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"With millions of dollars at stake, walking away isn't an option."  Do you crave an adventure beyond Earth or do want to solve a good mystery? Well, in this episode of Pine Reads Pod Review, Nick and Noah sit down and put on their space monocles and try to crack open the mystery of a mind bending substance and the shady company, Babel Communications, in Scott Reintgen's novel, Nyxia. 

“…not to critique the American Dream or anything, BUT…” Teens, authors, and a last goodbye! Tune into this very special episode to hear author Matt Mendez and three teen reading ambassadors from World of Words join us as we review Dealing in Dreams! Christy tries to radicalize some teenagers! Matt talks about allegory! Our teen cohosts weigh in on the age question! All that and more in this episode of Pine Reads Pod Reviews!

“You cannot joust without stirrups, you idiots!” Sci-Fi Jeff Bezos and King Arthur! Sapphic King Arthur retelling in space! Christy gets heated about medieval Europe! Jen gets roasted! We get a lot of the Arthur myths totally wrong! All that and more in this episode of Pine Reads Pod Reviews!

"Humans are the problem.” Disaster teens face off against angst. The real monster was their trauma. Creepy lullabies, Stranger Things, hat semantics, and a good good cat! Christy wants to stab a boy! Jen says a bad word! We’re here for girls with swords! All that and more in this episode of Pine Reads Pod Reviews!

“Listen, just because you majored in three things, doesn’t mean you get to make fun of us!” Is this book really YA? Are our hosts really grownups? Will we ever figure out what episode number we're up to? Vivisection, mountainous callouts, Penny Dreadful, and compulsive heterosexuality! Jen went to corpse camp! Chris doesn’t know what color muscle is! Christy says some cursed things! All that and more on this episode of Pine Reads Pod Reviews!

“I could punch an owl, is what I’m saying.” Gender fluid Italian adventures with magic! Alanna, but actually becoming a boy!   Flap copy, life-or-death makeouts, fantasy Franco-Italian relations, and the relative merits of queer allegory! Christy has some serious revelations about her gender! Michelle claims geese kill people! We discover a typo and commit some book sins! All that and more in our review of The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta!

“Meredith, it’s the Illuminati!”   The power of friendship steals from imperialists! Magical realism meets interesting historical fantasy! Sneaky teens have a bad time!   We start a new format! Jen’s got more Classics knowledge than she knows what to do with, Michelle shares a hot take, and Christy yells about secret societies! All that and more in our review of The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi!

“I got that Finding Nemo vibe.” Is the world still a scary place with robots to keep everyone in check? A lonely scientist, her robot babies, and the return of our favorite goose! Lee gets his dogs! Cheyenne talks about her dog! We just really love dogs! All that and more in this episode of Pine Reads Pod Reviews!

“I want her to show this dog the wild side.” Do robots actually speak dog? An old man, a Tesla, and some hypothetical chickens in some hypothetical danger! Lee admits he likes dogs better than geese! Cheyenne debates robot voices and the Uncanny Valley! We wonder how this wild robot is planning to escape! All that and more in this episode of Pine Reads Pod Reviews!

“As practical as lowering your expectations might be, I don’t think we should be telling that to twelve-year-old girls.” What on earth is going on with the dragons? Beauty standards, fairytale deconstruction, squirrels, and unexamined prejudice! Christy is consistently disappointed! Cheyenne has low standards for the day! Hillary proposes a bit of reorganization! All that and more in this episode of Pine Read Pod Reviews!

“Not to go full Shrek, but let’s go full Shrek.” Am I weird? A real live middle grade author, The Lion King, Hugh Dancy, and yet more Shrek references! Christy returns! Cheyenne lies to children! We’re joined by acclaimed author of Pumpkin Spice Secrets, Hillary Homzie! All that and more in this episode of Pine Reads Pod Reviews!

“It sounds nice already.” How soon can we get the sequel to this book? Animal kindness, a very old turtle, a robot mom, and her goose son! Lee gets emotional for once! Cheyenne loves bears! We learn a lot about animals! All that and more in this episode of Pine Reads Pod Reviews!

“I don’t think there are robots in Disney…Wait…WALL-E!” Can robots have haunted pasts? Disney princesses, Madagascar (2005), shipwrecks, and robots on a deserted island! Lee admits he read Percy Jackson out of order! Cheyenne is hoping for some Iron Giant throwbacks! Christy…isn’t here? All that and more in this episode of Pine Reads Pod Reviews!

“I love Hando. He’s my new boyfriend.” How much to adults matter in a middle grade novel? Space Jam, good dogs, disability rep, and life at twenty-two! Christy gets J. K. Rowlinged! Cheyenne breaks the rules to finish a book! We desire more godly basketball! All that and more in this episode of Pine Reads Pod Reviews!

"Presumably he gets out of the volcano." How many times can we possibly screw up this recording? Typographical othering, Grey's Anatomy, three-legged dogs, and intersectional representation! Christy spills some literal tea! Cheyenne continues her cultural identity crisis! We have some technical difficulties! All that and more in this episode of Pine Reads Pod Reviews!

"This series does not pull punches." Our predictions were right, but at what cost? Impromptu cesarean sections, Audubon Society nature guides, troubled mother-daughter relationships, and interpersonal sniffing! Christy doesn't trust men who smell too nice! Alex calls his cohost emo! We're sorely disappointed by the lack of impaling! All that and more in this episode of Pine Reads Pod Reviews!

"I would argue that a villain doesn't have to be likeable to be complicated." Does Christy's copy of this book contain a printing error or some kind of dire portents? Bickering cohosts, phylogenetic trees, emo super powers, and magical lessons in consent! Alex claims fish are a social construct! Christy can't stop being smug for one second! We're filled with great fear and trepidation! All that and more in this episode of Pine Reads Pod Reviews!

“She saved the goldfish, man! How can you not love her?” Are there other forces in the Universe than teenagers wanting to bone? Winnie the Pooh, space mobsters, bad dads, and plot twists. Christy can’t get the female main character’s name right! Lee reads the whole book in a day! We’re joined briefly by a non-canonical podcast host! All that and more in this episode of Pine Reads Pod Reviews!

“Were the stakes not high enough already?” What ever happened to Clippy? What accent do people have in space? Giant alien parasites, space cows, and a sweet-talking Russian boy. Christy doesn’t want to give the killer AI legs! Lee’s rooting for Ezra! We contemplate the possibility of punching a hole in Time-Space! All that and more in this episode of Pine Reads Pod Reviews!

"I have a soft spot for killer AI's." WE'RE BACK! AND BETTER (we hope) THAN EVER! Are emotions stronger than nukes? West World, space zombies, and jump scares! Christy gets an error message every time she has a feeling! Lee is scared of clowns! We go down another Avatar: The Last Airbender rabbit hole! All that and more in this episode of Pine Reads Pod Reviews