Unabridged Podcast

Welcome to Unabridged! Ashley and Jen (shown left to right in the photo) talk books, share recommendations, and celebrate all things bookish. On our blog (see our posts below!) we share bookish faves, pub day shout-outs, show notes, and book reviews.

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May 28, 2021
3 min

Book Review of Deb Caletti's ONE GREAT LIE - A Stunning Book about Gender and Power

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to Partners NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the digital ARC of Deb Caletti’s One Great Lie (Amazon | Bookshop.org) in exchange for an honest review. The book will be released on Tuesday, June 1. Deb Caletti’s One Great Lie is a stunning YA novel about gender dynamics and issues of power, perfect for consideration in the aftermath of the #metoo movement. Told in spare, gorgeous prose, the novel focuses on a girl who’s given her drea

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Apr 16, 2021
3 min

Mercedes Helnwein's SLINGSHOT - Not Your Average YA Rom-Com

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to Partner Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC of Mercedes Helnwein’s Slingshot in exchange for an honest review. The book will be published on Tuesday, April 27. Despite its bright and cheery cover, Mercedes Helnwein’s Slingshot is not a sweet YA rom-com. From page one, it defied my expectations. I absolutely loved it. Grace Welles is fifteen and miserable. She attends an undistinguished boarding school paid for by her fa

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Nov 20, 2020
3 min

Julie Buxbaum's Admission - A Book with Nuance

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to partner NetGalley for the digital ARC of Julie Buxbaum’s Admission in exchange for an honest review. The book releases Tuesday, December 1. “Even villains are allowed nuance.” The college admissions scandal of 2019 inspired Julie Buxbaum’s Admission, which focuses on high school senior Chloe, the daughter of television star Joy Fields. Chloe and Isla, her younger sister, have grown up with wealth providing everything they needed, b

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Sep 23, 2020
6 min

144: Celebrating Global Read Aloud

In honor of the final year of the Global Read Aloud, Unabridged Podcast revisits our episode from last year, in which we discussed Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves, Padma Venkatraman's The Bridge Home, and Kelly Yang's Front Desk. Join us in celebrating this fantastic program, which highlights books for young people and promotes global collaboration. What have been some of your favorite Global Read Aloud books? Bookish Check-in Ashley - Mark Oshiro’s Each of Us a Desert (

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Jul 31, 2020
2 min

Tehlor Kay Mejia's PAOLA SANTIAGO AND THE RIVER OF TEARS - The Perfect Blend of Middle School and Fo

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to partner NetGalley for the digital ARC of Tehlor Kay Mejia’s Paola Santiago and the River of Tears in exchange for an honest review. The book will be published on Tuesday, August 4, 2020. Paola Santiago is obsessed with the mysteries of the world: how humans can use algae to reduce fossil fuel use, what it's really like in space, why her mother won't let her get a dog, why her family never has enough money. But most of all, she wants

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Jul 3, 2020
2 min

Jasmine Guillory's PARTY OF TWO - A New Standout Romance

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to Partner Edelweiss for the digital ARC of Jasmine Guillory's Party of Two in exchange for an honest review. The book is out now. Party of Two, the fifth book in Jasmine Guillory's loosely connectedThe Wedding Date series, is a joyful read. I loved the main characters, Olivia and Max, and we watch the development of their relationship from alternating perspectives, which I think is fun in romance novels. Olivia--who first appeared inTh

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Jun 25, 2020
3 min

Brandy Colbert's THE VOTING BOOTH - Settle in for a One-Sitting Read!

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to Partner NetGalley for the digital ARC of Brandy Colbert's The Voting Booth in exchange for an honest review. The book releases Tuesday, July 7. Brandy Colbert's The Voting Booth is a perfect YA book. It's socially conscious; features compelling, nuanced characters; and has just the right amount of romance--I was grinning for nearly the duration of the book, which alternates between the points of view of two high school seniors. Marva

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May 22, 2020
3 min

Natalie Jenner's THE JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY - A Warm Hug for Austen Fans*

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to partner NetGalley for the digital ARC of Natalie Jenner’s The Jane Austen Society in exchange for an honest review. The book releases on May 26, 2020. “I just feel, when I read her, when I reread her--which I do, more than any other author--it’s as if she is inside my head. Like music” (loc. 74). Natalie Jenner’s The Jane Austen Society, historical fiction ranging from 1932 to 1947, is about grief and recovery, greed and sacrifice, s

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May 21, 2020
4 min

Anna Solomon's THE BOOK OF V - Stunning and Thought Provoking

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to partner NetGalley for the digital ARC of Anna Solomon’s The Book of V in exchange for an honest review. Anna Solomon’s The Book of V, out May 5th, is an astonishing and beautiful novel. Through three parallel stories, Solomon explores the ways that women can fight to define their identities, even in situations when they seem to be powerless. At the heart of the book is the biblical story of Esther, the second wife of the king. Sol

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May 7, 2020
2 min

Sarah Morgenthaler's THE TOURIST ATTRACTION - A Sweet Romance to Brighten Your Day

Happy Pub Week to Sarah Morgenthaler's The Tourist Attraction! Thanks to partner NetGalley for the egalley in exchange for an honest review. This sweet contemporary romance, which came out on Tuesday, was such an easy, happy read. I loved it! The book opens with super-grumpy restaurant owner Graham begrudgingly serving tourists in his restaurant, The Tourist Trap. In wanders Zoey, who has saved for years to finally take a vacation to Moose Springs, Alaska, with her wealthy fr

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May 1, 2020
4 min

Maggie Downs's Braver than You Think - More than a Travel Memoir

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to partner Counterpoint Press for the ARC of Maggie Downs’s Braver than You Think: Around the World on the Trip of My (Mother’s) Lifetime in exchange for an honest review. The memoir releases Tuesday, May 12. “How am I supposed to keep going when there is nobody to guide me? Will I be strong enough to carry myself?” (34). Maggie Downs’s memoir opens with a return to Cairo. She had gone home briefly–mid-way through her year-long trip a

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Apr 24, 2020
3 min

Emily Henry's BEACH READ - It Made Me Giddy

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to Partner Edelweiss for the digital ARC of Emily Henry's Beach Read in exchange for an honest review. The book releases Tuesday, May 19. "And that was the moment I realized: when the world felt dark and scary, love could whisk you off to go dancing; laughter could take some of the pain away; beauty could punch holes in your fear" (loc. 76). Emily Henry's Beach Read is one of the best romances I've read in a while. Yes, it's one of thos

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Apr 17, 2020
2 min

Brandy Ferner's ADULT CONVERSATION - Page 1 Is Promising

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to Partner Books Forward for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The book releases Tuesday, May 5. I texted a picture of the first page of Brandy Ferner's Adult Conversation, about the protagonist's inability to have a few minutes alone in the bathroom, to Sara and Ashley and just said "Page 1 of Adult Conversation is promising. 😂” Their responses? "Heehee. I like that!" and "😂😂😂 So painfully like my own reality. 😳💩🤣” That

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Jan 22, 2020
2 min

Welcome - Introduction and Overview

Just getting started with Unabridged Podcast? Welcome! We're Ashley, Jen, and Sara, and we are teachers and podcasters who are passionate about books. We have four kinds of posts here on our blog. On Mondays, we post about our Bookish Faves, on Tuesdays we do Pub Day Shout-outs, on Wednesdays our episodes drop, and on Fridays, we post book reviews. (Be on the lookout on Thursdays, too; we sometimes have an extra post then!) There are many ways to connect with us! In addition

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Sep 27, 2019
3 min

Nadine Brandes's ROMANOV -- Jen's Review

Thanks to NetGalley and TNZ Fiction for the free review copy of this beautiful book! Listen to our interview with Nadine Brandes. If you Google “books about the Romanovs,” you’ll be overwhelmed by the results. Our (my!) fascination with this royal Russian family seems to be unending—it’s triggered, perhaps, by the family’s tragic end and by the shift it represents: the ending of the royal lifestyle in Russia and by the beginning of modern Communist rule (which began with the

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Aug 9, 2019
2 min

Mary Weber's TO BEST THE BOYS - Jen's Review

“I’m just tired of feeling like the way things are is the only way they can ever be” (136). Rhen Tellur lives in a world of limitations. She is bound by her gender and by her class in a society that—despite its fantasy roots—feels all too real. Mary Weber’s standalone young adult novel To Best the Boys is a delight. The premise centers on an annual competition: the boys of Pinsbury Point enter a labyrinth and vie to be the first to exit. The winner receives a full scholarship

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