Welcome to “Was This Good or Were We 13?”, a podcast where we revisit books from our tween and teen years with both excitement and trepidation. Join hosts and friends Joanna and Kevin, as they reread their favorite middle grade and young adult books and ask the hard hitting questions, like: how well does the story hold up? Are there problematic elements that went completely over our heads? And just how many times can bad science be used to explain away plot holes? Join us for a nostalgia-fueled journey that hopefully won’t ruin your (and our) favorite books.
It isn’t spooky season without a good ghost story! Listen to Joanna and Kevin discuss the book that gave eight-year-old Joanna nightmares: Wait Till Helen Comes (1986) by Mary Downing Hahn. Experience a ghost story written specifically for kids and learn what Hahn has to say about guilt, grief, and death.
To get in touch, you can follow us on Instagram @orwerewe13pod. You can also email us at orwerewe13@gmail.com with any comments or episode suggestions!
This podcast was edited by Kevin Park and produced by Martha Morton, and the music is composed by Sawyer Harrington-Verb.
14 Oct 2026
The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
Have you ever read The Cruel Prince by Holly Black and wondered where it all started? You’ve come to the right episode. Join Joanna and Kevin in reading The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DeTerlizzi and Holly Black. Listen as we gush about the beautiful illustrations in these books, how this series is weirdly connected to tabletop RPG games, and why Joanna thinks faeries should be kind of creepy.
To get in touch, you can follow us on Instagram @orwerewe13pod. You can also email us at orwerewe13@gmail.com with any comments or episode suggestions!
This podcast was edited and produced by Martha Morton and the music is composed by Sawyer Harrington-Verb.
5 Oct 2026
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
The spooky season has started ya’ll! And Joanna and Kevin are celebrating in spooktacular fashion! This means double the number of episodes in October, all centered on books with spooky vibes.! Starting on the tame side, we have one of Joanna’s favorite books from childhood: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (1959). Learn about how this book ages well (and how it does NOT), the surprisingly cinematic nature of the book, and why the Puritans are the absolute worst.
To get in touch, you can follow us on Instagram @orwerewe13pod. You can also email us at orwerewe13@gmail.com with any comments or episode suggestions!
This podcast was edited and produced by Martha Morton and the music is composed by Sawyer Harrington-Verb.
21 Sept 2026
Howl’s Moving Castle (2004): How a fairytale book was turned into an anti-war film
Kevin gets to put on his (recovering) film bro hat for this episode! Today is a special compare and contrast session where Joanna and Kevin talk about the differences between the Howl’s Moving Castle book vs movie. Learn about Studio Ghibli’s backstory and the creation of “Howl’s Moving Castle”, how the story was adapted to have a strong anti-war message (or does it?), and just how hot Howl is when he’s voiced by Christian Bale.
To get in touch, you can follow us on Instagram at @orwerewe13pod. You can also email us at orwerewe13@gmail.com with any comments or episode suggestions!
This podcast was edited and produced by Martha Morton and the music is composed by Sawyer Harrington-Verb.
7 Sept 2026
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Did you know that Howl’s Moving Castle was a book? Because Kevin sure didn’t! Joanna and Kevin are starting season two with a bang with fantasy classic Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (1986). Learn about its use and subversion of fairytale tropes, and how it’s probably one of the funniest children’s books ever written. Also, if you think Howl in the movie was chaotic, you haven’t seen anything yet!
To get in touch, you can follow us on Instagram at @orwerewe13pod or email us at orwerewe13@gmail.com with any comments or episode suggestions!
This podcast was edited and produced by Martha Morton and the music is composed by Sawyer Harrington-Verb.
29 Jun 2026
Holes by Louis Sachar (book AND movie)
“Dig it up, oh, oh, dig it…” In our season finale Joanna and Kevin revisit a classic for the ages, Louis Sachar’s Holes (1998). Get ready for nostalgia, child cruelty, and Joanna complaining about how no one will do group Halloween costumes with her.
To get in touch, email us at orwerewe13@gmail.com with any comments or episode suggestions!
This podcast was edited and produced by Martha Morton and the music is composed by Sawyer Harrington-Verb.
And that is the end of season 1! We appreciate you for listening to us so far. First podcast project for us, learned a lot. Come back better for season 2
We have a whole slew of new books to cover when we return in the fall. Hope to see you then!
15 Jun 2026
Graceling by Kristin Cashore (Part 2)
This week Joanna and Kevin are finishing up their discussion of Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Hear about how the second half of the book is wildly different from the first half, where the series is going next, and how Kevin really just wants more Po in his life.
To get in touch, email us at orwerewe13@gmail.com with any comments or episode suggestions!
This podcast was edited and produced by Martha Morton and the music is composed by Sawyer Harrington-Verb.
1 Jun 2026
Graceling by Kristin Cashore (Part 1)
“Katsa: The Baddest Bitch That Ever Lived” is a better title for this book. Joanna and Kevin read Kristin Cashore’s Graceling (2008) and learn what is a Grace, why every high fantasy has seven kingdoms, and just how hot Prince Po is.
To get in touch, email us at orwerewe13@gmail.com with any comments or episode suggestions!
This podcast was edited and produced by Martha Morton and the music is composed by Sawyer Harrington-Verb.
21 May 2026
Christopher Paolini and the Publication of Eragon
In a special minisode, Kevin tells Joanna the origin of how Eragon (2002) came to be. Learn all about Christopher Paolini, the wild ride of getting this book published, and Kevin’s personal history with Eragon (and its much maligned movie adaptation).
To get in touch, email us at orwerewe13@gmail.com with any comments or episode suggestions!
This podcast was edited and produced by Martha Morton and the music is composed by Sawyer Harrington-Verb.
11 May 2026
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
Bad science has finally arrived! This week Joanna and Kevin read James Patterson’s Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment (2005) and discuss just what would 2% bird DNA do to a person, how many times can you have the same plot before it gets boring, and should James Patterson be allowed to write YA novels.
To get in touch, email us at orwerewe13@gmail.com with any comments or episode suggestions!
This podcast was edited and produced by Martha Morton and the music is composed by Sawyer Harrington-Verb.
27 Apr 2026
Wringer by Jerry Spinelli
Jerry Spinelli was truly a man of many stories. In what is probably just the beginning of reading his backlog, Joanna and Kevin explore Wringer (1997). A boy’s coming-of-age story that involves a surprising amount of pigeons, this is surely a blast from the past.
To get in touch, email us at orwerewe13@gmail.com with any comments or episode suggestions!
This podcast was edited and produced by Martha Morton and the music is composed by Sawyer Harrington-Verb.
13 Apr 2026
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
A true oldie is being read in this episode! Join Joanna and Kevin in reading The Boxcar Children (1942) by Gertrude Chandler Warner, and learn about some good-old New Englander self-reliance and just how much Kevin likes descriptions of food.
To get in touch, email us at orwerewe13@gmail.com with any comments or episode suggestions!
This podcast was edited and produced by Martha Morton and the music is composed by Sawyer Harrington-Verb.
6 Apr 2026
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen (Part 2)
Join Joanna and Kevin to finish up Along for the Ride (2009) by Sarah Dessen. Hear about just how many morals you can fit into one story and what Kevin has learned about the female experience.
To get in touch, email us at orwerewe13@gmail.com with any comments or episode suggestions!
This podcast was edited and produced by Martha Morton and the music is composed by Sawyer Harrington-Verb.
23 Mar 2026
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen (Part 1)
Potentially the most millennial girl author that ever millennialed, Joanna introduces Kevin to a favorite author from her teen years with Along for the Ride (2009) by Sarah Dessen. Hear about just how not-subtle themes can be and how Kevin pictured the male lead as Jojo from Horton Hears a Who for the entire novel.
To get in touch, email us at orwerewe13@gmail.com with any comments or episode suggestions!
This podcast was edited and produced by Martha Morton and the music is composed by Sawyer Harrington-Verb.
2 Mar 2026
The Giver by Lois Lowry
A favorite of classrooms and book-banners alike, today Joanna and Kevin revisit Lois Lowry’s The Giver (1993). Join as we read what Joanna has coined “baby’s first dystopia” and how this affected children’s and YA literature for ever more.
To get in touch, email us at orwerewe13@gmail.com with any comments or episode suggestions!
This podcast was edited and produced by Martha Morton and the music is composed by Sawyer Harrington-Verb.
16 Feb 2026
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
“Corpus Bones! I utterly loathe my life.” Joanna and Kevin are time-traveling back to 13th-century England to read Catherine, Called Birdy (1994) by Karen Cushman. Join us as we learn about girlhood in the Medieval Period, the weird and wacky lives of the saints, and just how much of a history nerd Joanna is.
To get in touch, email us at orwerewe13@gmail.com with any comments or episode suggestions!
This podcast was edited and produced by Martha Morton and the music is composed by Sawyer Harrington-Verb.
10 Feb 2026
Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism by Georgia Byng
Ever noticed a psychedelic pug on a book cover and wondered what that was about? Well we're here to tell you with our first episode, where Joanna and Kevin talk about the 2002 British children's novel Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism by Georgia Byng! Get ready for Roald Dahl and Lemony Snicket levels of child cruelty, as well as side quests involving everything from Broadway shows to jewel heists.
To get in touch, email us at orwerewe13@gmail.com with any comments or episode suggestions!
This podcast was edited and produced by Martha Morton and the music is composed by Sawyer Harrington-Verb.
10 Feb 2026
Meet the Hosts: A Chat with Joanna and Kevin
Meet hosts Joanna and Kevin to learn about what inspired them to make this podcast.
10 Feb 2026
Welcome to Was This Good Or Were We 13?
Joanna and Kevin are two friends with a mission: to reread the books of their youth to see if they actually hold up.
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
11 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
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