Using Charlie Jane Anders's Victories Greater than Death to Explore the Possibilities of Imagined Worlds and Transgender Narratives in the High School ELA Classroom

This chapter explores how speculative young adult literature can support transgender identity development and foster empathy in the high school English language arts (ELA) classroom. Focusing on Charlie Jane Anders’s novel Victories Greater than Death , this chapter argues that imagined worlds offer a unique ability for students, especially transgender and queer youth, to engage in agentive self-discovery. This chapter considers the novel’s treatment of embodiment, difference, and normativity, mapping these themes onto the challenges faced by transgender adolescents in real-world educational and sociopolitical contexts. Then, this chapter offers a sequence of teaching strategies for before, during, and after reading that center identity and genre as dual-entry points for student engagement. By rethinking how empathy and identity can function as curricular goals, this chapter reimagines the ELA classroom as a space where all students, not just those whose experiences reflect dominant norms, can begin to see themselves more clearly.