This case study, conducted at a large suburban high school with two sections of a contemporary literature class for struggling 12th grade students, sought to understand how repurposing a non-educational technology such as Goodreads might impact adolescents' academic literacy practices and events. Incorporating Goodreads in a high school classroom allowed the researcher to examine how the design of this learning environment affected students' views of themselves as readers and writers, as well as their academic products. The three research questions addressed were: (1) How does the use of Goodreads affect the literacy practices of adolescents in a high school class? (2) How does the use of Goodreads affect the literacy events in a high school class? (3) How can Goodreads be effectively integrated with the existing curriculum in an English language arts classroom? While there was no significant change in the students' literacy practices, there were changes in the observable literacy events. The students wrote more text when reviewing books on Goodreads as compared to in-class worksheets. The teacher also expressed surprise that students who typically did not complete assignments did complete the activities using Goodreads. The study also demonstrated the use of the Social Infrastructure Framework proposed by Bielaczyc (2006) as a useful guide for planning the use of Goodreads in the classroom. This research provides a baseline for future exploration into ways teachers can use Goodreads to reach students in ELA classrooms. It could also serve as the basis for a customized Goodreads interface for educational settings. [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.]