Young adults deserve our best as parents, educators and community members. The Michael L. Printz award winning books, instituted by the Young Adult Library Association, form a recent grouping of current literature. Novels worthy of the Printz Award explore physical, emotional, and social themes important in the lives of young adults. This library may provide the kind of springboard that will allow students to give voice to feelings about complex contemporary issues that will have an impact on their personal growth and academic success. By providing young America with the most current, effective, and thought-provoking literature, teachers can challenge students to find lasting solutions to crippling circumstances. Current young adult literature infused in our classrooms may elevate our learning environments to promote optimal learning and healing. The Printz authors hail from various parts of the globe and their stories embody enough material relevant to the lives of today's youth that teachers can match book choice to specific difficulties their students may face, whether academic, social, emotional, or familial. By fostering both personal and academic growth, such a tailored approach is superior to assigning a classic canon of literature without regard to the specific needs of students. Using current vernacular easily accessible for today's students, this literature goes right to the heart of matters concerning abuse (mental, physical, drug), separation and divorce, unplanned pregnancies, death, and suicide--all issues that plague today's students. By exploring the challenges of contemporary characters to whom adolescents can relate, and whose problems seem immediately pertinent, this literature may be able to help readers find answers to difficult questions. Primary research will include personal interviews with both Michael L. Printz award winning authors and the students who have read their books. Workshops with the students will be conducted at Pinelands Regional High School in Tuckerton, New Jersey. All components will be designed and analyzed to determine the effectiveness of current literature used within the high school setting, Differentiated instruction in conjunction with a cross-curricular approach, all undergirded with multiple intelligence theory can be applied in combination to achieve best practices in education. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]