The Author: Chris Richards is Reader in Education at London Metropolitan University. He has a Ph.D. in media education from the University of London, and is the author of Teen Spirits: Music and Identity in Media Education (1998).

«Once again, Chris Richards shows us why cultural studies matters. A pioneer in every sense, Richards has been working the intersections between media studies and education for several years now, opening up unexplored and exciting vistas in and across each. In this book, Richards turns his sharp, critical eye to the complexities of on- and off-line literary productions – a topic he takes on with characteristic rigor and flair. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!» (Greg Dimitriadis, University at Buffalo, State University of New York)«Chris Richards complicates common sense definitions of ‘adolescence’, and provides a welcome contribution to current debates within and outside of the field of education around the relationship between real and imagined youth and popular cultural narratives.» (Elizabeth Marshall, Simon Fraser University)