From great new books to favorite classic reads, from news to the latest in on-screen adaptations, Hey YA is here to elevate the exciting world of young adult li...
"Books Connect You to a Common Experience": An Interview with Gayle Forman
Kelly talks with New York Times bestselling author Gayle Forman about her new book, about the afterlife, and about the growth and evolution of YA as a category.
Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What’s Up in YA newsletter!
A new year means a new Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons. To get recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. All Access subscribers get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. You can become an All Access member starting at $6 per month or $60 per year to get unlimited access to all members-only content in 20+ newsletters, community features, and the warm fuzzies of knowing you are supporting independent media. To join, visit bookriot.com/readharder.
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Books Discussed
After Life by Gayle Forman
Our Town by Thornton Wilder
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
The Everafter by Amy Huntley
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Not Nothing by Gayle Forman
How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
Lamar Giles on Hey YA
When The World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson
On a Wing and a Tear by Cynthia Leitich Smith
One Day by David Nicholls
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
We Need Diverse Books
Shoutouts to Lexapro and Zoloft
Gayle emailed the following additional recommendations from our segment on books about/related to the afterlife: The In Between by Hadley Vlahos, Briefly Perfectly Human by Alua Arthur, When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalinthi, and Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal.
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49:11
Let’s Talk About Demons: February's Best YA Book Releases
Kelly and Erica talk about the YA books out in February they're most excited about...and maybe a demon or two.
Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What’s Up in YA newsletter!
A new year means a new Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons. To get recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. All Access subscribers get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. You can become an All Access member starting at $6 per month or $60 per year to get unlimited access to all members-only content in 20+ newsletters, community features, and the warm fuzzies of knowing you are supporting independent media. To join, visit bookriot.com/readharder.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
News
Our Book Club Pick for our February 26th episode: Double Love by Francine Pascal (Sweet Valley High #1)
Award-Winning YA Books from the ALA Youth Media Awards
Adult novels in verse
The Rainbow ListÂ
Malinda Lo's queer YA book counts
Books Discussed
Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours
Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray
(S)Kin by Ibi Zoboi
Dropping Beats by Nathanael Lessore
The Forest King’s Daughter by Elly Blake
The Girl You Know by Elle Gonzalez Rose
The History of Everything by Victoria Evans
Hakutaku by Kouki Ishikawa
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks
Nimona by ND Stevenson
Emily the Strange by Rob Reger, Jessica Gruner, and Buzz Parker
Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham
A Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid
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58:30
Revenge All the Way Down: The Best YA Books Out in January
Kelly and Erica discuss a mega list of the best YA books of 2024, the romance bookstore boom of the last few years, and our current book club pick.
Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What’s Up in YA newsletter!
A new year means a new Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons. To get recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. All Access subscribers get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. You can become an All Access member starting at $6 per month or $60 per year to get unlimited access to all members-only content in 20+ newsletters, community features, and the warm fuzzies of knowing you are supporting independent media. To join, visit bookriot.com/readharder.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
News
The best of the best YA books for 2024
From The New York Times: Romance Bookstores Are Booming
**Book Club Alert**: Make sure to pick up Double Love by Francine Pascal, the first book in the Sweet Valley High series, for our discussion of it on February 25.
Books Discussed
Build a Girlfriend by Elba Luz
The Queen’s Spade by Sarah Raughley
Love on Paper by Danielle Parker
Dreamover by Dani Diaz
Breath of the Dragon by Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee
The Last Bookstore on Earth by Lily Braun-Arnold
A Catalog of Burnt Objects by Shana Youngdahl
Truth, Lies, and The Questions in Between by L. M. Elliott
The Assassin’s Guide to Babysitting by Natalie C. Parker
No Rules Tonight by Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada, Banned Book Club
Devour by Jazmine Joyner, illustrated by Anthony Pugh
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1:06:42
"We Are Each Others' Safes": A Conversation with Jason Reynolds
Kelly talks with YA author and children's literature champion Jason Reynolds about his career, writing the inner lives of teen boys, his favorite middle grade and YA books, and more.
Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What’s Up in YA newsletter!
A new year means a new Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons. To get recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. All Access subscribers get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. You can become an All Access member starting at $6 per month or $60 per year to get unlimited access to all members-only content in 20+ newsletters, community features, and the warm fuzzies of knowing you are supporting independent media. To join, visit bookriot.com/readharder.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
News
Jason Reynolds wins a MacArther Genius Grant
Books Discussed
When I Was The Greatest by Jason Reynolds
Coretta Scott King Book Awards
Judy Blume Forever documentary
Forever . . . by Judy Blume
George M. Johnson
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
Miles Morales: Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds
Eugene Yelchin
"Coca Cola Classic 'Polar Bears' TV commercial 1993"
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley
The Fire Next Time: A Letter to My Nephew by James Baldwin
Erin Entrada Kelly
A.S. King
Randy Ribay
King and the Dragonfly by Kacen Callender
Love That Dog and Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech
Weirdo by Tony Weaver, Jr.
Jason's recommended reading order of his books if . . .
You're a teacher or librarian planning to teach the books:
Long Way Down
Look Both Ways
Ghost
If you're an adult wanting to read them for yourself:
Boy in the Black Suit
The Track Series
As Brave As You
For Teens 14+:
Long Way Down
Ghost
All American Boys (with Brendan Kiely)
For Tweens:
Stuntboy, in the Meantime (with Raúl the Third)
Ghost
Look Both Ways
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From great new books to favorite classic reads, from news to the latest in on-screen adaptations, Hey YA is here to elevate the exciting world of young adult lit.
New Zealand