SSR Podcast: Recent Episodes
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Each week, freelance writer and lifelong bookworm Alli Hoff Kosik will challenge a guest to reread a literary throwback or to experience for the first time ever a book they may have missed as a kid. After that, they'll be asked to spill all the feels and all the opinions about that book on the air for your podcast-listening pleasure. Every Tuesday, you can find us breaking down an old school read from our tween and teen days on a new episode of the show. We'll cover everything from The Baby-Sitters Club to Holes, Nancy Drew to Harry Potter. This time around, we're a little wiser (yay!), a lot older (ugh.), and of legal age to drink wine... so we'll have a lot to say. Happy Reading!
This week, SSR gets a jump on Halloween festivities with a long overdue trip to R.L. Stine’s Fear Street. Specifically, Episode 288 is all about the first title in the series, The New Girl, in which a lovesick teenager falls for a villain disguised as a manic pixie dream girl. The book takes us into...
Colleen McKeegan returns this week to celebrate another book hitting the shelves and to unpack another one of her favorite summer reads from childhood. This time, it’s Fearless by Francine Pascal (RIP!)—the first title in a series of the same name that explores the nature of fear, social anxiety, vigilantism, and (of course) the dramas...
On the second installment of our SSR: WriTing Friends series, Alli and Abby focus on the writing process: plotting, pantsing, and everything in between. They talk about their own approaches to writing fiction, how those approaches might continue to evolve over time, how we learn from characters, the importance of maintaining forward motion in our...
Let’s talk about How to Eat Fried Worms! Thomas Rockwell’s 1973 book has never been out-of-print, which is a pretty big deal. On Episode 285, Alli and her guest discuss this little morsel of a novel that really is as simple as its title. They talk about gendered book marketing, how the book might be...
By popular demand, we are finally covering Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies! Alli and her guests talk about the book’s unique place in the broader dystopian genre, consider its lack of diversity, and analyze the many messages it sends about everything from body image and aging to beauty standards and friendship. This week’s guests are Neha and...
This week, SSR takes it all the way back to 1961 for a discussion about a classic: J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey. Alli and her guest talk about the book’s publishing history and deep dive into its content: insufferable men, existential dread, the nature of wisdom, quarter-life crises, and emotional states best shared via AIM...
Welcome to the first episode of SSR: WriTing Friends! This new monthly series—co-hosted by Abby Wolfe—is a fun look at the writing process from multiple perspectives and stops along the way. Broadly speaking, our goal with WTF is to make the writing process transparent at every stage and to further connect readers and writers in...
Timed appropriately (and accidentally) with the 4th of July holiday, Episode 281 is a return to the beloved Dear America series! This time, Alli and her guest tag along on a frankly miserable journey on the Mayflower with Remember Patience Whipple in 1620. The book is A Journey to the New World and it was...
For the first time this year, we’re back to Stoney Brook with our favorite sitters! The fifty-sixth book in the series explores blatant racism… while the girls produce a musical with their young charges. There’s a lot going on! Episode 280 breaks down the way race and racism are portrayed in Ann M. Martin’s fictional...
Like the book at its center, Episode 279 will feel like a warm hug! Kate is back, this week to discuss the Newbery Medal-winning The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. The conversation covers everything from dysfunctional families and empathy to fairy tale tropes and the author’s origin story. Kate Czyzewski is an educator turned...
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a bookseller at an independent bookstore? Kate from Thunder Road Books in Spring Lake, NJ—who you might also recognize as @thesaltybookworm—is on SSR to answer all of your questions! Kate tells us… * How she transitioned from being a teacher to a bookseller * How the...
If you’ve been missing SSR’s signature approach to the literary throwbacks of your teen and tween years, the wait is over! Episode 277 marks our official return to the pod’s usual format—and this time, it’s all about Gail Carson Levine’s The Two Princesses of Bamarre. Published in 2001, the book is a story of bravery...
SSR is back after Alli’s maternity leave! We’ll be back to discuss a new literary throwback next week, but we’re kicking things off (again!) with a little catch-up session. Chelsey Feder of @chelseyreads and Novel Pairings plays co-host to help bring the SSR community up to speed on what’s been happening since you last tuned...
Thanks to all of the listeners who participated in this year’s crowd-sourced episode: Abby, Diane, Julia, Holly, Kat, Shira, and Tracey. Tune in to hear them answer questions about their favorite childhood reading, times when they disagreed with the podcast, book recommendations for 2024, and more!
For the final book episode of 2023, Alli and her guest turn their attention to a real classic: Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. It’s the first time reading the 1943 semi-autobiographical novel for both of them… and there’s a lot to discuss in this hefty volume! Topics of conversation include imperfect adults, the...
At long last, Alli and her guest turn their attention to a book that’s been requested many times by listeners: Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Among the Hidden. The first installment in the Shadow Children series, Among the Hidden explores the consequences of a totalitarian government taking extreme measures to combat (alleged) overpopulation. Episode 273 covers everything...
With New Reads November 2023 behind us, we’re back to throwbacks, starting with Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. Alli’s guest recently read the 1970 novel with her own children… and she has thoughts. Episode 272 features conversations about gender representation, fatphobia, the power of illustrations, violence, and the glorification of stealing. Bestselling author Jesse Q....
It’s the grand finale of SSR’s New Reads November 2023… and the perfect time to discuss Talia Hibbert’s YA debut, Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute. With a trio of fantastic guests, Alli gets into the details of the book’s plot and pays special attention to OCD representation, outdoorsy scholarship experiences, romance tropes, and the extent...
Week 3 of New Reads November takes a very close, very fun look at Maurene Goo’s Throwback. The book inspires conversations about everything from the complicated nature of mother/daughter relationships and empathy between generations to high school homecoming experiences and the tension between conformity and standing out. Alli and her guest also consider who Throwback...
Week 2 of New Reads November 2023 is all about Joelle Wellington’s Their Vicious Games. The book feels like a real return to the heyday of YA, with the addition of organic, fresh threads about class, race, and privilege. On Episode 269, Alli and her guest do plenty of fangirling over the book and discuss...
New Reads November is BACK for a SIXTH year! This time around, we get things rolling with a conversation about Camryn Garrett’s Friday I’m in Love, which was published in January 2023. The book inspires conversations about “coming out narratives,” casual racism, self-aware narrators, the subversion of tropes about sweet sixteens, and the pressures that...
On this special bonus episode, Alli is joined by Sara Hildreth of Fiction Matters and the Novel Pairings podcast! As she prepares to take a brief podcast maternity leave in early 2024, Alli looks to Sara for advice on how to manage a pause in sharing content with her community. They take you behind-the-scenes of...
Listener favorites Allison and Mary from Dolls of Our Lives are BACK for Episode 267! This time around, they join Alli to discuss Danger at the Zoo: A Kit Mystery, a 2005 installment in the American Girl Mysteries series that was written by Kathleen Ernst. They talk broadly about Kit’s storyline and the AG mysteries...
Episode 259 centers around The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett! Originally published in 1911, this is one of the oldest books covered on the podcast yet, making it a unique case for discussion. Alli and her guest talk about the notion of “classics” as a whole, as well as colonialism, disability, manifestation, the supernatural, unlikable kid protagonists, and mind-over-matter approaches to health.
Genevieve Wheeler is the author of Adelaide. Follow her on Instagram (@geewheeler).
For the first time in YEARS, SSR once again takes on Gertrude Chandler Warner’s beloved Boxcar Children series. Episode 258 is all about the second installment, Surprise Island… and the biggest surprise of all might just be that it’s a pretty quiet story! All aboard for the discussion about the general appeal of the Boxcar Children, gender roles, what makes a mystery, domestic fantasy, wish fulfillment, and more.
Andrea Bartz is an essayist, journalist, and the New York Times-bestselling author of The Lost Night, The Herd, We Were Never Here, and The Spare Room. Follow her on Instagram (@andibartz) and Twitter (@andibartz).
Tune in for a special announcement in the episode intro!
Get ready to investigate, listeners, because we’re revisiting the Baby-Sitters Club Mystery spin-off series. Episode 257 is all about Jessi and the Jewel Thieves, in which BSC junior officer Jessi Ramsey takes a trip to the Big Apple, plans to break-up with her long-distance BF, and somehow manages to get involved in what she thinks is a brewing plot to steal some high-value gems. Alli and her guest begin with a big-picture conversation about the Baby-Sitters Club and then chat about the particulars of this installment in all its endearing chaos.
Danielle Jackson is the author of The Accidental Pinupand Accidentally in Love. Follow her on Twitter (@DJacksonBooks) and Instagram (@djacksonbooks).
On Episode 256, Alli and her guest cover not just one throwback read, but a whole series of them! Adventurers and decisive bookworms, this one’s for you, because it’s time to take a walk down memory lane to chat about the Choose Your Own Adventure series. This episode offers lots of insight into the history of these books, along with why so many kids love them and what they teach us about making choices.
Sara Desai is the author of diverse romantic comedies, including The Singles Table, The Dating Plan, The Marriage Game, and To Have and to Heist. Follow her on Instagram (@saradesaiwrites) and Twitter (@saradesaiwrites).
On Episode 255, Alli and her guest consider Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey’s Cheaper By the Dozen… and it’s absolutely nothing like the romp of a Steve Martin movie you remember from your childhood. Instead, the book that inspired the movie(s) opens up conversations about the problematic nature of efficiency experts, narcissism, the Duggars, corporal punishment, and extremely toxic masculinity. You don’t want to miss this thoughtful, thorough discussion!
Jake Maia Arlow is the author of Almost Flying, How to Excavate A Heart, and The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet. Follow them on Instagram (@jakewhosasillygoose).
Buckle up for some real darkness this week, listeners, because we’re heading back to the world of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events! Episode 254 is all about the fifth installment in the series, The Austere Academy, in which the Baudelaire orphans are dropped off at an absurdly horrendous boarding school. Join Alli and her guest as they unpack the appeal of Snicket’s work and chat about what makes this particular book an especially fun read.
Noelle Crooks is the author of Under the Influence. Follow her on Instagram (@noellecrooks).
Join us on Episode 253 for a nostalgic journey back to Beverly Cleary’s Klickitat Street, more specifically, a discussion about the 1968 classic Ramona the Pest. Alli and her guest discuss their favorite Ramona-isms, fangirl over this self-aware young heroine, and chat about the many things that Cleary gets so incredibly right about childhood.
Kara Alloway’s debut novel Most Hatedis now available! Follow her on Instagram (@karaalloway) and Twitter (@karaalloway).
Grab your favorite pens, markers, and stickers and prepare to jump back into the pages of Amelia’s Notebook! Listen to Episode 252 for a cozy, nostalgic visit back to the days of handwritten documentation and old school creativity. It’s a super fun ride that features discussions about likability, sass, jelly roll noses, and more.
Mikki Hernandez is an actress, voiceover artist, and the author of Cake Mix: Learning to Love All Your Ingredients. Check out her blog MixedKids&Co and follow her on Instagram (@momikki | @mixedkidsco) for more.
SSR is BACK from summer break and jumping right into a conversation about 2009’s Beautiful Creatures, a southern gothic novel that explores witchcraft, first love, and teen angst. Tune in to hear Alli and her guest discuss everything from revisionist history and slut shaming to the “not like other girls” trope and iPods. They also discuss one major question: is this book too long?
Joelle Wellington is the author of Their Vicious Games. Follow her on Instagram (@jowellington) and Twitter (@joelle_welling).
Five years of the podcast and 250 episodes… it’s a big week! And what better way to celebrate than by revisiting one of Alli’s deep cut childhood favorites, Joan Bauer’s Hope Was Here? Join the party as Alli and her guest take a sweet walk down memory lane with the help of this Newbery Honor book, covering topics ranging from Gilmore Girls parallels and the glamorization of working in food service to found family and political organizing.
Bridget Morrissey is the author of That Summer Feeling, A Thousand Miles, Love Scenes, When the Light Went Out, and What You Left Me. Follow her on Instagram (@bridgetjmorrissey) and Twitter (@bridgemorrissey).
The subject matter of Episode 249 is HEAVY because it mirrors the equally heavy subject matter of Lurlene McDaniel’s long career in YA “sick lit.” More specifically, Alli and her guest chat about Six Months to Live, the 1985 novel that began the Dawn Rochelle series. In it, seventh grader Dawn is diagnosed with cancer and forced to completely reorder her life accordingly. They discuss the draw of books like this for kids, the formula Lurlene McDaniel devised, tropes about grief and dying, evolution in tragic YA, representation, and more.
Kelly Loy Gilbert is the author of Conviction, Picture Us in the Light, When We Were Infinite, and Everyone Wants to Know. Follow her on Instagram (@kellyloygilbert) and Twitter (@KellyLoyGilbert).
The SSR Podcast has spent no shortage of time on Ann M. Martin’s Baby-Sitters Club and their idyllic life in Stonybrook, Connecticut… but what happens when we take one member of the BSC to the west coast? Well, you get the California Diaries series. On Episode 248, Alli and her guest discuss the first installment of that series, Dawn. Their conversation touches on shifting friendships, maturity gaps, the adult drama they wanted more of, queer coding, hazing, hilarious tittles, and what they loved about Dawn’s voice on the page.
Rachel Koller Croft is a WGA Award-nominated screenwriter and the author of Stone Cold Fox. She lives by the beach with her husband, Charles, and their rescue pitbull, Juniper. Follow her on Instagram (@rachkollercroft).
On Episode 247, Alli finally gets the chance to revisit a book that’s been at the top of her personal SSR wish list for years: Bloomabilityby Sharon Creech. With the help of her guest, Alli follows main character Dinnie on a journey from her nomadic life in the U.S. to a Swiss boarding school, where she makes new friends, is forced to see her family back home in a new way, and learns more about herself. The book opens up conversations about everything from family dysfunction and dream journals to culture shock and belonging.
Kaitlyn Hill is the author of Love from Scratchand Not Here to Stay Friends. Follow her on Instagram (@thekaitlynhill) and Twitter (@thekaitlynhill).
Episode 246 takes a sweeping look at the mystery genre and Agatha Christie, paying special attention to a book that has made many a teenager a mystery fan over the last decades: And Then There Were None. Alli and her guests — whose recent work was inspired by Agatha Christie — talk about reading and writing mysteries. They also discuss the racist legacy of And Then There Were None, their favorite characters from the book, the standards its set for mysteries, and why we should give teens more credit.
Kathleen Glasgow is the author of Girl in Pieces, How to Make Friends With the Dark, and You’d Be Home Now. She lives and writes in Tucson, Arizona. Follow her on Instagram (@misskathleenglassgow).
Liz Lawson is the author of The Lucky Ones and lives with her family and two very bratty cats. Follow her on Instagram (@lzlwsn).
Together, Kathleen and Liz are the authors of The Agathasand The Night in Question.
Let’s talk about the eerie world of Ally Condie’s Matched! In it, main character Cassia Reyes anticipates her Match Banquet, during which Officials from the Society in which she lives will dictate her future husband. The Officials are responsible for just about everything in Cassia and her community’s lives… but the events of the Match Banquet kick off a series of events that leave her wondering if they really have her best interests at heart and if she has more choices than she realizes.
On Episode 245, Alli and her guest unpack the world of Matched. They also talk about love triangles, the technology of dystopia, the way we treat older folks in our community, and so much more.
Lauren Kung Jessen is the author of Lunar Love. Follow her on Instagram (@laurenkjessen) and Twitter (@LaurenKJessen) and subscribe to her Substack!
At long last, the podcast turns its attention back to Mia Thermopolis with a conversation about the second book in Meg Cabot’s beloved Princess Diaries series, Princess in the Spotlight. Alli and her guest cover core reading memories, toxic best friends, secret admirers, the world of AIM, sick days, sex talks, public platforms, and fancy weddings.
India Hill Brown is the author of The Forgotten Girl, The Girl in the Lake, and the soon-to-be-published Rhythm & Muse. Follow her on Instagram (@booksandbighair) and Twitter (@booksandbighair).
Prepare to swoon, listeners, because Episode 243 is all about sweet summer romance! Alli and her guest gush about Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty, which they both read for the first time for the show. They reflect about the significance of summers in their own lives and cover everything from the male gaze and tankinis to love interests and fraught mother/daughter relationships.
Grace Chlosta is the bookstagrammer behind @gracesreadingnook and the host of the One Woman Book Club podcast.
Episode 242 is all about L.M. Montgomery’s Emily of New Moon. With the help of her guests, Alli digs into orphan tropes, universalism, atheism, cats as reading buddies, grief, and more. She also auditions to be their friend!
Sadie Carpenter and Gavri’el HaCohen are the hosts of the Leaving Eden Podcast. Follow the show on Instagram (@leavingedenpodcast) and Twitter (@LeavingEdenPod).
Is your child talking back? Refusing to bathe? Staying up past their bedtime? Call Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, the star of Betty MacDonald’s 1947 novel Mrs. Piggle-Wiggleand a series of other books that followed. Alli’s guest on Episode 241 was a major fan of these books when they were growing up, and they’re here to jump into MacDonald’s wacky world all over again. Tune in for discussions about conformity, radishes, fatphobia, negligent dads, childless millennials, and so much more.
Meryl Wilsner is the author of Something to Talk About, Mistakes Were Made, and the forthcoming Cleat Cute. Follow them on Instagram (@merylwilsner) and Twitter (@merylwilsner).
Whether you’re looking for lessons in beating your competition in business, being an advocate for your own health, designing a Kid Kit, or simply being the best babysitter (AKA person) in the game, you can find your answers in The Truth About Stacy. The book covers Stacy McGill’s journey to find her voice as her parents seek more support for her diabetes and the BSC’s war against the competing Baby-Sitters Agency (how DARE they?). Alli and her guest share all of their thoughts and feelings!
Rochelle Bilow is a romance and food writer. A graduate of the French Culinary Institute, she’s worked as a baker, a line cook, and the social media manager for Bon Appetit and Cooking Light magazines. Her articles about home cooking, restaurants, food news and trends, spirits, groceries, and products have appeared in a variety of national publications. Rochelle’s memoir — The Call of the Farm— was published in 2014, and her fiction debut Ruby Spencer’s Whisky Yearhit shelves earlier this year. Follow her on Instagram (@rochellebilow).
Episode 239 takes a close look at the polarizing 1979 novel by V.C. Andrews, Flowers in the Attic. Alli and her guest work through the complicated nature of the discourse around the book and talk about its triggering content, as well as the author’s quirky behavior and incredible talent.
TW: attempted murder, child abuse, child death, incest, poisoning, rape, religion, starvation
Carley Fortune is the New York Times-bestselling author of Every Summer After and the forthcoming Meet Me at the Lake. Follow her on Instagram (@carleyfortune) and Twitter (@CarleyFortune).
There’s never a dull moment in Sweet Valley, California… and there’s never a dull moment on SSR when Alli and her guests dive into the Sweet Valley High series! On Episode 238, book podcasts collide as hosts of Double Love Anna and Karyn join the pod to discuss Dear Sister, the seventh book in Francine Pascal’s series. Tune in to hear conversations about self-awareness (or lack thereof), weird relationships between teens and adults, motorbike accidents, bad parenting, and lots of unhinged behavior from the Wakefields and their pals.
TW: sexual assault, fatphobia, eating disorders
On the Double Love podcast, hosts Anna and Karyn explore the strange and terrifying world of Sweet Valley High, book by book. Find it wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts! Follow Double Love on Instagram (@svhpodcast) and Twitter (@svhpodcast).
Baby-Sitters Club Super Specials take the standard BSC format and make them even more, well, super… by alternating POVs so readers get takes from all of the club members and taking the gals on bigger and better adventures so they have great stories to tell. Baby-Sitters On Board!was the first installment in this series extension — and it does not disappoint! In it, the Club sets sail on a cruise and then ventures to Disney World, basically living the dream of every kid ever. There are crushes, new friends, treasure maps, and, of course, baby-sitting. On Episode 137, Alli and her guest discuss the book as a whole. Guest Sara Shepard also reflects on the ways in which it may have inspired her own writing career!
Sara Shepard is the author of bestselling, iconic series for teens, including Pretty Little Liars, The Lying Game, and The Perfectionists. Her new book — Wait for Me— is now available. Follow her on Instagram (@saracshepard) and Twitter (@sarabooks).
Episode 196 will make you feel almost as many feels as the blockbuster film Titanic did… and not only because it’s about a book that covers the same historical territory. In it, Alli and her guest discuss one of the most popular installments in the Dear America series: Ellen Emerson White’s Voyage on the Great Titanic. In spite of the heavy subject matter, the conversation is still a fun one that touches on why young bookworms manage to get away with reading spicy content, global interest in the Titanic, the challenges inherent in building tension in a book with an ending everyone already knows, class, maritime vocabulary, Kate and Leo, survivor’s guilt, privilege, and so much more.
Kelsey McKinney is a co-founder and owner of Defector Media, author of the novel God Spare the Girls, and host of Normal Gossip. Follow her on Instagram (@mckinneykelsey) and Twitter (@mckinneykelsey).
Whether you’re ready or not… things are about to get both steamy and political on Episode 195. Alli and her guest discuss Meg Cabot’s Ready or Not. In this sequel to All-American Girl, main character Samantha Madison wrestles with her complicated feelings about sex and the new conservative political agenda for which she’s unwittingly become the poster child. There’s talk of the murky business of likability, the “not like other girls” trope, the pressures of having a platform, the absurd misunderstanding that drives Ready or Not from start to finish, and models of popularity and femininity in the early aughts. Of course, there’s also plenty of talk of sex — more specifically, the way it’s portrayed in the book.
Shauna Robinson is the author of Must Love Books. Follow her on Instagram (@shauna.robs) and Twitter (@shaunarobs).
Major spoiler alert: The Truth About Foreveris officially Alli’s favorite of the Sarah Dessen books she’s read so far for the pod.
The main character is relatable, the love interest is the swooniest, the emotions are real and nuanced, and all of the summer details are chef’s kiss. Plus, the book inspires a fantastic conversation on Episode 194 — a conversation that explores perfectionism, toxic relationships, terrible boyfriends, the realities of working in a library, the way our collective approach to grief has shifted in the last 20 years, intense moms, our suggestions for a future adaptation of The Truth About Forever, and Sarah Dessen’s masterful craft and world-building.
Martha Waters is the author of To Have and To Hoax, To Love and to Loathe, and To Marry and to Meddle. Follow her on Instagram (@marthabwaters) and Twitter (@marthabwaters).
On Episode 193, Alli and her guest explore the third book in the Nancy Drew series, The Bungalow Mystery. As always when it comes to Nancy, it’s complicated —and you’ll hear them explore what is empowering and inspiring about this famed teen detective while also unpacking why she feels so problematic in 2022. They discuss Nancy’s fast friendships, her tendency to make quick judgements, the way the books focuses on property law, various tropes about women, and the history of the series. They also take a deep dive into Carson Drew.
Kate Spencer is the co-host of the Forever35 podcast and the author of The Dead Moms Club and In a New York Minute. Follow her on Instagram (@katespencer) and Twitter (@katespencer).
All hail Queen Judy Blume! Episode 192 is all about Judy’s most autobiographical novel, Starring Sally J. Freedman As Herself. Published in 1977, Sally tells the story of a young Jewish girl navigating a move from New Jersey to Miami in the aftermath of World War II. The novel inspires conversations about Holocaust literature more broadly, how to best capture tragedy and humor simultaneously, old tech, teasing as flirting or flattery, writing about death for kids, our changing expectations for children, and the one language choice Alli struggled with in this book.
Hena Khan is the award-winning author of many books for young readers, including Amina’s Song, Amina’s Voice, More to the Story, and most recently, Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun. Follow her on Instagram (@henakhanbooks) and Twitter (@henakhanbooks).
On Episode 191, Alli and her guests finally explore the wacky world of Carl Hiaasen as it’s written in the 2003 Newbery Honor-winning novel Hoot. They chat about environmental advocacy, adults in kid lit, depictions of police institutions, and the importance of making kids feel respected by the books they read.
Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick are co-authors of the New York Times bestselling novel She Gets the Girl. Rachael is also the author of The Lucky Listand the co-author of Five Feet Apartand All This Time. They live in Pittsburgh with their dog, Hank. Follow them on Instagram (@rachaellippincott | @whoisalysonanyway) and TikTok (@alysonandrachael).
Episode 190 is a historic moment for SSR because it explores a book series intended for truly younger readers: Peggy Parish’s Amelia Bedelia. Alli and her guest deep dive into a five-book box set and reminisce about the moments of wordplay and miscommunication they most remember from their childhood reading experiences. They also discuss the moments they found less charming as adult readers! They touch on Amelia Bedelia reboots, a reframing of perceptions of domestic work, how cool they felt when they learned to write in cursive, Amelia’s artful passive aggression, ageism, and what it really means to dress a chicken.
Kate Kennedy is the host of the Be There In Five podcast. Follow her on Instagram (@bethereinfive).
This episode is brought to you by Kensington’s newest title, Picnic in Someday Valley by Jodi Thomas.
SSR is way overdue for a Saddle Club moment — but on Episode 189, it finally happens! Alli and her guests discuss the first book in Bonnie Bryant’s iconic horse girls series, Horse Crazy. They cover everything from their own personal horse girl experiences and middle school drama to Stevie Lake’s questionable business practices and the portrayal of POC in the book. Saddle up, because this episode is a very fun hang!
Hannah and Laura are the co-hosts of the On Wednesdays We Read podcast, which is fondly known as OWWR Pod. Tune in wherever you listen to your favorite pods and follow the show on Instagram (@owwrpod) and Twitter (@Owwrpod).
Almost exactly one year to the day since SSR first dove into the Royal Diaries series, Alli and her guest are back to explore the fictionalized journal of another young royal. This time, the focus is on the second to last installment from the series: Anacaona, Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490. Having never learned about Anacaona, they share her story and lament the revisionist history that’s kept her out of our textbooks. They also discuss the value of learning history through epistolary novels, the parasocial nature of our relationships with royals over the years, the need for a wider range of narratives from marginalized communities, and so much more.
TW: suicide
Amber Burns is a writer, podcaster, and avid reader currently living in Philadelphia. Follow her on Instagram (@byamberburns) and Twitter (@byamberburns) and listen to her podcast Thank You For Asking wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
We are gathered here today to celebrate the love of Kristy’s mom and Watson… but also the love among the members of the BSC. On Episode 187, Alli and her guest explore Ann M. Martin’s favorite Baby-Sitters Club installment, Kristy’s Big Day. They chat about blended families, Kristy as a queer icon, traditional gender roles throughout the series, and the class dynamics we see between the Brewers and the Thomases. They also praise the club’s entrepreneurial know-how and demand better pay for them! This is guest Alison Cochrun’s first-ever experience reading a BSC title, which makes it extra fun.
Alison Cochrun is the author of The Charm Offensive. Follow her on Instagram (@alisoncochrun) and Twitter (@AlisonCochrun).