Shelf-involved Podcast

This week we're talking about YA books written by two authors, mostly in the form of dual narrators (which you know we love), but also some more unique examples. Kenzie frequently refers to this idea as "dual narrators" because she couldn't be bothered to remember the name of the episode. Disregard and enjoy. 

We're back! Welcome to season 3, let's kick things off by talking about time loops. It's time travel but for normies. Stay tuned for news on things coming up this season. 

It's our last off season episode, and we can't wait to be back NEXT WEEK with season 3! We have a lot of exciting things in store for this next season and we're thankful that you keep tuning in. This week we're talking about books perfect for summer reading but also make you think and delve into heavier subjects. 

For this off season episode, we're excited to welcome friend of the podcast, Alex! Alex is talking about his favorite YA book, a classic that we should all read: Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. We have one more off season episode next week, and then we'll be back with season 3. Stay tuned!

We're back with more summer reading recommendations, this time with the lighter books that make you happy. The books you can lay around with on a glamorous beach vacation (as we are all wont to take) and it won't bum you out. 

We're back with another mini off-season episode, this time with long-time friend of the podcast, Colleen. Who's with us today to enthusiastically yell about some YA books she loves. 

We're back for our off-season! We miss all you lovely listeners already, so we're back for the month of July with some mini-episodes. Our third season will kick off at the end of August. Until then, we hope you enjoy our recommendations for summer reading. This episode, we're talking about escapism for summer reading vibes. 

It's our last episode of season 2, so we're talking about paranormal YA: vampires, zombies, ghosts, all of it. Kenzie wants more zombie books, so if you know of them, tell us on Twitter @shelf_involved

We've both spent the past few weeks in reading slumps, the awful time when nothing grabs your attention, reading becomes like a chore, and you forget how great it can be. So we're doling out advice on how to overcome your slumps, some genres to avoid, and of course the tried and true method of reading an old favorite. May your slump be busted, dear reader. 

This week we're talking about addiction in YA, specifically, teen protagonists who are dealing with their own addictions and how we've seen this talked about recently in the genre. 

This week we're catching up, a series we do where one of us reads a book they missed out on reading in their teen years. This week, Emily reads Gossip Girl. She's an avid fan of the show but sadly missed out on the debauchery and scandal as an actual teen. 

This week we're talking about pretentious teens, the ones that are too smart and too witty to be real, and why we think declaring those teens to be nonexistent is not helpful. Also, let's be honest, teens that are funnier than we are are fun to read, so, surprise: we love them.   

This week we're talking about near historical fiction, it's like regular historical fiction, but less war and famine and disease, generally. We're looking at books set mainly in the late 1970s through the early 2000s.   

This week we're talking about the quintessential YA trope: star-crossed lovers. YA is rife with these sad love-sick teens, and you know we love them all.  We talk about how it's hard to find a fantasy novel without this type of love story and also the creative ways we've seen this done in YA contemporary.  Tell us your favorite star-crossed pairs on twitter, as usual, @shelf_involved.

This week we're talking about our favorite YA books set during that terrible/wonderful time of transition, senior year. Of course, we love these books. What's not to love? Rites of passage, big life choices, PROM. (Kenzie loves a prom scene). As always, tell us your favorite senior year books.  

This week we're talking about a newly released novel that totally took us by surprise. This is one of those books that you just want to hug after you finished. The writing is incredible, authentic and immersive and the plot of a competitive teenager turned pariah turned LARPer was too good. Enjoy the conversation about Mariah MacCarthy's SQUAD.

This week we're talking about our favorite siblings in YA as we revel in a library of YA that's no longer solely comprised of only children and absent families. Full disclosure: we spend a good amount of time talking about how much we love novels that focus on twin relationships.   

This week we're talking about the mean girls of YA and why we find this trope so compelling. We think there are almost always good things to be gleaned from humanizing a victim or a terrible person. Tell us your favorite mean girls in YA on twitter, as per usual. Find us on twitter @shelf_involved

This week we're talking about travel books, and because we want to dedicate a whole episode to road trips, we're focusing this one on international travel. This is a fairly popular trope in YA, and many of the novels have similar setups, but a recent favorite read of both of ours had a really unique setting and reason for travel, and we were excited to contrast it with the other travel books we love.  Tell us your favorite travel-centric YA novels on twitter @shelf_involved

This week we're going to try to collect all of our thoughts and feelings about Leigh Bardugo's masterful Grishaverse into one episode. You've probably heard us talk about these books before, but with the recent release of a new series in the universe, we needed to clarify what it is that we find so brilliant and immersive about the rich world she's created. We kept it spoiler free so that everyone can enjoy these books and the conversation.  Find us on twitter @shelf_involved