YA Cafe
Danielle Hall and Amanda Thrasher
Conversations and reviews about Young Adult books for teachers, readers, and caffeine addicts everywhere.
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Top 10 YA Cafe Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best YA Cafe episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to YA Cafe for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite YA Cafe episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
08/08/19 • 22 min
Stacey Lee does it again! The Downstairs Girl is exactly the kind of historical fiction we need right now. We loved it, and your students will too. (Transcript) In today’s episode... The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee Being a Chinese American teenager in late 19th century Atlanta isn’t easy, but Jo Kwan has made a life with some stability. She and her caretaker, Old Gin, live in secret in a hidden room below a house, eavesdropping on the family living above them. When Jo’s fired without cause from her job as a hat maker she has no choice but to return to work as a lady’s maid for a girl she despises. Luckily, Jo has a secret. She’s taken to writing an advice column as “Miss Sweetie,” a sauce box of [...]
The post The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee appeared first on Nouvelle ELA Teaching Resources.
05/30/19 • 28 min
Author/editor Jessica Spotswood joins us to chat about the blood witches and bad breakups in These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling, a fun YA mystery. (Transcript) In today’s episode... In These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling, Hannah Walsh wants to get through her summer breakup, but sharing a coven with her ex-girlfriend Veronica doesn’t make life easy. Hannah is an elemental witch—she’s able to control the four elements through magic. But she’s still underage and not fully trained, meaning no one believes her when a dangerous Blood Witch comes to town. She thinks it’s a Blood Witch. She’s pretty sure. Working with Veronica is the only way to convince her family of the threat, but it’s hard to focus on the dangers facing them when Veronica keeps trying to hook back up. In [...]
The post These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling feat. Jessica Spotswood appeared first on Nouvelle ELA Teaching Resources.
05/09/19 • 26 min
This week we are joined once again by our friend Anna aka @never_withouta_book to discuss Elizabeth Acevedo’s newest book, With the Fire on High. (Transcript) In today’s episode... With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo Since getting pregnant at fourteen, Emoni has done everything she could for her daughter and her abuela. Between being a full-time mom and a full-time student, Emoni doesn’t have time to think about her future. She loves cooking and people say her food is magic, but can she really squeeze in more school? Shouldn’t she get a job instead? When her school offers a culinary elective with an immersion trip to Spain in the spring, it feels like a dream to Emoni. Can she find a way to let her talent shine and still keep her [...]
The post With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo appeared first on Nouvelle ELA Teaching Resources.
01/10/19 • 31 min
New year, new books! This week we devoured the novella In An Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire, and had a lovely time chatting with YA author Betsy Cornwell. (Transcript) In today’s episode... Today we chat about In An Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire. Katherine Lundy is quiet, serious, and studious. She’d rather be reading a book than playing with her friends, and expects that a wholly ordinary life awaits her in a distant Adulthood. But all that changes when a door appears before her and invites her in to the Goblin Market, where Fairness is the driving force and rules are never made to be broken. It’s the perfect world for Lundy to thrive, but Lundy has to choose between growing old and ordinary with her family, or staying in the Goblin Market forever. [...]
The post In An Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire feat. Betsy Cornwell appeared first on Nouvelle ELA Teaching Resources.
10/26/18 • 31 min
Today we are joined by our bookstagram friends, Anna & Courtney, for a Book vs Movie breakdown of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. (Transcript) In today’s episode... In The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, sixteen-year-old Starr witnesses the murder of her unarmed friend, Khalil, at the hands of a white police officer. In the aftermath, she must balance the expectations of her Black neighborhood, Garden Heights, with her predominantly white private school, Williamson. Starr wants justice for Khalil, but she’s scared that what she might say could bring trouble to her neighborhood or her family. Can Starr overcome her fear and make her voice her most powerful weapon? These Show Notes use Amazon Affiliate Links for your convenience. If you decide to purchase this book, please consider doing [...]
The post The Hate U Give: Book vs. Movie appeared first on Nouvelle ELA Teaching Resources.
08/23/18 • 28 min
Today we chat about Seafire by Natalie C. Parker, with YA author Emily Skrutskie. Seafire has kick-ass lady pirates, and tons of action. What’s not to love? (Transcript) In today’s episode... In Natalie C. Parker’s new book, Seafire, we are brought into a world where the seas and colonies are under the control of a brutal warlord. The protagonist Caledonia Styx leads her all-female crew in raids against his fleet. When her second in command shows mercy to a single enemy sailor whom she claimed saves her life Caledonia is forced to choose between everything she’s ever believed about the enemy, and trusting her own crew. These Show Notes use Amazon Affiliate Links for your convenience. If you decide to purchase this book, please consider doing so through our affiliate links. Your support [...]
The post Seafire by Natalie C. Parker feat. Emily Skrutskie appeared first on Nouvelle ELA Teaching Resources.
07/26/18 • 28 min
Reading, writing, and ... exorcisms? That’s all before lunch. YA novelist Erin Callahan is here to chat on When Life Gives You Demons by Jennifer Honeybourn. (transcript) In today’s episode... When Life Gives You Demons by Jennifer Honeybourn is a new spin on the teenage monster hunter trope. This time, Shelby has been training to be an exorcist, a secret she’s kept from everyone but her uncle and absent mother. So, yeah, on top of bio (the worst) and geometry (the worst), she has to come home and study Latin. Stuff happens, Shelby learns stuff – it’s a summer romp within a terrifying subgenre of supernatural fiction. These Show Notes use Amazon Affiliate Links for your convenience. If you decide to purchase this book, please consider doing so through our affiliate links. Your support [...]
The post When Life Gives You Demons by Jennifer Honeybourn feat. Erin Callahan appeared first on Nouvelle ELA Teaching Resources.
Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian
YA Cafe
05/10/18 • 29 min
Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian is a ice cream romp with themes of friendship, feminism, and building a legacy. Join us as we chat about this fun summer book with our friend, Claire Nauman. (transcript) In today’s episode... In Siobhan Vivian’s newest novel, Stay Sweet, Amelia is looking forward to her last year at the Meade Creamery Ice Cream Stand. As Head Girl, she’s going to make sure she’s got every shift with her best friend, Cate, and she knows they’ll have an awesome time. But when tragedy strikes and the creamery founder, Molly Meade, passes away, the future of the ice cream stand is uncertain. Molly’s great nephew, Grady, moves to town looking to put his business school training to use. Can Amelia help Grady understand the legacy of Molly [...]
The post Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian appeared first on Nouvelle ELA Teaching Resources.
03/29/18 • 26 min
The Radical Element is a new anthology of historical YA fiction short stories edited by Jessica Spotswood. This anthology moves chronologically through American History. We’ll dive in to these stories on today’s episode of the YA Cafe, the podcast for teachers, readers, and caffeine addicts everywhere. In today’s episode... The Radical Element: 12 Stories of Daredevils, Debutantes & Other Dauntless Girls is a follow-up to Spotswood’s 2016 collection, A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers & Other Badass Girls. Once again, she presents a diverse collection of historical fiction pieces with brave young women who tackle questions of identity, ambition, and justice. In Spotswood’s words, “they are mundane and they are magical. There is a power – a quiet badassery – in girls taking charge of their own destinies. [...]
The post The Radical Element edited by Jessica Spotswood appeared first on Nouvelle ELA Teaching Resources.
08/22/19 • 31 min
BookTuber, Nikea JaLynn (cohost of the series #BlackGirlLit), joins us to chat about The Revolution of Birdie Randolph by Brandy Colbert. (Transcript) In today’s episode... The Revolution of Birdie Randolph by Brandy Colbert Dove “Birdie” Randolph has tried hard to live up to her parents’ expectations: she’s at the top of her class, she works hard, and she even quit playing soccer to make more time for schoolwork. She seems to be the perfect daughter. But Birdie has a secret: she’s seeing a boy named Booker, a boy who’s been in Juvie, and Birdie’s sure her parents won’t approve. When her estranged aunt Carlene comes to town, Birdie’s life gets even more complicated. Carlene’s in recovery, but Birdie’s mother still braces herself for the moment when it will all come crashing down. Can Birdie [...]
The post The Revolution of Birdie Randolph by Brandy Colbert feat. Nikea JaLynn appeared first on Nouvelle ELA Teaching Resources.
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FAQ
How many episodes does YA Cafe have?
YA Cafe currently has 65 episodes available.
What topics does YA Cafe cover?
The podcast is about Podcasts, Books and Arts.
What is the most popular episode on YA Cafe?
The episode title 'A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on YA Cafe?
The average episode length on YA Cafe is 27 minutes.
How often are episodes of YA Cafe released?
Episodes of YA Cafe are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of YA Cafe?
The first episode of YA Cafe was released on Mar 15, 2018.
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