Episode 316: Princess Academy (with London Sperry)

About this episode

Add this to the list of Alli's favorite SSR reads of all-time—and just in time for the show to say goodbye in a couple of weeks! Nearly 20 years after it was published and won a Newbery Honor, Shannon Hale's Princess Academy was a delight to read and discuss. The book inspires conversations on Episode 316 about everything from hometown pride and tropes about female bodies to the value of education and lame princes. Alli's guest also blows her mind with some facts about 2025 slang. London Sperry's debut novel Passion Project hits shelves on 4/8/25. Follow her on Instagram @londonsperrywrites. CHECK OUT LONDON'S BOOK HERE! CHECK OUT LONDON'S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: Wedding Dashers by Heather McBreen Let's Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan Unromance by Erin Connor You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon But How Are You, Really by Ella Dawson MORE READING: "Book Review: Princess Academy by Shannon Hale" (Books: A True Story, 2013) "Review: Princess Academy" (The Princess Blog, 2018) "Book Review: Princess Academy by Shannon Hale" (Turn the Page, 2012) "Shannon Hale Says Her Novels Are Not 'Girl Books'" (Bustle, 2015) "Q&A with Shannon Hale" (Publishers Weekly, 2015) "One T