You probably see where this is heading. I would argue that it's natural and proper for kids to want to read books about people like themselves, just as women, gays, and ethnics do. I believe a lot of ninth and tenth grade kids are starved for realism in their reading. And, as experts, they will go into that room joyfully and confidently instead of gloomily and hopelessly. I can't imagine a teacher who wouldn't love the idea of every kid coming into his or her classroom feeling ready and even anxious to participate.
Real kids do enjoy talking about the behaviors of fictional kids.
In my mind this is values education at its best, when kids are discussing, even arguing about, the suitability of this behavior over that one. The teacher mediates, asks questions, free to toss in his or her opinions, but not in such a way that kids are made to feel they must agree. These, after all, are the kinds of discussions kids have been having with each other all along, talking not about characters in a book but characters in their families, or neighborhoods, or schools. And it is as a result of these discussions, I believe, that certain values are confirmed, or modified, or sometimes learned. Please don't misunderstand.