Her research interests include 19th-century American women writers, African American literature, gender theory, race theory, and Young Adult lit. She is specifically interested in the many ways girlhood is constructed and how these constructions affect, inspire, and challenge real girls. Her anthology, Female Rebellion in Young Adult Dystopian Fiction, which she co-edited with Sara Day and Amy Montz, was published in 2014. She has also published on Harriet Jacobs, Harriet Wilson, and Sarah Pogson.