Season 7, Episode 45: Send Your Listener Press + Summer Is For The Youths

Summary

Podcast Summary: Currently Reading – Season 7, Episode 45: "Send Your Listener Press + Summer Is For The Youths"

Release Date: June 16, 2025
Hosts: Meredith Monday Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb

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Introduction

In Season 7, Episode 45 of the Currently Reading podcast, hosts Meredith Monday Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb delve into their latest book adventures, introduce their seventh annual Listener Press initiative, and embark on a deep exploration of summer reading within the Young Adult (YA) and Middle Grade (MG) genres. The episode blends personal anecdotes, insightful book discussions, and engaging community interactions, all tailored to ignite the passion for reading among their listeners.

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Listener Press Initiative

Early in the episode, Katie Kub enthusiastically introduces the Listener Press segment, encouraging listeners to actively participate by submitting their own book recommendations:

Katie Kub [02:17]: "Here's your chance to do the same. It's so easy we absolutely love hearing about what you've loved forever or has recently changed you for the better."

Meredith Heim echoes the excitement, highlighting the positive impact listener submissions have had over the years:

Meredith Heim [03:42]: "I can't wait. I'm so excited. I love that episode."

The Listener Press invites fans to record brief voice memos recommending their favorite books, fostering a vibrant community of shared literary experiences. This year's initiative promises to enrich the podcast’s selection of recommended reads, further expanding listeners' TBR (To Be Read) lists.

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Bookish Moments of the Week

The hosts share their personal Bookish Moments, spotlighting recent reading experiences that reignited their love for books.

Meredith’s Moment:

Meredith discusses overcoming a reading slump by diving into "God of the Woods," a 500-page novel that captivated her with its immersive storytelling:

Meredith Heim [04:13]: "I absolutely inhaled this book. It felt so good and so fun to be so into a book that was so immersive, so well written."

Katie’s Moment:

Katie shares her anticipation for attending the inaugural Taphouse Library Get Together, a community event combining local bookstores and breweries for a "read and sip" experience:

Katie Kub [06:02]: "They are pairing local bookshops and local breweries for a read and sip event... it's a perfect melding of interest."

The event promises a delightful mix of socializing and reading, embodying the podcast’s celebration of bookish camaraderie.

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Current Reads Reviewed

The core of the episode features an in-depth discussion of the hosts' current reads, spanning both fiction and non-fiction across various genres.

Meredith’s Selections:

1. "Green Teeth" by Molly O’Neill

   • Synopsis: A historical fantasy steeped in Celtic British folklore, following Jenny Greenteeth’s unexpected alliance with a village witch, Temperance.
   • Meredith’s Insight:

     Meredith Heim [08:00]: "This story is true Celtic mythology... it's cozy, but there are real stakes here."

   • Katie’s Reaction:

     Katie Kub [09:43]: "Gosh, I love like mythology from cultures that I'm not familiar with."

2. "Roland Rogers Isn't Dead Yet" by Samantha Allen

   • Synopsis: A spectral movie star enlists a writer to ghostwrite his true story, blending supernatural elements with a heartfelt coming-out narrative.
   • Meredith’s Insight:

     Meredith Heim [14:06]: "It's a fun and completely improbable reading experience... their trajectory of self love, self acceptance, and forgiveness through the process."

   • Katie’s Enthusiasm:

     Katie Kub [16:29]: "It sounds perfectly quirky and just right for me right now."

3. "Scholar and the Last Fairy Door" by H.G. Perry

   • Synopsis: Set in a magical British university during the 1920s, Clover’s quest to save her brother intertwines with dark secrets that threaten both the fairy and human worlds.
   • Meredith’s Insight:

     Meredith Heim [22:38]: "If you like Divine Rivals too, if you are a Rebecca Ross Best reader, this would land in your wheelhouse."

   • Katie’s Reaction:

     Katie Kub [25:03]: "Yeah, I'm getting some of those vibes there for sure."

Katie’s Selections:

1. "Ace of Spades" by Farida Abike Aymide

   • Synopsis: A dark academia YA mystery where senior prefects Devin and Chiamaka navigate anonymous threats that jeopardize their academic futures.
   • Katie’s Insight:

     Katie Kub [10:04]: "The fast pace, the unknown villain, and the almost but not quite multimedia nature of the book... just went down so easy."

   • Meredith’s Decision:

     Meredith Heim [13:16]: "I'll go pull it out of the recesses of my Kindle."

2. "24 Seconds from Now" by Jason Reynolds

   • Synopsis: Told in a reverse timeline, the novel explores the intimate moments leading up to Neon and Aria’s first time together, interwoven with parental guidance on sensitive topics.
   • Katie’s Insight:

     Katie Kub [28:48]: "I feel like this book is a great step in maintaining that supportive and protective conversation between us."

   • Meredith’s Reaction:

     Meredith Heim [29:34]: "I love that this exists. It sounds so good."

3. "Deaf Utopia" by Nyle DiMarco

   • Synopsis: A memoir celebrating Deaf culture and American Sign Language, recounting DiMarco’s journey from childhood to stardom, including his experiences on "America’s Next Top Model" and "Dancing with the Stars."
   • Katie’s Insight:

     Katie Kub [17:11]: "It's astonishing the way... he got so good at timing that... it was mind blowing."

   • Meredith’s Addition:

     Meredith Heim [51:07]: "Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham... an excellent doorway for me into reading around this piece of art history."

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Deep Dive: Summer Is For The Youths

The episode's highlight is the Deep Dive segment titled "Summer Is For The Youths," where Meredith and Katie explore the merits of reading YA and Middle Grade (MG) books during the summer months.

Importance of YA and MG Reading in Summer

Meredith emphasizes the accessibility and emotional resonance of YA/MG books as perfect summer companions:

Meredith Heim [30:43]: "They are books that don't necessarily require all of my brain cells, but they still have so much merit."

Katie complements this by highlighting the manageable length and engaging nature of YA/MG books, making them ideal for summer reading without the overwhelm of adult fiction:

Katie Kub [35:59]: "Middle grade are like a super rich dessert... the perfect way to describe a middle grade book."

Recommendations for Middle Grade

Meredith’s Recommendations:

1. "The Summer of Jordi Perez and the Best Burger in Los Angeles" by Amy Spaulding
2. "Fat Chance Charlie Vega" by Crystal Maldonado
   • Both books celebrate joyful redemption arcs for teens facing challenges related to identity and acceptance.

Katie’s Recommendations:

1. "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Suntornvat
   • A Thai retelling of Les Misérables, offering a culturally rich alternative to classic literature.
2. "Swim Team" by Johnny Christmas
   • A graphic novel about a young black girl learning to swim amidst historical segregation.
3. "Starfish" by Lisa Phipps
   • A novel in verse tackling body shaming, encouraging self-acceptance.

Additional Recommendations by Meredith:

• Kelly Barnhill’s Middle Grade Novels:
  • "The Girl Who Drank the Moon"
  • "The Ogress and the Orphans"
    • These books excel in weaving strong narratives with allegorical depth, making complex themes accessible to younger readers.

Katie’s YA and Middle Grade Recommendations:

• "Scythe" by Neil Schusterman
• "A Curse So Dark and Lonely" by Brigid Kemmerer
  • Both are high-stakes novels with minimal world-building, ideal for quick, engaging reads.
• Spooky Middle Grade & YA Novels:
  • "The Sinister Summer" series by Kiersten White
  • "The Pumpkin Princess and the Forever Night" by Stephen Banbury

Non-Fiction and Poetic Recommendations:

• "The Sun Does Shine" by Anthony Ray Hinton (Young Readers’ Edition)
• "Stamped" by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
• "Punching the Air" by Ibi Savoy and Yusuf Salaam
• "Black Flamingo" by Dean Atta
• "Dreamland Burning" by Jennifer Latham
• "Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science" by Kate McKinnon

Meredith and Katie advocate for the therapeutic and enriching potential of YA/MG literature, citing their ability to address profound themes with a comforting touch.

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Fountain: Wishes for the Week

Concluding the episode, Meredith and Katie share their Fountain Wishes, projecting hopes and dreams tied to their reading journeys and personal lives.

Meredith’s Wish:

Encourages listeners to incorporate YA/MG books into their summer TBR lists to expand their literary horizons:

Meredith Heim [53:04]: "I wish that everyone would add a new to them middle grade or YA book to their TBR this summer."

Katie’s Wish:

Expresses a desire for a Bookish Roadmap, a metaphorical guide to finding the perfect book companions for life’s crossroads:

Katie Kub [54:33]: "I would like a bookish roadmap... to give me the perfect companion for my journey."

These wishes embody the podcast’s mission to foster a vibrant, inclusive, and supportive reading community.

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Notable Quotes

• Katie Kub [01:00]: "Making me happy too."
• Meredith Heim [03:42]: "I can't wait. I'm so excited. I love that episode."
• Meredith Heim [08:00]: "This story is true Celtic mythology... it's cozy, but there are real stakes here."
• Katie Kub [35:59]: "Middle grade are like a super rich dessert... the perfect way to describe a middle grade book."
• Meredith Heim [53:04]: "I wish that everyone would add a new to them middle grade or YA book to their TBR this summer."

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Conclusion

Season 7, Episode 45 of Currently Reading masterfully balances community engagement through the Listener Press with thoughtful discussions on current reads and the hidden gems within the YA and Middle Grade genres. Meredith Monday Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb not only share their personal literary journeys but also inspire their audience to explore diverse narratives, fostering a rich and inclusive book-loving community. Whether you're a seasoned reader or new to the world of YA/MG literature, this episode offers valuable insights and recommendations to enhance your summer reading experience.

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For more book recommendations and to submit your Listener Press, visit currentlyreadingpodcast.com or email [e-mail]. Follow the podcast on Instagram @currentlyreadingpodcast.

Transcript

[Katie Kub]

Foreigners. Welcome to the Currently Reading podcast. We are bookish best friends who spend time every week talking about the books that we've read recently. And as you already know, we do not shy away from having strong opinions. So get ready.

[Mary Heim]

We are light on the chit chat, heavy on the book talk, and our descriptions will always be spoiler free. Today we'll discuss our current reads, a bookish deep dive, and then we'll visit the fountain.

[Katie Kub]

I am Katie Kub, a homeschooling mom of four living in Arizona. And today I plan to read, drink and be merry.

[Mary Heim]

And I'm Mary Heim, a therapist and mom living in Wisconsin. And there are few feelings I love more than breaking a book slump. This is episode number 45 of season seven and we are so glad you're here.

[Katie Kub]

We are so glad you're here. And it is always a delight to to get to record with my dear friend Mary, who has been in our earbuds a little bit more lately. Makes me happy.

[Mary Heim]

Makes me happy too.

[Katie Kub]

Excellent. I was thinking, as I said my bite size intro out loud, Mary, that I could also just say, today I plan to read, drink and be Mary like and just like try and channel my inner Mary. Because I feel like that's when I'm living my best life, is when I'm being my inner Mary.

[Mary Heim]

I am so honored. I was tempted to be like, I'm going to be married too. But then I was like, wait, no, don't deviate.

[Katie Kub]

You should.

[Mary Heim]

Actually, I should be married. That's the plan. I love it.

[Katie Kub]

Excellent. Okay, I will let our friends and listeners know that our deep dive today, I'm calling it Summer is for the youths because that makes me giggle. We are going to talk about why a grown ass woman would be reading middle grade and YA during the summertime and give some of our favorite recommendations within those two age ranges. But first, we have a little bit of mischief to manage. It is not the first Monday of the month. However, we are getting very high in numbers in season seven. And those who have been around for a while, you know what that means. It is that time of year again. We are excited to request your voices for our seventh annual listener press episode.

[Mary Heim]

Whoa. Yay. Round of applause.

[Katie Kub]

For the first five years of the show, we used the end of every episode to press books into your hands. That's like, we love it so much. We just want to push it straight into your hands so you can read it and love it too. This episode is your chance to do the same. It's so easy we absolutely love hearing about what you've loved forever or has recently changed you for the better. Here's how it works. Use your phone to record a voice memo, ideally in a quiet location, and email that file to us. A perfect listener press includes your voice telling us the your name and location. Hi, this is Katie from Arizona, the title and author of the book. Here's the setup, a little bit of plot and why you love it. You should keep it around two minutes or less. We also adore readers who take the time to close the book by repeating the title and author when you're finished because then everybody can write it down after you talked about it. We will do everything to make you sound polished and brilliant. We'll take out your pauses, your ums, anything that you have to retake. So don't let your nerves get the better of you. This is many people's very favorite episode of the entire year, including most of us on the currently reading team. It blows up our TBRs for the coming year. We need those in hand by next week, so get on your phone, get on the microphone, send them to us. As soon as you hear this episode, you should email it to currentlyreading podcastmail.com Any questions?

[Mary Heim]

I can't wait. I'm so excited. I love that episode.

[Katie Kub]

It's so good. And we just like and we get this like treasure trove. And you know, this year we have been sharing bonus listener presses with our bookish super friends throughout the year. So sometimes they'll get three bonus presses or two bonus presses and it's just like a little bit of extra zhuzh to their reading life all year long. And we love that.

[Mary Heim]

The best.

[Katie Kub]

Excellent. That was our mischief managed. Let's get into our regular content. Mary, get us started with a bookish moment of the week.

[Mary Heim]

All right, Katie, my bookish moment of the week this week is a pretty simple one. You heard me reference it just a little bit in my bite sized intro. I have been pretty slumpy lately when it's come to my reading and recently I decided to just say screw it. I'm digging into my summer stack. That's what I'm gonna do. I'm not holding this off anymore. Memorial Day has passed. I'm gonna start reading my summer books. I started with God of the woods, which I got last summer when it was so buzzy. The mood just was never quite right for me though. Well, I started it last week and for a 500 pager, I absolutely inhaled this book. It felt so good and so fun to be so into a book that was so immersive, so well written. Page journey. All I wanted to do in my spare time was just gobble up a few more chapters. I'm pretty sure my slumpiness will continue to come and go as it does, as is life. But for now, this was the perfect slump buster and the best kind of mood reader serendipity to just kick off my summer reading. Ugh. It was easily bookish moment of the week.

[Katie Kub]

Oh, I love it. Gosh, when a book can capture me. That just happened with me too. I read Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver and Katie and I were reading together and then all of a sudden I was like, Katie, I've read 300 pages. Like, I'm sorry it was so good. She's like, okay, well, I'll try and catch up.

[Mary Heim]

Thanks.

[Katie Kub]

It's Maysember for me. I was like, oh, I'm so sorry. You're a teacher and I just ruined your life.

[Mary Heim]

You can't help it though, when a book is that good. Like that kind of totally hooks you, pulls you into the world. Like that doesn't happen all the time. And when it does, you just gotta go with it. You gotta let yourself enjoy the ride. So I love it. I love that you have that too.

[Katie Kub]

Definitely.

[Mary Heim]

What about you, Katie? What's your bookish moment this week?

[Katie Kub]

All right, this is just too good not to share. Even though technically right now it's happening in the future. But it will have happened already by the time this episode airs for everybody. So tonight in real time, I'm going to an event at a local brewery for the inaugural Taphouse library get together.

[Mary Heim]

Fun.

[Katie Kub]

They are pairing local bookshops and local breweries for a read and sip event.

[Mary Heim]

What?

[Katie Kub]

I'm so excited. The first one features my adorable little farmhouse indie, which is called literally a bookshop, and Six Bird, which is a local cider company. They all have a little pop up bookshop for anybody who needs to buy a book. But you can also bring a book you already own and either read quietly or mingle with other bookish people. And who doesn't love bookish people? They, as we say every week, they are the best. The best people, right? I'm always excited for a new way to check out the bookish community here in the Phoenix area. And this is a perfect melding of interest. My kids are getting picked up by dad for dinner tonight, so I am going to hustle my little booty over to the brewery and drink some cider and enjoy my book.

[Mary Heim]

This did they make make this specifically for you. A bookish extrovert event at a brewery. The only thing that would make me more convinced of it if they were like, we're gonna have a surprise octopus guest.

[Katie Kub]

There's actually a touch pool involved.

[Mary Heim]

That's the only thing that's missing here.

[Katie Kub]

Oh, my gosh. That would be amazing. Or like an elephant. Yeah, just like, out back. It's like a petting zoo.

[Mary Heim]

It sounds like so much fun. I am 99% happy for you and only 1% jealous.

[Katie Kub]

Oh, well, that's sweet, Mary. I did have three local bookish friends already write back to my story and say I'm gonna be there. What time are we meeting? So I know I'll have at least three of my people there with me. And I was just excited to, you know, get into it and get to meet some people.

[Mary Heim]

That's super cool. I hope you have a great time.

[Katie Kub]

Me too. But that means we need some books to read. So what have you been reading lately? Tell us your first current read.

[Mary Heim]

All right, Katie. My first book this week is Green Teeth by Molly o' Neill. So here is our setup. Jenny Greenteeth has never spoken to a human before. She spends most of her time lurking under the surface of her lake, keeping it impeccably clean, eating fish and acting her part as the local lore monster that the villagers know her to be. But one day, when a witch is thrown into her lake, something makes Jenny decide to save her. Jenny and our village witch, Temperance, form an unlikely alliance to help Temperance figure out why exactly the village happened to turn against her right around the time the new town pastor showed up. Neither one of them has planned to embark on a magical quest. But without their interference, Jenny's lake, Temperance's family, and frankly, the entire soul of Britain is at risk. Katie. I must be living under a rock because I had never heard of the Celtic British folklore of a Jenny Greenteeth, a river hag whose stories were likely created to keep children from dangerous waters and never did. I think I would find so much to love about such a historically creepy and typically villainous character. But in Greenteeth, I really ended up loving these characters. I this story is true Celtic mythology, as I already mentioned, with deep Arthurian threads that I, as someone with only a passing knowledge of general Arthurian legend, still really enjoyed. This is historical fantasy with a found family twist that is totally unexpected and surprisingly was so unput downable to me. It's hard to comp this one because it really didn't feel like anything I'd ever read before. It's cozy, but there are real stakes here. The characters are lovable, but also they are still magical monsters who behave as monsters do in the end. I really enjoyed it though, and I. I can see it working for a lot of our listeners as it did for me. That is Green Teeth by Molly o' Neill.

[Katie Kub]

Okay, so is this adult?

[Mary Heim]

Yes.

[Katie Kub]

Okay.

[Mary Heim]

Yeah. It's not. I wouldn't say that it is like off limits to younger readers by any.

[Katie Kub]

Means, but this Alex Award would be a good place for this.

[Mary Heim]

This is adult fiction for sure.

[Katie Kub]

Okay. Interesting.

[Mary Heim]

Yeah.

[Katie Kub]

Gosh, I love like mythology from cultures that I'm not familiar with.

[Mary Heim]

Yes. Yeah. It doesn't. It certainly does not feel like same old, same old.

[Katie Kub]

Yeah. Oh, and a creepy thing under the lake right now. I cannot. I'm fighting my pool tooth and nail right now. We are having an argument and the water is green and so you can't see the bottom. Like I'm gonna have to call on a professional. It's really making me crazy. I feel like there might be something living.

[Mary Heim]

Maybe there's a Jenny in it.

[Katie Kub]

I think there might be a Jenny.

[Mary Heim]

Green teeth in it.

[Katie Kub]

Well, hopefully she doesn't eat my pool vacuum. That would be fingers.

[Mary Heim]

Fingers crossed.

[Katie Kub]

Okay, my first one is Ya. I'm gonna talk about Ace of Spades by Farida Abike Aymide. Have you heard of this one? Have you read this one?

[Mary Heim]

I have. I unfortunately got an E galley of it years ago and I didn't read it. I haven't read it yet. But it is on my Kindle.

[Katie Kub]

This is what happened to me too. I'm gonna talk you into it. This is great. Okay, so this is a dark academia school based YA mystery thriller and it's got all my favorite elements in one package. We are going to start out our story with Devin and Chiamaka. They have been elevated to senior class prefects at their elite private school which is called Nevias Private Academy. They are two of the only black students at the school and both are thrilled to be in the running now for valedictorian because they got this special recognition to become prefects. But it is very shortly after that when all the students at the school start receiving anonymous text messages from someone who goes by the name Aces. The texts reveal secrets about both of these students that threaten both of their futures. Not all the secrets are true, but they are all damaging. In a blend of Gossip Girl and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, the stakes keep getting higher as the entire school becomes involved in this game of cat and mouse who is aces? Why are they targeting Devin and Chiamaka? The two students have to decide if they will band together or let the best man or woman win and it is high stakes like this is their futures that they're talking about and it gets more high stakes when not everybody is going to make it out of this alive. In August of 2024 I read where Sleeping Girls Lie, which is Farida's newest release, but this one had been on and off my TBR for years before that because it released in 2021. Why did I not read it? I don't know. It turns out that it was a much better fit for me than her newer book Where Sleeping Girls Lie. The fast pace, the unknown villain, and the almost but not quite multimedia nature of the book with the text messages interspersed really worked for me. It just went down so easy. This book has exceptionally high ratings on storygraph, and while I often beat myself up for waiting too long to pick up a book that really ended up working great for me, I have decided to let that go. I know that this one came to me at exactly the right time. I loved our two main characters, Devin and Chiamaka. They were complex and well drawn. I loved that central mystery and the ways we get a slow reveal of secrets and alliances. It was an all around hit for me and it's a great pick for Pride Month as well because there are some LGBT characters in here. Also, this is Ace of Spades by Farida Abike Iamide.

[Mary Heim]

All right, well you convinced me, doesn't it?

[Katie Kub]

It's so good.

[Mary Heim]

I'm like, why didn't I read this? This sounds like a merry book through and through. Like I know what is my deal. Okay, all right, I'll go pull it out of the recesses of my Kindle.

[Katie Kub]

And I don't know why it took me so long to read it. Like the COVID is. It looks like a playing card. Like their faces are kind of juxtaposed. I don't know if I love the COVID so I'm not sure if that turned me away from it, but it doesn't really have anything to do with cards except for this entity, this alias. It goes by Aces. So you're just like, okay, well I don't know what's going on.

[Mary Heim]

Interesting. You know, I almost wonder maybe I had overdone it on YA mystery and I needed a little break. But I haven't read in that genre for a long time, so I think this would be a good One to pick back up.

[Katie Kub]

All right, slip your toes right back in. Excellent. What is your second book, my love?

[Mary Heim]

All right, Katie. Well, I am going to piggyback off your great Pride Month wreck with another Great Pride Month wreck. Just happened to fall into my reading recently. And that is Roland Rogers Isn't Dead yet by Samantha Allen. So Roland Rogers is the kind of movie star that everyone knows. He is an A list action star who spent his life being the swoony hero that is constantly in the public eye. He is finally feeling compelled to tell the real story of his life. A closeted gay man who is ready to be known for his true self. But there is one small problem. Roland Rogers is dead. But he is also, strangely, still here. After a fatal skiing accident on a solo trip where no one knows that he never came back from his morning ski excursion, Roland finds his spectral self back in his Hollywood home, able to inhabit his electronics, communicating through the kitchen. Alexa, for example.

[Katie Kub]

What?

[Mary Heim]

Yep. And sudden, the stakes have never felt higher for the world to know his true self before he's gone forever. Roland enlists Adam, a writer known for his own ex Mormon coming out autobiography, to help him ghostwrite, literally his story. But Adam, along with everyone else, doesn't know Roland is technically dead. What ensues is not only Adam and Roland's madcap journey to ghostwrite a story for a literal ghost, but also a coming out and coming home story of two people finding what they've maybe needed all along in the most unlikely of circumstances. If this plot sounds kooky, it's because it is. But this was such a fun and completely improbable reading experience, Prepare to suspend all of your disbelief with this one. But if you are willing to just let this story take you where it's gonna go, I promise it is going to be an enjoyable ride. I ended up so loving watching Roland and Adam's love story, but what was really even more heartwarming was watching their trajectory of self love, self acceptance, and forgiveness through the process. The ghost element was such a weird and fun twist, and the irreverent electronics bent made it feel so strangely fresh and interesting. You can tell the author just had so much fun writing this book. And speaking of Samantha Allen, the author, I'd been familiar with her previous book, Patricia Wants to Cuddle, also known for being another irreverent queer, strange fun story. And now that I've finished Roland Rogers, her backlist is shooting straight onto my tbr, that is Roland Rogers Isn't Dead yet by Samantha Allen.

[Katie Kub]

Okay, see I. I have loved her in the past. I did read Patricia Wants to Cuddle. It's pretty weird. I loved Real Queer America though, which is like a road trip. It's memoir, so that one is nonfiction. I already put this on hold while you were talking about it. It sounds perfectly quirky and just right for me right now.

[Mary Heim]

I think it's gonna be a good one for you right now. I just randomly grabbed it off of my library's new release shelf and I'm so glad I did. It was so much fun.

[Katie Kub]

Excellent. Oh, so good. Okay, I have some NonFiction for my second slot today. I and amazingly also has a little bit of Pride Month rec to it. I'm gonna talk about Deaf utopia by Nyle DiMarco. Nyle DiMarco? Do you know this name?

[Mary Heim]

No.

[Katie Kub]

Okay. That's okay. He is not an unknown entity. Okay. I live under a pop culture rock though. Like, I just, I don't pay attention to things.

[Mary Heim]

I do a little bit too. Yeah.

[Katie Kub]

Especially not reality tv. So no one will be surprised to know that I had no recognition of his name or his face, which is very pretty. But that doesn't matter to me when I've got a well rated memoir ready for my ears. So this book from 2022 was finally up on my TBR. Nyle DiMarco was born as one half of a pair of deaf twins to a multi generational deaf family. When he failed his first hearing test as a newborn, his parents were elated. They cheered with their like ASL applause hands. Right? They were thrilled. And that's because they fully embraced their deaf culture, which he takes time to invite us into. Within this memoir, as you, Niall moves through this world, our world, a world that's built for hearing people having very different experiences than most of us do. This book details his childhood experiences, the way he pushed limits in school and in life. His Italian American family is loving and supportive, even if many of them communicate differently than the rest of us do. They're not loud like Italian Americans, but they're rambunctious like many Italian Americans. As Niall grows, he attends Gallaudet University, which is a famous university for the deaf in Washington D.C. he started pursuing his passions outside of his math major when he decided to dip his toe into acting. Eventually, he was pulled into reality TV with a stint on America's Next Top Model and won on Dancing with the Stars. So yes, many watchers of TV know his name and face, but all of that information was totally new to me. This book, Deaf Utopia, is billed as a Proud and Defiant Song of Deaf Culture and A Love Letter to American Sign Language. About five or six years ago, I had a deaf family in my homeschool community and I spent two years trying to learn as much asl as I could, absorb as much deaf culture as I could, and trying to become the best advocate and friend that they could ask for. It was a life changing experience for me and I would have been so happy to read this book at the time. As is true of all ownvoices books, no one person's experience can be extrapolated out to the whole right? But having this additional source of information and point of view in my life would have served both me and my deaf friends so well. As we navigated our friendship together, I enjoyed every moment of this memoir. I ended up deep diving videos on YouTube of his performances with Pita on Dancing with the Stars. He spends a significant amount of time in this memoir discussing the ways that they made it work for them to be able to dance in time to music that he could not hear. Whoa, I just got chills again. It is astonishing the way first of all she gets assigned him as a partner and she's like, no. Like how can you teach someone to dance in sync with you when they cannot hear the music? They tried turning it up really loud so he could feel the bass line. He got so good at timing that if other people came in to join them as backup dancers and they were just trying to like ad lib, all of them were wrong. Like they couldn't sync up with him because he was so precise in his timing. Like it was mind blowing. Just completely amazing. An absolute marvel. I loved this book. Again, I'm so glad it came to me exactly when it did. Although I do wish I could have read it five to six years ago. This is Deaf Utopia by Nyle DiMarco.

[Mary Heim]

That sounds excellent. That's another one you completely sold me on and I went onto Goodreads and I added it to my TBR as you were talking. Katie, you are not wrong. He's very pretty.

[Katie Kub]

He's so attractive.

[Mary Heim]

This sounds like an excellent book that I will read in hard copy so that I can look at the COVID whenever I want because it is just.

[Katie Kub]

Him standing on the COVID and like throughout, like he talks about his sexuality throughout as well, where he kind of experiments back and forth. Comes out as bi. Maybe not. You know, he has a very long term career girlfriend. Turns out he likes kissing men. So there's like, there's a lot going on there and he just like Very gently invites us into the story. And also, oh, it's so cool because they talk about how there's what's called gloss with ASL Sign Language. So ASL is not. Even though it's American Sign Language, it's not structured like American English. Right. There's different structure to the actual, like, formation of sentences. So if you gloss it, it turns into something that seems like English, but a direct translation is a little different. So he'll talk about. You know, if this is in all caps, it means I emphasized it when I was signing to the person who was co writing with him. Just even those little details. I thought that was so interesting to learn about. I loved this book.

[Mary Heim]

It sounds so, so good. And yep, I have no idea who he is. And I don't care because I'm gonna read it anyways. It sounds so good.

[Katie Kub]

And then you can go on YouTube and you can watch him dance to the sound of silence, which is stunning.

[Mary Heim]

Stop. Okay. All right.

[Katie Kub]

Stunning.

[Mary Heim]

You've made my plans for the next two weeks for me, Katie. Thank you so much.

[Katie Kub]

Love it. Amazing.

[Mary Heim]

All right, well, for my third read, I am pulling the. From the dark academia themes.

[Katie Kub]

Okay.

[Mary Heim]

That you kind of planted with your previous currently read. And my third book this week is the Scholar and the Last fairy door by H.G. perry.

[Katie Kub]

Okay.

[Mary Heim]

Camford University in 1920 is no place for commoner Clover, with neither connections nor magic blood. Because, yes, this is a magical university, but not the kind we're used to. Clover lives very much in our world, a world still reeling from the First World War, but with the knowledge of just how much impact the fairy world had on the devastation of World War I. In pursuit of a cure for her brother Matthew, terminally wounded by the largest fairy attack on the battlefields, Clover fights her way into Camford, only to be met with the challenges of learning a lifetime of magic in addition to the class warfare of the upper crust of England in the 20s. But when clover finds her way into the inner circle of the children of some of the most influential magical aristocrats at campord, doors both physical and metaphorical that had been previously closed to her are suddenly flung wide open. The summer she spends with her friends leaves a fateful mark. Months of joyous friendship and study come crashing down when fairy experiments go awry and terrifying secrets are unearthed. Years later, when the seals to the fairy world breaks, Clover knows it's because of what they've done. And she knows she must seek the help of those once called friends if there is any hope of saving the world as she knows it. Katie I am not quiet about my love of the Emily Wilde series, and so many fellow readers, including myself, are always on the lookout for a series comp to Emily. I am very picky in that I don't think many come close to just how perfectly done Emily Wilde is, in my opinion, but this might be the closest I've come in quality of writing and pure academic fairy vibes. This book is definitely darker than Emily Wilde, and it's not an exact comp, but why would we want it to be? I found the story itself to be riveting, the fictional British Magical University sense of place to just be impeccable. And you know me, a subtle allegory almost always lands well, and this book was no exception there. I think that this story would be as welcome and engrossing on a summer day laying in the hammock as it would be saved for those first chilly fall afternoons. And as the Internet says, it has lived rent free in my head quite often since I first read it a few months back. So if that doesn't tell you how good I think this one is, just trust me. That is the Scholar and the Last Fairy Door by H.G. perry.

[Katie Kub]

So I know H.G. perry, right? I mean, I haven't read H.G.

[Mary Heim]

Perry, but this is not their first novel.

[Katie Kub]

Yeah, okay. Okay.

[Mary Heim]

The Magician's Daughter, I think, might have been the first one. There may be more. That's the only one that I'm familiar with. But I know this kind of feels like if you like Divine Rivals too, if you are a Rebecca Ross Best reader, this would land in your wheelhouse, I think.

[Katie Kub]

Yeah, I'm getting some of those vibes there for sure.

[Mary Heim]

Yeah, it's not ya. But again, I don't think there's anything that's explicitly, like, inappropriate for a YA reader. Yes.

[Katie Kub]

All right. I like it. My third one is ya and also might have some things that are explicitly inappropriate for a YA reader. So I'm gonna toe that line today. I'm gonna talk about 24 seconds from now by Jason Reynolds. A. Because I'm in love with Jason Reynolds. Actually, that's. That's the whole list. That's not A. That's A through Z. Okay. This is my one new release of this episode, and it's an Indie press list pick from March of this year. Now, of course, we all know I was already a Jason Reynolds fan girl, and that is a certified status. It goes on my driver's license. So there was not a worry in my mind about loving this book, but it's a bit complex to talk about about, so let's get into it. This is a novel told in an interesting format or timeline, and it's about a subject that is a bit uncomfortable for some parents to discuss with their kids. So a YA book about it may be super welcome. Or it could be absolutely horrifying and put on all the banned book lists, right? Starting with chapter one. We know that 24 seconds from now, Neon, our main character, is planning to walk out of the bathroom and join his girlfriend Aria in bed for their first time together. That's the setup of this book. The question is how did they get here and what will happen next? This is a story about their first time and it's told in a reverse timeline of increasing durations. What the heck does that mean? Well, chapter one is about 24 seconds from now, and then chapter two is 24 seconds ago, chapter three 24 minutes ago, increasing until we get all the way back to the inception of Neon and Arya's relationship 24 months ago. In the meantime, we see not only how their feelings have developed and deepened for each other, but the way that especially Neon's mom doesn't shy away from the conversations she needs to have with her son in order to support him and protect him as he takes the next step toward adulthood. Now. Jason Reynolds was the National Ambassador for Young people's literature for three years from 2020 to 2023. He was awarded an unprecedented third term for the position because he is actually that good. He truly has his finger on the pulse of the issues and stories that will impact the young people of today and the ones of tomorrow. His writing is a gift to each of us, children and adults alike. And in point of fact, while this may not be the move for all parents, I finished this book and moved it directly onto my oldest son's stack of books that he chooses from when we do our drop everything and read time for homeschool. I've tried to maintain a very open line of communication with my kids, starting with Micah, who is currently my only teenager, but not for much longer. He's a fantastic kid to learn how to parent teens with, but I've made missteps, of course, like we all do. I feel like this book is a great step in maintaining that supportive and protective conversation between us, and those are not always convenient or comfortable from a mom to her kiddo, but they are necessary and I'm so grateful that a book like this even exists in the world. A novelization of the inner turmoil the external pressure, everything that goes into a kid, deciding whether or not they're ready for their first time. What a time to be living in when my beloved Jason Reynolds can stand in the gap and encourage the best version of my parenting self right alongside the growing version of my kiddo's sense of self. I'm utterly grateful and gave this brilliantly and beautifully written book 5 stars. Although 24 stars would have been great as well. This is 24 seconds from now by Jason Reynolds.

[Mary Heim]

I haven't read this one yet, Katie, but I can't wait to read it. I love Jason Reynolds. He truly can do no wrong. He's such an artist. I mean, he's amazing. And I love that this exists. I love that this can be a pathway for those who choose to use this as a way to connect and talk and open up those lines of communications with their kids. And those like me who have young kids and are like, how the heck am I gonna talk about this with my children as they grow up? I love that. So I can't wait to read it. You just bumped it. Even my list.

[Katie Kub]

It's so good. And the interviews he did surrounding this novel, like when he went on the Daily show and talked to whichever correspondent he was talking to that day, it's so powerful. He just. He just gets it in a way that a lot of adults have forgotten how to get it, you know?

[Mary Heim]

Yeah, love that.

[Katie Kub]

That's really good. Okay, those were our six current reads, which means it's time for our deep dive, which, as mentioned, is called Summer is for the Youth. Of course, a lot of us spend summer reading for ourselves, right? Like, we love a beach bag book. We love a saucy romance or a terrifying thriller or something. Page turning. Or maybe we want to expand our minds a little and finally read that classic that's been breathing down our neck for years. And I also almost always pick up a homeschool book to fire me up for the upcoming year and get me inspired. But I also love Summertime for reading YA and middle grade books. Books that either I missed or I haven't read aloud to my kids yet or that I don't think they deserve yet because I want to read them first, which is fun. So this stems from summer reading as a kid. Mary, what is your summer reading status with regard to non adult titles?

[Mary Heim]

Good question. So, you know, I am such a mood. A mood reader, right? And I do really love, like you said, picking up middle grade or YA in the summer often, because they do fall. I mean, they do fall into that easy reading category. Right. They're not grabbing your brain and forcing you to pay very close attention. That I'm fine with reading like that in the winter, even in the spring. That's not really how I read in the summer and the fall. And I have many reasons that I love YA and middle grade, which we'll talk about today. But the reason that I think I find myself reading within this category in the summertime often is because they are books that don't necessarily require all of my brain cells, but I think still have so much merit. And there's still so many wonderful stories and reading experiences to be found within YA and middle grade. But probably the reason that they land in the summer for me is because I can read them by the pool. I can read them while my kid is playing outside, and I can pop back and forth to a book and have a great reading experience without being like. Like crap. Okay, where did I leave off? What's happening? I need to read this book in solitary. Like, solitary silence. That's just not required of me when I read YA in middle grade.

[Katie Kub]

Yes, definitely. I mostly blame the Pizza Hut book it program because the whole goal there was to read as many books as possible. Right? So something that you can sit down and devour in a single sitting, you know. Yes. You're looking up, you're checking on what your kids are doing. Maybe you put on another movie because it's summertime and who cares, right? But like being able to just sink into a story and drink the whole thing down at once and then check it off on my reading log for my Pizza Hut bucket submission form. Icing on the cake. So that is one of the many reasons, one of the first reasons that I love middle grade in the summertime. It's a quick win, right? I might get a shot of empathy or a new way of looking at what is it could be a very complex issue. Middle graders are humans, right? They have to deal with grief or loss. Boss. Or learning to accept somebody new or whatever it is that we're all trying to navigate as adults too. But it's just a little gentler. It's a shot of empathy instead of a blender full of frozen margarita, which is too hard to drink at once.

[Mary Heim]

Right. Or like a bag full of bricks knocked you over the head with empathy. Right? Like. And I had this thought too, as I was prepping for this episode, Katie. Something that really stuck out to me is like. Like, people assume that good writing or really deep topics really affecting moving literature is not happening. In middle grade and ya. And that's just not true. It's just a lie. Yes, there is some of my favorite books of all time are middle grade or ya. And it's because they're good books.

[Katie Kub]

Right.

[Mary Heim]

You know, and I think that something else that I really love about this category of novels is that there are facets, fascinating sub genres to explore within this category. I've got a couple recommendations that I'll make that specifically speak to this point. But why wouldn't you want to explore kind of this new sub genre within a genre that you already really love? So if you love murderful books, you don't have to read angsty teen romance. If that's not for you.

[Katie Kub]

Right.

[Mary Heim]

Maybe you will really love YA murder mysteries. And I'm pointing at myself with this specific instance. I don't love a YA romance, but I love YA murder mysteries. I love middle grade fantasy. These are categories I already love to read in. And YA and middle grade can do something specific within a genre that adult books can't necessarily do. And like I said, I think I've got some good examples of this that we'll talk about later. But why wouldn't you want to expand within a genre you already love? And that's something else I love about YA and middle grade.

[Katie Kub]

Yes. And that, that almost is the flip of. One of the things that I wanted to talk about with regard to YA middle grade is that it's a smaller bite usually than. Let's say, let's say you're reading the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan with Meredith because you can handle it. But maybe that's terrifying to you because they're all 900 page books and that's too much. But you want to try fantasy. Guess what? You don't have to worry about a 900 page middle grade fantasy. No, it's going to be fine. You're going to read it right along. I like to liken them to a super rich dessert that. Because that almost always comes in a smaller package. Right. You don't get at a restaurant an entire triple chocolate cheesecake with amaretto drizzle and BlackBerry compost. Right. You get a slice because that's all you can handle. And that is the perfect way to describe a middle grade book. It's that little enough amount to satisfy smaller bites with complex flavors, big issues inside them, but easy to handle because it's only this smaller amount for you. So yes.

[Mary Heim]

And Katie, I think you're hitting on. I think there's really beautiful allegory and story that within middle grade and ya, but I think middle grade especially, that doesn't have to get bogged down by the trappings of adult fiction.

[Katie Kub]

Yes.

[Mary Heim]

And that is something that is so specific to this category of book that I really enjoy. And you know, I think something, a trap that I see people fall into is thinking middle grade and YA will not work for me, so I will not read any of it. And I think that a great entry point could be to say, let me choose a genre I already enjoy and explore that genre within this category and see where it lands. Find a really excellent YA or middle grade recommendation that I know is probably going to work for me genre wise. We would never brush off an entire category of books just because you think one part of it won't work for you. Like I said earlier on with if you don't want to read YA romance, don't read YA romance. But why wouldn't you pick up another, you know, other books that are maybe within a genre, within the category that you would enjoy to really like? Allow yourself, allow ourselves to be nuanced readers and be open to the fact that there may be things that work for us that we haven't discovered yet. Because I used to be one of these people who was like, why would I read middle grade? I'm an adult. And then I gave it a go and I was like, oh my God, these are so good. I love this book. Or this is really excellent. And it was a gateway for me. And so I think it's just like about being curious and staying curious and open to your reading too.

[Katie Kub]

Yes, definitely. The, the bigger the world we allow ourselves to inhabit, the richer it is. There's nothing that, that makes your world smaller by adding more variety in your reading life. Right? Yes.

[Mary Heim]

I have to make this point because I'm a therapist. I. It's part of my oath. Right. But I just have to point out that it could also be incredibly healing and enjoyable for your inner child to either get to enjoy the things that you didn't get to enj a younger person or to revisit things you really enjoyed as a younger person. And that's not going to be the truth for everybody, but it might be the truth for some people. And so there's my little boop therapist plug. Okay, I had to say it. I had to say it.

[Katie Kub]

Yes. Comfort and feed your inner child with. With a middle grade pick. So let's get into some recommendations for middle grade. I have three that I want to highlight for summer middle grade reading. Do you want to where are you at, Mary? I've got back and forth.

[Mary Heim]

I've got three pairs, so that works out. And then I've got a little bonus. A little bonus buddy that doesn't fit into any of them. So that sounds good.

[Katie Kub]

Well, then why don't you start? Because you have more than I do in this category. So give us your first pair.

[Mary Heim]

Okay, so my first pair of recommendations. And Katie, I think I could record, you could say, Mary, this is gonna be our topic for the next 10 episodes that you're on. And I wouldn't run out of book recommendations, so I really had to narrow this down. But my first pair, I've got two here. The Summer of Jordi Perez and the Best Burger in Los Angeles by Amy Spaulding and Fat Chance Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado. Jordi Perez is about a queer teen. And that one is a why I love story. And it is just pure joy. And Fat Chance Charlie Vega is also a why I love story here. I said I didn't enjoy why I love stories, but these two are perfect. And Fat Chance Charlie Vega is about a teen living in a bigger body and her love love story. And both of these just tell the sweetest redemption stories of teen girls who are somehow othered, whether it be because of weight or their sexual orientation. And guess what? They get happily ever afters. So many people didn't get to have a happily ever after as a teen. They had to work and earn it as an adult. And I really loved watching these really wonderful, worthy characters get to enjoy some of the fruits of their hardship before they had fully developed prefrontal cortices. And both of these books are really well written and they would be perfect summer reading. They're joyful and they're light and they're fun. And I think a lot of us, something that really sticks out for me about these two is like, I'm a therapist, so I hear a lot of people's stories. I am also a human being, right? Like high school was, we all had insecurities. Even if you were the most confident kid on the block. I love getting to kind of read and watch through like a high school redemption arc because I think that that was maybe it was just like hard or foreign for a lot of us as we were figuring out ourselves in those formative years. And so these two are particularly joyful around those topics. So that's my first little, little duo.

[Katie Kub]

Okay, I like it. I am going to start with my middle grade recs and then I'm going to Go into my YA ones as we get further along because I actually within all of them I have quite a few. Okay, I'm gonna give really quick my three recommendations for middle grade. A Wish in the Dark by Christina Suntornvat will give you big feels and a constantly propulsive story. It is actually a Thai retelling of Les Miserables. What? So if you've ever been like, listen, Victor Hugo, you're a little verbose and I'm not really into that. I'll just watch the musical. This is an excellent alternative to that. I always have to have a graphic novel. So perfect, Perfect Summer Graphic novel Swim Team by Johnny Christmas. Even quicker win than most middle grade books because it's a graphic novel. It's super summery. It's about a young black girl learning to swim and also learning the history of segregated pools in her area. Great way to learn a small piece of that puzzle. And then Starfish by Lisa Phipps gives us the opportunity to try a novel in verse, which is always a quick read as well with plenty of white space on every page. It does tackle body shaming in kids and shows us a protagonist who's willing to embrace her body as it is is so she can enjoy the pool for the summer. Which like some of us adults need to hear that same message, right? So why not pick up a middle grade novel in verse, knock it out and reset your mindset for the summer and love your inner child who maybe had the same issues as our beloved protagonist in Starfish.

[Mary Heim]

And let me just say, I haven't read Starfish, but something that sticks out to me about that one too, Katie is like, that might be. And this is true for Fat Chan's Charlie Vega. It might be hard to read a full length adult novel about body shaming, right? Like that might be really triggering and overwhelming and like so reading it in a more bite sized format like middle grade and YA can be a good way to like explore that topic, to put yourself in that space without being like, oh my God. Okay, now I have to spend the next seven days with this book that is gonna like be break me a little fodder for the next five weeks of therapy. Like so that's a bonus there too.

[Katie Kub]

Yes, most definitely. Okay, what's your next pairing, Mary?

[Mary Heim]

My little pairing or my next pairing rather is both of Kelly Barnhill's middle grade novels, the Girl who Drank the Moon and the Ogress and the Orphans. I think that when someone tells me they've never read middle grade before, Kelly Barnhill is where I want them to start.

[Katie Kub]

Start.

[Mary Heim]

Her middle grade novels do something so well that I just don't think adult novels do. And that is take something like a parable, some fantasy or fiction with a really strong story and allegory for a larger message and tells it so well. I don't think that adult novels can do this as well without seeming really heavy handed or too cliche. That is a very fine line to walk, but somehow it just works in middle grade and they, these are, are stunningly written. I'm gonna be a little spicy here and say that Kelly Barnhill's adult novels don't hit this well for me.

[Katie Kub]

That is true for me as well.

[Mary Heim]

But her middle grade novels are on my the golden shelf of Forever favorites. Because I think that what she's trying to do works best in a middle grade format where I'm like, I see exactly what she's saying here and I know exactly what she's talking about. And guess what? It's not exhausting to me because this is how I would want a kid and learn about empathy and power and right and family and all of these things. Justice and justice. Right. And it just works better in that bite sized format.

[Katie Kub]

Yes, I agree. I've read a number of her adult pieces and they're, I mean they're not, they're not bad books. I would never ever say that. But her middle grade is something else.

[Mary Heim]

Next level.

[Katie Kub]

It is next level. Okay. My next. I guess I will call it a pairing as well. Is there. We're going to call them perennial currently reading favorites.

[Mary Heim]

Yeah, yeah.

[Katie Kub]

It is of course, Scythe by Neil Schusterman and A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer. So this is a dystopia novel, start of a series and a fantasy novel, start of a series. They are both super repulsive and neither one has complex world building and character charts. Like you might require an adult novel if you were picking up the same genre. So again, it's going to be a faster win, it's going to be easier to get into the story and both of them will knock your socks off. This is phenomenal writing. It is something that we press into the hands of teenagers and adults alike because nobody doesn't love these. Like, I'm sure you're out there, friend. I see you. If you hated Scythe, that's fine. It's not my opinion, but you can be wrong. It's fine. These are fantastic books. They're excellent to like give as a graduation gift. Like, oh, you're about to go to college. Great. Why don't you, like, enjoy yourself this past, this final summer and just blast through this amazing series that I cannot wait to press into your hands. Just really great. Low world building, high stakes. Love it.

[Mary Heim]

Yeah. Can I just agree, we'll fully cosign on both of these, right? And also acknowledge, like, sometimes I just do not enjoy high fantasy with hundreds and hundreds of pages of world building. And I think too about like times of. I'm going to jump back to our broader discussion here, but like when I was postpartum, when I was in grad school, when I was in a heavy, you know, period of grief and I still wanted to enjoy a book. Sometimes you just need something that the bar is going to be lower for entry. And these are also really excellent novels. Whether the bar, you need the bar lower for entry because you don't typically read fantasy or science fiction or if you need it because life is just life in right now. That yes, these are excellent ones that are not going to require you to like chart out in a notebook who is who and how are they connected and where is this town in this world and what is this monster like? None of that is required.

[Katie Kub]

Yes, exactly.

[Mary Heim]

I love it. Okay, my final pairing, and this is probably another one that I could do an entire podcast of my own on, which is spooky middle grade and YA novels. One of my favorites 2 I think of the best in this category is the Sinister Summer series by Kiersten White and the Pumpkin Princess and the Forever Night by Stephen Banbury. Of course, course folks know that I love middle grade and YA horror or spooky novels and I love to explore specifically a subset of the genre that doesn't really exist in adult books. And this is what I was talking about earlier. I can and do read within the adult murderful and horror categories more now than I have in the past, but you don't necessarily get this specific brand of spooky and gentleness. This in adult novels, cozies and romance can come close, but this is a really specific and enjoyable subgenre that really only exists in YA and middle grade. And that is like, it will scare you, but not fully all the way. And you don't have to read romance, right, a witchy romance to get that. Or like there will be something here that like, you know that it is going to be suspenseful, but you also know that there's not going to be like really gory, explicit serial killer descriptions on page and you still want to be in the suspense and you still want to flip the pages, but you don't want something super intense and off the charts and so kind of like what I was saying before, why wouldn't you explore? Unless you're like, that is all I want from a murderful book or that is all I want from this category. Why wouldn't you let yourself play around in genres you already love? Or in a genre that is kind of on the flip side, maybe new to you, and you're like, I don't know that I can do the whole shebang of an adult novel, but hey, I think I could give this a go. That's something that I really love to read within middle grade for sure.

[Katie Kub]

Yes. Oh, love that. Okay, because I'm me. I am going to use my last little slot here to talk about some YA and middle grade nonfiction picture picks because sometimes we need an easy entry point to learning about social justice. So I'm going to recommend the young readers version of the Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton. The adult version is on the list of books that forever changed me as a person and the way that I think about our criminal justice system. And then Stamped by Ibram x Kendi and Jason Reynolds, which is the YA remix of Stamp from the Beginning by Ibram x Kendi. An absolutely exceptional book. I just got another message from a listener this past week saying, hey, way back when you talked about Buddy reading this book. My sister and I just picked it up this week and that's how we're choosing to do it. One chapter a day, discussing with one another, really letting our minds be changed. I love that. And then similarly, but kind of a pivot from that to verse novels because poetry is sometimes hard for adults to get into. Right? So Punching the Air by Ibi Savoy and Yusuf Salaam kind of is a pairing with the Sun Does Shine. It's about wrongful incarceration. YA verse novel, it's easy reading, a difficult topic. And the Black Flamingo by Dean Atta is a perfect option for Pride Month, another verse novel, easy to get into. Break your heart open with empathy sometimes. That's the entry point. We need to expand our worlds a little bit more. And YA middle grade have an open door for you. They are ready to invite you into these topics that might be a little harder for whatever reason and give you a soft place to land when you want to try them out.

[Mary Heim]

Can I add one that just came to my mind that I think would excellently fit in this category and was a really good one for me to learn about the Tulsa Race Massacre is Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham. Have you read that one?

[Katie Kub]

Yes. Yes.

[Mary Heim]

And it's like, you know, I look at that and I'm like, why did it take me until I was 20, in my 20s to read a book about the Tulsa race Massacre? But guess what? This was an excellent doorway for me into reading around this piece of art history. And I think, like, we can look at all books can be a doorway, right? And this can be a good one if you're like. Like you said, for whatever reason, if that entry point feels a little bit harder, YA and middle grade can be a great place to get your footing before you decide. Where do I go next within this genre?

[Katie Kub]

Yes, absolutely.

[Mary Heim]

Okay. My one at the end that needs no explanation because I've talked about it. You've talked about it is Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon. Because Kate McKinnon hasn't written an adult novel, but she has written a middle grade novel. And so why wouldn't you read we.

[Katie Kub]

Are Better for It.

[Mary Heim]

We are Better for It. Why wouldn't you read a book by Kate McKinnon that is hysterical and hilarious and so much fun? And that's one that I'm like, this book really, not only did it give me so much joy because it was hilarious and so excellently done, but that feels like an inner child book of like, oh, little Mary needed to read about weirdos and be like, it's okay to be a weirdo sometimes.

[Katie Kub]

These weirdos are loved.

[Mary Heim]

These weirdos are so good. It's so good to be a weirdo.

[Katie Kub]

Yes. My gosh, my kids laughed so hard when I read that book. I just. And like, I would be like, nope, gather round. We're sitting close together. Because you got to see these pictures, folks. Edwina G. Candlestank has some things to share.

[Mary Heim]

She sure does.

[Katie Kub]

Oh, that book is so good. Okay, well, you know what, Mary? When we started our deep dive, I was like, oh, this might be a little shorter episode, but turns out the two of us don't have any problem.

[Mary Heim]

Shocker.

[Katie Kub]

Why you should be reading middle grade and YA in the summertime especially. Let's close this chapter, though, and move along to the fountain. What is your wish this week?

[Mary Heim]

Okay, Katie, I don't often do this, but my fountain wish this week is directly connected to our deep dive, and that is that I wish that everyone would add a new to them middle grade or YA book to their TBR this summer. Like I said, I too used to be one who was like why would I do this? Why would I read in this category? And now some of my favorite books of all time are middle grade or ya. If I can gently offer this suggestion to choose a genre you already love and explore a title within that category, chances are good you're really going to enjoy it and you may open up a really cool door to your reading life that you didn't previously know existed. I am sure that our community can offer tons of excellent recommendations. I know that we have plenty of back episodes of the podcast with amazing middle grade and YA recommendations to get you started. If you are feeling like what on earth? Where do I go? But I will def. I will heartily co sign on all of the ones that we shared today. So just consider it. Friends, if this is something that is entirely new to you, I think it could be a really rich way to expand your reading life. Pink Splash.

[Katie Kub]

Pink Splash. I love it. Mine. I'm I'm going to the fountain, but I'm also bringing the Book Fairy with me because this doesn't exist. But I want it to so I am going to wish this week for a book Bookish roadmap. The last couple weeks I've been talking a little bit about my upcoming summer road trip and the ways I'm working on planning for the summer. 4,000 miles, 63 hours of driving.

[Mary Heim]

It's a lot.

[Katie Kub]

But I'm excited this week. I'm thinking about my current reads and our deep dive and the way that sometimes books meet us exactly in the fork in the road that we are facing. I would like a bookish roadmap. This is not the book therapy I mentioned a couple months ago back or a prescriptive bookish situation. It's a fortune cookie. So here's where the Book Fairy comes in. Here's what happens. Here's how it would work. Ooh, you've got a sharp turn coming ahead. When your child gets their first phone, the Book fairy pops in and says, your bookish roadmap recommends the anxious generation. Before that day comes. Ooh wee. Buckle up for the next few months of grief, my friend. May I remind you of the currently reading episode when Mary brought the books that were lifesavers for her during her own periods of grief. Grief. You can start searching for a copy of after this by Claire Bidwell Smith now, before you need it or hooray. You don't know it yet, but this next year you'll travel to Ireland. Maybe you should visit the Emerald Isle in the Mysteries of Katherine Ryan Howard, before you go and finally remember that one time you drank the perfect cup of tea. Let's cultivate more of those small joys in your reading life by choosing Infused by Henrietta Lovell. Of course I pulled four currently Reading loves for those recommendations, but that's what I want the Book Fairy to do for me today is take me to that next fork in the road and give me the perfect companion for my journey. Because I guarantee there's a book out there for you.

[Mary Heim]

I love that. What a good one.

[Katie Kub]

It's my wish. Pink Splash that is it for this week. As a reminder, here's where you can connect with us. You can find me I'm Katie at Notes on Bookmarks on Instagram, Meredith is at MeredithMonday shop Schwartz on Instagram and.

[Mary Heim]

You can find me at maryreadsand Makes on Instagram.

[Katie Kub]

Our show is produced and edited every week by Megan Putabong Evans, who you can find on Instagram. Ostofmeagansreads full show notes with the title of every book we mentioned in the episode and timestamps so you can zoom right to where we talked about. It can be found in our show notes and on our website@currentlyreading podcast.com youm.

[Mary Heim]

Can also follow the show @currentlyreading podcast on Instagram or email us at currentlyreading podcastmail.com oh my gosh.

[Katie Kub]

Like that post about the bookish retreats that you and Betsy made and put together. I just oh I love it so much.

[Mary Heim]

Wasn't it so good?

[Katie Kub]

So good. I loved it. If you really want to help us become a bookish friend, a patron over on Patreon that gets you tons of extra content, tons of bookish community and keeps the show ad free. You can also rate and review us on Apple podcasts or Spotify or shout us out on social media Vegas. These all make a huge difference in finding the perfect audience audience Bookish friends.

[Mary Heim]

Are truly, truly, truly the best friends. Thank you for helping us grow and get closer to our goals.

[Katie Kub]

Until next week, may your coffee be.

[Mary Heim]

Hot and your book be unput downable. Happy reading Mary Happy reading Katie.