In this episode, Priscilla interviews clinician-author Dr Sarah Sasson about the newly released Tidelines, a tender coming-of-age novel about growing up in the face of unimaginable loss. Tidelines examines the stories we subconsciously write for ourselves, and what remains later, when we have the courage to tear them apart. Discussion topics include substance use, ambiguous grief and loss, and burnout in the medical profession.

Find Novel Feelings via:

• Our website
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads.

Join our 2023 Reading Challenge on The Storygraph.

Detailed show notes available on our website.

Nobody said fifth grade was going to be easy, and Penny Lowry has a million questions going through her mind all the time. The Penny Draws series by Sara Shepard follows Penny as she navigates feelings, friendships, and all sorts of changes that life brings her way. 

In turns sweet and hilarious, we adored the series, and we were delighted to chat to Sara about how she approaches writing themes of mental health and anxiety for a younger audience.

Find Novel Feelings via:

• Our website
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads.

Join our 2023 Reading Challenge on The Storygraph.

Detailed show notes available on our website.

How do you pick up the pieces after life has served you enough trauma for a lifetime?

Charlotte, aged 17, is trying to recover in a world that owes her nothing, but has taken so much. In our season 3 finale, we dive into Girl in Pieces' representations of self-harm, hospitalisation, and unhealthy relationships, and ask the big question: does this book risk doing more harm than good?

Spoiler review starts at 31:34.

Find Novel Feelings via:

• Our website
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads.

Join our 2023 Reading Challenge on The Storygraph.

Detailed show notes available on our website.

Note: We will going on hiatus in the first half of 2024, but hope to launch Season 4 later in the year!

Life is pretty good for sixteen-year-old Abby.  When new girl Chloe arrives, Abby is pleased to be the one to show her around, to welcome her to the group. But Abby doesn’t imagine Chloe fitting in so well or quite so quickly. And before long Abby is feeling just a little left out, a little unsure of Ella’s friendship. In a moment of anger and confusion she wishes something bad would happen. When it does—with tragic consequences—everything shifts again.

In this episode, we speak with the author of Let's Never Speak of this Again, Megan Williams, about the book, her characters, her writing process, and winning the 2023 Text Prize.

Find Novel Feelings via:

• Our website
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads.

Join our 2023 Reading Challenge on The Storygraph.

Detailed show notes available on our website.

Is it possible to hibernate your problems away?

Our main character - privileged, vain, and traumatised - chooses to sleep for a year to take a break from her life. In our spiciest review yet, we discuss self-medication, unlikable characters, and one of the worst mental heath professionals we’ve ever encountered in fiction.

Spoiler review starts at 41:36

Find Novel Feelings via:

• Our website
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads.

Join our 2023 Reading Challenge on The Storygraph.

Detailed show notes available on our website.

When Dale stumbles into a bedroom at a party and sees a drunk girl being undressed by a group of guys, he backs away and runs. He’s pretty drunk himself, but he knows what he saw. Why didn’t he stop them? Why did he run?

We speak in-depth with author Robyn Dennison about how she approaches writing a character who struggles with passivity, representations of disordered eating, and her research.

NOTE: Apologies for the audio issues in this episode. We were contending with new equipment and not everything went according to plan!

Find Robyn via her website, Instagram, and Twitter.

Find Novel Feelings via:

• Our website
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads.

Join our 2023 Reading Challenge on The Storygraph.

Detailed show notes available on our website.

How do you come back from the depths of your own mind? Neal Shusterman is one of our favourite authors, so it was a no brainer for us to dive into a book he's written about an often stigmatised mental health disorder.

Joined by Leah from YA Book Chat, we discuss the experiences of delusions and hallucinations; hospital-based treatments of mental health disorders; and the role of families in recovery.

Spoiler review starts at 33:23.

Find Novel Feelings via:

• Our website
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads.

Join our 2023 Reading Challenge on The Storygraph.

Detailed show notes available on our website.

Three sisters. Three sisters. Three vastly different lives. A maelstrom of family secrets.

The Neapolitan Sisters is riotous, provocative tale of family and sisterhood. Maritza is a princess bridezilla, Claudia is the family “fixer,” and Dulcina “Dooley” is finally sober. As the three are reunited for a wedding, their secrets are unravelled.

We speak in-depth with author Margo Candela about the evolution of her writing, challenging stereotypes, control, and writing complex characters.

Find Margo via her website, Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

Find Novel Feelings via:

• Our website
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads.

Join our 2023 Reading Challenge on The Storygraph.

Detailed show notes available on our website.