Leah Carlson-Downie and Mary-Kate Newton

Teenage Bookbag

Arts EN ↓ 3 episodes

The podcast where Mary-Kate and Leah revisit books from our formative tween years and decide if they're really as good — and if we were really as misunderstood — as we believed.

Author

Leah Carlson-Downie and Mary-Kate Newton

Episodes

Uglies 23.06.2026 1:40:06

Welcome to Teenage Bookbag, where your hosts Leah and Mary-Kate revisit the books they loved in middle school. For this episode, we're talking about Uglies , by Scott Westerfeld. Join us as we discuss this early entry into the YA dystopian fiction boom of the late 2000s and early 2010s. Intro and outro music: "Teenage Dirtbag," written by Brendan Brown, performed on the recorder by Ashley Newton

Pirates! 28.04.2026 1:46:18

Welcome to Teenage Bookbag, where your hosts Leah and Mary-Kate revisit the books they loved in middle school. For this episode, we're talking about Pirates! , by Celia Rees. Set sail with us back to the early 2000s and rediscover this jewel of YA historical fiction. Timestamps for the specific content warning mentioned in the episode (Leah's first excerpt reading and discussion): 26:50 to 44:40 I...

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging 24.03.2026 1:40:16

Welcome to Teenage Bookbag, where your hosts Leah and Mary-Kate revisit the books they loved in middle school. For our very first episode, we're talking about Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging , by Louise Rennison. Be prepared for us to name drop our old crushes, share stories of our own embarassing adolescent exploits, and revel in some very British humor. Intro music: "Not Lazy," by Mr. S...