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In this episode, we take a sip from the spring of eternal life—or at least from Natalie Babbitt’s Tuck Everlasting—and things get delightfully complicated. We are capping off season 5 with a children's book that is not afraid to take on deep philosophical topics. This is our second episode in a row diving into books centering on immortality, but there are no sparkly vampires with disturbingly ambiguous ethics here, just an immortal toad, an unexpected murder, a disturbing music box (is that Mae Tuck's music?!?), and a little girl who engineers a jail break. Join us as we chat about the Tuck family’s accidental immortality, side-eye the Man in the Yellow Suit’s villainous mustache-twirling, and ponder whether living forever is truly a blessing or just being cursed to a job that you can never retire from. In this episode we learn that Hawa processes human speech that is too fast to be decipherable to anyone else, worry about Jesse's semi-romantic overtures to a ten year old, and discuss the heavy burden of keeping secrets. We’re diving into the magic, the mayhem, and the moral quandaries of a children’s classic that still hits surprisingly hard.

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe, on Instagram @TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at [email protected]. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.

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We're back with a continuation of our discussion around Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. In this episode, we explore the toxicity of Bella and Edward's relationship, the problematic depictions of Indigenous peoples and the influence of the Twilight movies. We also take a Buzzfeed quiz to find out which Twilight character we are (spoiler: none of us were quite happy with our results). 

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe, on Instagram @TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at [email protected]. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.

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This episode feels like what we've worked toward for the past few seasons. How can we have a library podcast and not do the pop culture juggernaut that was Twilight? Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (yep she spells Stephanie that way) follows Isabella "Bella" Swan on her move from sunny and warm Phoenix, AZ to the cold, rainy and wet Forks, WA. She stands out as the new girl. But it's not just corny 17-year-olds boys paying Bella special attention. She's also caught the eye of possibly the oldest high schooler, the moody and broody Edward Cullen. If Bella isn't "like the other girls" then the Cullens are not like the other quasi adopted families out there. The siblings date each other ("they're like together, together"), they don't talk to anyone, and well..they're undead. What follows is a romance for the ages, perfectly situated in 2005 when we couldn't quite pick up on the massive red flags behind our side-swept bangs. 

In hindsight, someone should've stopped those of us who read it as teens. But, what doesn't kill you makes you... a vampire? We've grown up and learned a few lessons. Now we can deliver this conversation from a more healed place. In this episode we question Bella's survival instincts, Edward's stalker tendencies and the family dynamics at play in this book. And while people argue whether Breaking Dawn should've been 2 movies (it shouldn't have been...), we hope listeners understand why this episode had to be a two-parter. We just had so much to say!

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe, on Instagram @TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at [email protected]. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.

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The Poet X was Elizabeth Acevedo's breakout novel, winning the Printz and Pura Belpre awards and becoming the target of many challenges and even a lawsuit attempting to keep it off of school shelves. We are standing firmly behind this book, even if it reduced Heather and Darlene to tears and maybe hasn't aged as well as it could have when it comes to Drake. We adore Xiomara's strength and resilience as she confronts family troubles, experiences a crisis of faith, weathers harassment at school, and navigates first love. We're discussing the ubiquity of harassment as a teen girl, the impacts of our parents' baggage, and whether Twin's going to have the kind of happy ending we are optimistic about for Xiomara. We're also taking a pretty strange quiz to find out what kind of poets we'd be, but really, we'd all probably just prefer to be really fab slam poets like Xiomara. 

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe, on Instagram @TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at [email protected]. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.

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Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson follows Melinda Sordino as she navigates the aftermath of her sexual assault at a high school party. Unable to speak about what happened to her, Melinda also has to deal with losing her friends, being ostracized by her peers, and having parents who can't seem to parent. Some small beacons of light in her life are her newfound friend, David, who stands up for his beliefs and encourages Melinda to do the same and her art teacher Mr. Freeman, who definitely knows something is up with Melinda and encourages her to speak through her art. In this episode, we discuss the concept of problem novels ("misery porn"), the portrayal of teachers in YA novels and Maria drops some Fairmount High School lore. 

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe, on Instagram @TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at [email protected]. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.

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We are back with special-expert-guest-on-all-things-BSC Kelsey for Part 2. We're still talking about how arson isn't the answer; because really, arson isn't the answer and perhaps that wasn't addressed strongly enough in the books. In this continuation of our exploration of all things Mary Anne, we're figuring out foreshadowing that doesn't pay off, the prevalence of babysitting 101 classes, single-parent stigma, and why Mary Anne cares so much about her shoe falling off. Fashion is a really big deal in these books and we identified the primary fashion types: New York, quirky, Steve Jobs as a 12 year old with a visor. In part 2 we're trying to figure out where our fashion choices land us as BSC girls with a helpful Buzzfeed quiz. 

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at [email protected]. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.

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We are back with more Baby-Sitters Club books, y'all and one of these is all about banned books (and arson) so you know we couldn't keep it to just one episode. We're dissecting the poorly named Mary Anne Saves the Day, the aptly named Logan Likes Mary Anne, and the really burying the lede title, Mary Anne and the Library Mystery. We've got Kelsey back with us discussing everything from the OG covers to Mary Anne's creepy controlling father and yet again, Stacey's diabetes. There's really a lot going on in these three little books and we have feelings about all of them. We have questions too. Why does poor Logan have to audition for the BSC but Dawn doesn't? How many dances can one middle school have? Why oh why did the audiobook narrator make Logan sound like Foghorn Leghorn? Also, why is Mrs. Kishi so wound up about the We Love Book Banning group when she won't even stock Nancy Drews? We are desperately looking for answers to these questions and more in this trip down memory lane with Mary Anne Spier. 

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at [email protected]. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.

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2 brothers, 1 girl, 0 chance we're onboard with this love triangle. In The Summer I Turned Pretty, we follow Isabel "Belly" Conklin, who hasn't had much luck with boys finding her attractive, especially the one boy she's been pining over for forever, Conrad Fisher. That all changes the summer she turns 16, where not only does she catch Conrad's attention, but also the attention of his younger brother, Jeremiah. Add in a third love interest, Cam Cameron, and what follows is a messy summer for Belly where she's navigating her feelings, her newfound attractiveness, and her insecurities. 

In this episode, we talk about pretty privilege, the damaging effects of the broody guy trope and the depiction of female friendships. Heather clocks Jennie Han's age as a fellow Xennial (she's really not 60, guys), Hannah tells us about the Westermarck effect and we find out Hawa really doesn't read our group chat. We may not be onboard with this brother love triangle but the book gave us a lot to talk about. 

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe, on Instagram @TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at [email protected]. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.

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Wow. Truly, we are so glad we took a detour to the affluent and completely bananas town of Sweet Valley, California to meet Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield. These books have everything: an evil twin, a greaser who carjacks people and takes them to dive bars, an art teacher named Stuart who has no boundaries, and a lie detector test that measures your pulse with a thimble. In this episode we dive into books 1 and 57 of the enormous Sweet Valley High series, Double Love and Teacher Crush. Who knew books about high school sororities (?!?) and mandatory electives could be so compelling? In this episode of TBMM, we play the vintage SVH board game, learn about Hawa's twinness, hear about Hannah's faux twinness, and Hawa implies that Heather is 60. These books are really struggling to pass the Bechdel test, but we kind of love them. There are no deep themes, beautiful writing, or well developed characters here, folks, just teen soap opera nonsense that you can't put down. 

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at [email protected]. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.

Music during the author bio is Neon Waves by Starfall. 

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In a TBMM first, we read a book with substantially different editions! That's right, we all came to the podcasting table calling the main character by different names. We got that sorted out (and we're defaulting to the most current edition) and dove right in to this lovely book, The Birchbark House, by Louise Erdrich. This book made us laugh and cry and everything in between as we follow Omakakiins and her family through the seasons. This week we discuss whether Old Tallow is a feminist legend, whether a baby can be reincarnated as a bird, and the pretty disturbing origins of the smallpox vaccine. We compare and contrast today's title with the Little House books and examine femininity and our central characters' relationships with their environment. 

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at [email protected]. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.