Choosing texts for the high school classroom is a delicate undertaking. If students are to transact authentically with a text, they must believe that the effort is worthwhile. This belief is especially true when it comes to "difficult texts"-- that is, texts that, according to James S. Chisholm and Kathryn F. Whitmore, challenge students with unfamiliar or even painful topics, unfamiliar genres or settings, or complicated language or literary elements. In this article, Jeraldine R. Kraver found that assignments that include strategic use of commercial study guides helped students recognize their agency as readers.