October 3, 2021: themeless 13
today's puzzle is a collab with the one-and-only brian thomas, who is now an honorary girlboss i guess. (congrats brian!!) he's got indie puzzles on his blog, including this one which made me put down my laptop and run circles around my apartment out of excitement.
the vibe while cluing this puzzle (which we did over a leisurely four weeks) was "how many kid-lit references can i put in before brian tells me to please please stop" and guess what folks. **he never told me to stop.** i hope this puzzle makes you go browse the children's section of your public library.
brian says: "malaika sent me over just a stunning 3/5 of a grid to collab on the other corners. because i have at least two brain cells to rub together i said yes! particularly love 1a, 8d, 33d, 44a, and the entire southeast, the clues on 35d, 14d, 6d, 23a, and so many more. just...delighted with the entire end product. big thanks to malaika for bringing me in on this puzzle and for also being a leisurely cluer. finally, would like to say that shania twain rules, jess mariano sucks, and go mariners!"
many thanks to rafa for a test solve! also, as a reminder, if you'd like email updates for my puzzles + suggested solving music, you can sign up here.
.puz file / pdf / solution