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A Fair Maiden by Joyce Carol writerFifteen-year-old Katya Spivak and much older Marcus Kidder develop a relationship that seems friendly at the beginning, but throughout the story grows into something more iniquitous. Working class nanny Katya is impressed by artist Marcus's affluence and interesting lifestyle.
genres mystery thriller keywords child abuse - rape or sexual assault - young girl being prayed upon by an older man - class - revenge content warnings profanity: mild - violence: yes - sex: no languages English length 231 pages -
Maze Runner by James Dashner writer
After a solar flare results in an extinction level catastrophe on earth the last of humanity tries to survive. Teenagers are put in a place called the Glade, a walled off settlement. On the other side of the walls lies a gigantic maze inhabited by monsters. Every month a new teenager is sent to the Glade, but that then stops. The first book follows Thomas and his attempt to escape the maze and the surrounding events.
genres young adult science fiction mystery keywords dystopia content warnings profanity: no - violence: yes - sex: no languages English length 6 Books, the first is 375 pages long source material related works To me it appears almost like a child friendly version of the horror film "The Cube". availability of fanfiction Between 1000 and 50,000 entries on FanFiction.net notes Three main books, two prequel books and a side story are the full range of the Maze Runner novel series. -
Persona 5 by Naoya Maeda and P Studio designer, developer, Atlus publisherThe player controls a teenager who walks home one night and witnesses a drunk man assaulting a woman. He intervenes and the man gets hurt. It turns out that the man is a very powerful politician and the almost rape-victim covers for him and the player character gets punished for the crime of saving her. He gets transferred into a new school in Tokyo where he befriends other students but quickly finds out that the sports teacher, a former Olympian athlete, abuses his position of power. One of the PCs friends, Ryouji, had his leg broken by that teacher and another, Ann, is on the verge of being blackmailed into having sex with him to save her best friend from the same fate. As authorities and other adults either dont believe them or actively help covering the situation up, the characters decide to revolt against that teacher and the machinations of power.
genres drama action mystery keywords addiction - divorce - domestic violence - homophobia - racism - rape or sexual assault - sexism - substance abuse - suicide - torture - rebellion - abuse of power - anarchism - solidarity - friendship - psychology content warnings profanity: mild - violence: yes - sex: yes languages English length 6000 minutes more or less source material related works Persona 3 and 4 have completely different stories, characters and locations but have a stronger focus on the personal psychology of the individual characters. Neon Genesis Evangelion of course as the quintessential exploration and deconstruction of psychology in western society. availability of fanfiction Between 1000 and 50,000 entries on FanFiction.net notes The Persona series has a long and well deserved reputation of handling difficult psychological themes with great skill and empathy. The works of C.G. Jung especially. With Persona 5 the focus shifts a little from the individual to the society that creates psychological issues and the men and women who exploit that. The game is prohibitingly long for the EFLC unless it becomes a project that will last for half the school year. But the first story arch, with the abusive teacher, should take less than 20 hours which is comparable to any novel of decent length for most teenagers. The topics brought up are important and in many ways essential to teenagers growing up in power or authority centric societies like ours are, and the game does not handle them lightly but with the care and pluralist view that such serious topics need. It is a great exploration of power abuse and what the powerelss can do against it and takes a stand against putting the blame on victims or declaring them "divergents". It is as much a exploration of Revolution as it is of Empathy. Paired with great anime art and award winning music this game can be a great base for dicussions or writing fanfiction for the teacher who wants to be challenged and wants to challenge his or her pupils. The game is perfectly suitable for 16 and up and in almost all cases will also be suitable for many teenagers 14 and up, but of course in a classroom context that might be not applicable to all classes. -
Pretty Little Liars by I. Marlene King developer - producerAfter their "leader" disappears without a trace the remining three girls of the formerly four girl strong clique, start receiving mysterious and threatening messages by someone only referring to themself as A. The threats evolve and the girls get tortured for wrongdoings they commited in their lifes and while they first believe that the messages come from their lost friend, developments during the series make it clear that these messages come from someone else.
genres young adult mystery keywords self-harm - torture - small town - friendship - trust content warnings profanity: mild - violence: yes - sex: no languages English length 160 episodes of around 45 minutes source material related works Loosely based on the Young Adult novel series Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard. availability of fanfiction Between 1000 and 50,000 entries on FanFiction.net notes The series walks the fine line between teen cliché and Slasher flick, some critics consider it to be more stumbling between those two. Generally it is considered to have had a slow start and picking up quality during the course of the first three seasons. -
Riverdale by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa developer
Riverdale is an adaptation and continuation of the Archie comics. The series subverses many aspects of those comics showing the dark side of what lies beyond the wholesome facade of small towns. It is also not epsiodic but rather a continous plot. Plotlines inlcude a love triangle and sudden character dissapearances. The series is still ongoing.
genres drama young adult mystery keywords substance abuse - subversion content warnings profanity: no - violence: yes - sex: yes languages English length 35 episodes in 2 seasons, each episode around 45 minutes source material availability of fanfiction Between 1000 and 50,000 entries on FanFiction.net notes Based on the Archie comic series, which started in 1942 and is one of the longest running comic series. -
Sherlock by Mark Gatiss creator, Steven Moffat creator
A reimagining of the Sherlock Holmes stories set in 21st century London. The series begins by exploring the meeting, relationship and character development of Dr. John Watson, an army doctor who has returned to England after being injured in Iraq, and Sherlock Holmes, an eccentric but brilliant young man who assists the London police in solving crimes and offers his services to the general public as a consulting detective. There are 4 series/seasons of the show plus one stand-alone special for a total of a total of 13 90-minute episodes. Many of these reimagine and update the original Sherlock Holmes stories and characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle. These re-imagings incorporate present day technology use and update the roles of these 19th century characters to deal with 21st century realities. Other major themes explored include Sherlock Holmes’ personal growth, his relations to his family, his personal history, his drug use, and his ability to develop relationships with colleagues and friends.
genres mystery crime keywords addiction - major character death - substance abuse - suicide content warnings profanity: mild - violence: yes - sex: yes languages English length 13 90-minute episodes (4 seasons of 3 episodes and one special) source material related works The Sherlock Holmes Stories availability of fanfiction More than 100,000 entries on Archive for Our Own, FanFiction.net, Wattpad notes Fanfiction is available for the television series may also merge with fan fiction for the original Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle or with other interpretations of Sherlock Holmes such as the US television series Elementary. -
Stranger Things by The Duffer Brothers creators
In the fictional town of Hawkins during the 1980s a young boy disappears during a series of supernatural events. The friends of the boy search for him and are joined by a girl with psychokinetic powers. They find out that the nearby government research station is conducting experiments with human beings. These experiments lead to a dimensional rift opening and pouring super natural elements into our reality.
genres drama mystery science fiction keywords substance abuse - human experiments - conspiracy theories (in a wider sense) content warnings profanity: mild - violence: yes - sex: no languages English length 17 episodes at about 50 minutes each source material related works The 2011 film Super 8 by J. J. Abrams does a much better job in emulating 80s style films and sensibilities. Also a good source for fanfiction writing though the film is more focused on Science Fiction and filmmaking. availability of fanfiction Between 1000 and 50,000 entries on Archive of Our Own notes Part 1980s nostalgia shot in a way taht is not qite right for those who lived through the 80s but still distinct enough from modern color grading that it makes the series visually distinct. The premise makes it a good source for creative fanfiction, though it may be hard for teenagers today to write in a 1980s setting. Maybe adapting it to modern day could be a good premise for a class project. -
The Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle writer
The Sherlock Holmes stories (or canon) consists of both short stories and novels that follow the crime-solving adventures of the world’s first consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his friend and colleague, Dr. John Watson. The stories take place between 1880 and 1914 England, and include crimes being investigated by the London police as well as mysteries for which Holmes and Watson have been hired by private individuals to help resolve. A hallmark of these stories is the use of forensic science and deduction which Holmes pioneers to solve crimes and mysteries. Language, stories, and mysteries reflect the mores of the time and context and include more minor roles for women, acceptance of racial segregation, and reinforcement of social class. Particularly noteworthy elements of these stories also include the importance of heightened observation and reason.
genres crime mystery keywords major character death - racism - sexism - substance abuse - adventure - friendship content warnings profanity: mild - violence: yes - sex: no languages English length 56 short-stories and 4 novels; length varies source material related works Sherlock availability of fanfiction Between 1000 and 50,000 entries on Archive on Our Own, FanFiction.net notes Fanfiction for the Sherlock Holmes stories may include influences from other interpretations of Sherlock Holmes including, for instance, the Sherlock (BBC) television series, the Grenada Sherlock Holmes television series staring Jeremy Brett, and the CBS television series Elementary, among others.
Digital stories from fans in the multilingual classroom
