Shelf-Involved Podcast

This week we’re talking about one of our favorite things: seasonal reading! And we’re here with another round of reads perfect to lose yourself in during Indoor Season. We thought it was time to revisit this because we have some great books to add to this list.

This week we’re discussing Punching the Air by Yusef Salaam and Ibi Zoboi. This incredible novel in verse tells the story of a wrongfully incarcerated teen and his experience in the juvenile criminal justice system.

This week we're talking about dark fantasy in YA! We're discussing why we're so drawn to this genre and how we've seen YA fantasy evolve in recent years. And as always, we talk about a lot of books. 

This week we’re talking about a classic story trope — victories, triumph, winning the big game, etc. This trope has seen many variations over the years, and no surprises, the most recent way that YA has turned it on its head and given us the happily-ever-afters we deserve makes us very happy.

This week we're talking about Jewish representation in YA and why we think this growing subgenre is so important. We love reading about teens from other cultural and religious backgrounds, and the books on this list are excellent. 

This week we are reading Walter Dean Meyer’s iconic novel Monster, which tells the story of a teenage boy wrongfully incarcerated. This book came out almost 20 years ago, but it remains incredibly relevant and powerful. We loved this one. 

We’re talking about YA books that deal with voting and feature politically active teens! This has been a trend in YA for the past few years, and we’ve really enjoyed these books for a few reasons.

This week we're talking about YA books that deal with class dynamics and the important aspects of representation surrounding this. We're seeing this so much more in YA and we have a lot of thoughts on this one. 

This week we’re talking about immigrant stories in YA and how important these stories are for understanding other cultures and the realities that so many immigrants face. This list is not exhaustive, but these are some of our favorite books we’ve read about immigrant experiences in YA.

This week we’re talking about drag culture in YA. This is a growing trend in YA, and we think it’s such an interesting vehicle to explore identity, confidence, and unique corners of the queer community.