735. BEACH READS FOR BETTER SCORES

735. BEACH READS FOR BETTER SCORES

June 23, 2026 · 27 min · Season 1 · Episode 735

About this episode

The episode discusses the benefits of summer reading for teens and features guest Marina Yalon sharing insights on contemporary fiction and its impact on test preparation.

According to Henry Ward Beecher, there is a temperate zone in the mind, between luxurious indolence and exacting work; and it is to this region, just between laziness and labor, that summer reading belongs. Teens willing to spend time in this region will benefit from much more than just the sheer pleasure of a good book. Amy and Mike invited test prep professional Marina Yalon to dive into beach reads for better scores. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What's wrong with the "harder is better" reading approach? What's the benefit of contemporary fiction? What kinds of skills can students build from reading contemporary fiction? Do beach reads really have SAT vocabulary words? What are some book recommendations for summer reads? How should parents approach helping teens find the right book? MEET OUR GUEST Marina Yalon is the founder of MYPrep, a virtual tutoring company dedicated to taking the stress out of SAT and ACT prep. With deep expertise in both exams and nearly two decades spent coaching students to achieve their goal scores, she brings a highly individualized approach to test prep—meeting each student where they are and building from there. Through…

People in this episode

Hosts: Amy Seeley, Mike Bergin

Guest: Marina Yalon

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MYPrep

Books & works: BEACH READS FOR BETTER SCORES

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