The SSR Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Happy New Year! We're kicking off 2025 with a conversation with a friend from across the pond, highlighting a series and book that's been a particular favorite for young readers in the U.K. Jacqueline Wilson's Girls in Love takes center stage! Tune into Episode 307 for discussions about fake boyfriends, shifting friendships, diet culture, self-image, and more.

TW: attempted assault, body image, diet culture

Lucy Jane Wood is an online content creator, avid reader, and coziness-seeker. Her debut novel is Rewitched. Follow her on Instagram @lucyjanewood and YouTube.

CHECK OUT LUCY'S BOOK HERE!

Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood

CHECK OUT LUCY'S BOOK RECOMMENDATION:

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

MORE READING:

"Girls in Love" (Publishers Weekly, 1997)

"Are we too young for Jacqueline Wilson's Girls in Love" (The Guardian, 2011)

"Book Review — Girls in Love by Jacqueline Wilson" (Yipee Ki-Yay, Motherbooker)

"Jacqueline Wilson to release new adult sequel to Girls in Love book series" (Independent, 2024)

"Girls in Love" (Jacqueline Wilson Wiki)

"Everything that happened in the Jacqueline Wilson Girls series" (Penguin, 2024)

"Review — Girls in Love — Jacqueline Wilson" (Blog of a Bookaholic, 2012)

"Why do Jacqueline Wilson's books resonate with young people, especially girls?" (Quora)

"'These books captured our hearts': Jacqueline Wilson's Girls series is back—and millennials are rejoicing" (The Guardian, 2024)

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The Magic Tree House has been making readers, history buffs, and science geeks of kids for more than thirty years—and at long last, SSR dives in! Episode 306 covers all things Magic Tree House with a special focus on the first installment, Dinosaurs Before Dark. Alli and her guest chat about everything from the origin of Magic Tree House and unpopular opinions about the books to the allure of treehouses and time travel. Also... dinosaurs.

Kat Tang is a former lawyer turned fiction writer with an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University. Her debut novel Five-Star Stranger has made most-anticipated and must-read lists by many outlets. Follow her on Instagram @tangkat.

CHECK OUT KAT'S BOOK HERE!

CHECK OUT KAT'S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:

Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen Ho

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

Half a Life by Darin Strauss

MORE READING:

"The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly about Magic Tree House" (Big Books, Little Ears)

"30 years and 65 books later, Mary Pope Osborne reflects on 'Magic Tree House'" (Today, 2022)

"Book Reviews: An Unpopular Opinion about the Popular Magic Tree House Series" (Dragon Bite Books & Crafts, 2021)

"Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Magic Tree House Collection" (First Book, 2022)

"Series Review: The Magic Tree House" (The Starving Artist, 2017)

"The Magic Tree House's Magical Popularity" (Pine Reads Review, 2021)

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At long last, it's John Green time! Episode 297 unpacks Looking for Alaska, the YA superstar's award-winning debut novel. Conversations range from manic pixie dream girls and the male gaze to addiction and the problematic language that made Alli and her guest cringe in 2024.

TW: suicide, addiction, parental loss

Alissa DeRogatis is the author of Call It What You Want. Subscribe to her Substack newsletter

Probably Oversharing and follow her on Instagram @alissaderogatis.

CHECK OUT ALISSA’S BOOK HERE!

CHECK OUT ALISSA’S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:

Old Enough by Haley Jakobson

It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

OTHER BOOK SHOUTOUTS:

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings

MORE READING:

“Looking for Alaska” (Kirkus, 2005)

“Book Nook: Looking for Alaska” (Shorewood Ripples, 2022)

“Book Review: Looking for Alaska by John Green” (Of Whiskey and Words)

“Book Review: Looking for Alaska by John Green” (A Paper Arrow, 2019)

“Looking for Alaska by John Green — review” (The Guardian, 2013)

“Looking for Alaska” (School Library Journal, 2005)

“Book Review for Teens: John Green Looking for Alaska” (Your Teen, 2014)

“Book Review: Looking for Alaska” (Sara du Jour, 2014)

“How Hulu’s Looking for Alaska Updates John Green’s Book for a New Generation” (Time, 2019)

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Pippi Longstocking has been beloved by readers of all ages for decades thanks to her strength, generosity, silliness, bravery, and kindness. On Episode 209, Alli and her guest chat about all the warm fuzzinnes of her story, which was written by Astrid Lindgren and published in 1945. Tune in for conversations about Pippi’s timelessness, self-compassion, self-awareness, kid lit post-WWII, the importance of taking up space, subversions of orphan tropes, and their favorite Pippi adventures.

Claribel Ortega is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of middle grade and YA fantasy inspired by her Dominican heritage, including Witchlings and Frizzy. Follow her on Instagram (@claribel_ortega) and Twitter (@claribel_ortega).

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Prepare for a trip down the rabbit hole! On Episode 208, Alli and her guest chat all things Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: its social commentary, aesthetic, adaptations, absurdity, and everything in between. They also dig into world building and the Alice origin story.

Roselle Lim is the author of Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck & Fortune, Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop, and Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club. Follow her on Instagram (@rosellewriter) and Twitter (@rosellewriter).

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Episode 207 brings us back to Louis Sachar’s Wayside School — more specifically, to his 1989 novel Wayside School Is Falling Down. Will this installment get a warmer reception from Alli than the first book in the series? Listen and find out! The conversation touches on representation, identity development, bathroom humor, Book Tok, existential dread, darkness in kid lit, the importance of names, critiques of the K-12 school system, and more.

Denise Williams is the author of How to Fail at Flirting, The Fastest Way to Fall, and Do You Take This Man. Follow her on Instagram (@nicwillwrites) and Twitter (@nicwillwrites).

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On Episode 206, Alli and her guest get ahead of spooky season with a discussion about Roald Dahl’s The Witches. They talk about the controversy surrounding both the book and the author, consider how dark is too dark for young readers, debate the merits of happy endings versus messy endings, and chat about the negative reception that the 2020 adaptation of The Witches received.

Amanda Aksel is the author of Delia Suits Up and No Funny Business. Follow her on Instagram (@amandaaksel).

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Judy Blume and the Hatcher family are BACK! On Episode 205, Alli and her guest revisit the rowdy world of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing with a chat about fatherhood in the ‘70s, group projects, fatphobia, and why anyone would choose to eat a turtle. They also dig deep into sibling dynamics and seek justice for big brother Peter!

Carola Lovering is the author of Tell Me Lies, Too Good to Be True, and Can’t Look Away. Follow her on Instagram (@carolatlovering).

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On Episode 204, Alli and her guest dig into all things Addy Walker. They discuss the larger origin story that brought American Girl’s first non-white doll to market, as well as the specifics of Meet Addy. They talk about the importance of different kinds of representation for BIPOC folks, the complicated nature of Addy’s slave narrative, what the basic structure of the Addy series tells us about white privilege, the significance of the actual Addy doll, and so much more.

Ebony LaDelle is an author and experienced marketing and publishing professional who just can’t shut up about books. She is the co-host of Why Not YA? and the author of Love Radio. Follow her on Instagram (@ebonyladelle) and Twitter (@EbonyLadelle).

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We’re overdue for a Q&A episode, so let’s make up for lost time! On Episode 203, Alli answers listener questions about…

* How to start a podcast
* The SSR reads that have most surprised her
* Her vision for SSR
* Dream podcast guests
* How her friends and family feel about the show
* Her MFA program and novel-writing process
* All things IRV

… and so much more!

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