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The Book Case

Jason Reynolds on Music, Reading and Writing

The Book Case

ABC News

Fiction, Arts, Society & Culture, Books

4.7913 Ratings

🗓️ 23 April 2026

⏱️ 35 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Jason Reynolds is one of the best young adult writers of our generation. But don’t let the label fool you into thinking that young adult writing hasn’t provided some of the most important books in the American Literary Canon (Catcher in the Rye? To Kill a Mockingbird?). His latest, Soundtrack, explores the life of teenagers busking great music in New York subway stations. It is also about the fact that even though we are born into a family that never leaves us, our chosen family of friends is just as important. Funny, gritty and brilliantly written, this is a book that brings to you all the sights and smells of New York City, both above and underground. Jason speaks so beautifully also about writing and the importance of reading…well, we got addicted to just listening to him. Join us and you will see why. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: ⁠https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's show: Soundtrack by Jason Reynolds Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds All American Boys by Jason Reynolds Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds Miles Morales, Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds When I was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds As Brave as You by Jason Reynolds Ghost by Jason Reynolds Coach by Jason Reynolds Patina by Jason Reynolds Sunny by Jason Reynolds Lu by Jason Reynolds The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka Black Boy by Richard Wright Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jasmyn Ward Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon Monster by Walter Dean Myers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:29.8

Welcome to the bookcase.

0:31.2

I am the Kate part of the duo that hosts the show.

0:35.6

Well, we're a duet.

0:37.8

And I'm Charlie Gibson. And it's in the bookcase with Kate and Charlie, as we hope.

0:41.7

Those are the phrases that you give to all your friends.

0:45.0

I just heard the bookcase with Kate and Charlie, and it was another wonderful show, and you should be listening.

0:50.5

We want you to sell it to all your friends, and we'll send you a lovely parting gift of you, too.

0:56.9

I don't know what parting gift. We'll send you a take-home version of our podcast.

1:02.3

You've heard the show, play the game.

1:05.3

Exactly. We don't do a lot of YA and young people's literature. We don don't because honestly, we don't read a ton of it.

1:13.6

But there is one great Y.A. author that I have always loved and followed, and his name is

1:19.6

Jason Reynolds. And his new book, and we'll explain what we mean by new in a minute, because it's

1:25.4

sort of in quotation marks, is called soundtrack.

1:29.0

And when it was sent to me, I tore through it as I tear through a lot of Jason Reynolds.

1:34.0

He's most famously known for Ghost and the Track and Running series that he did, which is also incredibly good.

1:40.4

He's very talented. And so I was really excited to love this book and to speak with him.

1:45.8

Well, he's very prolific, as you mentioned. And this book is actually something that he wrote years ago,

1:50.2

got out of the dusty archives and is being published now, just now, called Soundtrack, as Kate mentioned,

...

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