This week on the podcast, Julia and Victoria try to define just what exactly Red at the Bone by Jaqueline Woodson is about, and after an hour of conversation, they land on “nothing and absolutely everything,” which does not do this incredible and soul-stirring book justice. But it’s the best they’ve got.

Julia and Victoria are back to discuss The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion about an undiagnosed autistic man trying to navigate all the weird social rules of dating and relationships with a bunch of people who won’t explain anything. So for Julia, it was a comical reminder of her own journey not knowing how to make friends in college, and for Victoria, the book was a super fun love story and a good reminder on the importance of open and clear communication.

Julia hasn’t stopped talking about BTS for an entire year, so she decided to channel that energy into a podcast episode. She’s joined by her fellow BTS fan (also called ARMY) Kristine Ilagan to go over their favorite BTS songs and all the reasons why they love these talented artists and their message of love and acceptance.

Julia and Victoria spend a good portion of their conversation about Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine trying to figure out what a Lyric poem is. After that they can finally get into all the reasons why Rankine’s incredible, multi-media work about the experience of being a black person in America should be required reading for, well, everyone.

Grab your blue licorice, your celestial bronze swords, and your Ancient Greek dictionaries, because this week Julia and Victoria are diving into the 2005 young adult classic, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.

This week with There There by Tommy Orange, Julia and Victoria get another chance to read their favorite type of book - one composed of lots of little stories to create a collage of perspectives - this one representing the urban Native American experience in Oakland, California.

Julia and Victoria are back with their friend David to discuss the second installment in the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman, The Subtle Knife. They can’t agree on whether or not it’s a good sequel and why, but they do have very strong feelings about the ending, so spoiler alert!

Julia and Victoria know absolutely nothing about comic books, but they’re diving into the deep end this week and sharing their unqualified opinions about the grim, layered, and existential graphic novel Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

In this week’s episode on The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, Julia and Victoria talk about the journal entries they wrote as teenagers, Julia’s failings as a Spanish translator, using tweezers to write poetry, and how rare it is to find nuanced discussions of religion in YA fiction.

It’s time for deep talks about vulnerability and bravery as Julia, Victoria, and their friend Marlowe dig into Brené Brown’s 2016 publication Braving the Wilderness.

Happy Holidays! Julia and Victoria celebrate by turning on the microphone during their solitary Thanksgiving dinner and trying to make sense of the year 2020.

What can we learn about embodiment from an octopus? And what does that have to do with neurodiversity and empathy? Julia and Victoria discuss all this and more with their friend Cayla, whose special interest is octopuses, as they dig deeper into The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery.