Podcasts about we are okay

"I spend a lot of time trying to hope that I'll remember little things and how a certain simple thing felt. …  Writing is one way of trying to capture that feeling, even if I'm fictionalizing it still.” - Nina LaCourIf Nina LaCour were a drink, she would be a cozy cup of tea. You're not rushing to finish a conversation with Nina. Rather, you are spending time exploring the details. And that is exactly what we did in this episode.The world moves fast. Usually faster than we'd like it to. But writing can gift us the ability to slow a moment down, to digest and analyze at a more intentional pace. For Nina LaCour, writing starts with observing the world around you, getting ready to break it down into words and unravel the meaning on a page. As a new writer, Nina found it best to share those observations through young adult literature after falling in love with it in college. She has since written a picture book, “Mama, Mommy and Me in the Middle,” and returned to an adult novel she shelved early in her career (“Yerba Buena”). More recently, she released "The Apartment House on Poppy Hill," the sweetest chapter book. Nina's work is notably thoughtful and gentle. Her complex topics have resonated deeply with young readers and adults alike (including our own recent guest, Mark Oshiro). She's best known for her novels such as “Hold Still,” "Everything Leads to You," and "We Are Okay," which received the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. In this episode, she shares her journey to falling in love with young adult literature and how Virginia Woolf helped her find the love of her life. She also explores writing's capacity to uncover the depth within every moment and discusses the importance of queer family representation in literature.***Connect with Jordan and The Reading Culture @thereadingculturepod and subscribe to our newsletter at thereadingculturepod.com/newsletter. ***In her reading challenge, At the Intersection, Nina has curated a list of books at the intersection of queerness and family.You can find her list and all past reading challenges at thereadingculturepod.com/nina-lacourThis episode's Beanstack Featured Librarian is Faith Rice Mills, librarian at Nelda Sullivan Middle School in Pasadena, Texas. She tells us a heartwarming story to remind librarians of the importance of their work, even when that impact isn't obvious.ContentsChapter 1 - The Outsider…Chapter 2 - …Becomes the ObserverChapter 3 - Mrs. DallowayChapter 4 - On Being GentleChapter 5 - Bang BangChapter 6 - At the IntersectionChapter 7 - Beanstack Featured LibrarianLinksThe Reading CultureThe Reading Culture Newsletter SignupNina LaCourNina LaCour (@nina_lacour) • Instagram photos and videosThe Reading Culture on Instagram (for giveaways and bonus content)Beanstack resources to build your community's reading cultureHost: Jordan Lloyd BookeyProducer: Jackie Lamport and Lower Street MediaScript Editors: Josia Lamberto-Egan, Jackie Lamport, Jordan Lloyd Bookey

First Draft Episode #358: Nina LaCour Nina LaCour is the bestselling and Michael L. Printz Award-winning author of five critically acclaimed young adult novels, including: We Are Okay, and Hold Still. She joins to talk about her first picture book, Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle, and her debut adult novel, Yerba Buena. THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY Out of the Blue, the queer YA rom-com by Jason June, author of the breakout Jay's Gay Agenda, available now! Links to Topics Mentioned In This Episode: Hear Nina's previous appearances on First Draft, here and here! Hear Sarah Enni on Nina's podcast, Keeping a Notebook, here!   Thanks for Listening!

This week, Tirzah and Erica dive into the world of YA cover design and chat about some of their favorite design elements and YA covers in recent years. Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What's Up in YA newsletter! This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Books and Links The Heartstopper official trailer dropped! Starling by Isabel Strycachz Six Crimson Cranes & The Dragon's Promise by Elizabeth Lim A Sitting in St. James by Rita Williams-Garcia I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, Wednesday Books edition A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin A Thousand Steps into Night by Traci Chee This Poison Heart Kalynn Bayron  Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton Nina LaCour's entire catalog: Hold Still, The Disenchantments, Everything Leads to You, We Are Okay, Watch Over Me Adams Cavarlho on Instagram Book Cover Designers to Follow on Instagram Wednesday Design Random House YA Design Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First Draft Episode #344: Sabaa Tahir Sabaa Tahir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Ember in the Ashes series talks about her new contemporary YA, All My Rage. Links to Topics Mentioned In This Episode: Don't miss Sabaa's first First Draft interview, and her second First Draft interview! “The Ghosts of Our Motel,” by Sabaa Tahir for Vox The Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir Nina LaCour, Printz-winning author of We Are Okay, and other contemporary YA titles like Everything Leads to You and Hold Still. Host of the Keeping a Notebook podcast and creator of the Slow Novel Lab and Writing Together. Hear Nina's first First Draft interview, and her second First Draft interview. Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give, On the Come Up, Concrete Rose, and co-author of Blackout. Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star talks about her new YA, Instructions For Dancing and her brand new publishing venture: co-publisher of Joy Revolution, a Random House young adult imprint dedicated to love stories starring people of color. Hear her first First Draft interview, and her second First Draft interview. Jandy Nelson, Printz-winning author of I'll Give You the Sun and The Sky is Everywhere. Maurene Goo, author of Somewhere Only We Know, The Way You Make Me Feel, I Believe in a Thing Called Love, and Since You Asked. Hear her first First Draft interview, her second First Draft interview, and her third First Draft interview. Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Shadow and Bone series, the Six of Crows duology, the King of Scars duology, and adult contemporary fantasy novel, Ninth House. Hear her first First Draft interview here, her second First Draft interview here, and her third First Draft interview here.

"I've opened my heart; I'm standing here." Did COVID derail your journey as an artist? Did you struggle with depression? Were you anxious about how your career or your passion might change shape?In this episode, Brian Lambert talks about "We Are Okay," the song that details his journey from depression to triumph.  He gets candid about how he turned his uncertainty surrounding the pandemic into a 52-week production challenge, which he's used as motivation to produce one new song each week for the last year. He and Emmeline also discuss finding inspiration in setbacks, allowing oneself to get vulnerable in songwriting, the importance of community in music, and communicating effectively about one's music with potential fans.To learn more about Brian Lambert, or to follow his musical journey, visit his official website or find him on Twitter. For behind-the-scenes info and more about Journey of a Song, follow Emmeline on social media at @EmmelineMusic or visit the Journey of Series official webpage. You can also hear songs from previous episodes with the Journey of a Song official Spotify playlist.

First Draft Episode #301: Sara Zarr Podcast chat! A conversation with Sara Zarr, National Book Award finalist author of eight novels for young adults, most recently Goodbye from Nowhere, about her creative writing podcast, This Creative Life. Listeners can get two audiobooks for the price of one at Libro.fm when you use promo code FirstDraftPod at checkout! Links to Topics Mentioned In This Episode: Hear Sara’s first First Draft interview here. Hear Sarah on This Creative Life here. I also outlined all the equipment I use for podcasting in this TechCrunch article, “How I Podcast.” Terry Gross, host of NPR’s Fresh Air podcast Marc Maron, host of the WTF podcast Pete Holmes, host of the You Made it Weird podcast Nina LaCour, author of We Are Okay, winner of the 2018 Printz Award, and other contemporary YA titles like Everything Leads to You and Hold Still, . Hear her episodes of First Draft here and here. LibSyn, the podcast hosting service Patreon Sara is no longer using SubStack to distribute her podcast, which she discusses in this episode of This Creative Life: “Substack and Failure.” Sara’s book Courageous Creativity: Advice and Encouragement for the Creative Life GarageBand Best Self Co. Six-Month Journal Acuity Scheduling Doodle Krista Tippett, host of the On Being podcast Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert Audacity Shure microphones Adobe Audition Zoom H2N Zoom H6N AirTable  

Jea Talks… with Ceej, a member of the Little Blooms Book Club (@littlebloomsbookclub on Instagram) about grief. As they talk about the book "We Are Okay" by Nina LaCour, they share their experiences and give advice on taking the first step towards being okay. Join our book club to join our monthly book discussions! Follow Ceej on Instagram at @ceej_writes. Check out @jeatalks on Twitter and Instagram to be updated with new episodes. #JeaTalksPodcast #JeaTalks --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jeatalks/support

Today Chelsey and Sara are  toppling your TBRs with campus novels. We know this back to school season is weird for students, teachers, parents, and the rest of us as we navigate new seasons during a pandemic. So let’s go back to school safely with books that take place at school, that revolve around learning or academia, and that give us the new school supplies, crisp fall leaves, sharpened pencils feeling.    We have so many books on this list...all sorts of tones and types! Don’t worry about writing everything down; we have links to all of the books mentioned in our show notes. It’s very possible we won’t get through all of the books we want to on this episode, but we’ll have an even more complete list of campus novels on our new blog: novelpairings.com.   Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/novelpairingspod/   Shop our Campus Novels list on Bookshop:  https://bookshop.org/lists/campus-novels-83ca9b6c-710c-436f-a0cb-af159a5ac6b7   Use our referral code to get TWO  audiobooks for the price of one through Libro.fm: https://libro.fm/redeem/novelpairings   Classics The Secret History by Donna Tartt Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner Possession by AS Byatt A Separate Peace by John Knowles Mysteries If We Were Villains by M.L Rio Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova The Likeness by Tana French Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas Young Adult The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks by E. Lockhart (@allisonreadsdc) We Are Okay by Nina Lacour Bloomability by Sharon Creech (@anniebjones05, The Bookshelf) Dear Martin & Dear Justyce by Nic Stone  Magic Campuses A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik The Magicians by Lev Grossman Carry On by Rainbow Rowell Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness Campus Romances Real Life by Brandon Taylor Normal People by Sally Rooney My Education by Susan Choi The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell Miscellaneous On Beauty by Zadie Smith Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

IT’S BOOK CLUB DAY! Caitlin discusses The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth with Alex and Sam from The Bookstagays podcast! We chat about how The Bookstagays came to be, Alex and Sam’s favorite queer books, what we want to see more of in the LGBTQ+ literary world...the gay screaming is real. Then we launch into discussing Cameron Post, which broke our hearts a little in the best way. It’s a coming of age story set in rural Montana in the 90’s, and there’s lots of first love, heartbreak, and finding yourself.*Content warning for discussions of homophobia, conversion camps, and unaccepting family members.* Show NotesFind Alex on Instagram @thebookadvocate and Sam @staxsonstaxsThe BookstaGays (@thebookstagays) was created solely on a whim after Sam and Alex wanted a space to talk about queer books and talk to other queer bookstagrammers. It’s a space dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community where most of our conversations revolve around the importance of representation, intermittent dog barking, squealing with our queer friends, and yelling about all of our gay crushes and theories. We like books, we’re gay, so we put those things together to make a podcast every week!The Bookstagays episode interviewing Meryl Wilsner, author of Something To Talk AboutSam’s fave queer books: CeruleanThe House in the Cerulean SeaSomething To Talk About by Meryl WilsnerJuliet Takes A Breath by Gabby RiveraAlex’s fave queer books:You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah JohnsonCinderella Is Dead by Kalynn BayronNot Your Sidekick trilogy by C.B. LeeHow To Make A Wish by Ashley Herring Blake Queens of Geek by Jen WildeOther fave queer YA picks: We Are Okay by Nina LaCourFelix Ever After by Kacen CallenderEmily M. Danforth has a new book out next month! It’s called Plain Bad HeroinesRemember to rate, review & subscribe! Follow BTP on Instagram @betweenthepagespod

Enjoy our presentation of We Are Okay  written by Nina LaCour and published by Penguin Young Readers. Marin hasn't spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks, not even her best friend Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the tragedy she's tried to outrun. Now, months later, Mabel is coming to visit and Marin will be forced to face everything that's been left unsaid.We Are Okay is the winner of the 2018 Michael L Printz Award. It's also a New York Public Library, Publisher's Weekly, Boston Globe and Seventeen Magazine Best Book of the Year.We Are Okay is recommended for ages 14+. Please see Common Sense Media for more information and reviews: https://bit.ly/WeAreOkayReviewsThis title is available as an ebook on Libby: https://bit.ly/WeAreOkayLibbyEbookPlease visit www.calvertlibrary.info for more information.Music: Sad Clown (excerpt) by Orquesta Arrecife. Licensed under CC BY-SA 1.0 http://www.opsound.org/artist/orquestaarrecife/

Marva Sheridan was born ready for this day. She's always been driven to make a difference in the world, and what better way than to vote in her first election? Duke Crenshaw is so done with this election. He just wants to get voting over with so he can prepare for his band's first paying gig tonight. Only problem? Duke can't vote. When Marva sees Duke turned away from their polling place, she takes it upon herself to make sure his vote is counted. She hasn't spent months doorbelling and registering voters just to see someone denied their right. And that's how their whirlwind day begins, rushing from precinct to precinct, cutting school, waiting in endless lines, turned away time and again, trying to do one simple thing: vote. They may have started out as strangers, but as Duke and Marva team up to beat a rigged system (and find Marva's missing cat), it's clear that there's more to their connection than a shared mission for democracy. Romantic and triumphant, The Voting Booth is proof that you can't sit around waiting for the world to change?but some things are just meant to be. Author Brandy Colbert is in conversation with Nina Lacour, author of the widely acclaimed Hold Still, The Disenchantments, and Everything Leads to You, and the Michael L. Printz Award-winner, We Are Okay. _______________________________________________ Produced by Maddie Gobbo & Michael Kowaleski Theme: "I Love All My Friends," a new, unreleased demo by Fragile Gang. Visit https://www.skylightbooks.com/event for future offerings from the Skylight Books Events team.

Show notes: In this episode Adiba and I recommend some Queer books Books mentioned: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow The Black Flamingo by Dean AttaLike a Love Story by Abdi NazemianPeople Like Us by Dana Mele The Luminous Dead by Caitlin StarlingAlex in Wonderland by Simon James GreenThe Last Bus to Everland by Sophie Cameron Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Hope you enjoy our recs!

Librarian Natalie McCall talks with Nina LaCour, the bestselling and Michael L. Printz Award-winning author of four critically acclaimed young adult novels: We Are Okay, Hold Still, The Disenchantments, and Everything Leads to You. Born and raised in the East Bay, Nina received her undergraduate degree from San Francisco State University and an MFA in Creative Writing at Mills College. Her graduate thesis became her first novel, Hold Still, which received a William C. Morris honor from the American Library Association. Before the terms, “social distancing” and “shelter-in-place” were part of our daily vocabulary and experience, Natalie and Nina met in the Library’s cozy, purple-walled recording booth and chatted over a small stack of books that impacted Nina’s life as a child, teenager, young woman, and burgeoning writer. They talk about why adults should read picture books for their own pleasure (and edification), whether children should be protected from certain content in the books they read, and the beauty of relating to a character in a book who is outwardly different than you in every way.

We Are YA is going daily to keep you company in these days of social distancing. Join Penguin Teen staffer Felicity for an interview with Nina LaCour, the acclaimed author of We Are Okay and Hold Still.

YA author Katie Heaney joins us today fresh off the release of her FIFTH BOOK, Girl Crushed! Buy it from your local independent bookstore. Katie and Caroline talk all about their sleeping preferences, travel accessories (for the day we can travel again), and how they’re not afraid of germs and double dipping. I will give you one guess as to when this episode was recorded!Follow along with recs (and share your own via DM) on the “Gee Thanks, Just Bought It!” Instagram: www.instagram.com/geethanksjustboughtitpodCaroline also proclaims her love for Vegas and the best slot machine ever. She hopes casinos will be open again soon. SHE HAS AN ADDICTION, SIR!Mentioned On This Episode!Hearos Ear Plugs: https://amzn.to/2XwsaIzTRTL Travel Pillow: https://amzn.to/2xXLt2wFoot Hammock for Airplanes: https://amzn.to/2wpuoOF Order Girl Crushed: https://www.katieheaney.com/ Leah on the Offbeat meets We Are Okay in this pitch-perfect queer romance about falling in love and never quite falling out of it—heartbreak, unexpected new crushes, and all.PS. If you aren’t listening to Doree and Kate’s new podcast, HERE FOR YOU, it’s a great way to both acknowledge the state of the world while also not overwhelming yourself (as I tend to do). Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/here-for-you/id1503438711Thanks for listening!Check out blog posts and all of the recommended products by past guests, listeners and Caroline at www.geethanksjustboughtit.com Shop the Amazon store! https://www.amazon.com/shop/geethanksjustboughtitThe Spreadsheet is UNDER CONSTRUCTION and it will be back soon, better than ever!Follow along with recs (and share your own via DM) on the “Gee Thanks, Just Bought It!” Instagram: www.instagram.com/geethanksjustboughtitpodWe have a phone number! Call it! You may be featured on an upcoming special listeners-only ep of the podcast: 424-245-0736.Want to get in touch more formally? Have a rec you want to rec? Shoot me an email! Caroline@geethanksjustboughtit.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today Chelsey and Sara are chatting about The Awakening by Kate Chopin. This novella published in 1899 follows Edna Pontellier as she discovers her desires and her identity outside of wifehood and motherhood. Our discussion includes how this book illustrates the constraints placed on 19th century women, why we don’t seem to have any issues with the infidelity in the novel, and how Kate Chopin speaks to modern-day mom-shaming. We also dig into some of the problematic content in this book and offer suggestions on how to read it through a more modern lens. Plus, as always, we’re recommending six contemporary books to pair with our classic include a young adult novel full of evocative nature imagery and a closed door second chance romance. Today’s episode is brought to you by Libro.fm, the only audiobook company that allows you to purchase audiobooks directly from your favorite indie bookstore. You can get THREE audiobooks for $15 by clicking this link or by using code NOVELPAIRINGS at checkout. Books, Pairings, and Time Stamps Books Discussed: The Awakening Modern Library Torchbearers Edition (23:50), Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (30:36), Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (30:38) Chelsey’s Pairings: Educated by Tara Westover (39:45), Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper (44:08), We Are Okay by Nina Lacour (48:40) Sara’s Pairings: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (41:40), Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (46:02), Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes (50:20) Picks of the Week: Love is Blind (52:35) and Portrait of a Lady on Fire (54:45)

This week, we kick off our year-end wrap up with Gray's superlatives for 2019. We also discussed The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey, a bittersweet tale that weaves together the stark Alaskan wilderness and a fairytale girl. Our next read? We Are Okay, Nina LaCour Check out our website/blog for a full run-down of what you should read in 2020 based on your horoscope! bookendsiblings.com You can also find us on Twitter @bookendsiblings Bookends is a Literary Podcast in which a reader/writer sibling duo reviews books and hosts comedic segments about books, writing, and pop culture. We give in-depth and spoiler-free reviews of a book every episode!

Nina LaCour on mental health representation in YA and her novels Hold Still and We Are Okay.

First Draft Episode #200: Special Anniversary Episode For the 200th episode of the First Draft with Sarah Enni podcast, previous guests sent in answers to questions like, where do you turn for inspiration? What are you hopes and dreams at this moment in your career? What do you do besides writing that makes you a more skillful storyteller? And, of course, any advice! Listen in to hear tips, tricks, and reassurances and encouragement from dozens of bestselling and award-winning writers! People Featured, and Links and Topics Mentioned, In This Episode Podcasts I listened to obsessively, which inspired me to start this podcast, include Fresh Air with Teri Gross, WTF with Marc Maron, and You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes Veronica Roth, author of the Divergent series, Carve the Mark duology and the forthcoming short story collection, The End and Other Beginnings: Stories from the Future (listen to her First Draft podcasts here, here, and here) Kayla Cagan, author of Piper Perish and Art Boss (listen to her First Draft interview here) Will Hines, author of How to be the Greatest Improviser on Earth (hear his First Draft episode here) Sara Farizan, author of Here to Stay, Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel, If You Could Be Mine (hear her First Draft interview here) Kass Morgan, author of The 100 series and Light Years (stay tuned for her episode of First Draft!) Tochi Onyebuchi, author of Beasts Made of Night, Crown of Thunder, and War Girls series Tochi recommends playing narrative video games, like God of War, Assassin's Creed, or Red Dead Redemption Leigh Bardugo, author of the Shadow and Bone series and Six of Crows duology, and the forthcoming adult novel, Ninth House , and more (listen to her First Draft interviews here and here) Josh Gondelman, author of the forthcoming memoir Nice Try, writer and producer of “Desus and Mero” and Emmy-winning writer for “Last Week Tonight on John Oliver” (hear his First Draft interview soon!) Maris Kreizman, author of Slaughterhouse 90210 and host of LitHub’s The Maris Review podcast Ryan Graudin, author of the Wolf by Wolf, Invictus, The Walled City, and more (hear her First Draft interview here) Sabriel by Garth Nix Jason Reynolds, author of Look Both Ways, the Track series, Long Way Down, As Brave As You, All American Boys, and many more (stay tuned for his episode of First Draft) The New Yorker The Newberry Award; The National Book Award; The Pulitzer Prize Stephanie Garber, author of the Caraval series (listen to her First Draft episode here) Elana K. Arnold, author of A Boy Called Bat, Damsel, What Girls Are Made Of, Infandous, and more (listen to her First Draft episodes here and here) Lance Rubin, author of Denton's Little's Deathdate, Denton's Little's Still Not Dead, and Crying Laughing (listen to his First Draft episode here) Freedom (computer app) Deep Work Work by Cal Newport Courtney Summers, including Sadie, Cracked Up to Be, This Is Not a Test, Fall for Anything, All the Rage, Some Girls Are (hear her First Draft episodes here and here) “Real Romance,” The New Yorker profile about Nora Roberts Mary H. K. Choi, author of Emergency Contact and Permanent Record (stay tuned for her episode of First Draft) The Venice Biennale (La Biennale di Venezia) and Dia:Beacon Bridget Tyler, author of The Pioneer and The Survivor (listen to her First Draft episode here) Scientific American, which Veronica just subscribed to Samantha Mabry, author of A Fierce and Subtle Poison and All the Wind in the World (listen to her First Draft episode here) Elissa Sussman, author of Stray and Burn (listen to her First Draft interview here) Abdi Nazemian, author of Like a Love Story, The Authentics, and The Walk-In Closet (listen to his First Draft interview here) Madonna, the queen of Abdi’s book The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron Morgan Matson, author of he Date, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, The Unexpected Everything, and more! (listen to her First Draft interviews here and here) Julie Buxbaum, author of Tell Me Three Things, What to Say Next, and Hope and Other Punchlines (listen to her First Draft interview here) Danielle Paige, author of Dorothy Must Die, Stealing Snow and Mera: Tidebreaker (listen to her First Draft episode here) David Yoon, author of Frankly in Love (stay tuned for his episode of First Draft!) Zan Romanoff, author of Look (due Spring 2020) and A Song to Take The World Apart and Grace and the Fever (listen to her First Draft interview here) Writing Workshops LA Francesca Lia Block, author of Weetzie Bat, The Thorn Necklace, and so many more (listen to her First Draft episode here) Aminah Mae Safi, author of Not the Girls You're Looking For and Tell Me How You Really Feel (listen to her First Draft interview here) Alex London, author of Black Wings Beating, Proxy, The Wild Ones series and more (listen to his First Draft episodes here and here) Nina LaCour, author of We Are Okay, The Disenchantments, Everything Leads to You, Hold Still and more (hear her First Draft episodes here and here), and listen to Nina’s podcast, Keeping a Notebook Hamline University’s MFA program The Slow Novel Lab, Nina LaCour’s online course on writing Lilliam Rivera, author of Dealing In Dreams and The Education Of Margot Sanchez, (listen to her First Draft interviews here and here) Pseudonymous Bosch, aka Raphael Simon (author of the The Name of This Book is a Secret and the Bad Magic series, and more) and Shane Pangburn, who together created The Unbelievable Oliver and the Four Jokers (stay tuned for their First Draft episode!) Amy Lukavics, author of Daughters into Devils and The Ravenous (listen to her First Draft episode here) Maurene Goo, author of Somewhere Only We Know, I Believe in a Thing Called Love and The Way You Make Me Feel and Since You Asked (Listen to Maurene’s first, second, and third episodes of First Draft) That time Maurene interviewed Sarah Enni for this podcast! (The Sarah Enni episode of First Draft ) Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and author and illustrator of Everyone’s an Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too;  Michael Dante  DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender; John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; or Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for The Old 97s. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works. Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s free! Rate, Review, and Recommend How do you like the show? Please take a moment to rate and review First Draft with Sarah Enni in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your honest and positive review helps others discover the show -- so thank you! Is there someone you think would love this podcast as much as you do? Please share this episode on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or via carrier pigeon (maybe try a text or e-mail, come to think of it). Just click the Share button at the bottom of this post! Thanks again!

Will and Laura talk about Brenda Fassie, and Will recommends We Are Okay by Nina LaCour, https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/311368/we-are-okay-by-nina-lacour/9780142422939/ [Disclaimer: some of the sources may contain triggering material] Hugh, W. (November 29, 1990) Anger At Injustice Fuels Brenda Fassie`s Music. RetrievedFebruary 5, 2017 http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-11-29/features/9004080965_1_nelson-mandela-south-africa-conditions-for-black-people Desa P. (September 15, 2001) Brenda Fassie: Africa: The Madonna Of The Townships. Retrieved February 5, 2017 http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1000782,00.html BBC News. (May 10, 2004) Brenda Fassie: A very human hero. Retrieved February 5, 2017 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3700309.stm Annel L. (May 18, 2004) The life of Brenda Fassie. Retrieved February 5, 2017 http://www.w24.co.za/Wellness/Body/The-life-of-Brenda-Fassie-20040518 South African History Online (November 3, 2011) Brenda Nokuzola Fassie. Retrieved February 5, 2017 http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/brenda-nokuzola-fassie Liz M. (May 11, 2004) Brenda Fassie. Retrieved February 5, 2017 https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/may/11/guardianobituaries.southafrica Encyclopedia Britannica (March 17, 2017)  Brenda Fassie SOUTH AFRICAN SINGER. Retrieved February 5, 2017 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Brenda-Fassie Marissa M. (June 26, 2014)Brenda Fassie: a revolution without harmony Retrieved February 5, 2017 http://africasacountry.com/2014/06/brenda-fassie-a-revolution-without-harmony/ Nathalie O. (December 8, 2013) Brenda Fassie: The Woman That Begged Mandela To Sing. Retrieved February 5, 2017 https://noisey.vice.com/en_dk/article/theres-much-more-to-brenda-fassie-than-her-pro-mandela-anthem Donald M. (May 17, 2004) Brenda Fassie, 39, South African Pop Star, Dies. Retrieved February 5, 2017 http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/17/arts/brenda-fassie-39-south-african-pop-star-dies.html?_r=0 Michael H. (September 15, 2001) Brenda Fassie: Biography Retrieved February 5, 2017 http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2044674,00.html Maureen I. (May 22, 2014) Gone but not forgotten: A love letter to Brenda. Retrieved February 5, 2017 https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2014-05-21-gone-but-not-forgotten-a-love-letter-to-brenda/ Nandipha P. (October 5, 2014) Remembering Brenda Fassie. Retrieved February 5, 2017 http://citizen.co.za/your-life/173557/remembering-brenda-fassie/ David S. (May 9, 2014) BRENDA: THE 2003 MAMBA INTERVIEW. Retrieved February 5, 2017 http://www.mambaonline.com/2014/05/09/brenda-the-2003-mamba-interview/

How do you stay honest with your besties - even when the truth might hurt? Few know better than comedy partners Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin. Through their popular YouTube channel and new podcast, Just Between Us, Gaby and Allison (aka Gallison) have built their own creative empire based on their friendship, both onscreen and off. Cristen and Caroline get some next-level friendship advice, as well as the real-deal highs, lows, and mixed feelings that come with being professional BFFs. Unladylike has a Facebook group! Join the conversation by searching for "Unladylike" on Facebook and looking for our middle finger logo. Unladylike: A Field Guide to Smashing the Patriarchy and Claiming Your Space is available now, wherever books and audiobooks are sold. Signed copies are available at podswag.com/unladylike. Follow Unladylike on social @unladylikemedia. Subscribe to our newsletter at unladylike.co/newsletter. Try Stitcher Premium to hear bonus episodes from Unladylike and tons of other exclusive content. Get a month of free listening at stitcher.com/premium with code UNLADYLIKE. This episode is brought to you by the book We Are Okay, the podcast The Double Shift, Pact [wearpact.com with code UNLADYLIKE], Instacart [instacart.com with code UNLADYLIKE], Native Deodorant [nativedeodorant.com with code UNLADYLIKE] and The European Wax Center [AxThePinkTax.com]. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you stay honest with your besties - even when the truth might hurt? Few know better than comedy partners Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin. Through their popular YouTube channel and new podcast, Just Between Us, Gaby and Allison (aka Gallison) have built their own creative empire based on their friendship, both onscreen and off. Cristen and Caroline get some next-level friendship advice, as well as the real-deal highs, lows, and mixed feelings that come with being professional BFFs. Unladylike has a Facebook group! Join the conversation by searching for "Unladylike" on Facebook and looking for our middle finger logo. Unladylike: A Field Guide to Smashing the Patriarchy and Claiming Your Space is available now, wherever books and audiobooks are sold. Signed copies are available at podswag.com/unladylike. Follow Unladylike on social @unladylikemedia. Subscribe to our newsletter at unladylike.co/newsletter. Try Stitcher Premium to hear bonus episodes from Unladylike and tons of other exclusive content. Get a month of free listening at stitcher.com/premium with code UNLADYLIKE. This episode is brought to you by the book We Are Okay, the podcast The Double Shift, Pact [wearpact.com with code UNLADYLIKE], Instacart [instacart.com with code UNLADYLIKE], Native Deodorant [nativedeodorant.com with code UNLADYLIKE] and The European Wax Center [AxThePinkTax.com].

Here’s your March fix of M&M. We share our advice on questioning your sexuality, being inappropriate at work, falling for a man that’s unavailable, and helping a friend that’s being abused. In Don’t Blame Them a listener shares her advice on weed allergies. *On average, it takes a victim seventimes to leave before staying away for good. More information here. Follow Us! @meghanrienks @dontblamemepod @sheisnotmelissa Listen to ad-free and bonus episodes on Stitcher Premium! For a free month of Stitcher Premium, go to stitcherpremium.com and use promo code 'BLAME'. This episode is also brought to you by FabFitFun, Betterhelp, We Are Okay, and The Real Real. Click Here for Affordable Therapy By State (Curated by Crissy Milazzo) Need Advice? www.dontblameme.show Domestic Listeners Call: (310) 694-0976   International Listeners Send a Voice Memo To: meghanpodcast@gmail.com … with as much detail as possible under 3 minutes! I’ll do my best to share my wonderful words of wisdom. If you’re under 18, please get your parent’s permission. Advice is for entertainment purposes only, so you can’t blame me if I screw up your life. I kid! My advice IS AMAZING. - Want to WATCH this episode as well? Check out my YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/meghanrienks Support the show.

Ciara tells Aífe all about We Are Okay, a 2018 novel by American author Nina LaCour. Content warnings: Grief, mentions of suicide. If you enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing! You can have two episodes a month delivered into your lovely ears for FREE. You can keep tabs on upcoming books and give us recommendations on our social media: www.Twitter.com/foreverYApod www.Instagram.com/foreverYApodcast www.goodreads.com/foreveryapod Check out our patreon on www.patreon.com/foreverYAPod to throw us a few coins, check out our rewards, and show your appreciation/ire as applicable! We love reviews! And recommendations! And attention! Thanks for listening :-) Theme music by Kate Stewart.

Book Bites are quick, five minute looks at a book from readers. Try a new book this week! Today’s book is We Are Okay, by Nina LaCour.   Want to be a full book group member? Join us on Patreon! For as little as $1 a month, you can support the podcast as well as helping to keep Official Office Dog, Lady Grey, in treats.   We also have new episodes of our book group podcast: Reading With Libraries dropping every Thursday morning; subscribe to get it in your app, or stream it on our website.

Creator Chris Nee sits down with Cameron to discuss starting at Sesame Street, "babysitting" millions of American children, and feeling like a kid at the adults' table. This episode is sponsored by We Are Okay by Nina LaCour and Billions on Showtime (www.showtime.com code: QUEERY).

Licensed therapist Kati Morton is here this week! We’re sharing our advice on what to do if your ex joins a dating app immediately after breaking up with you, confronting your friend about making bad choices, invading a co-worker’s privacy, and being comfortable in your own sadness. In Don’t Blame Them a listener shares her advice on not being happy in your first year of college. Buy Kati’s Book: Are u ok?: A Guide to Caring for Your Mental Health Follow Us! @meghanrienks @katimorton @dontblamemepod @sheisnotmelissa Listen to ad-free and bonus episodes on Stitcher Premium! For a free month of Stitcher Premium, go to stitcherpremium.com and use promo code 'BLAME'. This episode is also brought to you by Nurx, We Are Okay, Daily Harvest, Hourglass Cosmetics, and Bioclarity. Take our survey: www.podsurvey.com/BLAME Click Here for Affordable Therapy By State (Curated by Crissy Milazzo) Need Advice? www.dontblameme.show Domestic Listeners Call: (310) 694-0976   International Listeners Send a Voice Memo To: meghanpodcast@gmail.com … with as much detail as possible under 3 minutes! I’ll do my best to share my wonderful words of wisdom. If you’re under 18, please get your parent’s permission. Advice is for entertainment purposes only, so you can’t blame me if I screw up your life. I kid! My advice IS AMAZING. - Want to WATCH this episode as well? Check out my YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/meghanrienks Support the show.

Birth control is relatively easy to come by — so long as it's temporary. But if you're young and/or childfree, permanent birth control (aka sterilization) remains a stunningly controversial choice to choose. To find out why, Cristen and Caroline join independent radio producer Brie Ripley, who documented getting her own tubes tied and discovered what happens when you definitely, no-maybes, want to tie the fallopian knot. Unladylike has a Facebook group! Join the conversation by searching for "Unladylike" on Facebook and joining the group with our middle finger logo. Unladylike: A Field Guide to Smashing the Patriarchy and Claiming Your Space is available now, wherever books and audiobooks are sold. Signed copies are available at podswag.com/unladylike. Follow Unladylike on social @unladylikemedia. Subscribe to our newsletter at unladylike.co/newsletter. Try Stitcher Premium to hear bonus episodes from Unladylike and tons of other exclusive content. Get a month of free listening at stitcher.com/premium with code UNLADYLIKE. This episode is brought to you by Honeybook [honeybook.com with code UNLADYLIKE], ZipRecruiter [ziprecruiter.com/unladylike], Pact [wearpact.com with code UNLADYLIKE], Nurx [nurx.com/unladylike] and the book We Are Okay by Nina LaCour.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Birth control is relatively easy to come by — so long as it's temporary. But if you're young and/or childfree, permanent birth control (aka sterilization) remains a stunningly controversial choice to choose. To find out why, Cristen and Caroline join independent radio producer Brie Ripley, who documented getting her own tubes tied and discovered what happens when you definitely, no-maybes, want to tie the fallopian knot. Unladylike has a Facebook group! Join the conversation by searching for "Unladylike" on Facebook and joining the group with our middle finger logo. Unladylike: A Field Guide to Smashing the Patriarchy and Claiming Your Space is available now, wherever books and audiobooks are sold. Signed copies are available at podswag.com/unladylike. Follow Unladylike on social @unladylikemedia. Subscribe to our newsletter at unladylike.co/newsletter. Try Stitcher Premium to hear bonus episodes from Unladylike and tons of other exclusive content. Get a month of free listening at stitcher.com/premium with code UNLADYLIKE. This episode is brought to you by Honeybook [honeybook.com with code UNLADYLIKE], ZipRecruiter [ziprecruiter.com/unladylike], Pact [wearpact.com with code UNLADYLIKE], Nurx [nurx.com/unladylike] and the book We Are Okay by Nina LaCour. 

Congressman Mark Takano sits down with Cameron to discuss entering public service as an out gay person, his Japanese American family's internment during WWII, and the fight to save our republic. This episode is sponsored by Pact (www.wearpact.com code: QUEERY) and We Are Okay by Nina LaCour.

Episode 8 -I share with you my plans for season 2 of Keeping a Notebook. Send your questions my way to keepinganotebook@ninalacour.com! -I take you through the first ten years of what I intend to be a lifelong career. -I talk about the expectations I had when Hold Still was published ten years ago, and how those expectations have changed with time. -I tell you why the practice of writing is the most important thing to nurture, and what my intention for the next ten years of my career is in this regard. -I offer my advice on how to go deep within, instead of out of your element when crafting a story. Tour dates You can order signed and personalized copies of the We Are Okay and Hold Still paperbacks here! Read Courtney Summers' letter here. My website, Twitter, and Instagram

Nina LaCour, author of We Are Okay, winner of the 2018 Printz Award, and other contemporary YA titles like Everything Leads to You and Hold Still, joins me to talk about how she’s expanding her teaching role with The Slow Novel Lab, and an exciting new podcast venture called Keeping a Notebook.   Nina LaCour Show Notes Nina LaCour’s first First Draft interview Lorde’s album Pure Heroine We Are Okay Nina’s interview on Yin Chang’s podcast, 88 Cups of Tea Alfred Hitchcock The Castle of Otranto, a 1764 novel by Horace Walpole Virginia Woolf Jane Eyre Wuthering Heights Frida Kahlo (Artist) Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour Keeping a Notebook (and the episode featuring Sarah Enni) The Slow Novel Lab “On Keeping a Notebook” by Joan Didion Sara Zarr’s podcast This Creative Life NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) Save the Cat SquareSpace MailChimp Nina’s short story in the Foreshadow YA online YA anthology collection Writing the Breakout Novel: Worksheets by Donald Maass Hamline low residency MFA program

Hey friends! This week we explore the story We Are Okay by Nina LaCour! We Are Okay follows Marin, a college freshmen as she struggles to open up to her best friend Mabel who has come to visit her over winter break. Something happened to Marin the summer before school, and no one knows why Marin up and left without a word, not even her closest friend. Theme Song by Man With Roses

Meet Marin, the star of Nina LaCour's 2017 Printz Award-winning novel We Are Okay. In it, Marin is grappling with the recent loss of her Gramps, whose sudden death reveals the startling and upsetting circumstances of his life. Having moved across the country to start her freshman year of college, she's isolated herself from everyone back home in order to cope with the fallout of the tragedy. Over the course of We Are Okay, LaCour examines mental illness and tells beautiful, heartbreaking stories of different kinds of love. The guest on Episode 22 is Chiara Charida, who is the co-host of the Books & Booze podcast. Check out the show on Instagram @booksboozepod, and follow Chiara (bookish.kiki) and her co-host Jade (@boho_bookworm), too!

Nina LaCour’s characters look a lot like her readers. This awardwinning author has devoted her life to young adults: first as a teacher, then as a writer. Her new novel “We Are Okay” deals with trauma, isolation, coping and change.

In this episode, we discuss National Book Award winner Far From the Tree by Robin Benway. Kim suggests They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera. Amy suggests The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas. Molly suggests Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares. Cash Money suggests White Oleander by Janet Fitch. Lindsey suggests the television show The Fosters (and definitely NOT The Secret Life of the American Teenager). Nate suggests We Are Okay by Nina LaCour and Freaky Friday (w/ Jodie Foster: he specified this, but it did not make the final cut). Also because no one will understand what is meant by Molly's statement, Kim has—on occasion—cosplayed as as Rita Skeeter.

We prove to be less than perfect podcasters: the recording came out a bit too quiet and a lot of compression was used to salvage comments. Things sound a little fuzzy or underwater. (Don't worry Nate and Amy were not forced to discuss this book while underwater.) We manage to discuss National Book Award finalist I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez. Kim suggests Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson and Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani. Molly suggests Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina, Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez, A Step From Heaven by An Na. Lindsey suggests City of Saints and Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson, I Was Here by Gayle Forman, and the television program Veronica Mars. Nate suggests We Are Okay by Nina LaCour. ¢a$h Mo₦€¥ suggests Gabi a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero , The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez, and the film Real Women Have Curves. Nathan suggests "Girlfriend in a Coma" by The Smiths and The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos. Amy suggests Gabi Girl in Pieces as well, and ties up our conversation on Lady Bird.

Biggest Takeaways: We Are Okay is the 2018 Printz Award Winner This is a gripping and powerful novel about grief and loss Empathy is an important skill to have as a parent and to model for teens Great books can help you grow your empathy – We Are Okay is one of them   Issues: Grief Loss Depression Dating Sexuality Friendship Secrets Parent/Family Relationships Community   Referenced in this episode: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature The Ish Girl on FaceBook Ep. 11 | How to Rock a Teen Book Festival Questions for We Are Okay

In this episode, the babes read the 2018 Printz Award-winning We Are Okay by Nina LaCour. In this book, Marin is battling grief, loneliness, and memories of her old life back in California. As for the babes? We are NOT okay! Just listen. Tipsiness brought to us by: Grimm, Parallel 49, Common Roots, Dick’s, Mission, […]

This month we will be reading from the aptly named book called Meet Cute with short stories of questions of fate and love at first sight! The first short story is from Author Nina LaCour who is also the author of We Are Okay! I'll be taking a trip to California next week and will be updating 3 times this month with short stories from the book :)

WE ARE OKAY! We apologize for this delayed episode and thank you for your patience! Better late than never, right? This week, we cover queer movies currently on the festival circuit, women's soccer, and our weekly reviews of Supergirl and Black Lightning. You don't wanna miss it! Supergirl: 15:15-30:29 Black Lightning: 30:30-43:30

In this episode we interview Nina La Cour. She gives some really wonderful insight into her writing process and talks about how a series of really intense personal experiences inspired We Are Okay. And we're all still swooning over how amazing the book was and how cool Nina La Cour is.

#Creeptober is just around the corner, but we’re starting the season out right with one of our favorite creepy-cool witches: Circe. From turning men into pigs, enchanting sailors with herbs and feasts, and turning A WOMAN INTO A BUNCH OF DOGS FROM THE WAIST DOWN, Circe is the biggest badass the Odyssey has to offer. Featuring how ace/aro folks would make a killing in the love potion business, how you should never eat food given to you by a beautiful woman, the question of cannibalism in men-pigs, and an herb called HOLY MOLEY. Follow Jess on Twitter @j_zimms and Jaya @jayasax! Catch up on her incredible monster essays for Catapult, the piece she wrote with Jaya on coauthoring a book with your friend, her coverage of the NY Times Bestseller scandal, and absolutely check out Basic Witches. Our sponsors this week: Audible is your one-stop-shop for audiobooks to fill the void now that you’re caught up on Spirits. Visit audible.com/spirits for a free book, just for being a Spirits listener! Amanda recommends We Are Okay by Nina LaCour, and Julia recommends Provenance by Ann Leckie. StoryBlocks gives you high-quality stock images, video, and vectors for a fraction of the cost. Check out storyblocks.com/spirits to start your free 7-day trial, and tweet us the best stock image you can find out of the 400,000+ they have to offer! If you like Spirits, help us grow by spreading the word! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, & Goodreads, and review us on iTunes to help new listeners find the show. You can support us on Patreon to unlock bonus audio content, director’s commentaries, custom recipe cards, and so much more. Merch is for sale at spiritspodcast.com/merch. To read up on us, listen to us on other podcasts, or send us a note, just head on over to SpiritsPodcast.com. Our music is "Danger Storm" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.

Intro Hello everyone and welcome to the Books Between podcast! If you love to read, if you are a fan of middle grade, if you want to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love, then you have found the podcast for you! I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of an 8 and 10 year old, a 5th grade teacher, and lately - spending a lot of time on the sidelines of lacrosse fields and tennis courts. But - that gives me more time to read! This is Episode #29 and today I am welcoming author Corey Ann Haydu to the show to chat about her recent middle grade novel, The Someday Suitcase, and then in the book talk segment, I’ll be chatting about two fantastic new books about friendship. Main Topic - Interview with Corey Ann Haydu This week I am excited to welcome to the show Corey Ann Haydu. She is both a Young Adult AND Middle Grade author.  Her most recent YA novel The Careful Undressing of Love was released just this past January. And you might know her from her debut middle grade book Rules for Stealing Stars.  On today’s show, we chat about snow globes, guilt reading, cheese and - of course! - her latest middle grade novel The Someday Suitcase. The Someday Suitcase Tell us about The Someday Suitcase - what is this book about? One of the aspects of this book that I loved was how it shows that a true, deep best friend can bring a little magic into your life.    Did you have a best friend growing up? Clover is a very science-minded person. Do you have a science background? There is often this mix and a bit of tension between magic & science in the book.   Do you see science and magic as compatible? I loved all the metaphors in this book - like the snow globe! At one point Clover’s teacher says, “Sometimes you have to turn something over and upside down to really see it.”   How did you pick the snow globe to be a central part of the story? This is a book about so many things! Friendship, and science, and codependency, and snow, and but maybe ultimately about realizing that a loss can also help reveal a different part of yourself that has been dormant.  I don’t want to reveal too much of what form that loss takes for Clover and Danny, but… Can you talk a bit about how you decided on the ending?   Writing Life You recently moved… I can imagine that a move might be fairly disruptive to writer. What were the top three things you had to have in place so that you felt like you had a writing space again? I saw somewhere (maybe Instagram) that you had posted this really inspiring quote from the book BONE by Yrsa Daley-Ward and it says, “If you’re afraid to write it, that’s a good sign. I suppose you know you’re writing the truth when you’re terrified.” Did any part of writing The Someday Suitcase scare you? When we first started talking a few months ago, you mentioned how your first school visits were a combination of exhausting and exhilarating. When you are visiting schools, how do you keep that balance between bringing your full passionate self and also maintaining your energy level?   Your Reading Life What have you been reading lately that you’ve liked? How do you decide what to read next?   Book Talk - Two Fantastic Books about Friendship In this part of the show, I share with you a few books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book. (Yes - I love the number three! But also - I just need limits!) This week I can’t wait to share with you two books that have been on my mind lately. Both feature girls just venturing into middle school. Both are about what happens when friendships collide over crushes. And both are ultimately about reclaiming a part of yourself that was lost. So, they are - 14 Hollow Road by Jenn Bishop and Bubbles by Abby Cooper. 14 Hollow Road First up this week is 14 Hollow Road by Jenn Bishop. You might know her from her previous middle grade book, The Distance to Home. This novel is about Maddie. And the night of the sixth-grade dance, a tornado hits parts of her town and destroys her home. And the home of her neighbor and crush, Avery. So - it turns out that a kind couple in the area with rooms to spare lets both families stay in their home for the summer. So - Maddie has to live with her crush. And somehow convince him to like her back instead of that other girl he asked to slow dance with.  Here are three things to love about 14 Hollow Road: The parts about Hank, her sweet dog who goes missing the night of the tornado. And I won’t reveal what happens there but even though things can’t get resolved exactly happily, how that situation plays out with the collar and with Avery was touching. When Maddie gets her period! Oh. My. Gosh. And - oh the aftermath when she wants to go swimming but thinks people will see the pad but she’s not ready for a tampon and then wonders if people will know why she’s not swimming. And then she doesn’t even want to go to the pool party at all! The gals reading will either really laugh in recognition or get a sample of what’s to come. And - I just want to say one thing. Please don’t discourage boys from reading this book just because it of the period thing. Guys need to know what’s up - and really, what better way than a light moment in a story to start to figure things out? Let’s please work to end that stigma. Throughout this book there are these small tender moments. I don’t want to say too much but, there’s a scene where one character is feeling devastated and vulnerable and the other character in that situation just holds their hand. And it was a small moment, but exceptionally sweet. 14 Hollow Road is a fabulous realistic fiction novel about friendship and change and resiliency. And - I wish I could remember who it was to give them credit - but I heard another author say that the last page of 14 Hollow Road is perfection. And, oh -  were they right! Bubbles Our second book this week is Bubbles by Abby Cooper! (You might remember her debut novel Sticks & Stones from last year.) This book makes me appreciate the term “speculative fiction” because the premise of this is - what if you could see people’s thoughts above their heads? What insights could you gain? What obligations would that put you under? How accurate is it? And...do you even want to know? Even before reading this book, I was firmly in the camp of “I don’t want to know what people are thinking!”  I’ve read those Sookie Stackhouse books - I know the bad is going to outweigh the benefit of knowing people’s thoughts. (By the way - Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire series - not middle grade! Do NOT get those for your 8-12 year old. But you, adult listener - they’re fun. Especially #4 when the witches erase Eric’s memory and he doesn’t realize he’s the bad guy/vampire! Ahhh…. Okay - I digress!) Anyway - on to Bubbles!  This book is about 12 year-old Sophie Mulvaney whose life is in turmoil when her mom loses both her job and her boyfriend within a very short period of time. And then Sophie get assigned a school project to do something that pushes herself to take a risk at a time when she’s not feeling very adventurous. And then - she starts seeing thought bubbles above people’s heads - and everything takes off from there! So, here are three things to love about Abby Cooper’s Bubbles. The little nuggets of history and trivia! It’s a small thing, but makes this book clever and unique. And when Sophie starts to feel a little stressed, remembering and connecting her life to historical facts is a way she copes. For example, at one point she says, “I was crankier than Napoleon must have been after the battle of Waterloo, which he lost really bad.” And then, actually earlier - at the beginning of Chapter 7, Sophie is considering whether or not to go see a therapist about her bubble issue. The natural portrayal of characters working on their mental health. Sophie’s mother is dealing with some depression after leaving her job as a TV reporter and a tough breakup with a guy who still lives nearby. And that manifests itself in ways that will be familiar to some kids - tiredness and withdrawal from the things she used to love. Sophie and her mom were the Adventurous Girls and now, she would rather stay home. And the solutions to those struggles are not presented as quick or easy, but doable with help. I really think this is a type of book that could help lessen the stigma of mental health issues and a book kids can relate to either because they see themselves or they might recognize things their friends or family are going through. How this book helps you realize that even if you could read people’s thoughts, you still don’t know the backstory behind those thoughts. And what’s really motivated people. This book really gives readers a lot to think about in that way. It would be a great book club read. Bubbles and 14 Hollow Road both brought me back to those middle school days when your relationship with your friends is everything. And how threatening and scary and socially isolated you can feel when a friend seems to be slipping away from you. In Bubbles, Sophie’s friend Kaya seems to be taken over by another girl, Viv. And in 14 Hollow Road  Maddie’s feel left out when her best friend Kiersten is spending more time with Gabriella. And then throw an in-common crush into that mix and ugh! It’s awkward and confusing and just one of those rocky experiences you have to figure out. Also - both of these books get that shaving your legs dynamic absolutely right! At least - it resonated with me. When suddenly your friends start shaving and you feel a hairy troll and how it’s just hard to talk to your mom about. I think I snuck my mom’s razor and shaved my legs like a year before she technically allowed me to. (My mom listens to the podcast, so… sorry mom!) These two books would be great options for a mother-daughter book club. My friend, Julie, did that with Abby Cooper’s first book Sticks & Stones and oh I just love that idea!     Closing Alright - that wraps up our show this week. If you have a question or an idea about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or connect on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. There’s always lots of great conversations happening there so, please jump in! Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com.  And, while you are there, please take a listen to Matthew Winner’s latest episode of the All the Wonders podcast (#372) where he chats with Hena Khan - the author of Amina’s Voice.   And, if you like what you hear and value the podcast, I would really appreciate a quick review or rating on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks again and see you soon!  Bye!   Episode Links: Corey Ann Haydu's website Other middle grade books we chatted about: The Girls from Ames: A story of women and a forty-year friendship by Jeffrey Zaslow Braced by Alyson Gerber My Life with the Liars by Caela Carter The Remarkable Journey of Charlie Price by Jennifer Maschari A young adult book we chatted about: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour   Author Leanne Shapton's website

Apparently, The Hate U Give turned us into a bunch of swear bears. I would love if a dedicated listener would tally the number of f-bombs dropped in this episode and help us quantify just how inappropriate we got. Also please write to explain to Nate why dance floors clear every time he puts on the 2 Pac Shakur song "Hit 'Em Up." Nate suggests If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson. Kim and Cash Money suggest All American Boys by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds. Kim suggests the March Trilogy by John Lewis & Andrew Aydin and American Street by Ibi Zoboi. Nathan suggests We Are Okay by Nina La Cour. Katie suggests the Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell. Cash Money suggests 2 Pac's Greatest Hits & Kim suggests the Hamilton soundtrack.

We discuss We Are Okay by Nina La Cour Cash Money suggests Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson and the Cat Power song "Colors and the Kids." Nate suggests Just Listen by Sarah Dessen and the song "My Love For You Is Real" by Ryan Adams and the Cardinals. Kim suggests If I Stay by Gayle Forman. Nathan suggests The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Lindsey suggests I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. Katie suggests "Brian and Stewie" the seventeenth episode of the eighth season of the animated television show Family Guy.

RL Stine took Anna and Surge by surprise, hear how in our review of Fear Street: Haunted. Seriously guys, our predictions could not be more off for this book.Anna also gives a review of We Are Okay by Nina LaCour, a book she heard about from booktuber ProblemsOfABook Nerd

RL Stine took Anna and Surge by surprise, hear how in our review of Fear Street: Haunted. Seriously guys, our predictions could not be more off for this book.Anna also gives a review of We Are Okay by Nina LaCour, a book she heard about from booktuber ProblemsOfABook Nerd