A contemporary queer YA romance novel written in letters? Set in Minneapolis, Minnesota? With lots of Prince talk? Wow, what a treat We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra (published in 2019) was for us this week. Topics of discussion include: stinky ex-boyfriends, lots of Minneapolis talk, and poetic boners. Plus, we love a YA character who can’t help but cry! So relatable. Content Warning: Abuse, homophobia, brief mentions of suicide, and drug use Follow us on Instagram @toalltheya www.instagram.com/toalltheya You can find citations, notes, and further reading on this episode at our webs ..read more

This week’s book is all about learning how to stay Best Friends 4Ever from across the country, something we personally know a little about after moving so far away from each other :(. We read P.S. Longer Letter Later by Paula Danziger and Ann M. Martin, published in 1998. Main characters Tara*Starr and Elizabeth’s only source of communication is snail mail as they write to each other about their problems of finding new friends, dealing with their changing families, and the complications of seventh grade. Discussions of topic include: preteen girl rage, our AIM screen names of the past, and gr ..read more

We’re starting this season off with a novel that was near and dear to a naive twelve-year-old Kaycee’s heart. Go Ask Alice, a book that boasted being a REAL diary from a REAL fifteen-year-old girl was published in 1971, and the journey this book took through history is quite a tale. In this episode, we air out our frustrations on Go Ask Alice as we talk Beatrice Sparks (the so-called editor and finder of the diary), her extended universe of found diaries, and how the War on Drugs and Nixon’s 70’s America ties into it all.  Content warning: Weight talk, sexual assault, drug use, violence ..read more

A carnival slasher for the last episode of the season (and the year) just felt so right! We read Tastes Like Candy by Ivy Tholen (published in 2020), and absolutely loved the cool year-round Halloween carnival setting, friendships, and very high school themes of moving on. This episode got us deep in our feelings, because we spend a lot of time exploring the feelings of our own high school years, and the ways we appreciate YA and the things that teenage girls love. Discussions of topic also include: Ashley’s new pink piano, the gospel of Buc-ee’s, and letting teenage girls be gross in media ..read more

When will the people of Shadyside finally abandon this horror of a town altogether? Absolutely never, if the many Fear Street spin-offs have their way (and we love it). Welcome to Fear Park, an amusement park that shows the horrors of imminent domain and exploiting huge tragedy for entertainment. R.L. Stine really knocked it out of the (theme) park with this one. Discussions of topic include: Robbie Williams, Kaycee’s own teenage carnival tryst, and the bumpy rollercoasters of our youth. Follow us on Instagram @toalltheya www.instagram.com/toalltheya You can find citations, notes, and furthe ..read more

Staring longingly across parking lots, bad wigs, and Jasper…these are only a few of the things Stephenie Meyer has to answer for as we take on the popular 2008 teen vampire flick Twilight this week.  Topics of discussion include: the vampire version of Wonderwalling a girl, 2008 fashion, and being Team Rosalie (and Team Eternal Vampires Need to Stay Away from High Schools). Plus, Ashley’s unsurprising obsession with Nosferatu as a child.  Content Warning: discussions of emotional abuse Follow us on Instagram www.instagram.com/toalltheya You can find citations, notes, and further r ..read more

We are back in 1995 this week with another vamp novel Look for Me by Moonlight by Mary Downing Hahn. Sixteen-year-old, shy and self-conscious Cynda goes to live with her father and his new family in their old Maine inn. She just wants to feel closer to her dad, and maybe experience a little normal teenage life after growing up a Navy brat with her mom and stepdad. A winter visiter at the inn, charming GROWN ADULT MAN Vincent, seems to put Cynda under his spell when he begins to make her feel special. Shudder. Discussions of topic include: a perfect Taylor Swift song for the occasion, Kaycee’s ..read more

Kaycee and Ashley take on another vampire in the Bailey School Kids Universe — penned by Debbie Daley and Marcia Thornton Jones — with Dracula Doesn’t Drink Lemonade. The core four crew of Howie, Eddie, Liza, and Melody are a bit creeped when they meet Mr. Drake, their new school counselor. He dresses in all black and is ice cold. Plus, he may or may not have hypnotic powers. Discussions of topic include: the wild and newsworthy year 1995 was, our own history of being Hot Topic teens, an attempt to build out more of the backstory of Bailey City, and themes of paranoia and othering. Plus, we s ..read more

It’s baby’s first graphic novel on the pod today with Maggie Tokunda-Hall and Lisa Sterle’s Squad. We are diving right back into the whole werewolf of it all, and this one is such a treat…just like the human boys our girl squad snacks on once a month. This novel weaves a wonderfully contemporary supernatural tale of popularity, finding where you belong, sapphic romance, and dealing with white woman victimhood. We loved the fashion, our main character Becca, and all the female rage. Topics of discussion include: revenge narratives, the body issues that mothers pass down to their daughters, and ..read more

The Wakefield twins are leaving good old Sweet Valley and crossing the pond to London, England in this miniseries that includes #104 Love and Death in London, #105 A Date With a Werewolf, and #106 Beware the Wolfman. Don’t you worry, though, everyone is just as obsessed with Jessica and Elizabeth in the UK as they are back in the US. In this episode, we tackle a lot of useless side characters, including a princess who Gone Girls the entire country, and a blast from a book of the past, Rene Glize, who is still obsessed with Liz after their kiss in France (ref. Super Edition #3 Spring Break). Bu ..read more