Tag Archives: Heldring

Podcast #20: The Football Girl by Thatcher Heldring

An Interview with Karen Yingling

For my twentieth Dream Gardens kidlit podcast, I interviewed librarian Karen Yingling about one of her favorite Young Adult books, the contemporary sports novel The Football Girl by Thatcher Heldring.

Published in 2017, this YA tells the story of Tessa and Caleb’s last summer before entering high school. It should be a time for friends, fun, and perhaps even a budding romance. But Tessa’s decision to be the first girl to join the football camp threatens to upend her camaraderie with her track buddies, not to mention thwarting her deepening relationship with Caleb. And as for Caleb, how he reacts to Tessa’s decision, and how he deals with the hazing rituals of his soon to be varsity teammates, raises all sorts of questions whose answers are not always easy for him to figure out. Whatever happens, Tessa and Caleb’s life will never be the same after the summer ends.

Karen YingLing is a middle school librarian, as well as a Middle Grade Fiction Organizer for the Cybils award and a book reviewer for the  School Library Journal and Young Adult Books Central. You can find Karen’s website at msyinglingreads.blogspot.com

All podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. Please link, share, comment, or subscribe. The next podcast will be published on October 1st, 2017.