From great new books to favorite classic reads, from news to the latest in on-screen adaptations, Hey YA is here to elevate the exciting world of young adult lit.
The Cat’s Out of the Bag: This Is Our Last Episode
Kelly and Erica look back on 8 years of Hey YA, highlighting their favorite (and messy!) YA moments, their most memorable episodes, and some YA books they think deserve more attention.
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Ready for a cozy, bookish autumn? Let Tailored Book Recommendations help you find your next favorite read with handpicked suggestions from professional book nerds. Get started today from just $18!
Memorable Moments:
Hey YA episode “Podcasting While Eating Chocolate Cake”
Hey YA episode “I See a Cat, I Like It”
How YA Twitter Took Down a Best-Seller Pretender
The Blues Traveler Story
The Worst Bestsellers Episode on Handbook for Mortals
“A History of Buying Books Onto the Bestseller List”
Hey YA episode "I'm Optimistic Because It Saved My Life"
Noor.org
Books Discussed:
East by Edith Pattou
Frost by Marianna Baer
Invisible Son by Kim Johnson
The Suffragist’s Guide to the Antarctic by Yi Shun Lai
The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros
13 Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby
Aya by Marguerite Abouet
The Cuffing Game by Lyla Lee
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24 Sept 2025TRANSCRIPT
Colombo Had the Right Idea: Interviews with Author Mariko Tamaki, Illustrator Nicole Goux and Author Hannah V. Sawyerr
In the first half of this two-part episode, Erica goes back in time to the late '80s with Mariko Tamaki's and Nicole Goux's sapphic murder mystery This Place Kills Me. Next, Kelly Jensen speaks to Hannah V. Sawyerr about her novel-in-verse Truth Is.
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To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What’s Up in YA newsletter!
Ready for a cozy, bookish autumn? Let Tailored Book Recommendations help you find your next favorite read with handpicked suggestions from professional book nerds. Get started today from just $18!
Show Notes:
This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Nicole Goux
Nicole Goux's current reading list: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Audiobook), The Corus Wave by Karenza Sparks
Mariko Tamaki's current reading list: Collected Millar by Margaret Millar, My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones, The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Follow Mariko Tamaki on Instagram and Nicolce Goux on Instagram
The Turnaway Study
Brave New Voices
When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur
Six Truths and a Lie by Ream Shukairy
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
Bright Red Fruit by Safia Elhillo
Plan A by Deb Caletti
Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Heppermann
Find Hannah V. Sawyerr on Instagram and TikTok.
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10 Sept 2025TRANSCRIPT
That Was Extremely Libra of You: September's Best New YA Releases
Kelly and Erica highlight the best of September's new YA books, including some feminist nonfiction, thrilling mysteries, goth-y fun, and more.
Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What’s Up in YA newsletter!
Ready for a cozy, bookish autumn? Let Tailored Book Recommendations help you find your next favorite read with handpicked suggestions from professional book nerds. Get started today from just $18!
Show Notes:
Self-Silencing Is Making Women Sick
Twilight Will Be Back in Theaters This October
The Story of My Anger by Jasminne Mendez
YA Novels in Verse for 2025
Truth Is by Hanna V. Sawyerr
Arm in Arm: The Grimke Sisters' Fight for Abolition and Women' s Rights by Angelica Shirley Carpenter
Loudmouth: Emma Goldman vs. America by Deborah Heiligman
You’ve Goth My Heart by L.C. Rosen
By Invitation Only by Alexandra Brown Chang
When We Were Monsters by Jennifer Niven
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley
Blood Moon by Britney S. Lewis
Through Our Teeth by Pamela N. Harris
Who’s All Going (To Die)? by Lisa Springer
If Looks Could Kill by Julie Berry
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Inside a recent episode
The Cat’s Out of the Bag: This Is Our Last Episode
Published 8 Oct 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] And I feel like people don't export much, except now that they kind of are. There's a show, The Guilded Age. I haven't seen it yet, but anyway, it does cover that time. So we follow Alta Rosen. He is from Romania. He's Jewish, and he's got into America not too long ago. He's basically hoping to save money to bring his mother and sister over because they're Jewish, so they face a lot of persecution in Europe, specifically by the Russians at the time, I believe. Well, he lives in Tenement Housing. He's broke as a joke. He's poor. He's just trying to make it. He lives with these other Jewish boys in the Tenement Housing. […]
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