The SSR Podcast

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...

Major spoiler alert: The Truth About Forever is 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 o...

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 a...

Break out those magnifying glasses, listeners! On Episode 186, Alli and her guest join one of the classic kid sleuths for some seriously interactive detective work. During their conversation about Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective , they chat about the origins and evolution of the series as a whole, smart kids in pop culture, the portrayal of lone girl character Sally Kimball, and parallels betwee...

On Episode 185, Alli and her guest have a bit of a love fest in honor of Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart . Alli is coming to the book for the first time and she compares notes with her guest, who remembers it fondly from her childhood. They talk about world building, the tricky business of translation, the author/reader relationship, compelling adult characters in books meant for kids, and grief. It’s a...

For the first time since the SSR episode about A Wrinkle in Time back in 2018, Alli returns to the world of Madeleine L’Engle, this time for a deep dive into A Ring of Endless Light . Listen to Episode 184 for conversations about everything from grief and loss to dolphins and ESP. Alli and her guest also share their thoughts on a series of potential love interests for main character Vicky and disc...

On Episode 183, Alli and her guest get reacquainted with Shirley Temple Wong, the spunky young heroine from Bette Bao Lord’s In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson . Shirley’s experience as a Chinese-American immigrant in 1947 inspires conversations about identity, language, race, the American dream, the pressures placed on marginalized communities, and (of course) baseball. Traci Chee is the...

This week, SSR takes it allllll the way back to a classic with a conversation about Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess . Alli and her guest discuss the things they love about this cozy read, along with the weirdness with which it approaches gender, parental responsibility, race, class, privilege, manners, and morality. They also consider how movie adaptations influence our readings of an...

On Episode 181, Alli and her guests explore Francesca Lia Block’s I Was a Teenage Fairy . They discuss everything from fairy tales and beautiful writing to trauma and masculinity. They also examine what the book is saying about sexuality, size, empathy, and more. TW: child sexual abuse, sexual assault Emma Gray and Claire Fallon are co-hosts of Love to See It with Emma and Claire and co-authors of...

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Alli is joined by romance author Alana Albertson to dish about Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. Tune in to hear them chat about everything from cheating love interests and the meaning of home to film adaptations and privilege. They also talk quite a bit about the romance genre, touching on the sexist nature of the way it’s often criticized, how love...

On this very exciting episode, Alli is joined by linguist and cult expert Amanda Montell for a conversation about the eighty-second book in Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley High series, Kidnapped By the Cult! , in which they discover that the SVH portrayal of cults is actually pretty accurate. You’ll learn about the history and language of cults, Amanda’s first impression of the Wakefields, teen bra...

For the grand finale of Manuary 2022, Alli finally returns to a book that she’s been wanting to discuss on the pod for years: Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl . Will it live up to her memories and expectations? You’ll have to listen to find out! On this episode, Alli and her guest chat about fairy lore, antiheroes, bathroom humor, racism in fantasy, office politics, law enforcement in literature, boy ge...

Take one eager canine narrator, a well-read cat, and a seemingly harmless rabbit who might *actually* be a vampire, and you’ve got yourself Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery , the 1979 children’s novel by James and Deborah Howe that started a beloved series. For the third week of Manuary 2022, Alli and her guest laugh their way through a discussion of vampire lore, neurotic pets, and animal anti...

It’s Week 2 of Manuary 2022 and Alli and her guest turn their attention to Beverly Cleary’s Newbery Medal-winning novel, Dear Mr. Henshaw . Their discussion covers everything from Beverly Cleary’s legacy and the way the book offers an unfiltered look at divorce from a child’s perspective to writing advice and class. Guest Jeff Zentner also shares how he’s been influenced by Dear Mr. Henshaw and Be...

On Episode 175, Alli and her guests — the hosts of the Overdue podcast — kick off a new year and the fourth-annual Manuary with a conversation about The Story of Dr. Dolittle , which was written by Hugh Lofting and originally published in 1920. And if you thought the Dr. Dolittle universe was all about talking animals, you’re very mistaken! In fact, the book inspires discussions about everything f...

Happy holidays and happy (almost) new year! To wrap up 2021, we’re once again inviting SSR listeners to join the fun on the show! Listeners share about their favorite childhood books, the books the pod has ruined for them (sorry!), the books they’ve discovered from SSR, the books they’d most liked to see adapted for film or TV, and so much more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

For the final book episode of 2021, Alli and her guest experience a new-to-them classic, Marie Myung-Ok Lee’s Finding My Voice , which was first published in 1992 and reissued in 2021. The book explores the universal questions of identity and race and tackles the unfortunately still-relevant matter of racism, specifically against the Asian-American community. It inspires conversations about the im...

After an amazing month of New Reads November 2021, it’s time we get back to throwback reads, starting with Zoey Dean’s The A-List ! On Episode 172, Alli and her guest return to the era of all things wealth and mean girls. They discuss the appeal of this very ‘00s genre, the rampant slut shaming and fatphobia they see in the book, reinvention in YA, nuanced parent/daughter relationships, and so muc...

This week, New Reads November 2021 comes to its grand finale with a conversation about Emiko Jean’s Tokyo Ever After . Tune in for discussions about the importance of representation in publishing, the differences in book covers from one country to the next, tabloid culture, fantastic literary parents, the tensions between tradition and progress, and The Princess Diaries. Talia Hibbert is the New Y...