Welcome to Below Grade Level, where we read our favorite books from childhood and unnecessarily critique them and make them horrible. Everything from Goosebumps to Babysitter's Club, no book is safe from Below Grade Level.
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Animorphs: Megamorphs: The Andalite's Gift by K.A. Applegate! Cassie tails Chapman as a fly while Rachel breaks into someone's house to sleep off her horrific injuries. Then, Jake and Marco steal Cassie's dad's truck and some trashcans get run over! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton with special guest Clare Lincoln!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Animorphs: Megamorphs: The Andalite's Gift by K.A. Applegate! Rachel, with amnesia, turns into a bear and fights a dust blade tornado, with gruesome results! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton with special guest Clint McElroy!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Animorphs: Megamorphs: The Andalite's Gift by K.A. Applegate! Rachel wanders into a crazy clothing store shack in the woods while Marco and Ax try to outrun the blade tornado! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton with special guest Kata Kane!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we begin reading Animorphs: Megamorphs: The Andalite's Gift by K.A. Applegate! Those Animorphs are at it again! While Rachel lies to everyone about where she is, the rest of the gang head to a pool party for some teenage shenanigans. Hawk Rachel runs into some trouble in the woods right as a blade tornado attacks the pool party! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton with special guest John Nagle!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we finish reading Fearless by Francine Pascal! After the nazi fight in the park, everyone has to recover, and some really awkward hospital flirting is involved. Plus, the identity of Marco's mysterious redhead is revealed! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton with special guest John Walker!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Fearless by Francine Pascal! Gaia cuts school to deliver a sandwich, Sam's tragic backstory of being an ugly little boy is revealed, and a big ol' nazi fight happens! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Fearless by Francine Pascal! Heather has been either shot or stabbed! We don't really know! But Gaia, ever the most awkward human on the planet, finds a way to make everyone really uncomfortable about it. Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton with special guest Jo Marshall!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Fearless by Francine Pascal! Gaia proves to be the world's most awkward teenager, being a weirdo at a house party and playing a game of chess in a downpour. But now she has a crush on a boy! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton with special guest Huey Hesson!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Fearless by Francine Pascal! We fine out Gaia's horrible shameful secret: she's a virgin loser. But can she drive? She can drive her foot into nazi faces! YEAH PUNCH NAZIS! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton with special guest Zack Fowler!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we begin reading Fearless by Francine Pascal! Gaia is just a normal late 90's teenager starting out at brand new school. Oh wait, no she's not. She can't feel fear and enacts vigilante justice on neo nazis! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton with special guest Annamarie Damron!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we finish reading Scavenger Hunt by Christopher Pike! The whole thing comes down to a weird semi-religious showdown in a church, and in typical Pike fashion, an epilogue that actually explains the whole book. Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton with special guest John Walker!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Scavenger Hunt by Christopher Pike! Tracie's team finally meets up with Carl's team for the Scavenger Hunt Showdown in the haunted (?) mine! A major theory is confirmed, much to the chagrin of our hosts! Literally nobody could guess what this book was really about but the clues have been there the whole time. Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton with special guest John Walker!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Scavenger Hunt by Christopher Pike! Things go from weird to super bonkers in several chapters. Are they lizard people? Dinosaurs? Eternal zombie vampires? At this point, the bad guys could literally be aliens, we don't know. Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Scavenger Hunt by Christopher Pike! In typical Christopher Pike fashion, this book goes heavily off the rails. Movie references abound in this sibling kissing, lizard stomping, water drenching good time. Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest on this episode is John Nagle!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Scavenger Hunt by Christopher Pike! Tracie has a huge crush on Cal, who has a huge crush on Cessy, who probably has a huge crush on her brother Davey, who has a huge crush on himself. Also, there's a scavenger hunt in this book! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest on this episode is Bob Rose!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we begin reading Scavenger Hunt by Christopher Pike! Cal is your typical handy high schooler who works at a gas station. Is he in a ton of trouble with vampires or a murder cult? Is he responsible for his friend Joe's death by dam? Will we always read about naked girls in bodies of water in a Christopher Pike book? Find out on this thrilling episode! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest on this episode is Clint McElroy!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we finish reading Phantom Valley: The Evil One by Lynn Beach! Kim tries to help Monica deal with her ghost problem (which is actually a doll problem) but a rift forms between the 2 friends! Will Monica repair her friendship with Kim? Will she defeat the evil doll?! FIND OUT! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest on this episode is John Walker!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Phantom Valley: The Evil One by Lynn Beach! Monica spends a lot of time in the library doing research, seeing ghosts, and figuring out that her haunted doll is totally haunted. Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest on this episode is Kelly Fuller!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Phantom Valley: The Evil One by Lynn Beach! Monica starts to wonder whether the creepy doll with glowing red eyes that she found hidden in the back of her closet in the haunted wing of the boarding school might be cursed!? Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest on this episode is Annamarie Damron!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we start reading Phantom Valley: The Evil One by Lynn Beach! Monica arrives at Chilleen Academy and quickly makes new friends, finds a definitely haunted doll, and fulfills Jonathan's lifelong wish of meeting a ghost! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest on this episode is Jordan Lincoln!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we finish reading The Eyes of Kid Midas by Neal Shusterman! Josh discovers that Kevin is slowly dying from his use of magic sunglasses, and things spiral pretty hard from there until the ending! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest on this episode is John Walker!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading The Eyes of Kid Midas by Neal Shusterman! Josh and Mr. Kirkpatrick have a very deep conversation about the end of the world. Meanwhile, Hal steals the magic glasses to go on the his dentist's paranormal investigation show! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest on this episode is Alex Hayes!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading The Eyes of Kid Midas by Neal Shusterman! Kevin Midas continues his descent into power-hungry madness granting wishes left and right before 2 REALLY crazy things happen. Strap in, this one gets dark! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading The Eyes of Kid Midas by Neal Shusterman! Kevin Midas, armed with a brand new pair of magic and definitely not cursed sunglasses, goes totally off the deep end immediately and wishes way too much shit into existence. What could go wrong!? Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and today's guest is Jo Marshall and Brian Wade!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we start reading The Eyes of Kid Midas by Neal Shusterman! Kevin Midas is your average 90s kid in glasses dealing with bullies, until he finds a magic pair of sunglasses on top of an old Native American mountain! You know, that trope! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and today's guest is Huey Hesson!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we finish reading Sweet Valley High: Fight Fire With Fire! Our SVH gang deals with the aftermath of a rapist exploding himself in the gym. Book's fucked up, guys! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and today's guest is John Walker!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Sweet Valley High: Fight Fire With Fire! Steven and Lila confront each other during the big game and hatch a sinister plan, but they don't get to do much once John Pheifer shows up! Also Devon gets some snacks! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and today's guest is Alex Hayes!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Sweet Valley High: Fight Fire With Fire! Elizabeth gets herself into hot water with Todd while Jessica continues to scheme how to destroy her brother's relationship. Meanwhile, Devon Whiteclaw makes a shocking and emotional discovery!! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton.
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Sweet Valley High: Fight Fire With Fire! Steven and Lila test out their soda throwing skills, Jessica and Elizabeth switch off on which one is going to be a shitty person, and Devon finally meets his long lost Nana! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guests are Kata and Ned Kane!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Sweet Valley High: Fight Fire With Fire! Devon slowly makes his way to Sweet Valley, Lila gets her priorities in order after getting out of jail, and Jessica is back on her bullshit! Will Steven get his internship at the DA's office back, or will HE become a criminal!? Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest is John Nagle!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we begin reading Sweet Valley High: Fight Fire With Fire! Lila Fowler has been arrested for arson, and it's up to Steven Wakefield, everyone's hottest brother, to prove her innocence! Did Lila burn her house down? Will Steven keep his internship at the DA's office? Are Elizabeth and Jessica side characters in their own series? Who the fuck is Devon Whitelaw?! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest is Katie Handshoe!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we finish reading Master of Murder by Christopher Pike. Well everything seems to turn out ok for Marvin, after he gets away from Shelly and Triad (hell yeah) with his life and his bike. What follows is a riveting finale at a school assembly and an even more riveting and explanatory epilogue that catches us all up on what actually happened in this "book". Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest is John Walker!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Master of Murder by Christopher Pike. After deciding to commit murder in less than, I don't know, 6 hours, Marvin heads to the bridge to hatch his plan! You know, the plan that already killed the last person to try it. What could go wrong!? Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest is Kelly Fuller!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Master of Murder by Christopher Pike. Oh Marvin. Oh god, Marvin. What are you doing? You were a normal child prodigy author and now you've fully lost your entire mind. Find out how our hero becomes the villain on this episode! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest is Jimmy Reed!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Master of Murder by Christopher Pike. Marvin investigates Harry's supposed murder by doing a bunch of teenage sleuthing! Rope burns? Oil slicks? Young hot moms and their dead son's jackets? This book has got it all! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest is Jamie Noguchi!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Master of Murder by Christopher Pike. Marvin and Shelly go on a dinner and movie date, which starts off boring, then gets real weird on a bridge, then gets downright DIRTY in a hot tub! Get ready for the worst teenage flirting you've ever heard in your life. Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest is Bob Rose!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we begin reading Master of Murder by Christopher Pike. Marvin is a mild mannered high schooler who's also a secret best selling murder mystery novelist, who has a crush on a girl who's ex boyfriend killed himself in a lake? Is it all connected?! Probably! Strap in cause every C-Pike book we read is a doozy! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton.
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we finish reading Goosebumps: Night of the Living Dummy by R.L. Stine. Kris and Lindy battle for their very lives after Mr. Wood goes full on psycho dummy! This book ended way sooner than we thought, so as a bonus we dig into a choose your own adventure style Give Yourself Goosebumps, where a birthday party is crashed by the killer clown Dr. MacDeath! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and this week's guest is John Walker!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Goosebumps: Night of the Living Dummy by R.L. Stine. After Lindy admits to being a sociopath and faking all the dummy shenanigans, Kris finds an old piece of paper in Mr. Wood's pocket with strange words on them. Maybe she reads them out loud! Nothing bad has ever happened reading weird old incantations! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Goosebumps: Night of the Living Dummy by R.L. Stine. Kris and Lindy continue their sibling/ventriloquist rivalry with their dummies Slappy and Mr. Wood! But Mr. Wood starts acting weird, calling Kris names, stealing clothes, and more weird behavior you usually don't see in an inanimate dummy. Is he up to something?! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest today is Huey Hesson!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we start reading Goosebumps: Night of the Living Dummy by R.L. Stine. Kris and Lindy are twins who find a discarded ventriloquist dummy in a dumpster which ignites a classic sibling rivalry! It's a tale as old as time: ventriloquism getting between sisters. Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest today is Joanna Marshall Wade!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we finish reading Animorphs #2: The Visitor, by K.A. Applegate. Rachel and Jason as a cat and a flea are taken prisoner by Chapman and Visser Three. Earth movers! Bug fighters! Will the Animorphs get out of this pickle alive?! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and our guest today is John Walker!
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Animorphs #2: The Visitor, by K.A. Applegate. After a close call with Chapman and Visser Three, Rachel discovers the true reason her friend Melissa has been icing her out, and it's a tale as old as time: her parents have been replaced by aliens and she subconsciously knows they don't lover her anymore. Cool! What will happen next?! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton.
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading Animorphs #2: The Visitor, by K.A. Applegate. Rachel and her morphin' friends decide to infiltrate the house of their principle, Mr. Chapman, who's also the dad of her old friend Melissa, and he's also an alien controller? What's the best way to break into your ex-friend's house? Morph into her cat, of course! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton and our guest this episode is Kelly Fuller.
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we begin reading Animorphs #2: The Visitor, by K.A. Applegate. Rachel and her morphin' pals enjoy riding the thermals, stealing guns from teens, body horror, and fighting an intergalactic war! What will they get up to in this nightmare book?! Find out! Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton and our guest this episode is Jason Eaton.
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we finish reading The Eternal Enemy by Christopher Pike! After learning her past (future?) life as a normal American girl in the apocalypse/newly made robot girl, Rela has to struggle with the eternal question: do I kill my boyfriend grandfather to save the future? This conclusion is surprisingly...small. But hey it's also fucking weird, and we have an all-star guest to help us get to the bottom of it. Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton and our guest this episode is John Walker.
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading The Eternal Enemy by Christopher Pike! Oh god, where to begin? After discovering that she's a robot, Rela or Sara or whatever her name is takes us on an incredibly long and tedious word journey with her scientist grandpa to explain why and how the fuck any of this is happening. The VCR gets explained! We tried getting several different guests for this episode and I think it was a blessing we had none because this SINGLE CHAPTER was a chore to get through. Enjoy!. Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton.
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading The Eternal Enemy by Christopher Pike! Oh god, where to begin? After discovering that she's a robot, Rela or Sara or whatever her name is takes us on an incredibly long and tedious word journey with her scientist grandpa to explain why and how the fuck any of this is happening. The VCR gets explained! We tried getting several different guests for this episode and I think it was a blessing we had none because this SINGLE CHAPTER was a chore to get through. Enjoy!. Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton.
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading The Eternal Enemy by Christopher Pike! Buckle the absolute FUCK up because in the immortal words of the Bad Boys, shit just got real. Rela uses her magic VCR more and tries to stop horrible things in the future from happening, but them time travel is pretty hard for beginners. A mysterious turtlenecked man enters Rela's life and I usually don't care about spoilers in these descriptions but, holy jeez, you should listen to this one. Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and this episode's guest is Christine Schrader.
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we continue reading The Eternal Enemy by Christopher Pike! Rela finally figures out what the deal with the book is: her VCR can record the future. So, naturally, after watching Back to the Future II she decides to make some cheddar off her magic machine. Also some kissing happens. Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and this episode's guest is Kelly Fuller.
Welcome back to Below Grade Level! On this episode, we start reading The Eternal Enemy by Christopher Pike! Rela has a crush on Christopher (not Pike) and buys a VCR. She is also a 100% certified psychopath and reads like a noir detective. You know what? Words can barely describe what we go through, so just listen. Below Grade Level is hosted by Jonathan Eaton, Chris Zaleski, and Bekah Eaton, and this episode's guest is John Nagle.