The SSR Podcast

Jump aboard Episode 293 for a transatlantic voyage on the gorgeous writing of kid lit GOAT, Sharon Creech. This week, it's all about her 2000 Newbery Honor winner, The Wanderer , and the big thinking it inspires. Alli and her guest dive into discussions of trauma, accidental feminism, real-world fantasy, diary-style writing, and so much more. Charlee Dyroff is the author of Loneliness & Compan...

Join Alli and her guest for a trip to one of our favorite settings: Stonybrook, Connecticut—home of the Baby-Sitters Club. This time, the discussion focuses on the fourth book in Ann M. Martin's beloved series, Mary Anne Saves the Day , which is a critical text in the BSC cinematic universe. Tune in to Episode 292 to hear us talk about Mary Anne's day-saving efforts, as well as conflict resolution...

At long last, we tackle the final book in the original Hunger Games trilogy: Mockingjay . This is a heavy book, so there's lots to get into in this episode: cycles of violence, the consequences of war, what it means to be a symbol, PTSD, and plenty of moral ambiguity. And it wouldn't be a Hunger Games episode (of course) without a Team Gale vs. Team Peeta debate—and this one gets especially spicy!...

Welcome back to SSR: WriTing Friends! This time around, Alli and Abby are digging a little deeper into one of their favorite elements of the writing process: creating characters. They discuss what inspires their characters, how they create nuanced fictional people, and what it's like to find compassion for antagonists. They also consider the challenges that come with being more drawn to characters...

It’s been too long since we paid a visit to Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield in good old Sweet Valley, California. Let’s fix that! Episode 289 covers the twenty-eighth installment in Francine Pascal’s beloved series, Alone in the Crowd , a book that explores insecurity, songwriting, the complicated nature of mother/daughter relationships, and rocking chair fundraisers. Alli and her guest find much...

This special bonus episode features Rachelle Bergstein, author of the new book The Genius of Judy . In it, Alli and Rachelle cover all things related to SSR queen JUDY BLUME! They chat about Judy's journey to publication, the process of researching her career, their favorite (and maybe least favorite) Judy books, the Blume legacy, feminism, book bans, and more. Rachelle Bergstein is also the autho...

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 conversations about the horror genre as a whole, stranger danger, friend zoning, missing adults, m...

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 of teenage romance. Alli and Colleen also chat about power dyn...

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 work, killing our darlings, and more. Abby also sha...

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 different in 2024, banned books, betting in childhood, and the expectation for morality lessons in...

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 Shruti, the co-hosts of The Novel Tea podcast. They bonded o...

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 away message. TW: suicide, depression Sheila is the author of the nov...

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 this community and beyond. In this inaugural episode, Abby shares mor...

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 written by Kathryn Lasky and published in 1996. Former Scholastic book fair fans will especia...

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 world, looking closely at which sitters bear the brunt of the responsibility for...

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 bookstore manager and event coordinator at Thunder Road Books in...

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 team chooses backlist titles to stock in the store * How she comes up with the perfect...

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 and sisterhood, and it creates space for conversations about so many of our favo...

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 into the podcast. Alli and Chelsey discuss two major developments in Alli...

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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 importance of education, pragmatism vs. idealism, the evolution of our langua...

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 from reproductive rights and...

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. Sutanto is known for a...

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 to which there are two sides to every story. Thanks t...

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 is meant for and discuss the...