Kelly and Erica discuss their most anticipated YA books coming out in April. 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) …

We're checking out director Sydney Freeland's Indigenous basketball movie, Rez Ball (2024). C/W: suicide (off-screen) Co-written by Reservation Dogs' Sterlin Harjo, this underdog feel-good sports film does exactly what you expect and not much else (Prompting another round of "it's fine, why does it need to be more?"). Still, at nearly 2 hours, Joe …

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 ne…

Brenna and Joe return with their first book to film adaptation episode with a discussion of Scott Westerfeld's 2005 dystopian novel Uglies and the long delayed 2024 film adaptation by McG. This is...a miss. The book has extremely shallow commentary and has editing issues, while the film has (yes) ugly CGI hoverboard action and an unconvincing love …

Kelly and Erica share their picks for the best YA books coming out in March and get into a little adaptation news and horror. 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!…

Brenna and Joe are joined by Conrad Chambers, Joe's co-host from The Queer Gaze podcast, to discuss 2023 UK gay coming of age film Bonus Track. It's a little bit slight, albeit full of charming performances and nicely fills the gap left by Heartstopper and Sex Education. Plus: nepo babies, a Josh O'Connor cameo, and confusion about the period setti…

Brenna and Joe are back for another mailbag, with recommendations from Tea, Books and Chocolate, gentle criticism about Heartstopper S03 and a call to action from Miriam, and request for coverage about child actor exploitation on set from Victoria. Want to recommend a book or participate in a new iteration of Banned Book Club? Contribute your sugge…

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! J…

Brenna and Joe return to discuss My Old Ass (2024), our second Megan Park text (after The Fallout). Don't let the title put you off! This is an extremely sweet and charming coming of age film, although as listener Spencer wondered: is this more for millennials than actual teens? We tackle the question, as well as the hilarious reverse "coming out" …

Kelly talks with New York Times bestselling author Gayle Forman about her new book, about the afterlife, and about the growth and evolution of YA as a category. 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 Ch…

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 tas…

Brenna and Joe continue their tradition of covering Heartstopper with a look at S03. We discuss how creator Alice Oseman tackles Charlie's eating disorder and treatment, the absence of Olivia Colman, and look ahead to the fourth (and final) season. Plus: concerns about Darcy and Tara's subplot, wanting Nick's growth to continue, how the season adap…

Kelly and Erica discuss a mega list of the best YA books of 2024, the romance bookstore boom of the last few years, and our current book club pick. 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…

Brenna and Joe return to tackle two emails from the Mailbag: 1) Tea, Books & Chocolate wrote about a prolific series called Redwall by Brian Jacques, which spun into a conversation about romance novel Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday and full cast audiobooks. 2) Maddy wrote in about queer sex - specifically in Heartstopper, but also a recommenda…

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 mean…

This week we're sharing a rerun of a favorite episode from last year in which Erica speaks with Madeline Berberian-Hutchinson about being a 16-year-old NYS and NYC Youth Poet Laureate Finalist and co-founder of a literary arts magazine, and Kelly talks with author Veronica Chambers about Ida In Love and Trouble, Black historical YA, and more. Subsc…

Brenna and Joe kick off HKHS Pod S07 with a few updates, including a revised schedule and an altered format for the time being. Let's just say we were a touch ambitious! Plus: details on Brenna's mat leave, the adjustment to having two kids, and why we need more Mailbag items! Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod…

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…

Kelly and Erica discuss their year in YA reading, looking back at their favorite books and themes that emerged. 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 e…

Brenna and Joe are back for a special holiday bonus episode on Cynthia Hand's The Afterlife of Holly Chase (2017). The novel is very enjoyable, imminently readable, and surprising - which is nice considering it could have just been a simple Scrooge tale. Plus: colourful supporting characters, a great romance that's not the point, and why hasn't thi…

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…

Watch out for falling hammers because Brenna and Joe are back next Tuesday for a special holiday episode on Cynthia Hand's utterly delightful Scrooge tale, The Afterlife of Holly Chase (2017). Get reading! Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod: > Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)…

Kelly and Erica discuss some of the YA books out in December that they're the most excited for. 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 w…

This week, Kelly talks with Maggie Tokuda-Hall about book banning, its impacts on teens, and what Authors Against Book Bans is doing in response. 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! Keep up to date with the world of books and reading …

Vanessa and Erica talk about the perfect YA books to gift, plus some other little goodies for others, or—let's be real—yourself. 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! Keep up to date with the world of books and reading with Today in Boo…

Erica speaks to Susen Shi, the New York Public Library's Young Adult Staff Engagement and Support Manager, about the library's list of the 50 best YA books of the 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! Keep up to date with the worl…

Vanessa and Erica talk lotería, a land where Christmas is year-round, predatory and dark magic, and the best new YA out in November to add to 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! Keep up to date with the world of books and re…

Erica gets into some new YA books by Native American authors — which include a graphic novel collection, a debut horror, Lipan Apache fabulism, and a mystery — just in time for Native American Heritage Month. 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 n…

Brenna and Joe conclude our special Halloween coverage with episodes 5-8 of S01 of Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events, which adapts books 3 & 4. With a caveat that we were burnt out by Snicket's texts by this point, we still find things to like, including Woodard's wordplay, Harris' utterly unconvincing drag and the surprise queerness of Rhys…

This week, Erica speaks with Madeline Berberian-Hutchinson about being a 16-year-old NYS and NYC Youth Poet Laureate Finalist and co-founder of a literary arts magazine, and Kelly talks with author Veronica Chambers about Ida In Love and Trouble, Black historical YA, and more. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. To get eve…

Brenna and Joe are back to untangle the first four episodes of Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events. We compare Neil Patrick Harris with Jim Carrey, how The Reptile Room works better on the TV show, and why Aasif Mandvi is such a delightful Montgomery Montgomery. Plus: a few gripes about the length of episodes and Brenna's least favourite child…

Kelly talks about Summer Scares and highlights several awesome YA horror books honored as part of the program. Get ready to get the chills. 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! Join Book Riot's editorial staff and expert guest writers …

Brenna and Joe return for the first of three special Halloween episodes, all focused on Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket)'s popular Middle Grade books A Series of Unfortunate Events. First up: books 1-3, as well as Brad Siberling's 2004 movie, starring Jim Carrey, who we're mixed on, as well as the film's pacing/ending. Thankfully the costumes, m…

Join Vanessa Diaz and Erica Ezeifedi as they discuss the best new YA books out this month and authors who chose to write books because otherwise, they would have done crime. 👀 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 October, Tailored…

Erica goes over some new spooky YA graphic novels to get into the mood of the season. Get ready for cute, goth vampire moms, queer werewolves, and Romeo & Juliet, but make it witches and vampires. 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! T…

Erica speaks with Caitlyn Colman-McGaw, Associate Director for Young Adult Programs and Services at the New York Public Library, about the launch of their Freedom to Read Campaign, which includes their Teen Banned Book Club and a contest. Then, Kelly joins Lamar Giles to discuss his new book Ruin Road, writing cross genre, and the growth of Black h…

Kelly serves up a delicious array of YA foodie romances to satisfy your appetite. 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! Learn something new, sharpen your skills, and expand your horizons with our Better Living Through Books newsletter. …