The SSR Podcast

It’s week two of New Reads November 2020 and Alli and her guest are turning to Elizabeth Acevedo’s Clap When You Land (which just so happens to have been the most-requested title for New Reads November!). You don’t want to miss the conversation about this novel in verse, which addresses matters of identity, race, family, sexuality, feminism, and the patriarchy… not to mention the fact that it’s be...

It’s the first episode of New Reads November 2020! Appropriately (since Episode 119 drops on Election Day), the first new YA title up for discussion for New Reads November is Brandy Colbert’s The Voting Booth . The Voting Booth chronicles a single Election Day from two perspectives — the politically passionate Marva and the quiet activist Duke. What happens when Marva commits to doing whatever is...

For way too long, Alli underestimated one amazing character in the BSC world: Karen Brewer, AKA Kristy’s younger stepsister. Netflix’s 2020 adaptation of The Baby-Sitters Club showed her just how amazing Karen is… and she’s thrilled to be turning the spotlight on her for Episode 118 and a discussion of Karen’s Witch . The first book in the BSC spin-off series Baby-Sitters Little Sister, Karen’s Wi...

It’s time for another American Girl deep dive! This time, the focus is pioneer girl Kirsten Larson — and Alli couldn’t have picked a better guest for this one. On Episode 117, she welcomes the ~queen~ of pop culture deep dives, Kate Kennedy from the Be There in Five podcast . Tune in to listen to Alli and Kate’s conversation about Meet Kirsten , which was published in 1988 and written by Janet Sha...

Every once in a while, Alli stumbles her way back to a book that tells her more than she ever could have expected about the kind of reader and writer she’s grown up to be… and The View from Saturda y is one of them! On Episode 116, she and her guest take a close look at this 1996 middle grade novel by E.L. Konigsburg, which won the Newbery Medal in 1997. Alli and Kate discuss the book’s multiple p...

Roald Dahl may be a beloved children’s author, but he’s also a problematic figure. Similarly, The BFG is a beloved children’s book… but it’s not without its problems and complexities. On Episode 115 of SSR, Alli and her guest Christina Hammonds Reed break down The BFG — from its magical use of language to its xenophobic undertones, and everything in between. Christina is the author of the New York...

A conversation about Lemony Snicket’s beloved A Series of Unfortunate Events has been a long time coming… but it’s finally here! On Episode 114, Alli and her guest discuss the first book in the series, The Bad Beginning , which was published in 1999. Much of the conversation on the episode focuses on one core question: how dark is too dark for kids? There’s discussion about why kids love the darkn...

For some odd reason, Alli never read Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist when she was a teen reader herself, but she’s finally experiencing the David Levithan and Rachel Cohn novel for the first time on Episode 113! Tune in to hear her and her guest chat about so many things: the importance of music, the evolution in our language around queerness and gender fluidity, the way sexuality is leveraged...

It’s been more than two years since SSR last examined Nancy Drew — but we’re back with another Nancy convo for Episode 112! On this episode, the hosts of the Novel Pairings podcast join Alli to discuss the fourth book in the iconic series, The Mystery at Lilac Inn . They chat about how Nancy Drew can be simultaneously trailblazing and problematic and take a deep dive into the ways in which the boo...

Author Suzanne Park joins Alli on Episode 111 to discuss Freaky Friday , the 1972 middle grade novel by Mary Rodgers that served as the inspiration for many adaptations, including the 2003 movie starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. They discuss the differences between the book and the movies, focusing especially on how one fosters more empathy within the mother/daughter relationship than t...

On Episode 110, book lover and bookstagrammer Sarah Coquillat is on the pod to chat about a book she absolutely loved as a teenager, Sarah Dessen’s This Lullaby . Does she still love it just as much after a reread? You’ll have to listen to find out. Sarah and Alli discuss dreamy (and not-so-dreamy) literary heartthrobs, slut-shaming, the lack of diversity in YA from this era, and the author’s port...

It’s time for another Gossip Girl chat! On Episode 109, author (and Gossip Girl expert) Hannah Orenstein joins Alli to discuss the second title in Cecily von Ziegesar’s iconic series, You Know You Love Me . They talk about the many disturbing elements of the book that would likely not land in 2020 (homophobia, chain smoking, blatant body shaming), the complicated relationships (and love triangles)...

Author Jen Doll joins Alli on Episode 108 for a conversation about Zilpha Keatley Snyder’s Newbery Honor-winning novel, The Headless Cupid . They discuss blended family dynamics, the importance of mental health resources for kids, and ghost stories! They also address an extremely disturbing, racist scene that would never fly in 2020… and shouldn’t have flown when it was written in 1971, either. Je...

On Episode 107, Alli is joined by podcaster and comedian Kelly Anneken to discuss Karen Cushman’s 1995 Newbery Honor winner, Catherine, Called Birdy . They chat about babysitting, Accelerated Reader, and their misguided impressions of the Middle Ages. They take a close look at the way Catherine, Called Birdy depicts heavy issues of childbirth, agency, domestic violence, diversity, consent, and the...

On Episode 106, Alli and her guest explore one major question: how good (or not-so-good) does it feel to read a book that feels like a time capsule of an era gone by? As you’ll hear in the episode, there are plenty of upsides and downsides, all discussed in the context of Louise Rennison’s 1999 YA hit Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging . The conversation jumps from ‘90s movies and bad hair t...

On Episode 105, Alli sets aside her very real, very intense fear of birds for a conversation about Mr. Popper’s Penguins . Written in 1938 by Richard and Florence Atwater, this Newbery Honor winner is the story of a house painter named Mr. Popper who dreams of traveling to the Arctic and the penguins who come into his life thanks to one of his heroes, explorer Admiral Drake. Alli and her guest Swa...

It’s been well-established that Alli is a superfan of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women , but on Episode 104, her guest introduces her to two of the author’s other books — Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom . On this episode, they chat about how Alcott’s real-life influenced her storytelling and consider the many ways in which these books were highly progressive and feminist when they were written, ev...

It’s become an unofficial tradition to come back for a new year of the podcast with a Sweet Valley episode… and this year is no exception! On Episode 103, Alli’s soon-to-be podcaster friends Jaimie Farris and Abby Tracy join her to chat about Book #62 in the series, Who’s Who ? Check out this episode for conversations about old school “computer dating services,” body image, high school romances, t...

Rounding out year TWO of the podcast, it’s time for another round of Q+A! On this episode, Alli answers questions about everything from her favorite episodes and goals for the show to her personal writing and her recent move to Philadelphia. Enjoy this bonus episode! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the fourth and final week of Pride Month on the pod. Cheers to many more! Thanks so much to all of the guests who have joined Alli to celebrate Pride on SSR. On Episode 101, Tim Swenarton guests to chat about the book that made him a reader, Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief . The first title in the five-book series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the novel was published in 2005 and shot...

It’s Episode 100 of SSR —  and Week 3 of Pride Month! There’s so much to celebrate on the podcast this week! Episode 100 is all about Libba Bray’s A Great and Terrible Beauty , the 2003 YA novel that kicked off the Gemma Doyle Trilogy. Megan Tripp joins Alli to discuss everything from world-building and problematic othering of BIPOC to subtle hints at queerness and young women claiming their...

We’re back for the second episode of Pride Month 2020! Allison Punch joins Alli to chat about a book that made a huge impact on her life, Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters. On this episode, they discuss the lack of queer love stories in mainstream YA in decades gone by and how this book compares to other coming-out narratives. They also dig into the sweet dynamics of the romance in Keeping...

Episode 98 kicks off Pride Month 2020 on SSR! This week, Alli is joined by podcaster and kid lit enthusiast Bryce Kelly for a conversation about J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan . And we’re not talkin’ the Disney version! Tune in to hear them chat about this story’s deep publishing/adaptation history, unpack its strict depiction of traditional gender roles and weird conception of parenthood, and consider w...

Every once in a while, Alli has to share what she *really* thinks is going to be an unpopular opinion on the podcast. Well, this is one of those times. Without any nostalgic attachment to Louis Sachar’s Sideways Stories from Wayside School , she’s not quite sure how to feel about it… but you’ll have to tune in for all the details! On this episode, you’ll hear Alli and her guest Katie Cragwall disc...

There have been so many requests for a Dear America episode — at last, we deliver! On Episode 96, Alli and her guest discuss the fifth installment, Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, 1847. Tune in to hear them chat about Alli’s elementary school obsession with all things Oregon Trail, the joys and embarrassments of keeping a diary, and how their readin...