YA, We Read It!

Come one, come all to a very special episode of YA, We Read It! Meggie and Laura are reading through then sitting down with author Jenni Howell to discuss her debut & New York Times Bestselling novel: Boys with Sharp Teeth Marin James is on a mission: to infiltrate the exclusive Hunstworth Academy and fine the real truth behind her cousin's murder. Enter her new persona: Jamie Vane who will stop at nothing to get there.  SPOILERS AHEAD: This episode contains literally every detail about the novel (and more! since we are literally talking to the author about the book she wrote!) please proceed your listening with this in mind :)

The sun has risen once more for Laura and Meggie to conclude their discussion of Suzanne Collin's latest Hunger Games venture: Sunrise on the Reaping  Your beloved besties and hosts are sprinting into the games portion of the book where it's Haymitch against the Capitol, and everyone else against each other. Join us as we laugh, we cry, and we applaud this modern tragedy. SPOILERS AHEAD. YA, We Read It! is covering every. single. detail. Listen at your own risk! We love you :) 

The book? Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. The time? Right now. Meggie and Laura are back at their insanely hot mics ready to cover the latest in the Hunger Games universe. We are going back in time to the 50th Annual Hunger Games where Haymitch Abernathy is a normal teen in district 12, until he's propelled into his almost certain death after being selected to participate in the games with twice as many tributes.  SPOILERS AHEAD. Listen at your own risk lest the odds be ever in your favor. 

Join Meggie and Laura for their sit down session of divulging every last thought they possibly have on Kass Morgan's post-apocalyptic The 100 series. They laughed, they cried, they had MANY thoughts on the various characters and their relationships throughout, but now it's time to float away and move to the next one! 

It's been over a month since the 100 crash landed on Earth and it's been filled with danger at every turn. With preparations for a peaceful feast with the Earthborns underway it finally seems like everything is going to be okay -- until it isn't! A new threat quickly emerges with fancy white clothes, sedatives, and grenades (surprise! It's a cult!). Join your hosts Meggie and Laura and they discuss the final 100 book. 

Laura and Meggie wish they could tell you that The 100: Homecoming is about everyone having a nice big dance on Earth, but unfortunately that's not the case. The remaining dropships have landed on Earth, which is great because Glass can reunite with her friends, but it's much much worse considering her mom just died and Vice Chancellor Rhodes is here to ruin everything the 100 has built so far. Glass takes to the woods while Bellamy, Clarke, and Wells flee to the Earthborns' village and there's danger really at every turn. 

Well, well, well it's been 3 weeks since our convicted-felon-teens made their way to Earth and Clarke is fearful of radiation poisoning finally settling in but more importantly she's going to explore her budding relationship with Bellamy, Wells captures and befriends an earth born girl, Glass is not doing so hot up in space, and Meggie and Laura are your hosts ready to talk about it all! 

Laura and Meggie plunge into YA, We Read It!'s 16th season with Kass Morgan's book series turned CW series: The 100.  In the future, Earth has become uninhabitable and forced humans to seek reprieve in space. Now, the beloved space station in which they live is running out of resources. The government plots to see if Earth can once again be an option for humanity by sending 100 prisoners (all teens; we will explain why) to test the surface. 

Catie's life is turned upside down when her and her family leave their life in sunny California behind to go live with family in Utah. Still grappling with the death of her father, Catie yearns to reconnect with her biological mother and culture. Everything changes for her when her coworker Toby offers Mandarin lessons in exchange for her teaching him how to date.  Tune in for a very special YA, We Read It! Where Meggie and Laura are sitting down the author of First Love Language, Stefany Valentine to talk everything about Catie's roller coaster summer.  Follow Stefany everywhere @booksbystefany 

A microphone, a laptop, a YA novel, a notepad... these aren't clues to your next Tobias Hawthorne puzzle, instead it's time once again for Laura and Meggie to bid adieu to their 15th season: The Inheritance Games. The first book graced bookshelves in 2020 and just a few short years later, your hosts dived in and couldn't get enough of the twists, the turns, and talking about the ever present love triangle between Avery, Jameson, and Grayson. Are we satisfied? Is everything really solved? Let's discuss. 

CHECK MATE as they say! It's time for one final mystery to take place at Hawthorne House and your resident hosts and puzzle-makers Meggie and Laure are here to dissect all the clues and plot to their hearts content.  It's been almost a year since Avery came to Hawthorne House and inherited billions of dollars, its also been almost a year of her dating Jameson Hawthorne while still thinking about his brother Grayson (yeesh!). Mystery girl/Toby's real daughter Eve shows up after Toby goes missing and it's up to the gang to put their heads together to bring Toby back. 

Gather round ye' listener! For another tale of puzzles, riddles, deception, and love triangle! Laura and Meggie are back at the mic to discuss the second Inheritance Games novel, The Hawthorne Legacy.  Xander's puzzle left from Tobias has finally revealed itself and now it's time to find the Hawthorne uncle that everyone thought was dead. Can the Hawthorne gang work together to find the answers their looking for? 

You know what they say: New Year, New Season of YA, We Read It!  Laura and Meggie are back for their 15th season and strapping in for the Inheritance Games trilogy. Avery Kylie Grambs is an exceedingly normal girl who gets catapulted into notoriety and fortune after inheriting billions of dollars from the now deceased puzzle-master Tobias Hawthorne. The catch? She's never met the guy! And now has to live with his family (including his 4 very attractive grandsons) in a giant house in Texas. In his tracks, Tobias left one last hurrah of a puzzle for his grandsons and now Avery to solve. Join us for mystery, romance, riddles and more on this season of YA, We Read It! 

Let's end 2024 traveling back in time to 1910 Chicago where four young women are going through the ups and downs of social life, society, and romance in the sequel to New York Times bestseller The Davenports.   The Davenports: More Than This continues Olivia's, Ruby's, Helen's, and Amy Rose's journey in young adulthood. AND even more than THAT your hosts Meggie and Laura are sitting down with the author Krystal Marquis to talk all things Davenports, her writing and research process, and MORE!  You can find Krystal below:  Krystal's website: https://krystalmarquis.com/ Instagram: @krystalbelle_reads

Once again Meggie and Laura have gathered to bid farewell to another book series. After losing their vir-JANE-ity this season (nice) reading the anthological Lady Janies series it's time for a final review as your hosts talk about the ups and downs of being a Jane from history. You'll laugh, you'll question the hosts' projections for if these characters had social media presences, and you'll hear what's happening in the YA, We Read It! sphere next. 

Rounding out the My Lady Janies series is My Calamity Jane a wild west historical/fictional take on Calamity Jane, Annie Oakley and others from the time. Join Laura and Meggie for a rootin' tootin' good time where in this new wild west world we've got werewolves running about and it's up to our cast of characters to hunt down the Alpha that's infecting people all over the country. 

It's time for book number 2 in the Lady Janies series and much to your hosts surprise, its an anthology series! That's right, a whole new Jane and a whole new cast of characters to go on an adventure with. Meet Jane Eyre and her friend Charlotte Bronte (sounds familiar, right?) in a world of school and being poor, there's also ghosts! Like, a LOT of ghosts. Jane can see them! Charlotte cannot! Alexander also can and he's a ghost hunter. Tune in for the take on what ACTUALLY happened to Jane Eyre and her happily ever after. 

Hello world! It's us, Meggie and Laura and we are back for our 14th season. My Lady Jane (the first book in the Lady Janies series) written by Jodi Meadows, Cynthia Hand, and Brodi Ashton became the hit amazon prime show of the same name. After watching the show your beloved hosts simply had to read the source material, okay? Meet Edward and Gifford and Lady Jane -- our three protagonists. Edward's the teenage King who's being poisoned, Gifford's the guy who's cursed to be a horse by day/man by night, and Jane our resident book worm who's about to have a husband who's sometimes a horse. Join us for a journey of love, conspiracy, friendship and people turning into animals! 

Join Meggie and Laura for a very special one-off YA, We Read It! ahead of their next season where they are reading Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston.  Alex and Henry couldn't be more different despite both being children of powerful political figures. Alex, the First Son of the United States yearns for a political career himself and spends plenty of time loathing the dashing and eligible Prince Henry. When their disdain for each other leads to a PR-stunt-friendship, the two sworn enemies soon become lovers in this contemporary romance. We are screaming, giggling, kicking our feet the whole way through! Tune in! 

It was 2005 when Twilight first graced the world with its presence, and now 19 years later Meggie and Laura have finished reading the entire series for your listening pleasure. It's once again time to put their final thoughts to rest on the highly popularized vampire romance. We're discussing our thoughts on this as a romance, a vampire story, and just an all around book series in general. It's insightful, it's fun, and we hope you'll go on this one last Twilight stroll down memory lane. 

If there is anything breaking: it's our hearts. The time had come to say goodbye to reading Twilight with the lukewarm conclusion to Breaking Dawn. Laura and Meggie are ready to give you their takes on everything: Bella's new life as a vampire (complete with vampire powers), the nonexistent all-powerful Vampire fight, and most importantly more in depth discussions on how Jacob imprinted on a baby, like how he gave her a promise ring for Christmas (gross). All this and more, tune in! 

Meggie and Laura are BACK to finish up the Twilight series with their insight on the first half of Breaking Dawn.  You know what they say: first comes love, then comes marriage, and then on your honeymoon you get pregnant with a vampire child and go through an expedited pregnancy that culminates in your fetus gnawing its way out of your fragile human body -- aw, cute! While Edward and Bella are planning their new parenthood and eternity as vampires, Jacob (who's moody af now) ends up leaving his wolf pack to protect the Cullen family and be his dramatic self. 

After discovering that the impending threat to our cast of characters is a constructed vampire army made entirely up of new vampires, it's time to take action! The vampires and werewolves are officially putting their differences (and their treaty) aside to get ready to fight. Jacob and Edward also team up to make sure Bella is safe at every step. Can Bella face the two people/monsters she loves most in this world when danger is afoot? Listen to Laura and Meggie tell you all about it in the conclusion to Eclipse!  

Bella and Edward's relationship is officially back on! But at what cost? Jacob is not talking to Bella, Charlie has grounded her, and with the limited time they have to spend together, Edward is insisting on Bella applying to as many colleges as humanly possible. Mystery sets in as a wave of killings is happening in Seattle and it all somehow seems to be tied to Bella. Can Bella make peace with having a vampire boyfriend and a werewolf best friend? Meggie and Laura are here to talk about it all! 

Resident monster-apologist, Bella Swan has just learned her best friend Jacob Black is a werewolf. When Jacob's wolf pack finds out Bella has insider vampire knowledge, they have no choice but to accept her as they work to stop the vampire invasions in town. Unfortunately, this major plotline is dropped immediately when Bella learns that ex-boyfriend Edward is on his way to Italy to ask the Volturi to kill him. The race is on! Can Bella save him in time? Tune in as Meggie and Laura dish it out. 

Laura and Meggie are cliff diving into Twilight's follow-up New Moon, where Bella and Edward have been living out their human-vampire-relationship fantasy. Trouble brews as Bella turns 18 and is now figuratively older than "forever 17 year-old" Edward. Who needs to think about college when your invincible vampire boyfriend's vampire family wants to throw you a birthday party, am I right? Soon, the Cullen family leaves Forks to go to Alaska and Edward breaks up with Bella for good. In the throes of her first heart break will Bella return to life as a normal teen? Or will this monster-loving gal run into the arms of a resident werewolf? Listen now! 

Ah, romance: your partner watching you sleep, telling you he could kill you, wanting to drink your blood... all the normal romance stuff.... Now that Edward's shown off how fast and strong he is in the meadow, his and Bella's romance is in full swing. Bella doesn't care that he's a vampire and she certainly doesn't care that she's only known him for like 2 months, she decides that they're in love. They're trying to make their coupling as normal as possible by meeting each other's families, but when some other vampires decide to pass through Forks and decide they want to eat Bella the clock immediately starts ticking down to save Edward's heroin. Join Meggie and Laura on the action-filled finale to Twilight. 

Welcome to lucky number season 13 of YA, We Read It! Bella Swan had everything in Phoenix: warm weather. Her life is turned upside down when her mother decides to tour with her minor league baseball boyfriend and she is forced to relocate to the cloudy, nature-infested, and historically not warm Forks, Washington to stay with her dad. Bella quickly finds herself obsessing over the resident unsocial Cullen family, known amongst the small town mostly for being really really good looking and isolating themselves. Bella becomes infatuated with Edward Cullen who soon reveals his entire family is vampires, and Bella is honestly totally fine with it (ok, go off Bella!). Can their love make it through the throes of high school and vampire lore? Will your hosts Meggie who historically loves Twilight and Laura who historically does not love Twilight give you the POVs you're looking for this season? Tune in! 

Hello Upper East Siders and Podcast Listeners, the time has come for yet another bittersweet close to yet another YA, We Read It! season. Laura and Meggie sit down, suit up, and are ready to gab about the past 12 episodes that made up the Gossip Girl season. Transport back to 2002 with us when the original book in the series debuted and let's relive some of the best (and worst) parts of Cecily Von Ziesgar's world.    You know you love us (and we love you too!), L + M

  Hello Upper East Siders! It's time to find out what happens to our Gossip Girl gang after the initial final book in this flash forward sequel: I Will Always Love You. Split into 4 parts, this book checks in with everyone each and every year of college when everyone's home for winter break. Who will end up kissing who? Who will follow their dreams? Who will inevitably cheat on their partner? One things for sure: there's definitely a life after high school and college.... And Chuck's always going to throw an absolutely bangin New Years Eve Party. (Of course, Meggie and Laure will be in attendance.)    You know you love us (and we love you too!), M + L 

The summer is finally coming to an end and our resident upper east siders are preparing for the next steps in their lives: college. Nate and Blair have returned from their month at sea, Dan's mom shows up unannounced to celebrate his coming out, and Serena is still pining after you-know-who not caring whatsoever about her best-friend-forever, YIKES. It's the beginning of the end! Or is it? Let Laura and Meggie tell you how they really feel, in the final book of the main series.    You know you love us (and we love you too!), L + M

Listen up, Laura and Meggie would NEVER lie to you, our dear listener and we have to be honest that this book was ROUGH and we can't wait to lament the tail of the weird series tone-shift to our audience. Let's get into it: the Summer continues for our gossip girl gang, with half the group going to the Hamptons, and Dan exploring his sexuality... You'll just have to press play to find out everything else.    You know you love us (and we love you too!), L + M 

Dreams do come true! Or do they? It's officially summer and Serena, Vanessa, and Blair are all working on big shot director Ken Mogul's next blockbuster, and Nate and Dan get to date hot blonde girls... Join Laura and Meggie as they discuss their dreams (not really) and all the ins and out of our Gossip Girl gang's last summer before college.    You know you love us (and we love you too!), L + M

Graduation is fast approaching and Serena and Blair are once again not friends. But, love is in the air as Serena has decided to double down on her illicit affair and starts a relationship with Nate who is an emotional mess in this book. Vanessa on the other hand is living her best life editing her film and hanging with Aaron and Dan (hubba hubba). And Blair moves into a hotel and meets a hot British guy. Tune in as Meggie and Laura discuss it all!    You know you love us (and we love you too!), M + L 

Nobody does Gossip Girl talk quite like Laura and Meggie so get ready for this! Blair and Nate are finally back together and finally doing the deed (and nonstop at that!). But will Nate blow it when he gets too high and steals his family's boat? Dan is biffing it hard as the lead singer of a famous rock band. And Jenny is really trying to be Serena 2.0. Serena is still in this series but she's boring and kind of a bad friend? All of this and more in the 7th Gossip Girl Book!    You know you love us (and we love you to!), L + M 

Some want money, some want fame, but right now most of our Gossip Girl gang just want to get into their top college picks. Apparently, this is easy for everyone but Blair who only gets into one school. Serena falls in love with every school she tours, Blair drunkenly joins a celibacy club, and Vanessa unfortunately takes Dan back and the two decide to play house. And all Meggie and Laura want is for you to have a good time listening to their thoughts on Gossip Girl!    You know you love us (and we love you to!), M + L

The things we like? Reading YA books, talking about them, and podcasting our little hearts out. It's springtime in the world of Gossip Girl and if there's one thing our cast of characters is worried about it's where they are going to spend spring break. Blair is desperate to lose her virginity and sets her sights on Serena's hunky older brother on their ski vacation, what could go wrong?    You know you love us (and we love you to!), L + M

Did you miss us over the holidays? Meggie and Laura are ready to dive back into the world of the rich in Gossip Girl. Dan continues to be a top tier a*hole, but love is in the air as Serena starts dating Blair's step-brother, and Nate decides to get clean and ends up in a nightly rehab where he meets party girl Georginia -- ooh la la! Join us, won't you?    You know you love us (and we love you to!), M + L

This one really does have EVERYTHING! It's Christmastime in the big apple and everyone's paired off: Serena and Blair are besties, Nate and Jenny are exclusive, and Dan and Vanessa are being as cringey as ever. What else? Serena has a fling with a famous musician, Blair's step-brother is still into her (yeesh!), and Dan is way against sex and super into slut-shaming. Meggie and Laura break it all down and more on this week's YA, We Read It!    You know you love us (and we love you to!), L + M

Did you miss us? Because we missed you! Laura and Meggie are back at their microphones to pick up right where they left off: the second Gossip Girl book. This time around its college interviews, Dan giving major stalking energy, an upcoming wedding for Blair's mom, and a questionable step-brother love plot? Sign us up, I guess!    You know you love us (and we love you to!), M + L 

Welcome to the 12th season of "YA, We Read It!" where for the next few weeks you'll be getting a deeply sophisticated and very rich deep dive into the world of "Gossip Girl" by Cecily Von Ziegesar (or so we hope!). Meggie and Laura are your elite guides for this trip down early-2000s lane and you won't want to miss it! Kicking off book one, the effortlessly beautiful Serena is back from boarding school only to find that the rest of her world carried on without her in it. Loneliness strikes as she tries to find her footing again, meanwhile her former bestie Blair is much too busy planning parties and sexy time with her burrito-loving boyfriend Nate. It's 100% going to be a season to remember. Tune in, won't you? You know you love us (and we love you to!), L + M

A special episode of YA, We Read It! has once again come to fruition and this time your hosts ie are reading Ava Reid's upcoming YA debut novel "A Study in Drowning" a thrilling and fantastical story about architecture student Effy who quickly gets caught up in a mystery surrounding her favorite author, what's left of his cliffside mansion, and her dark dreams of the Fairy King. Why listen to just Laura and Meggie talk about it when you can listen to Ava talk about it too? Stay tuned for the second half of the episode where we sit down with Ava and talk all about their writing style and their new book, releasing on September 19, 2023.

Just when you thought Meggie and Laura had no tricks left up their sleeves for the eleventh season: you thought wrong and you were absolutely mistaken. Join your two hosts AND best-selling author of the One of Us Is Lying series Karen M McManus as they talk about the books, Karen's writing process, and how the entire world of Bayview came together. (spoiler alert: Meggie and Laura fangirl big time throughout) It's a BIG don't miss episode from us to you, see you later season 11 and see you soon season 12!!! And thank you again Karen for talking with us!!!

Big surprise and a very special TUESDAY release of beloved YA, We Read It! Today, is the day that Karen M McManus' highly anticipated third book in her series One of Us Is Back hits shelves and Laura and Meggie have already read it! (Thank you for the advanced copy!!!) All seven members of the Bayview crew has gathered once again and ... well, we will leave it at that since the book is brand new and there will be spoilers (obviously).

Well, well, well look what we have here: someone who couldn't get enough of YA, We Read It! and just HAD to come back for the next episode in season 11! This week Meggie and Laura are diving headfirst into the titillating sequel in Karen McManus' trilogy, One of Us Is Next. Life at Bayview High has once again taken a turn as a school-wide game of truth or dare puts everyone at risk. And it's up to Maeve, Knox, and Phoebe to uncover who's behind the sinister game before things go from bad to worse.

Pay close attention and you will be in for the ride of your life. It's an all new season of YA, We Read It! and two hosts are mic'd up in the studio. There's Laura, the host of the podcast and Meggie, who's also the host of the podcast. And these two very funny and delightful best friends are devoting all of their 11th season to Karen McManus' One of Us Is Lying trilogy. The tale of five students going into detention and only four coming out, you're in store for plenty of twists, turns, secrets and romance -- life for the Bayview Four might just never be the same.