Team Always YA is back from hiatus and excited to discuss The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson, which is nominated for the Volunteer State Book Award this year! We also chat a bit about The Last Airbender, Edward Gorey, and Abbott Elementary. SHOW NOTES The Weight of Blood Born to Be Posthumous: The Eccentric Life and Mysterious Genius of Edward Gorey Avatar: The Last Airbender Contact us! Instagram: @alwaysyapod Email: alwaysyapod@gmail.com Intro/Outro music is “Birthday Cake” by Jahzzar. Creative Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Logo design by Sarah Timmons, all rights reserved ..read more

It's Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and your Always YA librarians are here to discuss some of their favorite picks from AAPI authors. We also discuss how representation has changed in recent decades-- and, as always, we talk about what we've been enjoying lately and what we're looking forward to soon! Show hosts: Jane McMahon, Kate Pritchard, Susan Timmons We'll be going on summer break for two months-- look for us back in August! __________ Contact us! Instagram: @alwaysyapod Email: alwaysyapod@gmail.com Intro/Outro music is “Birthday Cake” by Jahzzar. Creative Commons L ..read more

You've heard about the Newberry Award, but have you met ALEX??? The Alex Awards are given to books that were not officially published for a Young Adult market, but that are deemed to have strong crossover appeal for both teens and adults. In this episode, librarians Jane McMahon, Susan Timmons, and Kate Pritchard share some of the favorite Alex Award-winning books. In addition, we share what we've been reading/watching lately and what we're looking forward to in the future! SHOW NOTES Instagram: @alwaysyapod Email: alwaysyapod@gmail.com Intro/Outro music is “Birthday Cake” by Jahzzar. Creative ..read more

Whether you're a Valentine, a Galentine, or a Palentine, February is time for love, friendship, and even a little romance! But how sweet are we on Young Adult Romance as a genre? Tune in to hear what Team AYA has to say about some recent romance reading. And we also share what we've been trying lately and what we're looking forward to next. Panel: Jane McMahon, Kate Pritchard, Susan Timmons. Mentioned in this episode: Wicked Fox by Kat Cho. Penguin Books, 2020: https://www.parnassusbooks.net/book/9781984812360 Peter O'Dowd and Kalyani Saxena write about male readers of romance: https://www.wbu ..read more

It is a truth universally acknowledged that books make great gifts. In this brief episode we'll share four YA picks you can buy for others or keep for yourself. We're especially excited to have input from two local indie booksellers: Rae Ann Parker from Parnassus Books in Nashville and Amanda McCrina from Bound Booksellers in Franklin, TN.  In this episode: Puffin Plated Series The Hunger Between Us Violet Made of Thorns Guided Tarot for Teens Intro/Outro music is “Birthday Cake” by Jahzzar. Creative Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Logo design by Sarah Timmons, all rights reserved ..read more

"The past is never dead. It's not even past." --William Faulkner This week the panel discusses YA historical fiction as a genre, we share some of our favorite examples. In addition, we chat about other YA media we've been enjoying lately and what we're looking forward to next. Panel: Jane McMahon, Kate Pritchard, Susan Timmons. We want to shout out one of our favorite local shops-- The Bookshop in East Nashville!  If you're interested in purchasing any books we talk about, please consider ordering from them! Mentioned in this episode: How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe, by Ra ..read more

It’s Spooky Season, y’all! This month the Always YA panel classifies themselves as Spooky, Scary, or Slasher. We all share some YA book picks to read during October, and Susan shares some interesting info about the history horror comics. Listen if you dare!  Instagram: @alwaysyapod  Email: alwaysyapod@gmail.com  Media mentioned in this episode: The Sandman streaming on Netflix, based on the graphic novels by Neil Gaiman. Prey (2022) streaming on Hulu. Kingdom streaming on Netflix. All of Us Are Dead streaming on Netflix. Cobra Kai streaming on Netflix. Hocus Pocus 2 streaming on ..read more

Like the opening number in Grease 2, Always YA is going back to school. This month our panel discusses the appeal of campus novels, and we all share some of our favorite picks.  Always YA Panel: Jane McMahon, Kate Pritchard, Susan Timmons Instagram: @alwaysyapod SHOW NOTES Titles mentioned in this episode: Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan, streaming on Amazon Prime Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson Reservation Dogs streaming on Hulu Very Bad People by Kit Frick A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé It’s Not Like It’s a Secret by Misa Sugiura A Separate Peace ..read more

Our librarians Jane McMahon, Kate Pritchard, and Susan Timmons discuss the category of Young Adult Literature and make their first selections for the YA Hall of Fame.  Titles Mentioned in This Episode: Paperback Crush by Gabrielle Moss The Pigman by Paul Zindel Heartstopper by Alice Oseman Karen Jensen, “A Brief History of YA Literature, an Infographic” for Teen Librarian Toolbox at School Library Journal. Stranger Things streaming on Netflix Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor Flip the Script by Lyla Lee All My Rage, b ..read more

We're dedicating this installment of AYA to YA/Middle-Grade author Ellen Wittlinger, who passed in away in November 2022. In this episode, Kate Pritchard will offer some memories of her mom and give us a timeline of LGBTQIA+ books for young people.  We'll are share our picks for Queer YA books, as well as mentioning what we've been consuming lately and what we're looking forward to next. (With a slight detour to discuss how we feel about reading sequels.) Titles, Authors, and Other Related Info From This Episode: “LGBTQ Children’s Books,” a timeline by the Ohio University Libraries: https ..read more