YA, We Read It!

New year, New season, Same ol' Laura and Meggie. Kicking off another year of YA, the best friends are back and more excited than ever as they crack open Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games: the first book in the beloved trilogy that quickly rose to popularity in the late aughts. Katniss Everdeen lives a meager and strenuous life in her home of District 12. Each year, the nation of Panem hosts an event i...

After a season of lies, murder, mystery, withcraft, and burying trauma while somehow maintaining grades at an elite private school: Meggie and Laura have finally finished Kate Brian's Private Series. Join us for a deep discussion of the 14 books as we try to make sense of all the plot changes, character motivations, Reed as a protagonist, and discuss the spinoff series. And as always, we announce...

It's the end of 2021 and its the finale for the Private series and Laura and Meggie are ready to break down the fourteenth book, Vengeance. Taking place 4 months after her birthday (and Mr. Lange's death), Reed is using her inheritance to finally rebuild Billings (okay, girlboss alert!) tbh it's weird to say goodbye to this series at the end of her junior year and also, the whole witch thing? Forg...

After finding out that her and Noelle are sisters and ALSO witches, (Meggie and Laura really weren't expecting such a shift in the series plot, but let's run with it!!!) Reed finds herself back at school, tempted to start dabbling in the Book of Spells. Chaos ensues as she starts having witchy-nightmares and the Billings girls start disappearing one by one. Can teenage-witch Reed save everyone bef...

Noelle is gone and her kidnappers target Reed as the only person that can rescue her. If not? She gets murdered. Remember last book how we started a secret society? That's not important anymore!!! In what can only be described as a PG-rated version of a "Saw" movie, Reed is given tasks she must complete in order to save her best friend. And Laura and Meggie are absolutely here for this 200 page ch...

Billings has been destroyed. Or has it? After Reed mysteriously receives a spooky old book titled "Billings Literary Society" she decides to reinstate what turns out to be a secret society. Meggie and Laura are honestly pretty bored with this book (how did we go from being stranded on an island to this weird book club plot line?!) but they make the most of it as they discuss some major plot-holes,...

Welp, Laura & Meggie were not expecting this whole St. Barth's trip to take place over 2 books, but here we are!!! Reed manages to survive being pushed overboard from a luxury yacht, and then for some reason decides to keep vacationing and ignore her problems (we've all been there!). As you can imagine things are about to go from bad to worse as whoever wanted Reed dead is still out there and...

The holiday season is upon both the Billings Girls and Meggie & Laura (so cute of us to link up like this!). Reed is back IN with her friends and the whole group is off to St. Barth's where they will continue to live lavishly without consequences... that is until Reed starts flirting with Upton Giles (who's insanely hot) and then things start turning south and she starts to feel like she's bei...

Booted from Billings, single, and stalked: Laura and Meggie continue to beg the question WHERE is a guidance counselor for our protagonist Reed who truly cannot catch a break?! Reed ambitituously decides to investigate the murder of Cheyenne herself which leads her to team up with some unexpected people. Who's actually stalking Reed? And more importantly, WHY? Will these revelations finally put an...

Freshly dumped Reed is (once again) in way over her head as she agrees to raise $5 million dollars in a last ditch effort to save the Billings House. It's Reed vs. Easton vs. Noelle vs. Her ex's new relationship vs. The police starting a reinvestigation and Meggie and Laura are absolutely unsure that Reed will be able to pull it all off. I guess we have to admire her for trying? If you enjoy the s...

The impact of Cheyenne's death is greatly overshadowed by the cancellation of the infamous Legacy party being cancelled (Vapid much?). Laura and Meggie discuss the ever-unfolding events as things change once again with Noelle's return to Easton. Reed finds herself quickly elected as the new president of Billings and caught in a steamy love triangle with her committed boyfriend Josh and ultimate ho...

A new beginning, a new school year. The series fast forwards past Spring Semester and picks up with the beginning of Reed's junior year. Meggie and Laura quickly piece together that all we once knew has completely changed: Cheyenne is president of Billings, Reed's mom is sober, and there's a whole slew of new characters to get to know. Despite the calm, there's a massive drama storm coming our way...

Reed's new boyfriend Josh, has just been arrested for the murder of her last boyfriend and as if things couldn't get messier, she's determined to clear his name causing a major rift between her and the Billings girls. Winter break is fast approaching and the hunt is on. All will finally be revealed as Laura and Meggie discover what really happened to Thomas Pearson. If you enjoy the show please ra...

Thomas may be long gone, but the real mystery is just beginning as his death doesn't seem to be an accident. Even more mystifying is the Billings girls seem to be acting more and more suspicious by the day. On top of all of that, Reed finds herself crushing HARD on Josh Hollis, aka Thomas' best friend. The wild ride is just beginning and Meggie and Laura are living for every second of it. If you e...

What could be more important than looking for your toxic boyfriend who disappeared under mysterious circumstances? Why, securing an invitation to the hottest Halloween party in existence, of course! Reed has a LOT on her plate. From having no idea where Thomas is, to the Billings Girls hazing her, to rich-boy Walt Whitaker crushing on her, it's hard to believe she's only been at this school for a...

After their summer break, Meggie and Laura are back and hotter than ever as they sit down to discuss the Private Series by Kate Brian. Reed Brennan has just arrived at the rich AF Easton Academy on a full scholarship and immediately finds herself trying to befriend the elusive Billings Girls and crushing on the dreamy Thomas Pearson. Get ready, because for the next 14+ weeks your resident hosts &a...

Once upon a time, two best friends started a podcast and read Scott Westerfeld's famed Uglies Trilogy. And that podcast, was this podcast! That's right, Laura and Meggie are starting their summers by breaking down all their feelings on the series. How can a book written in 2005 somehow feel even more relevant today? And of course, we announce where we're heading for Season 3! If you enjoy the show...

In this very special episode of YA, We Read It! Meggie and Laura are joined by Ellie Petro to deep dive into "Extras." Taking place 3 years after Tally and her friends changed the world, we're introduced to 15-year-old Aya Fuse who has big dreams of being famous. It's an interesting direction for a 4th book, but can it keep up with the trilogy and world we've grown to love? If you enjoy the show p...

**TW: discussions of self-harm in this episode** The big finale of Specials is HERE and war is quickly approaching. You won't want to miss Laura and Meggie talking through the whirlwind wrap-up to the third book. Can Tally and Shay stop what they've accidentally started? Will Tally finally stop being Special? Also, what happened to Zane?! If you enjoy the show please rate, review and subscribe, an...

**TW: discussions of self-harm in this episode** Meggie and Laura discuss the next section of Specials, and the stakes are RISING! Is Fausto alive? What happened to Andrew? Will Zane make it to the New Smoke? The hunt is on as Tally and Shay try to find where the New Smoke could possibly be located. And we realize more than ever the damage the Special surgery has done to the Cutters. If you enjoy...

Forget being "bubbly," because, for the newly Special Tally, it's all about being "icy." Shay's in charge of the Cutters (TW: brief mentions of self-harm in this ep!) and she's out to destroy the Smoke by any means necessary. Tune in as Laura and Meggie discuss the chaos that's starting to unfold! If you enjoy the show please rate, review and subscribe, and don't forget to check out the host's Ins...

You don't want to miss Meggie and Laura's hot discourse of the last part of Pretties, where Tally is once again alone in the wilderness. It's 1 part Adventure, 1 part Action, and ALL parts "we are still Team David and Fausto is our new favorite character even though he's seldomly mentioned." If you enjoy the show please rate, review and subscribe, and don't forget to check out the host's Instagram...

***TW: Self Harm*** Everyone's itching to stay as "bubbly" as possible. What does bubbly even mean? In a way, it means absolutely everything, but also nothing at all... poetic, don't you think? Laura and Meggie think so too. They're here to guide you through the next part of Pretties, as Tally and her new-beau Zane (who sadly, still isn't David) try to find a way out of the city. If you enjoy the...

With all the champagne, costume parties, and pleasure gardens, life in New Pretty Town for the newly pretty Tally is (for lack of a better word) pretty great! But of course, Meggie and Laura know everything is not always as it seems (because they read the first book, duh!). Regardless, they are ready to discuss book 2 of Scott Westerfeld's trilogy and all the very pretty and not-so-pretty things t...

This week on YA, We Read It! Your hosts, Laura and Meggie have completely hurled themselves into Uglies world as they rip through the final pages of the first book. Tally has single-handedly (and accidentally) destroyed The Smoke and is on a mission to redeem herself, but like most redemption stories, that's much easier said than done. If you enjoy the show please rate, review and subscribe, and d...