Born This Way: Queer Representation in YA Lit!

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson-- and State Book Awards!

Team Always YA is back from hiatus and excited to discuss The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson, which is nominated for the Volunteer State Book Award this year! We also chat a bit about The Last Airbender, Edward Gorey, and Abbott Elementary. SHOW NOTES The Weight of Blood [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-weight-of-blood-tiffany-d-jackson/17818700] Born to Be Posthumous: The Eccentric Life and Mysterious Genius of Edward Gorey [https://bookshop.org/p/books/born-to-be-posthumous-the-eccentric-life-and-mysterious-genius-of-edward-gorey-mark-dery/110160?ean=9780316188548] Avatar: The Last Airbender [https://www.netflix.com/title/80237957] Contact us! Instagram: @alwaysyapod Email: alwaysyapod@gmail.com Intro/Outro music is “Birthday Cake” by Jahzzar [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/Wake_Up_Excerpt/Birthday_Cake/]. Creative Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0 [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/] Logo design by Sarah Timmons [https://miazuli.wixsite.com/sarahtimmonsdesigns], all rights reserved.

AAPI Month: Asian-American and Pacific Islander YA!

It's Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and your Always YA librarians are here to discuss some of their favorite picks from AAPI authors. We also discuss how representation has changed in recent decades-- and, as always, we talk about what we've been enjoying lately and what we're looking forward to soon! Show hosts: Jane McMahon, Kate Pritchard, Susan Timmons We'll be going on summer break for two months-- look for us back in August! __________ Contact us! Instagram: @alwaysyapod Email: alwaysyapod@gmail.com Intro/Outro music is “Birthday Cake” by Jahzzar [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/Wake_Up_Excerpt/Birthday_Cake/]. Creative Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0 [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/] Logo design by Sarah Timmons [https://miazuli.wixsite.com/sarahtimmonsdesigns], all rights reserved. Titles mentioned in this episode: All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue Messy Roots by Laura Gao Primo tv series (FreeVee) Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker A First Time for Everything, by Dan Santat Cunk on Earth (Diane Morgan on Netflix) Making a Scene by Constance Wu Luck of the Titanic/The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

Alex Award Winners: Some of our Favorites!

You've heard about the Newberry Award, but have you met ALEX??? The Alex Awards are given to books that were not officially published for a Young Adult market, but that are deemed to have strong crossover appeal for both teens and adults. In this episode, librarians Jane McMahon, Susan Timmons, and Kate Pritchard share some of the favorite Alex Award-winning books. In addition, we share what we've been reading/watching lately and what we're looking forward to in the future! SHOW NOTES Instagram: @alwaysyapod Email: alwaysyapod@gmail.com Intro/Outro music is “Birthday Cake” by Jahzzar [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/Wake_Up_Excerpt/Birthday_Cake/]. Creative Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0 [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/] Logo design by Sarah Timmons [https://miazuli.wixsite.com/sarahtimmonsdesigns], all rights reserved. Media mentioned in this episode... * The Library of the Dead, by T.L. Huchu * Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts, by Kate Racculia * Bellweather Rhapsody, by Kate Racculia * Sunshine, by Jarrett J. Krosoczka * Hey Kiddo, by Jarrett J. Krosoczka * March, by John Lewis * Dragon Hoops, by Gene Luen Yang * In Limbo, by Deb JJ Lee * Victory. Stand!, by Tommie Smith * The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton * Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley * The Power streaming on Amazon Prime * Song Exploder Podcast * I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy * Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves playing in theaters now!

Born This Way: Queer Representation in YA Lit!

We're dedicating this installment of AYA to YA/Middle-Grade author Ellen Wittlinger, who passed in away in November 2022. In this episode, Kate Pritchard will offer some memories of her mom and give us a timeline of LGBTQIA+ books for young people.  We'll are share our picks for Queer YA books, as well as mentioning what we've been consuming lately and what we're looking forward to next. (With a slight detour to discuss how we feel about reading sequels.) Titles, Authors, and Other Related Info From This Episode: “LGBTQ Children’s Books,” a timeline by the Ohio University Libraries: https://libguides.library.ohio.edu/LGBTQchildbks/timeline [https://libguides.library.ohio.edu/LGBTQchildbks/timeline]. Smith, Richard. “Behind the Story - Section 28.” Gay Times, February 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20150204120913/http://www.gaytimes.co.uk/Magazine/InThisIssue.aspx?articleid=3489§ionid=650 [https://web.archive.org/web/20150204120913/http://www.gaytimes.co.uk/Magazine/InThisIssue.aspx?articleid=3489§ionid=650]. “Jenny Lives With Eric and Martin - February 2021.” Special Collections (blog), Newcastle University, 22 February 2021. https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/speccoll/2021/02/22/jenny-lives-with-eric-and-martin-february-2021/ [https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/speccoll/2021/02/22/jenny-lives-with-eric-and-martin-february-2021/]. Gershon, Livia. “Queer YA: The Early Decades.” JSTOR Daily, 17 December 2021. https://daily.jstor.org/queer-ya-the-early-decades/ [https://daily.jstor.org/queer-ya-the-early-decades/]. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/90990-obituary-ellen-wittlinger.html [https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/90990-obituary-ellen-wittlinger.html] https://www.bookpage.com/interviews/8577-john-green-david-levithan-ya/ [https://www.bookpage.com/interviews/8577-john-green-david-levithan-ya/] https://www.ala.org/rt/rrt/award/stonewall/honored [https://www.ala.org/rt/rrt/award/stonewall/honored] https://glbtrt.ala.org/rainbowbooks/ [https://glbtrt.ala.org/rainbowbooks/] https://lambdaliterary.org/awards/lammys-directory-1988-present/ [https://lambdaliterary.org/awards/lammys-directory-1988-present/] “Boys Run the Riot” [https://www.parnassusbooks.net/book/9781646512485] by Keito Gaku, volume 1 at Parnassus Books. https://www.nagoyaisnotboring.com/geisha-nagoya-meigiren/ [https://www.nagoyaisnotboring.com/geisha-nagoya-meigiren/] https://www.tokyoweekender.com/art_and_culture/japanese-culture/no-women-kabuki-theater-japan/ [https://www.tokyoweekender.com/art_and_culture/japanese-culture/no-women-kabuki-theater-japan/] Princess Knight [https://www.parnassusbooks.net/book/9781647291211] by Osamu Tezuka at Parnassus Books. Thorn, Rachel (Matt). “Girls And Women Getting Out Of Hand: The Pleasure And Politics Of Japan's Amateur Comics Community”. Online at Academia. ‘American Born Chinese’ Stages ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Reunion, by Meaghan Darwish.https://www.tvinsider.com/1077101/american-born-chinese-premiere-date-photos-michelle-yeoh-ke-huy-quan/ Tales of a Seventh Grade Lizard Boy by Jonathan Hill Camp by L.C. Rosen Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah

Hopelessly Devoted: YA Romance!

Whether you're a Valentine, a Galentine, or a Palentine, February is time for love, friendship, and even a little romance! But how sweet are we on Young Adult Romance as a genre? Tune in to hear what Team AYA has to say about some recent romance reading. And we also share what we've been trying lately and what we're looking forward to next. Panel: Jane McMahon, Kate Pritchard, Susan Timmons. Mentioned in this episode: Wicked Fox by Kat Cho. Penguin Books, 2020: https://www.parnassusbooks.net/book/9781984812360 [https://www.parnassusbooks.net/book/9781984812360] Peter O'Dowd and Kalyani Saxena write about male readers of romance: https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2022/04/01/men-romance-novels [https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2022/04/01/men-romance-novels] Marina Warner, author of the book From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and their Tellers, wrote a fantastic 2021 analysis of the evolution of the myth of Cupid and Psyche in media for the British Film Institute journal Sight and Sound: https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/beauty-beast-belle-bete-marina-warner [https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/beauty-beast-belle-bete-marina-warner] Cursed Objects by J.W. Ocker https://www.horrorbookstore.com/product/cursed-objects-strange-but-true-stories-of-the-world-s-most-infamous-items/345 [https://www.horrorbookstore.com/product/cursed-objects-strange-but-true-stories-of-the-world-s-most-infamous-items/345] My Second Impression of You by Michelle I. Mason https://www.parnassusbooks.net/book/9781547604128 [https://www.parnassusbooks.net/book/9781547604128] When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb https://thebookshopnashville.com/item/oN-upq7FPcUpo3YNhdhEsw [https://thebookshopnashville.com/item/oN-upq7FPcUpo3YNhdhEsw] The One True Me and You by Remi K. England https://thebookshopnashville.com/item/3Czr8TaWU9-LEBbtfSLfUA [https://thebookshopnashville.com/item/3Czr8TaWU9-LEBbtfSLfUA] Intro/Outro music is “Birthday Cake” by Jahzzar [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/Wake_Up_Excerpt/Birthday_Cake/]. Creative Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0 [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/] Logo design by Sarah Timmons [https://miazuli.wixsite.com/sarahtimmonsdesigns], all rights reserved.