This article explores the ways some adolescent African American girls engage with urban fiction, a genre often maligned as "trash" literature. This project sought to understand the appeal of the genre as well as adolescent African American girls' perceptions about the texts. Based on findings, which suggest that participants are engaging with the genre in critical ways, conclusions may support non-traditional approaches to helping adolescent Africa American girls deconstruct and challenge stereotypic and dominant messages about the underrepresented lives of African Americans.