpose of the book is to inform teachers, librarians, and other professionals working with young people about aspects of African-American literature and to stimulate further thinking about this literature. After an introduction, chapters in the book are: (1) "African-American Young Adult Biography: In Search of the Self" (Carol Jones Collins); (2) "And Bid Her Sing: A White Feminist Reads African-American Female Poets" (Kay E. Vandergrift); (3) "Feminist Theories and the Voices of Mothers and Daughters in Selected African-American Literature for Young Adults" (Hilary Crew); (4) "Periodical Literature for African-American Young Adults: A Neglected Resource" (Lynn S. Cockett and Janet R. Kleinberg); (5) "The New Seed: Depictions of the Middle Class in Recent African-American Young Adult Literature" (Dianne Johnson-Feelings); (6) "Color and Class: An Exploration of Responses in Four African-American Coming-of-Age Novels" (Linda J. Zoppa); (7) "Man to Man: Portraits of the Male Adolescent in the Novels of Walter Dean Myers" (Dennis Vellucci); (8) "Through a Glass Clearly: Positive Images of African-American Fathers in Young Adult Literature" (Marcia Baghban); (9) "A Chronicle of Family Honor: Balancing Rage and Triumph in the Novels of Mildred D. Taylor" (Karen Patricia Smith); (10) "Children of the Diaspora: Four Novels about the African-Caribbean Journey" (Lucille H. Gregory); (11) "Virginia Hamilton's 'Justice' Trilogy: Exploring the Frontiers of Consciousness" (Millicent Lenz); (12) "Octavia E. Butler: New Designs for a Challenging Future" (Janice Antczak); (13) "Voodoo Visions: Supernatural African Themes in Horror Literature" (Cosette Kies); and (14) "An Exploratory Study: Using On-Line Databases to Analyze the Dispersion of Contemporary African-American Young Adult Literature" (Edna Reid). (Contains an index.) (CR)