Episode
A Conversation with Newbery Award Winning Writer Erin Entrada Kelly, the Author of The Second Life of Snap
- Podcast
- Asian American History 101
- Published
- May 25, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2139
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Summary
Welcome to Season 6, Episode 21! Erin Entrada Kelly is a multiple award-winning Filipino American author best known for her emotionally honest and deeply relatable novels for middle grade and young adult readers. Born in Louisiana to a Filipino mother, Kelly often draws from her own experiences growing up between cultures. She uses humor, vulnerability, and empathy to explore what it means to search for identity and belonging. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a journalist and magazine editor, experiences that helped shape her sharp dialogue and realistic characters. The Second Life of Snap is a middle grade science fiction novel that was released on May 12, 2026, from Greenwillow Books. The story follows twelve-year-old Zuzu Santos, who lives with her friends in a struggling, drought-ridden community controlled by a powerful corporation in a near-future world shaped by climate change. After Zuzu's father loses his job, the family receives an outdated guardian robot named Snap instead of proper severance support. Although Zuzu is initially suspicious of robots, she slowly forms a deep bond with Snap as his battery life begins to run out. The novel blends themes of friendship, survival, inequality, climate anxiety, and humanity's relationship with technology, while still maintaining the warmth and emotional depth Kelly is known for. Erin is a New York Times bestselling author and has been honored by industry experts, her peers, and the readers multiple times, including the 2025 Newbery Medal for The First State of Being , 2018 Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe , a 2021 Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space , the 2023 NAIBA Book of the Year Award for Those Kids From Fawn Creek , and the 2017 APALA Award for The Land of Forgotten Girls , among many other hon…