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. 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! 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 This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. 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! 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. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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! This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. News: Best YA books of 2025 So Far Trailer for Mason Deaver’s I Wish You All The Best has dropped We Were Liars released to Prime, The Summer I Turned Pretty Season Three is releasing its first two episodes on Prime July 16, and the animated take on Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan is dropping on Netflix July 10. Marissa Meyer’s “The Lunar Chronicles” is being adapted for animation in fall 2028. 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 HouseCall 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. 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! This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. 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: Long Way Down Look Both Ways Ghost If you're an adult wanting to read them for yourself: Boy in the Black Suit The Track Series As Brave As You For Teens 14+: Long Way Down Ghost All American Boys (with Brendan Kiely) For Tweens: Stuntboy, in the Meantime (with Raúl the Third) Ghost Look Both Ways Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erica goes over a nice mix of new YA books by AAPI authors, while Kelly has a great convo with Erin Entrada Kelly and Kwame Mbalia, authors of the new rom-com On Again, Awkward Again. 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 to level up your reading life? Become a Book Riot All Access member and explore our full library of members-only content, including must-reads, deep dives, and reading challenge recommendations. For a limited time, the first 50 new All Access annual members get a FREE copy of Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz courtesy of Tor Publishing! Join Book Riot All Access to level up your reading life and claim your free copy of Automatic Noodle. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Books Discussed: Eliza, from Scratch by Sophia Lee Fitting Indian by Jyoti Chand, illustrated by Tara Anand Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur The Summer I Remembered Everything by Catherine Con Morse On Again, Awkward Again by Erin Entrada Kelly, Kwame Mbalia A Universe of Wishes edited by Dhonielle Clayton Black Boy Joy edited by Kwame Mbalia The White Guy Dies First edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker The Black Girl Survives in This One edited by Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley Then Again, Maybe I Won't by Judy Blume The Fell of Dark by Caleb Roehrig Darius The Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero You Should See Me In a Crown by Leah Johnson Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead Shine by Candy Gourlay Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender Hello Universe and Lalani of the Distant Sea by Erin Entrada Kelly Kaya Morgan's Crowning Achievement by Jill Tew Moko Magic: Carnival Chaos by Tracey Baptiste Kwame Mbalia's Freedom Fire imprint (more info) You can follow both Erin Entrada Kelly and Kwame Mbalia on Bluesky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erica gets into some cutesy/cozy YA books, and Kelly speaks to Huda Fahmy about her fictionalized memoir series. 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! Trust your reading list to the experts at Tailored Book Recommendations! The professional book nerds (aka bibliologists) at TBR have recommended over 160,000 books to readers of all kinds. Let TBR match you with your next favorite read! Simply fill out a quick survey about what you want more of in your reading life, and your bibliologist will scour their bookish knowledge to find three reads they think you’ll love. Choose from receiving just the recommendations via email, or opt to have paperbacks or hardcovers delivered right to your door. Get started for only $18 at mytbr.co! This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Books Discussed If You’ll Have Me by Eunnie I Shall Never Fall in Love: A Graphic Novel by Hari Conner If We Were a Movie by Zakiya N. Jamal Off Menu: A Graphic Novel by Oliver Gerlach, illustrated by Kelsi Jo Silva Delicious in Dungeon by Ryoko Kui If You're Not the One by Farah Naz Rishi Huda F Wants to Know by Huda Fahmy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erica gets into some new YA graphic novels that she's excited about, and Kelly interviews YA author Ava Reid about her latest release, the art of homage, and being a life-long Hunger Games fan. 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! A new year means a new Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons. To get recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. All Access subscribers get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. You can become an All Access member starting at $6 per month or $60 per year to get unlimited access to all members-only content in 20+ newsletters, community features, and the warm fuzzies of knowing you are supporting independent media. To join, visit bookriot.com/readharder. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Article discussed Graphic novels are booming in popularity. It’s changing children’s relationship with books Books Discussed Raised By Ghosts by Briana Loewinsohn Brielle and Bear: Volume 1 Salomey Doku Strange Bedfellows by Ariel Slamet Ries Huda F Wants to Know? By Huda Fahmy Renegade Girls: A Queer Tale of Romance and Rabble-Rousing by Nora Neus, illustrated by Julie Robine Fable at the End of the World by Ava Reid Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi Legend series by Marie Lu Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White The Fever King series by Victoria Lee Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater An Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kelly and Erica discuss the first book of the super-popular 1980s/1990s series Sweet Valley High. We also find out who is more of a Jessica/Elizabeth. 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! A new year means a new Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons. To get recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. All Access subscribers get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. You can become an All Access member starting at $6 per month or $60 per year to get unlimited access to all members-only content in 20+ newsletters, community features, and the warm fuzzies of knowing you are supporting independent media. To join, visit bookriot.com/readharder. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. News Graphic novels are booming in popularity. It’s changing children’s relationship with books LA Book Prize finalists announced Books Discussed Double Love (Sweet Valley High No. 1) by Francine Pascal From the ghostwriter On Again, Awkward Again by Erin Entrada Kelly and Kwame Mbalia The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 11 by Natsu Hyuuga, illustrated by Nekokurage, translated by Julie Goniwich Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kelly and Erica talk about the YA books out in February they're most excited about...and maybe a demon or two. 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! A new year means a new Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons. To get recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. All Access subscribers get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. You can become an All Access member starting at $6 per month or $60 per year to get unlimited access to all members-only content in 20+ newsletters, community features, and the warm fuzzies of knowing you are supporting independent media. To join, visit bookriot.com/readharder. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. News Our Book Club Pick for our February 26th episode: Double Love by Francine Pascal (Sweet Valley High #1) Award-Winning YA Books from the ALA Youth Media Awards Adult novels in verse The Rainbow List Malinda Lo's queer YA book counts Books Discussed Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray (S)Kin by Ibi Zoboi Dropping Beats by Nathanael Lessore The Forest King’s Daughter by Elly Blake The Girl You Know by Elle Gonzalez Rose The History of Everything by Victoria Evans Hakutaku by Kouki Ishikawa Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks Nimona by ND Stevenson Emily the Strange by Rob Reger, Jessica Gruner, and Buzz Parker Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham A Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. 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! A new year means a new Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons. To get recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. All Access subscribers get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. You can become an All Access member starting at $6 per month or $60 per year to get unlimited access to all members-only content in 20+ newsletters, community features, and the warm fuzzies of knowing you are supporting independent media. To join, visit bookriot.com/readharder. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. 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: Long Way Down Look Both Ways Ghost If you're an adult wanting to read them for yourself: Boy in the Black Suit The Track Series As Brave As You For Teens 14+: Long Way Down Ghost All American Boys (with Brendan Kiely) For Tweens: Stuntboy, in the Meantime (with Raúl the Third) Ghost Look Both Ways Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erica gets into some new YA fantasy graphic novels, comics, and manga she's excited to read in the new year. 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! A new year means a new Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons. To get recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. All Access subscribers get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. You can become an All Access member starting at $6 per month or $60 per year to get unlimited access to all members-only content in 20+ newsletters, community features, and the warm fuzzies of knowing you are supporting independent media. To join, visit bookriot.com/readharder. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Books Discussed Ichi the Witch by Osamu Nishi, illustrated by Shiro Usazaki The Fade by Aabria Iyengar, illustrated by Mari Costa RuriDragon, Vol. 1 by Masaoki Shindō West Hollywood Monster Squad by Sina Grace, illustrated by Bradley Clayton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Hey YA, Kelly talks about five upcoming 2025 YA anthologies you'll want on your TBR. 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! At Tailored Book Recommendations, we’ve recommended over 150,000 books to readers of every type. And we’ve got good news— TBR makes a novel gift for the book lover on your list! All your gift recipient has to do is fill out a survey about their reading likes and dislikes, and our expert bibliologists will use their bookish knowledge to round up three personalized recommendations for reads we think they’ll love. Whether they’re a mystery maven, a historical fiction fanatic, or a contemporary connoisseur, we’ve got the chops to match the book lover in your life with their next favorite read. And it only takes a few clicks to gift TBR! Simply head to mytbr.co/gift to get started. You can even schedule the delivery of the welcome email, which means no more waiting on gifts to arrive last minute. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Books Discussed (Wh)Y A(n) Anthology: On the Rise and Reach of YA Anthologies YA Anthologies: Discovering and Using New Collections for Teen Readers (School Library Journal) (Don’t) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation About Mental Health, Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World, and Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy edited by Kelly Jensen All The Love Under the Vast Sky edited by Kip Wilson (January 14) Banned Together: Our Fight for Readers’ Rights edited by Ashley Hope Perez (March 4) Generation Queer: Stories of Youth Organizers, Artists, and Educators edited by Kimm Topping, with illustrations by Anshika Khullar (May 27) Legendary Frybread Drive In edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith (August 26) Ancestor Approved edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology edited by Vania Stoyanova and Rosiee Thor (February 4) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices