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The Poet X was Elizabeth Acevedo's breakout novel, winning the Printz and Pura Belpre awards and becoming the target of many challenges and even a lawsuit attempting to keep it off of school shelves. We are standing firmly behind this book, even if it reduced Heather and Darlene to tears and maybe hasn't aged as well as it could have when it comes to Drake. We adore Xiomara's strength and resilience as she confronts family troubles, experiences a crisis of faith, weathers harassment at school, and navigates first love. We're discussing the ubiquity of harassment as a teen girl, the impacts of our parents' baggage, and whether Twin's going to have the kind of happy ending we are optimistic about for Xiomara. We're also taking a pretty strange quiz to find out what kind of poets we'd be, but really, we'd all probably just prefer to be really fab slam poets like Xiomara.

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe, on Instagram @TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.

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Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson follows Melinda Sordino as she navigates the aftermath of her sexual assault at a high school party. Unable to speak about what happened to her, Melinda also has to deal with losing her friends, being ostracized by her peers, and having parents who can't seem to parent. Some small beacons of light in her life are her newfound friend, David, who stands up for his beliefs and encourages Melinda to do the same and her art teacher Mr. Freeman, who definitely knows something is up with Melinda and encourages her to speak through her art. In this episode, we discuss the concept of problem novels ("misery porn"), the portrayal of teachers in YA novels and Maria drops some Fairmount High School lore.

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe, on Instagram @TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.

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We are back with special-expert-guest-on-all-things-BSC Kelsey for Part 2. We're still talking about how arson isn't the answer; because really, arson isn't the answer and perhaps that wasn't addressed strongly enough in the books. In this continuation of our exploration of all things Mary Anne, we're figuring out foreshadowing that doesn't pay off, the prevalence of babysitting 101 classes, single-parent stigma, and why Mary Anne cares so much about her shoe falling off. Fashion is a really big deal in these books and we identified the primary fashion types: New York, quirky, Steve Jobs as a 12 year old with a visor. In part 2 we're trying to figure out where our fashion choices land us as BSC girls with a helpful Buzzfeed quiz.

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.