Teenage Bookbag

Leah Carlson-Downie and Mary-Kate Newton

5.0 (3)
Books
Updated Monthly

The podcast where Mary-Kate and Leah revisit books from our formative tween years and decide if they're really as good — and if we were really as misunderstood — as we believed.

3d ago

The Penderwicks

Welcome to Teenage Bookbag, where your hosts Leah and Mary-Kate revisit the books they loved in middle school. For this episode, we're talking about The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall. Join us as we discuss summer vacations, growing up with sisters, and the value of "timeless" children's literature. Intro and outro music: "Teenage Dirtbag," written by Brendan Brown, performed on the recorder by Ashley Newton
Jun 23

Uglies

Welcome to Teenage Bookbag, where your hosts Leah and Mary-Kate revisit the books they loved in middle school. For this episode, we're talking about Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld. Join us as we discuss this early entry into the YA dystopian fiction boom of the late 2000s and early 2010s. Intro and outro music: "Teenage Dirtbag," written by Brendan Brown, performed on the recorder by Ashley Newton
Apr 28

Pirates!

Welcome to Teenage Bookbag, where your hosts Leah and Mary-Kate revisit the books they loved in middle school. For this episode, we're talking about Pirates!, by Celia Rees. Set sail with us back to the early 2000s and rediscover this jewel of YA historical fiction. Timestamps for the specific content warning mentioned in the episode (Leah's first excerpt reading and discussion): 26:50 to 44:40 Intro music: "Not Lazy," by Mr. Smith, accessed via the Free Music Archive and used under Creative Commons license CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Mar 24

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging

Welcome to Teenage Bookbag, where your hosts Leah and Mary-Kate revisit the books they loved in middle school. For our very first episode, we're talking about Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison. Be prepared for us to name drop our old crushes, share stories of our own embarassing adolescent exploits, and revel in some very British humor. Intro music: "Not Lazy," by Mr. Smith, accessed via the Free Music Archive and used under Creative Commons license CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

4 Episodes

5

out of 5

3 Ratings

I laughed so hard I almost cried

Mar 24

Michelioh

I loved listening to this podcast. I didn’t read this book but it brought me right back to middle school and the emotions and feelings of that age. I loved learning about it and hearing the excerpts. It made me wish that I’d read it! I laughed so hard I almost cried and definitely had tears in my eyes listening to the stories of your child hood that coincided with the stories in this book! Can wait for the upcoming episodes!

The podcast where Mary-Kate and Leah revisit books from our formative tween years and decide if they're really as good — and if we were really as misunderstood — as we believed.

Creator

Leah Carlson-Downie and Mary-Kate Newton
Years Active

2026
Episodes

4
Rating

Explicit
Show Website

Teenage Bookbag

Teenage Bookbag

Episodes

The Penderwicks

Uglies

Pirates!

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging

Ratings & Reviews

I laughed so hard I almost cried

About

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