With publishers releasing new books twice a year, in the spring and the fall, summer is the perfect time to take stock of great new books for teens. Tune in to hear about books that will meet the needs of all kinds of teen readers including works of fantasy and suspense, biography and historical fiction, politics and romance.

In this episode, you'll hear about an assortment of old and new titles featuring teens who live on the margins of middle class society - teens whose lives too often go unseen.

Tune in to hear about an array of recently-published smart romance titles that feature male as well as female narrators, gay as well as straight relationships, and stories of love unfolding in a variety of circumstances.

In the world of young adult literature, there are certain authors readers can count on to engage both their minds and their hearts in a good story. Francisco X. Stork is one of those authors. Tune in to hear how Francisco's novels explore themes of religious faith and ambition, how his own life experiences are reflected in his books, and how he thinks about the diverse Latino characters he has created.

With a new movie version of The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins' story of a dystopian world where children are forced to fight to the death on live television is set to reach an even broader audience. Tune in to hear about the seeds for The Hunger Games story, themes that distinguish the series as an important work of literature, and what the books have to offer teen readers.

In the wake of the American Library Association's annual announcement of Youth Media Awards, tune in for a roundup of top young adult literature award winners from the past year. Jennifer will report on her favorite titles drawn from lists of the year's most distinguished books for teens

Tune in to hear how Coe Booth worked through the challenges of writing Bronxwood, how she makes sense of her characters' actions, and how her books challenge readers to develop critical social consciousness.

In this episode, you'll hear about creative retellings in a variety of genres and forms, including biographies, short story anthologies, verse novels, and picture books.

Readers of picture books and graphic novels know that visual images sometimes tell a story in a way that words cannot. Tune in to hear about newly-published middle grade and young adult fiction, graphic novels, biographies, travel memoirs, and informational books, all of which use visual material in ways that enrich the text's meaning.

Tune in to hear about the seeds behind her newest novel, Everybody Sees the Ants. We'll discuss how several of the novel's key elements came about during Amy's writing process, how The Vagina Monologues connects thematically to elements of the text focused on bullying and torture, and how satire helped her to make a key point about Lucky Linderman's process of coming to terms with the adult world.

Tune in this month to hear two avid tween readers talk about what they look for in a good book, some of their favorite titles, and what adults should know about helping tweens find books they'll want to read.

In this episode, you'll hear about a range of titles that rely on some form of action, mystery, or suspense to draw teens into a page-turning storyline.

In this episode, you'll hear about a variety of feminist books for teens—including works of realistic fiction as well as fantasy, biography, historical fiction, and satire.

Tune in to hear insights on bullying from bullying expert CJ Bott, author of The Bully in the Book and the Classroom and More Bullies in More Books. You'll also hear about a variety of fiction and nonfiction books for teens that explore the problem of bullying.

Matthew Quick's debut YA novel, Sorta Like a Rock Star, offers up a story of hope. Tune in to hear Quick talk about main character Amber Appleton, the ways she affects people, and the challenges of writing novels that foreground hope.

Tune in to hear about newly-published biographies, memoirs, and essay collections as well as titles that explore history, science, and social issues.

In this episode, you'll hear about fiction and nonfiction books that explore the importance of music in the lives of young people.

This year's American Library Association Youth Media Awards celebrate books in a range of style and subject matter. Tune in to hear a report on the year's most distinguished titles for teens.

Vampire books—along with books about werewolves and zombies—are a big business in YA publishing today. Tune in to hear about some of the most popular vampire, werewolf, and zombie titles currently being read and shared by teens, plus titles that offer funny spoofs and satires of the Twilight trend.

Tune in to hear how Deborah Wiles uses visual artifacts-including news headlines and song lyrics, maps and snapshots, cartoons and excerpts from speeches-to tell a story about the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis through the eyes of an eleven-year-old girl.