The SSR Podcast Alli Hoff Kosik

By popular demand, we are finally covering Scott Westerfeld's Uglies! Alli and her guests talk about the book's unique place in the broader dystopian genre, consider its lack of diversity, and analyze the many messages it sends about everything from body image and aging to beauty standards and friendship.
This week's guests are Neha and Shruti, the co-hosts of The Novel Tea podcast. They bonded over their love of books in middle school, became best friends, and have been reading together ever since. They started their podcast to diversify and deepen their reading lives and to expand what we all think of as "classics." Listen to Novel Tea wherever you find your favorite pods and follow the show on Instagram (@thenoveltea.pod).

This week, SSR takes it all the way back to 1961 for a discussion about a classic: J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey. Alli and her guest talk about the book’s publishing history and deep dive into its content: insufferable men, existential dread, the nature of wisdom, quarter-life crises, and emotional states best shared via AIM away message.
TW: suicide, depression
Sheila is the author of the novels The Goddess Effect and Friends in Napa, which Mindy Kaling called “smart and wildly entertaining… like drinking a glass of wine with an endlessly witty, scandalous friend.” Her work has appeared in many publications, including Vogue, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. Sheila lives in Los Angeles with her husband and you can follow her on Instagram @sheilaym.

Welcome to the first episode of SSR: WriTing Friends! This new monthly series—co-hosted by Abby Wolfe—is a fun look at the writing process from multiple perspectives and stops along the way. Broadly speaking, our goal with WTF is to make the writing process transparent at every stage and to further connect readers and writers in this community and beyond.
In this inaugural episode, Abby shares more about herself and her writing life with listeners! Alli and Abby also talk more about their vision for WTF going forward, their thoughts on genre, and Alli’s DNF era.
Follow Abby on Instagram @shmab and @abookwolfe.

Timed appropriately (and accidentally) with the 4th of July holiday, Episode 281 is a return to the beloved Dear America series! This time, Alli and her guest tag along on a frankly miserable journey on the Mayflower with Remember Patience Whipple in 1620. The book is A Journey to the New World and it was written by Kathryn Lasky and published in 1996. Former Scholastic book fair fans will especially enjoy this walk (cruise?) down memory lane in spite of its many sad moments.
TW: suicide, depression, grief, loss of a parent
Olivia Muenter is a writer, reader, and a co-host of the Bad on Paper podcast. Her first novel Such a Bad Influence is available wherever books are sold. In her free time, you can find her working on her old house in the Hudson Valley, where she lives with her husband and her dog. Follow her on Instagram @oliviamuenter.

For the first time this year, we’re back to Stoney Brook with our favorite sitters! The fifty-sixth book in the series explores blatant racism… while the girls produce a musical with their young charges. There’s a lot going on! Episode 280 breaks down the way race and racism are portrayed in Ann M. Martin’s fictional world, looking closely at which sitters bear the brunt of the responsibility for explaining prejudice, if the author does a disservice to other sitters by making them so naive, and what young readers can learn from stories like Keep Out, Claudia!
Melissa Mogollon holds an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a BA from the George Washington University. Originally from Colombia and raised in Florida, she now teaches at a boarding school in Rhode Island, where she lives with her partner and dog. She is passionate about education, youth empowerment, Rihanna, and ceviche. Oye is her first novel. Follow her on Instagram (@melissamogollonwriter).

Like the book at its center, Episode 279 will feel like a warm hug! Kate is back, this week to discuss the Newbery Medal-winning The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. The conversation covers everything from dysfunctional families and empathy to fairy tale tropes and the author's origin story.
Kate Czyzewski is an educator turned bookstore manager and event coordinator at Thunder Road Books in Spring Lake, NJ. Follow her @thesaltybookworm.