To All the YA I've Loved Before

It’s baby’s first graphic novel on the pod today with Maggie Tokunda-Hall and Lisa Sterle’s Squad. We are diving right back into the whole werewolf of it all, and this one is such a treat…just like the human boys our girl squad snacks on once a month. This novel weaves a wonderfully contemporary supernatural tale of popularity, finding where you belong, sapphic romance, and dealing with white woma...

The Wakefield twins are leaving good old Sweet Valley and crossing the pond to London, England in this miniseries that includes #104 Love and Death in London, #105 A Date With a Werewolf, and #106 Beware the Wolfman. Don’t you worry, though, everyone is just as obsessed with Jessica and Elizabeth in the UK as they are back in the US. In this episode, we tackle a lot of useless side characters, inc...

We felt a deep, magical connection this week with The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams, and we think all our fellow 80s/90s nostalgia lovers will feel the same. We seriously loved this book, which pays homage to the books and pop culture of our youths in a fantastic, meta way, while giving us the great girl friendships we love in contemporary YA, and the perfect supernatural vibes. We loved this...

What would a podcast about Young Adult Fiction be without talking about The Baby-Sitters Club? A bad one, probably. In this episode, we discuss an installment of the popular 80s/90s teen girl paperback series Baby-sitters' Fright Night (Super Mystery #3). We analyze the series' lasting impact, try to figure out which club member we are (with disastrous results), and question Stacey's n...

Happy Ace Week! On this bonus episode, Kaycee talks with YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Ace author Lyssa Chiavari all about the release of One World, the last book of the Iamos Trilogy, out Tuesday, October 24th. Topics of discussion include asexuality, representation in YA, and a look into the wonderfully written world Lyssa has created.  Links & Further Reading aceweek.org Order One World or catch up...

We’re back on our creepy doll bullshit with the 2018 middle grade horror book The Collector by K.R. Alexander. We have a lot of questions (and a few answers) after reading this book like are the baby dolls in this story all children that have been turned into dolls? What’s with all these creepy doll stories being set in the midwest? Are we going to talk about Reagan, Taylor Swift, and the Barbie m...

We step foot into spooky book season with the 1983 children’s classic The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright. This episode is full of horrors like creepy dolls and Reagan’s America as we explore the scary story of what happens when families refuse to talk through their issues. Discussions of topic also include a history of mental health treatment from Ashley, Cabbage Patch Kids being lost to ti...

“Being normal is vastly overrated” We open up Spooky Season 6 welcoming special guest (and Disney Channel Historian) Allison McClain Merrill to discuss the fabulously nostalgic Halloweentown. We talk meeting Kimberly J. Brown (and each other) at 90s Con Tampa and lament over all the content Disney Plus refuses to give us (hello, Life-Size and In A Heartbeat). Plus, the lasting power of Disney Chan...

Helpppp! We’re melting during the recording of this episode. Not because it’s about witches, but because we’re over the summer heat. Good thing we’ve got the autumnal, Halloween spirit of Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches to get us through to fall. Set in Salem, Massachusetts, Improbable Magic is a queer YA Romance that fits perfectly into the grumpy/sunshine trope. We talk about wanting to joi...

Enemies-to-lovers is one of our favorite tropes, and we’re so glad the STEM-forward My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Carol Follmuth did not disappoint! This YA novel will transport you back to a time when it was uncool to care about anything, but you’ll definitely be caring about the amazing friendships, cool fashion, and beautiful chemistry of Bel and Teo. In this episode, we talk about our own d...

We’re back with more from the To All the Boys Extended Universe (TAtBEU) talking about Netflix’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, P.S. I Still Love You, and Always and Forever. Kaycee is once again joined by Cousin Kristen (who you’ve heard in our Christmas Home Alone 2 episode). We ask if it’s possible to go back to high school and date a Peter Kavinsky, agree with how much we love the redempti...

In today’s episode, Kaycee crawls out of her Covid hell cave to talk with Ashley about the absolutely delightful To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han and another favorite trope Fake Dating. The ladies love Lara Jean’s sweet, poetic love letters, have a total hate on for Josh (Peter Kavinsky all the way!), and discuss the evolution of YA Romance. Plus, Kaycee shares a bit about the most e...

The Green Ranger, Dick Van Dyke’s character in Mary Poppins, Usher, and Devon Sawa in Now and Then. What do these people have in common? Not much, except that we were in love with them when we were kids! This episode is all about the guys and gals we loved from teen TV, movies, YA books, and more. Plus, we dive into the terrible characters we’re throwing up big ole red flags for, talk about the Ca...

This week is a little more scary than romantic with the 1992 Fear Street Series novel First Date. Kaycee and Ashley are here to enthuse about R.L. Stine’s ability to write incredibly authentic teen girl characters while telling a very captivating story about a serial killer and the dangers of teenage boys — Shadyside has a lot of problems, and toxic masculinity is definitely up there. Plus, we pon...

We’ve got a sweet sapphic romance for you all for Pride Month with the Young Adult classic Annie On My Mind from 1982. Join Ashley and Kaycee as they talk about how this is one of the best uses of the Friends to Lovers trope, a history of the banning of this book, and the prevalent themes of home and belonging throughout this truly lovely story. Plus plenty of cult chat, character connections to t...

Kaycee is back to talk about more forbidden love with Husband of the Pod Ryan on the 1996 modernized adaption of Romeo and Juliet. They’re smitten over Paul Rudd’s silly portrayal of Paris, Kaycee finds a way to relate a classic play to the Gossip Girl TV show, and they have a bone to pick with ole Billy Shakespeare about giving Juliet more to do. Plus, they discover the key to a great forbidden l...

This week, Ashley and Kaycee take on the task of not just one, but three books all about forbidden love. In this episode, they detail Sweet Valley High’s Betrayal Miniseries, which includes #120 In Love With the Enemy, #121 The High School War, and #122 A Kiss Before Dying.  This is Kaycee’s ultimate favorite YA series, so be prepared for a lot of details of the SVEU (Sweet Valley Extended Univers...

At To All the YA, we love 90s music and we love YA, so why wouldn't we have two amazing authors who wrote a YA novel incorporating our fave throwback tunes come on the pod? Erin and Sam of writing team E.S. Rosalynn joins us to talk about their first novel Mixtape Volume One, give us a preview of what's to come in Volume Two (out May 30th!!), and help us make a To All the YA 90s Mixtape of...

Half of To All the YA (aka Kaycee) is going to be at 90s Con in Tampa with Cider Mill Coven September 15, 16, and 17 ( Get your tickets now! ), and this is a rewind episode from our last Spooktacular Halloween season to celebrate! Kaycee is joined by Cider Mill Coven author Vanessa Abigail Lambert to discuss all the things that made the TGIF, the 90s, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch so special to us...

This season, we’re all about love and our favorite romance tropes! We’re starting out with the classic first love novel Forever by the iconic Judy Blume. Kaycee and Ashley had a wonderful first time with this novel, and unlike main character Katherine’s, it did not disappoint. We discuss new front-runner for worst YA boyfriend Michael and his audacity, take a trip back to when soaking was all over...

Do you like us? Check yes or no. Kaycee and Ashley are back next week with a brand new season of crushes, first loves, and romantic tropes! Links Follow us on Instagram @toalltheya Visit us at pinkplaidmedia.com/toalltheya to stay up to date with what's happening on the pod. Season 5 theme song: "In And Out Of Love"

Join hosts Kaycee and Ashley for a deep dive into the 90s pop culture that made them who they are today. This is a top 20 list of madness, complete with the Nickelodeon vs Disney debate we all had to pick a side on (Ashley was a Nickelodeon kid because she was a dirty gal), a defense of Hootie and the Blowfish from Kaycee, and their continued love of Scholastic Book Fairs. Plus, a larger than life...

This episode of Supplemental Watching is a celebration of the (early) birthday of co-host and BFF Ashley with the 1996 kids’ classic Wish Upon a Star. Kaycee and Ashley almost lose a friendship over if this is a DCOM (Disney Channel Original Movie) or not, and the internet brings them mixed results. They also talk how Katherine Heigl was a victim of the shitting on women culture of the 2000s (and...

Have you ever reread a book and discovered that’s what you based your entire personality around? Kaycee and Ashley’s teenage years (and beyond) were totally shaped by Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, the 1999 British YA novel by Louise Rennison. They spend much of the episode connecting their experiences of youth with the awkward, hilarious Georgia Nicholson and pondering how the characte...

Let’s get spooky in spring with the first book of The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids series, Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots. Kaycee and Ashley talk about their wishes for an aged-up, live-action Bailey School Kids series (Netflix, call us), minced vs. powdered garlic, and they determine (after long, considerable thought and grueling research) if Mrs. Jeepers is really a vampire or not. Plus,...