To All the YA I've Loved Before

A carnival slasher for the last episode of the season (and the year) just felt so right! We read Tastes Like Candy by Ivy Tholen (published in 2020), and absolutely loved the cool year-round Halloween carnival setting, friendships, and very high school themes of moving on.

This episode got us deep in our feelings, because we spend a lot of time exploring the feelings of our own high school years, and the ways we appreciate YA and the things that teenage girls love. Discussions of topic also include: Ashley’s new pink piano, the gospel of Buc-ee’s, and letting teenage girls be gross in media. Plus, abnormal thyroid function representation and Kaycee’s forever vendetta against high school dress codes. 

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You can find citations, notes, and further reading on this episode at our website 

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Theme Music by Slip.stream - "In And Out Of Love" 

When will the people of Shadyside finally abandon this horror of a town altogether? Absolutely never, if the many Fear Street spin-offs have their way (and we love it). Welcome to Fear Park, an amusement park that shows the horrors of imminent domain and exploiting huge tragedy for entertainment. R.L. Stine really knocked it out of the (theme) park with this one.

Discussions of topic include: Robbie Williams, Kaycee’s own teenage carnival tryst, and the bumpy rollercoasters of our youth.

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You can find citations, notes, and further reading on this episode at our website 

kayceeracer.com/toalltheya

Theme Music by Slip.stream - "In And Out Of Love" 

Staring longingly across parking lots, bad wigs, and Jasper…these are only a few of the things Stephenie Meyer has to answer for as we take on the popular 2008 teen vampire flick Twilight this week. 

Topics of discussion include: the vampire version of Wonderwalling a girl, 2008 fashion, and being Team Rosalie (and Team Eternal Vampires Need to Stay Away from High Schools). Plus, Ashley’s unsurprising obsession with Nosferatu as a child. 

Content Warning: discussions of emotional abuse

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You can find citations, notes, and further reading on this episode at our website 

www.kayceeracer.com/blog/twilight 

Theme Music by Slip.stream - "In And Out Of Love" 

We are back in 1995 this week with another vamp novel Look for Me by Moonlight by Mary Downing Hahn. Sixteen-year-old, shy and self-conscious Cynda goes to live with her father and his new family in their old Maine inn. She just wants to feel closer to her dad, and maybe experience a little normal teenage life after growing up a Navy brat with her mom and stepdad. A winter visiter at the inn, charming GROWN ADULT MAN Vincent, seems to put Cynda under his spell when he begins to make her feel special. Shudder.

Discussions of topic include: a perfect Taylor Swift song for the occasion, Kaycee’s theory on why vampire boyfriends are always so old in teen media, and more Pretty Little Liars talk. Plus, the most emo teenage moment Ashley ever had…and it involved rain, natch.

Content warning: The book Look for Me by Moonlight and this episode both contain talk of grooming and sexual assault. 

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You can find citations, notes, and further reading on this episode at our website

www.kayceeracer.com/blog/look-for-me-by-moonlight

Theme Music by Slip.stream- "In And Out Of Love" 

Kaycee and Ashley take on another vampire in the Bailey School Kids Universe — penned by Debbie Daley and Marcia Thornton Jones — with Dracula Doesn’t Drink Lemonade. The core four crew of Howie, Eddie, Liza, and Melody are a bit creeped when they meet Mr. Drake, their new school counselor. He dresses in all black and is ice cold. Plus, he may or may not have hypnotic powers.

Discussions of topic include: the wild and newsworthy year 1995 was, our own history of being Hot Topic teens, an attempt to build out more of the backstory of Bailey City, and themes of paranoia and othering. Plus, we set the scene for the next two weeks of YA vampire stories on the pod with what vampires mean to Young Adult Fiction. 

Episode Notes and More 

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There Will Never Be a “Very Special” Buffy: Buffy and the Monters of Teen Life 

Vampires and Witches Go to School: Contemporary Young Adult Fiction, Gender, and the Gothic

Vampires Are Taking Over Pop Culture Again—But This Time, the Monster Is Us

Theme Music by ⁠⁠Slip.stream⁠⁠ - "In And Out Of Love" 

It’s baby’s first graphic novel on the pod today with Maggie Tokunda-Hall and Lisa Sterle’s Squad. We are diving right back into the whole werewolf of it all, and this one is such a treat…just like the human boys our girl squad snacks on once a month. This novel weaves a wonderfully contemporary supernatural tale of popularity, finding where you belong, sapphic romance, and dealing with white woman victimhood. We loved the fashion, our main character Becca, and all the female rage.

Topics of discussion include: revenge narratives, the body issues that mothers pass down to their daughters, and Ashley completely nerding out with her gameshow knowledge. Plus, more Taylor Swift talk as Ashley sinks further into the Swifty Sinkhole where Kaycee has been waiting for her.

Content Warning: The graphic novel Squad contains mentions of sexual assault, and so does this episode. 

Episode Notes and More 

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An Interview with Maggie Tokunda Hall

Important diet and body talk from Maintenance Phase

Theme Music by Slip.stream - "In And Out Of Love" 

The Wakefield twins are leaving good old Sweet Valley and crossing the pond to London, England in this miniseries that includes #104 Love and Death in London, #105 A Date With a Werewolf, and #106 Beware the Wolfman. Don’t you worry, though, everyone is just as obsessed with Jessica and Elizabeth in the UK as they are back in the US. In this episode, we tackle a lot of useless side characters, including a princess who Gone Girls the entire country, and a blast from a book of the past, Rene Glize, who is still obsessed with Liz after their kiss in France (ref. Super Edition #3 Spring Break). But, Liz isn’t interested in Rene or trusty boyfriend Todd back home, because she’s got her eyes on werewolf-obsessed poet Luke. Jessica falls for a distant member of the royal family, Little Lord Pembroke, who may or may not be a werewolf serial killer. 

Topics of discussion include: the fact that people from Liverpool are called Liverpudlians, the confusing stance on the rich and aristocracy these stories take, and a long forgotten memory from our own teen years of a super sketchy underage dance club in the suburbs of St. Paul, MN. Plus, we once again ask the question of who is the worst twin, Liz or Jess (spoiler alert, it’s sanctimonious Elizabeth).

Episode Notes and More 

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Collect YA faves like Sweet valley High at ⁠The Book Bundler.⁠ Use code TOALLTHEYA to get 20% off your order.

Theme Music by ⁠Slip.stream⁠ - "In And Out Of Love" 

We felt a deep, magical connection this week with The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams, and we think all our fellow 80s/90s nostalgia lovers will feel the same. We seriously loved this book, which pays homage to the books and pop culture of our youths in a fantastic, meta way, while giving us the great girl friendships we love in contemporary YA, and the perfect supernatural vibes. We loved this book enough to say it…kind of made us miss high school? Topics of discussion also include Craigs always being the worst, The Outsiders movie as a sexual awakening, and teen girls being discredited in culture (even though they’re really complex and cool). Plus, Kaycee gets so excited when Ashley gives a Greek mythology lesson — but is surprised when she learns Ashley herself wasn’t a Greek mythology girly.

Episode Notes and More 

Follow us on Instagram ⁠@toalltheya⁠

Collect YA faves at ⁠The Book Bundler.⁠ Use code TOALLTHEYA to get 20% off your order.

Theme Music by ⁠Slip.stream⁠ - "In And Out Of Love" 

What would a podcast about Young Adult Fiction be without talking about The Baby-Sitters Club? A bad one, probably. In this episode, we discuss an installment of the popular 80s/90s teen girl paperback series Baby-sitters' Fright Night (Super Mystery #3). We analyze the series' lasting impact, try to figure out which club member we are (with disastrous results), and question Stacey's newfound knowledge of insurance, money safes, and the economy. We cover this book’s weird stance on bullying and how it relates to the Salem Witch Trials, while marveling at how much the BSC are bullies themselves. Plus, the legacy of babysitting in culture, urban legend, and horror.

Links and Further Reading

Follow us on Instagram ⁠@toalltheya⁠

Collect YA faves like The Baby-Sitters Club at ⁠The Book Bundler.⁠ Use code TOALLTHEYA to get 20% off your order.

The Legacy of The Baby-sitters Club

https://bookriot.com/the-legacy-of-the-baby-sitters-club/ 

What's the baby sitter up to?

https://www.salon.com/2009/07/18/babysitter_history/

Theme Music by ⁠Slip.stream⁠ - "In And Out Of Love" 

Happy Ace Week! On this bonus episode, Kaycee talks with YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Ace author Lyssa Chiavari all about the release of One World, the last book of the Iamos Trilogy, out Tuesday, October 24th. Topics of discussion include asexuality, representation in YA, and a look into the wonderfully written world Lyssa has created. 

Links & Further Reading

aceweek.org

Order One World or catch up on the whole series at ⁠lyssachiavari.com/books⁠.

Listen to our previous episode with Lyssa Chiavari here.

Follow @lyssachiavari on Instagram

And on Mastodon @[email protected]

snowywingspublishing.com