Hey YA

Kelly and Erica look back on 8 years of Hey YA, highlighting their favorite (and messy!) YA moments, their most memorable episodes, and some YA books they think deserve more attention.

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Ready for a cozy, bookish autumn? Let Tailored Book Recommendations help you find your next favorite read with handpicked suggestions from professional book nerds. Get started today from just $18!

Memorable Moments:

Hey YA episode “Podcasting While Eating Chocolate Cake”

Hey YA episode “I See a Cat, I Like It”

How YA Twitter Took Down a Best-Seller Pretender

The Blues Traveler Story

The Worst Bestsellers Episode on Handbook for Mortals

“A History of Buying Books Onto the Bestseller List” 

Hey YA episode "I'm Optimistic Because It Saved My Life"

Noor.org

Books Discussed:

East by Edith Pattou

Frost by Marianna Baer 

Invisible Son by Kim Johnson

The Suffragist’s Guide to the Antarctic by Yi Shun Lai

The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros

13 Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby

Aya by Marguerite Abouet

The Cuffing Game by Lyla Lee

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In the first half of this two-part episode, Erica goes back in time to the late '80s with Mariko Tamaki's and Nicole Goux's sapphic murder mystery This Place Kills Me. Next, Kelly Jensen speaks to Hannah V. Sawyerr about her novel-in-verse Truth Is.

Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What’s Up in YA newsletter!

Ready for a cozy, bookish autumn? Let Tailored Book Recommendations help you find your next favorite read with handpicked suggestions from professional book nerds. Get started today from just $18!

Show Notes:

This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Nicole Goux

Nicole Goux's current reading list: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Audiobook), The Corus Wave by Karenza Sparks

Mariko Tamaki's current reading list: Collected Millar by Margaret Millar, My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones, The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Follow Mariko Tamaki on Instagram and Nicolce Goux on Instagram

The Turnaway Study

Brave New Voices

When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur

Six Truths and a Lie by Ream Shukairy

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Bright Red Fruit by Safia Elhillo

Plan A by Deb Caletti

Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Heppermann

Find Hannah V. Sawyerr on Instagram and TikTok.

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Kelly and Erica highlight the best of September's new YA books, including some feminist nonfiction, thrilling mysteries, goth-y fun, and more.

Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What’s Up in YA newsletter!

Ready for a cozy, bookish autumn? Let Tailored Book Recommendations help you find your next favorite read with handpicked suggestions from professional book nerds. Get started today from just $18!

Show Notes:

Self-Silencing Is Making Women Sick

Twilight Will Be Back in Theaters This October

The Story of My Anger by Jasminne Mendez

YA Novels in Verse for 2025

Truth Is by Hanna V. Sawyerr

Arm in Arm: The Grimke Sisters' Fight for Abolition and Women' s Rights by Angelica Shirley Carpenter

Loudmouth: Emma Goldman vs. America by Deborah Heiligman

You’ve Goth My Heart by L.C. Rosen

By Invitation Only by Alexandra Brown Chang

When We Were Monsters by Jennifer Niven

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley

Blood Moon by Britney S. Lewis

Through Our Teeth by Pamela N. Harris

Who’s All Going (To Die)? by Lisa Springer

If Looks Could Kill by Julie Berry

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Erica highlights some new YA genre-bending thrillers and Kelly talks with YA author Candace Fleming about her latest book, Death in the Jungle, as well as cults and YA nonfiction.

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To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What’s Up in YA newsletter!

Ready for a cozy, bookish autumn? Let Tailored Book Recommendations help you find your next favorite read with handpicked suggestions from professional book nerds. Get started today from just $18!

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Show Notes:

The Devil's in the Dancers by Catherine Yu

Roar of the Lambs by Jamison Shea

When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur

Empty Heaven by Freddie Kölsch

Predatory Natures by Amy Goldsmith

Death in the Jungle by Candace Fleming

The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Fleming

The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming

The Great and Only Barnum by Candace Fleming

"What Makes for Good YA Nonfiction" from School Library Journal

Wake the Wild Creatures by Nova Ren Suma

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

All Thirteen by Christina Soontornvat

Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed

Cultish by Amanda Montell

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

Underground by Haruki Murakami

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina

The Color of a Lie by Kim Johnson

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Kelly and Erica discuss the latest media they've been consuming and the YA books coming out in August that they're most excited about.

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Book Riot is hiring a digital content specialist! If you love books and know the ins and outs of social media strategy, and especially social video, consider joining the team. Find details and apply by August 22, 2025, at riotnewmedia.com/careers.

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Books Discussed:

Tin House Workshop

Legendary Fry Bread Drive-In edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith

A Beautiful and Terrible Murder by Claire M. Andrews

Songs for Ghosts by Clara Kumagai

The L.O.V.E. Club by Lio Min

White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote the History by Ann Bausum

The Next Generation United Daughters of the Confederacy: Book Censorship News, April 28, 2023

Tall Water by SJ Sindu, Dion MBD

Rosa By Any Other Name by Hailey Alcaraz

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez

This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Nicole Goux

What Hunger by Catherine Dang

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra Jackson-Opoku

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Erica talks queer YA graphic novels you should read and Kelly speaks with author and activist Frederick Joseph.

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To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What’s Up in YA newsletter!

Looking to elevate your reading life? Tailored Book Recommendations is here to help! TBR delivers reading recommendations hand-picked just for you by real human book nerds. You can get your recommendations via email, or receive hardcovers or paperbacks in the mail. And with quarterly or annual plans available, TBR has something for every budget. Plans start at just $18!

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Books Discussed:

The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag

Daybreak Volume One by Moosopp

The Summer Hikaru Died, Vol. 1 by Mokumokuren, Ajani Oloye (Translator)

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

Brooms By Jasmine Walls, Teo Duvall (Illustrator)

This Thing of Ours by Frederick Joseph

The Black Friend by Frederick Joseph

Ruin Road by Lamar Giles

Hey YA interview with Lamar Giles

Dwyane Wade

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze by Derrick Barnes

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

24 Seconds From Now . . . by Jason Reynolds

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

Nic Stone

Gayle Forman

Ibi Zoboi

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Danika joins Kelly this week to talk about exciting new YA books that hit shelves in June and July, as well as to talk the best YA books of 2025 so far.

Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What’s Up in YA newsletter!

Looking to elevate your reading life? Tailored Book Recommendations is here to help! TBR delivers reading recommendations hand-picked just for you by real human book nerds. You can get your recommendations via email, or receive hardcovers or paperbacks in the mail. And with quarterly or annual plans available, TBR has something for every budget. Plans start at just $18!

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News:

Books Discussed:

On Again, Awkward Again by Erin Entrada Kelly and Kwame Mbalia

Death in the Jungle by Candace Fleming

Messy Perfect by Tanya Boteju

Love Points to You by Alice Lin

"The Complicated World of YA Books for Younger Teens"

"Do Teens Get Pushed Out of YA Books When It’s Called A Genre?"

(S)Kin by Ibi Zoboi

Hear Us Out by Nancy Garden

The Year They Burned the Books by Nancy Garden

Wednesday

The Haunting of Hill House

Call Your Boyfriend by Olivia A. Cole and Ashley Woodfolk

Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by CB Lee

Best of All Worlds by Kenneth Oppel

Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel

Dan in Green Gables by Rey Terciero, illustrated by Claudia Aguirre

Ana of California by Andi Teran

Amelia, If Only by Becky Albertalli

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

Hit Me with Your Best Charm by Lillie Vale

The Tournament by Rebecca Barrow

This Is What It Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow

Nobody in Particular by Sophie Gonzales

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins

Not So Shoujo Love Story, Volume 1 by Curryuku

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Kelly talks with YA author L.M. Elliott about historical fiction, Watergate, and contemporary politics for teens.

Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What’s Up in YA newsletter!

Looking to elevate your reading life? Tailored Book Recommendations is here to help! TBR delivers reading recommendations hand-picked just for you by real human book nerds. You can get your recommendations via email, or receive hardcovers or paperbacks in the mail. And with quarterly or annual plans available, TBR has something for every budget. Plans start at just $18!

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Books Discussed:

Truth, Lies, and The Questions In Between by L.M. Elliott

Walls by L.M. Elliott

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The West Wing

Hamilton

Suspect Red by L.M. Elliott

Truth, Lies, and The Questions In Between Playlist

L.M. Elliott's blog

Mrs. America

Countdown by Deborah Wiles (series)

This Promise of Change by Debbie Levy

Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World edited by Kelly Jensen

(Don't) Call Me Crazy edited by Kelly JEnsen

A Dangerous Idea by Debbie Levy

Bluebird by Sharon Cameron

The Silent Unseen by Amanda McCrina

The Color of a Lie by Kim Johnson

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We're revisiting a fantastic interview from earlier this year! Kelly talks with YA author and children’s literature champion Jason Reynolds about his career, writing the inner lives of teen boys, his favorite middle grade and YA books, and more.

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News:

Jason Reynolds wins a MacArther Genius Grant

Books Discussed:

When I Was The Greatest by Jason Reynolds

Coretta Scott King Book Awards

Judy Blume Forever documentary

Forever . . . by Judy Blume

George M. Johnson

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Miles Morales: Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds

Eugene Yelchin

"Coca Cola Classic 'Polar Bears' TV commercial 1993"

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley

The Fire Next Time: A Letter to My Nephew by James Baldwin

Erin Entrada Kelly

A.S. King

Randy Ribay

King and the Dragonfly by Kacen Callender

Love That Dog and Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech

Weirdo by Tony Weaver, Jr.

Jason's recommended reading order of his books if . . .

You're a teacher or librarian planning to teach the books:

If you're an adult wanting to read them for yourself:

For Teens 14+:

For Tweens:

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It's a YA blast-from-the-past meets popular-still-for-a-reason this week. Kelly talks with E. Lockhart about the We Were Liars adaptation, and Erica talks with Rioter Danika Ellis about the 10th anniversary of Nimona.

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To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What’s Up in YA newsletter!

Show Notes:

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Family of Liars by E. Lockhart

We Fell Apart by E. Lockhart

Hey YA Interview with Gayle Forman

We Were Liars on Prime Instagram

My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Again, Again by E. Lockhart

Nimona by N.D. Stevenson

Nimona on Netflix

10 Years Later, We Need Nimona More Than Ever by Danika Ellis

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