Sunday, December 23, 2018

Hiatus until the new year

The podcast recently took an unannounced and unexplained hiatus. I wanted to give an update about the reason for our absence. Just before we were set to record new episodes, we received the devastating news that our friend and colleague, Amber Clark, had been shot and killed while leaving the branch where she was supervisor.

I first met Amber as a teen librarian. We worked together on a Haunted Library program that showcased her supportive nature. She was able to synthesize the disparate ideas of her teens into a fun, funny, and polished tour. The first year I helped her, her sense of humor shone through and carried the tour, and it was clear that the teens respected and loved her. And you could tell how much of an impact she was having on the teens because, even though the tour was sparsely attended, everyone left with a sense of accomplishment. We worked on the tour a second time, and it was clear that the confidence of her teens had increased: the tour was even more well-designed, their sense of ownership was higher, and the attendance was larger.

Amber was promoted after that, and I didn't have as much direct contact with her. But it was at this point that she launched the passion project that the library has chosen to associate her with: ensuring that the library is an accessible place for everyone. She launched a series of programs for patrons with disabilities.

Amber had the dry sense of humor that I always find in kindred spirits, she was game for painting her face like a zombie when the program called for it, and she seemed comfortable working around my chaotic and free-wheeling energy. Basically, along with everyone who works on the podcast, Amber had the uncanny ability to make me feel like I am a librarian. A statement that feels in question whenever I'm not around people like the crew of the podcast or Amber.

--Nathan Milos


Monday, December 3, 2018

Episode 050: Double Bill—Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin and Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys


Here are two of the original episodes we recorded that are both too short for individual release (though hopefully not to short for a meaningful discussion).

We discuss Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin and Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys and suggest the books George by Alex Gino, Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills, and None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio, as well as author Elizabeth E. Wein.

Monday, November 19, 2018

Episode 049: The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding.

In what turned out to be a surprisingly contentious discussion (our panel is passionately divided), we discuss Amy Spalding's The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles).

Molly suggests Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan.

Kim suggests To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han and The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner.

Amy mentions When Dimple Met Rishi as a potential readalike (before we talk readalikes).

Lindsey suggests Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore.

Cash Money suggests the movie Sarah Burgess is a Big Loser.

Nathan mentions Pink by Lili Wikerson but vacillates on whether it is a good readalike or not.

Monday, November 5, 2018

Episode 048: Leah on the OffBeat by Becky Albertali


This one is pretty loose, gang (complete with a spaced out Nathan and some cool interruptions from children—mostly relegated to easter egg status).

We do manage something resembling a discussion Becky Albertali's Leah on the Offbeat.

Nate suggests To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han and Noggin by John Corey Whaley.

Lindsey suggests The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding.

Cash Money and Amy suggest The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson.

Monday, October 22, 2018

Episode 047: To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han (part 2)

Here's the second half of our conversation.

We also get into book recommendations.

Nate (accidentally) suggests Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson (he'd intended to suggest it for Poet X) and Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli.

Lindsey suggests The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon.

Cat mentions that students at her school read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz and Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi.

Cash Money suggests American Panda by Gloria Chao.

Monday, October 8, 2018

Episode 046: To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han (part 1)


In this episode we discuss To All The Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han with Catherine and Marguerite—who have both done scholarly work and taught classes on Asian American Literature. Thank you both again for joining us and helping demonstrate how worthy teen literature is of scholarly discussion. Our conversation here is wide ranging, fruitful, and—frankly—a little long. So, to make it digestible and also not deprive anyone of the full conversation, we'll be releasing it as two episodes. Here is part one; look for part two in two weeks.

Monday, September 24, 2018

Episode 045: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Our smallest panel in a long time discusses The Poet X (a National Book Award Long List nominee at the time of our recording; best of luck Elizabeth Acevedo).

Nathan suggests Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina and I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez.

Nate suggests Yaqui Delgado Wants To Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina and Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson.

Lindsey suggests Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

Cash Money suggests the show Insecure.

Monday, September 10, 2018

Episode 044: Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman


We discuss the sequel to Scythe and cannot maintain our cool. It's a total geek out. Neal Shusterman, you are our hero.

Amy suggests Renegades by Marissa Meyer.

Molly suggests The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow.

Kim suggests Illuminae by Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff.

Nathan mentions Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith.

Monday, August 27, 2018

Episode 043: The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson


In this episode we discuss The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson, dream about Lee Pace, decide upon our favorite inanimate objects, promote Bryan Fuller, and lose any future collaboration with the Fox network (Thanks, Lindsey).

Lindsey suggests the show Wonderfalls, which prompts Cash Money to suggest Pushing Daisies and Dead Like Me.

Cash Money suggests Avengers: Infinity War.

Amy suggests They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera.

Molly suggests anything by A.S. King or Adam Silvera and Scythe by Neal Shusterman.

Kim suggests Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King.

Monday, August 13, 2018

042: The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert


In a content filled episode we discuss The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert.

Molly suggests Waters Luminous and Deep by Meredith Ann Pierce, anything by Carol Plum-Ucci, anything by Holly Black, Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children Series (especially Every Heart a Doorway), and the Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling edited Snow White, Blood Red.

Lindsey suggests The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black, and A Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo.

Amy suggests The Changeling by Victor Davalle, Nightingale by Amy Lukavics, Caraval by Stephanie Garber, and Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk.

Kim suggests The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly, Fairest by Marissa Mayer, 100 Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg, and The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.

Cash Money suggests Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper and anything by Angela Carter.

Nathan suggests City of Glass by Paul Auster and David Mazzucchelli, The Courtyard by Alan Moore, the 2008 Canadian horror film Pontypool, The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle, and anything by Margaret Atwood.

Monday, July 30, 2018

041: YA Trends

Some friends asked us to spend about 15 to 20 minutes talking about YA trends. So, we rambled for an hour and Nate swore a lot, so I hope it's still usable for their educational purposes (also we'd seriously love to have your whole class on the show: extra credit!?).

We'd love to hear from you about what trends we missed or what we got wrong. Email us! isistteenenoughforyounow@gmail.com

And we'll be back in two weeks (despite Nate's joke that this is our last episode) with an episode on Melissa Albert's The Hazel Wood.

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Episode 040: Children of Blood and Bone by Toni Adeyemi

In this episode we discuss Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi.

We also talk about Ruth Graham's old essay "Against YA," which had somehow been spammed around the Facebook Group ALA Think Tank the day before recording. (So, we're sorry that we're dragging Ruth Graham again; she's got to be tired of it, too).

Watch out: the sound improves drastically at around 29 minutes and you may want to turn the volume down a bit.

Kim suggests Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor, Black Panther (the comic and the movie I presume), Afar by Leila Del Duca, and An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.

Amy suggests Strange the Dreamer as well. She also suggests Fledgling by Octavia Butler (which prompts Kim to suggest the graphic novel version of Kindred).

Molly suggests the works of Tamora Pierce and Avatar: The Last Airbender. She also suggests books by Nnedi Okorafor, prompting us to remember Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi.

Nate suggests The Hate U Give.

Lindsey suggests Strange the Dreamer, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, and the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas.

Cash Money suggests Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young.

Amy also suggests (after prompting from Kim) Dread Nation by Justina Ireland.

Monday, July 2, 2018

Episode 039: Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Recorded on the same day as our discussion on Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez (oh, you should check that episode out), so, like that one, featuring not your perfect audio quality, this episode centers on damn near perfect Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds. Seriously, we are so into it, it's almost difficult to sustain discussion. Everytime I read a passage for us to discuss everyone just oohs and ahs.

Molly suggests Macbeth and Hamlet.

Nate suggests Monster by Walter Dean Myers, The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon, Ghost by Jason Reynolds, and also "Hit 'Em Up" by Tupac Shakur.

Kim suggests Miracle's Boys by Jacqueline Woodson, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, and The Crossover by Kwame Alexander.

Amy suggests Bus 57 by Dashka Slater.

Cash Money suggests Boyz N The Hood.

Lindsey suggests The Godfather Part 2.
 

Monday, June 18, 2018

Episode 038: Far From the Tree by Robin Benway

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.

Sunday, June 3, 2018

Episode 037: The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos

I pulled one of our proof of concept episodes out of the vault for this week since I (Nathan) suggested this book in our discussion of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez. Here we talk about The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos, published in 2016.  We used to believe that brevity was the soul of wit, so we aren't as detailed here as we tend to be now, but this book deserves your attention. 

We used to only suggest a handful of books (and did so as a group), so here we suggest Paper Towns by John Green, She's Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick, and I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest.

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Episode 036: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez.


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.

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Episode 035: Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali

In this episode we discuss the debut novel by S.K. Ali the Morris Award finalist Saints and Misfits.

We discuss how we're hoping for a whole series of books set in the same town (possibly following the side characters), the potential arguments the novel lays out about owning the way you are portrayed, and how Nate never wants anyone to look at his forehead.

Nate suggests The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.

Lindsey suggests Ms. Marvel. (Lindsey also describes a song during our Random Comments section; Amy joked that it was probably by Fall Out Boy. The song is actually "I'm Just a Kid" by Simple Plan).

Nathan suggests Exit Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston.

Our next recording session takes place on May 7th, we'll be talking about I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez, Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, and Far From the Tree by Robin Benway. You can expect those episodes over the next few weeks.

If you want to see what we'll be reading after that, please check out our Goodreads group in the next few days. We'll be adding the books we'll be discussing in the coming months. https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/415645-is-it-teen-enough-for-you-now

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Episode 034: Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart

Okay, so, we loved this book so much that we decided to follow its format and work our usual routine backwards to replicate the reverse chronology of the book. We also had an unexpected 45 minute delay before recording, so we are way more keyed up than usual, and goofiness ensues. Please hang in there (especially if your name is Energy Lockhart).

Molly suggests all of E. Lockhart's other books.

Amy suggests Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk.

Kim suggests The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (Nathan suggests the film), Here Lies Daniel Tate by Cristin Terril, and Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson.

Is It Teen Enough alum Katie (via Goodreads) suggests  the movie Memento.

Nathan suggests the films Six Degrees of Separation and The Last Seduction, and the book Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis.

Saturday, April 7, 2018

Episode 033: BT Gottfred

Hey, we got BT Gottfred on the line to talk about The Nerdy and the Dirty! We also talked about walking Peter Stormare's dog, sensitivity readers, and what would be lost from The Nerdy and The Dirty if BT subscribed to the "show don't tell" school of writing (spoiler: it'd be a lot).

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Episode 032: Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor


Because of some major technical difficulties, you can expect this episode to be less well-edited: sound levels are not fully set, and we meander far more than Nathan generally allows. BUT, we do have an in-depth discussion of Laini Taylor's Strange The Dreamer, complete with wildly divergent opinions, (srsly, though, we love you Laini Taylor, come on the show!),

We discuss the concept of crafting read-a-likes today and during this informal discussion, Lindsey suggests I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak, and Nate suggests Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman.

Additionally, Lindsey suggests Bitter Blue by Kristin Cashore and the Netflix series Jessica Jones.

Cash Money suggests The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry and Scythe by Neal Shusterman.

Amy seconds Scythe.

Kim suggests Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.

Nathan suggests the 1985 feature film Ladyhawke and the anime series Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (you should also read the manga by Hiromu Arakawa).

Nate suggests The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black and Shadow Shaper by Daniel José Older.

There is also a lot of discussion of the book And I Darken by Kiersten White: our sort of perennially favorite divisive title.

If you want to see what titles we're planning to read (or have already read) or just be friendly with us, join our Goodreads group at https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/415645-is-it-teen-enough-for-you-now

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Episode 031: Celia Perez

In this episode we interview Celia Perez, the author of The First Rule of Punk. We talk about zines, creating an army of punks, the relentless research of a librarian, and much more.

Sunday, February 25, 2018

Episode 030: When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

In this episode we discuss When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon.

Kim suggests I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo and The Sun is also a Star by Nicola Yoon.

Lindsey suggests Eleanor &Park by Rainbow Rowell.

Molly, hustling for Novelist, mentions The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love by Sarvenaz Tash, Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Tanuja, Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins, and Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden.

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Episode 029: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee


Our 18th century scholar operated as self-avowed "fun police," but didn't dampen our enthusiasm for Mackenzi Lee's Gentelman's Guide to Vice and Virtue. And we're awaiting her sequel with bated breath.

Kim suggests Libba Bray's Great and Terrible Beauty (which kicks off a brief love-fest for Libba Bray), Gail Carriger's Etiquette and Espionage, and Bloodly Jack by L.A. Meyer.

Nate suggests Libba Bray's The Diviners and also offhandedly Beauty Queens.

Amy suggests Alexandra Bracken's Passenger.

Nathan suggests The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Tobias Smollett's The Expedition of Humphry Clinker, and "The Last of the Famous International Playboy" by Morrissey.

Margaret suggests Roxana by Daniel Defoe and Captain Singleton by Daniel Defoe.

If you want to see what we've read and what we plan to read check out our Goodreads group. www.goodreads.com/group/show/41564…ough-for-you-now

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Episode 028: Tara Altebrando


Tara Altebrando was kind enough to join us to talk about The Leaving. She talks about how the story originated, about her fascination with memory, and about the time she interviewed Tom Morello while walking around Dublin. Along the way she mentions the books Motel of the Mysteries by David Macaulay and Chariot of the Gods? by Erich von Däniken; we took them as tacit book recommendations. Nathan already checked out Motel of the Mysteries (and he says it is amazing!)

Sunday, January 14, 2018

Episode 027: The Nerdy and the Dirty by BT Gottfred


Check out our group page on Goodreads for a listing of upcoming books we'll be discussing: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/415645-is-it-teen-enough-for-you-now

We discuss The Nerdy and the Dirty by B.T. Gottfred in our first episode of 2018.

Nathan suggests that if Forever by Judy Blume didn't work for you, The Nerdy and the Dirty might be a better choice. He also suggests The Kidney Hypothetical by Lisa Yee if you want a similarly zany read.

Nate suggests Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn and When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon.

Kim suggests The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

Cash Money suggests The Guide to Getting It On by Paul Joannides.

 Lindsey suggests Big Bang Theory as a watch-alike.