The SSR Podcast

Five years of the podcast and 250 episodes… it’s a big week! And what better way to celebrate than by revisiting one of Alli’s deep cut childhood favorites, Joan Bauer’s Hope Was Here? Join the party as Alli and her guest take a sweet walk down memory lane with the help of this Newbery Honor book, covering topics ranging from Gilmore Girls parallels and the glamorization of working in food service to found family and political organizing.

Bridget Morrissey is the author of That Summer Feeling, A Thousand Miles, Love Scenes, When the Light Went Out, and What You Left Me. Follow her on Instagram (@bridgetjmorrissey) and Twitter (@bridgemorrissey).

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The subject matter of Episode 249 is HEAVY because it mirrors the equally heavy subject matter of Lurlene McDaniel’s long career in YA “sick lit.” More specifically, Alli and her guest chat about Six Months to Live, the 1985 novel that began the Dawn Rochelle series. In it, seventh grader Dawn is diagnosed with cancer and forced to completely reorder her life accordingly. They discuss the draw of books like this for kids, the formula Lurlene McDaniel devised, tropes about grief and dying, evolution in tragic YA, representation, and more.

Kelly Loy Gilbert is the author of Conviction, Picture Us in the Light, When We Were Infinite, and Everyone Wants to Know. Follow her on Instagram (@kellyloygilbert) and Twitter (@KellyLoyGilbert).

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The SSR Podcast has spent no shortage of time on Ann M. Martin’s Baby-Sitters Club and their idyllic life in Stonybrook, Connecticut… but what happens when we take one member of the BSC to the west coast? Well, you get the California Diaries series. On Episode 248, Alli and her guest discuss the first installment of that series, Dawn. Their conversation touches on shifting friendships, maturity gaps, the adult drama they wanted more of, queer coding, hazing, hilarious titles, and what they loved about Dawn’s voice on the page.

Rachel Koller Croft is a WGA Award-nominated screenwriter and the author of Stone Cold Fox. She lives by the beach with her husband, Charles, and their rescue pitbull, Juniper. Follow her on Instagram (@rachkollercroft).

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On Episode 247, Alli finally gets the chance to revisit a book that’s been at the top of her personal SSR wish list for years: Bloomability by Sharon Creech. With the help of her guest, Alli follows main character Dinnie on a journey from her nomadic life in the U.S. to a Swiss boarding school, where she makes new friends, is forced to see her family back home in a new way, and learns more about herself. The book opens up conversations about everything from family dysfunction and dream journals to culture shock and belonging.

Kaitlyn Hill is the author of Love from Scratch and Not Here to Stay Friends. Follow her on Instagram (@thekaitlynhill) and Twitter (@thekaitlynhill).

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Episode 246 takes a sweeping look at the mystery genre and Agatha Christie, paying special attention to a book that has made many a teenager a mystery fan over the last decades: And Then There Were None. Alli and her guests — whose recent work was inspired by Agatha Christie — talk about reading and writing mysteries. They also discuss the racist legacy of And Then There Were None, their favorite characters from the book, the standards its set for mysteries, and why we should give teens more credit.

Kathleen Glasgow is the author of Girl in Pieces, How to Make Friends With the Dark, and You’d Be Home Now. She lives and writes in Tucson, Arizona. Follow her on Instagram (@misskathleenglassgow).

Liz Lawson is the author of The Lucky Ones and lives with her family and two very bratty cats. Follow her on Instagram (@lzlwsn).

Together, Kathleen and Liz are the authors of The Agathas and The Night in Question.

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Let’s talk about the eerie world of Ally Condie’s Matched! In it, main character Cassia Reyes anticipates her Match Banquet, during which Officials from the Society in which she lives will dictate her future husband. The Officials are responsible for just about everything in Cassia and her community’s lives… but the events of the Match Banquet kick off a series of events that leave her wondering if they really have her best interests at heart and if she has more choices than she realizes.

On Episode 245, Alli and her guest unpack the world of Matched. They also talk about love triangles, the technology of dystopia, the way we treat older folks in our community, and so much more.

Lauren Kung Jessen is the author of Lunar Love. Follow her on Instagram (@laurenkjessen) and Twitter (@LaurenKJessen) and subscribe to her Substack!

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At long last, the podcast turns its attention back to Mia Thermopolis with a conversation about the second book in Meg Cabot’s beloved Princess Diaries series, Princess in the Spotlight. Alli and her guest cover core reading memories, toxic best friends, secret admirers, the world of AIM, sick days, sex talks, public platforms, and fancy weddings.

India Hill Brown is the author of The Forgotten Girl, The Girl in the Lake, and the soon-to-be-published Rhythm & Muse. Follow her on Instagram (@booksandbighair) and Twitter (@booksandbighair).

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Prepare to swoon, listeners, because Episode 243 is all about sweet summer romance! Alli and her guest gush about Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty, which they both read for the first time for the show. They reflect about the significance of summers in their own lives and cover everything from the male gaze and tankinis to love interests and fraught mother/daughter relationships.

Grace Chlosta is the bookstagrammer behind @gracesreadingnook and the host of the One Woman Book Club podcast.

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Episode 242 is all about L.M. Montgomery’s Emily of New Moon. With the help of her guests, Alli digs into orphan tropes, universalism, atheism, cats as reading buddies, grief, and more. She also auditions to be their friend!

Sadie Carpenter and Gavri’el HaCohen are the hosts of the Leaving Eden Podcast. Follow the show on Instagram (@leavingedenpodcast) and Twitter (@LeavingEdenPod).

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Is your child talking back? Refusing to bathe? Staying up past their bedtime? Call Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, the star of Betty MacDonald’s 1947 novel Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and a series of other books that followed. Alli’s guest on Episode 241 was a major fan of these books when they were growing up, and they’re here to jump into MacDonald’s wacky world all over again. Tune in for discussions about conformity, radishes, fatphobia, negligent dads, childless millennials, and so much more.

Meryl Wilsner is the author of Something to Talk About, Mistakes Were Made, and the forthcoming Cleat Cute. Follow them on Instagram (@merylwilsner) and Twitter (@merylwilsner).

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