The SSR Podcast

At long last, it's John Green time! Episode 297 unpacks Looking for Alaska, the YA superstar's award-winning debut novel. Conversations range from manic pixie dream girls and the male gaze to addiction and the problematic language that made Alli and her guest cringe in 2024.TW: suicide, addiction, parental lossAlissa DeRogatis is the author of Call It What You Want. Subscribe to her Substack newsletterProbably Oversharing and follow her on Instagram @alissaderogatis.CHECK OUT ALISSA’S BOOK HERE!CHECK OUT ALISSA’S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:Old Enough by Haley JakobsonIt’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned VizziniOTHER BOOK SHOUTOUTS:Prep by Curtis SittenfeldMagnolia Parks by Jessa HastingsMORE READING:“Looking for Alaska” (Kirkus, 2005)“Book Nook: Looking for Alaska” (Shorewood Ripples, 2022)“Book Review: Looking for Alaska by John Green” (Of Whiskey and Words)“Book Review: Looking for Alaska by John Green” (A Paper Arrow, 2019)“Looking for Alaska by John Green — review” (The Guardian, 2013)“Looking for Alaska” (School Library Journal, 2005)“Book Review for Teens: John Green Looking for Alaska” (Your Teen, 2014)“Book Review: Looking for Alaska” (Sara du Jour, 2014)“How Hulu’s Looking for Alaska Updates John Green’s Book for a New Generation” (Time, 2019) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You already know that Ramona Quimby is curious, precocious, hilarious, and bold... but now she gets to be brave, too. On Episode 296, Alli and her guest take a close look at the third book in Beverly Cleary's beloved Ramona series, Ramona the Brave. There's classroom enemies, feminism, craft projects, scary new bedrooms, and big moments of self-esteem. What more could you want?Jessie Rosen is a writer, producer, educator, and speaker. Her novel The Heirloom is available wherever books are sold. Follow Jessie on Instagram @jessierosenwriter.CHECK OUT OUR PREVIOUS RAMONA EPISODES:Episode 18: Beezus and Ramona (with Penny Luksic)Episode 253: Ramona the Pest (with Kara Alloway)CHECK OUT JESSIE’S BOOK HERE!CHECK OUT JESSIE’S BOOK RECOMMENDATION:There’s Nothing Wrong With Her by Kate WeinbergMORE READING:“Beverly Cleary Made It OK To Be A Ramona In A World Of Susans” (BuzzFeed News, 2021)“How Ramona Quimby Helps Kids Make Sense of This Unstable World” (Literary Hub, 2019)“Ramona the Brave” (Kirkus, 1975)“Book Review: Ramona the Brave” (A Journey of Words, 2023)Follow SSR on social media!Instagram // Facebook // TwitterSupport SSR on Patreon!**Please note that the Bookshop.org links above are affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through these links. Please do not feel inclined to purchase unless you are excited to add these books to your TBR list!** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Abby and Alli welcome their first-ever guest to the WriTing Friends series for a conversation about the publishing process, astrology, and everything in between.Carinn Jade is the co-host of Pop Fiction Women and the author of The Astrology House. Follow her on Instagram @carinnjade. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Longtime listeners know that Sarah Dessen books always, always bring the spice and juicy discussion to the podcast. This episode is no exception as Alli and her guest dish about 1998's Someone Like You. The book tackles a lot of issues—and we try to do the same on today's show. Topics include bad boyfriends, intense friendships, losing your virginity, teen pregnancy, and tension between kids and parents.Aurora Palit's debut novel Sunshine and Spice is now available wherever books are sold. Follow her on Instagram @aurorapalit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 & Company. Follow her on Instagram @charleedyroff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, crisis situations before cell phones, the big Dawn intro, messages about bodies and beauty, found family, and (as always) so much more.Afoma Eme-Umesi is a writer, voracious reader, and the founder of Reading Middle Grade, a website dedicated to sharing books for middle grade readers. Afoma loves contemporary realistic fiction and will never say no to a graphic novel. Follow her on Instagram @whatafomareads, check out Reading Middle Grade's Patreon, and sign up for her newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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! TW: suicide, PTSD, traumaE.B. Asher is the pen name for the writing trio of Bridget Morrissey, Emily Wibberley, and Austin Siegemund-Broka, all of whom have written many books under their own names. This Will Be Fun is their debut novel under the E.B. Asher pseudonym. Follow their work on Instagram @eb_asher. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 than plot and how much their characters resemble themselves. Follow Abby on Instagram @shmab and @abookwolfe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 to clown on here and it’s a truly excellent time.TW: suicideOne of Alli’s all-time favorite authors is on the pod today! Claire Lombardo is the New York Times bestselling author of The Most Fun We Ever Had—a Reese’s Book Club pick—and Same As It Ever Was. She’s taught at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and works part-time as a bookseller at Prairie Lights. Follow her on Instagram @claire_lombardo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 author of Women from the Ankle Down and Brilliance and Fire. Follow her on Instagram @rachellewb. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, men’s gymnastics, teen hormones, and more. TW: potential abuse, dead animalsClaire Kann is the author of several novels—most recently, Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places. She’s an award-winning online storyteller whose favorite stories are the kind about everyday life with just a touch of supernatural in the details. Follow her on Instagram @kannclaire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 dynamics, New York fantasies, Sweet Valley similarities and differences, and more.Colleen McKeegan is the author of Rip Tide and The Wild One. Follow her on Instagram (@clmckeegan). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 shares a milestone moment in her writing journey.Follow Abby on Instagram @shmab and @abookwolfe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 kid lit.Morgan Matson is a New York Times bestselling author of books for teen and tween readers. Her latest releases are The Ballad of Darcy and Russell and The Firefly Summer in paperback. Follow her on Instagram (@morgamat). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 over their love of books in middle school, became best friends, and have been reading together ever since. They started their podcast to diversify and deepen their reading lives and to expand what we all think of as "classics." Listen to Novel Tea wherever you find your favorite pods and follow the show on Instagram (@thenoveltea.pod). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, depressionSheila is the author of the novels The Goddess Effect and Friends in Napa, which Mindy Kaling called “smart and wildly entertaining… like drinking a glass of wine with an endlessly witty, scandalous friend.” Her work has appeared in many publications, including Vogue, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. Sheila lives in Los Angeles with her husband and you can follow her on Instagram @sheilaym. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 more about herself and her writing life with listeners! Alli and Abby also talk more about their vision for WTF going forward, their thoughts on genre, and Alli’s DNF era.Follow Abby on Instagram @shmab and @abookwolfe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 especially enjoy this walk (cruise?) down memory lane in spite of its many sad moments.TW: suicide, depression, grief, loss of a parentOlivia Muenter is a writer, reader, and a co-host of the Bad on Paper podcast. Her first novel Such a Bad Influence is available wherever books are sold. In her free time, you can find her working on her old house in the Hudson Valley, where she lives with her husband and her dog. Follow her on Instagram @oliviamuenter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 explaining prejudice, if the author does a disservice to other sitters by making them so naive, and what young readers can learn from stories like Keep Out, Claudia!Melissa Mogollon holds an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a BA from the George Washington University. Originally from Colombia and raised in Florida, she now teaches at a boarding school in Rhode Island, where she lives with her partner and dog. She is passionate about education, youth empowerment, Rihanna, and ceviche. Oye is her first novel. Follow her on Instagram (@melissamogollonwriter). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Spring Lake, NJ. Follow her @thesaltybookworm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.