The Maladapted Book Review Podcast

Jane Austen writes a timeless tale of disenfranchised and disinherited women trying to survive the patriarchy in late 18th-century England. Although I often found the writing exhausting, Austen makes the best of a bleak premise. The story centres on two sisters and their quests to find love when marriage is their only ticket out of poverty. The sisters are opposites: one vivacious and spirited, th...

The Odyssey was a surprisingly quick read and lacked real emotional depth and description despite being over 500 pages… We learned that Odysseus is a dick, but high schoolers think he’s the man, Telemachus is a pathetic loser, Penelope’s greatest enemy is her son, and the goddesses run the show, despite all the men thinking they do. Adaptation-wise, Christopher Nolan’s film was good when there was...

In this episode, I discuss Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe and its Apple TV adaptation, directed by David E. Kelley and starring Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nick Offerman, Nicole Kidman, and Marcia Gay Harden. Both versions take a saccharine look at a teen mom who turns to OnlyFans to support herself and her newborn. They breeze over the economic realities of single parenthood in Am...

In this episode, we don’t even know where to start. And we also didn’t know how to finish. Join us for part one of our discussion of Lena Dunham’s new memoir, Famesick. With a new piece of content from many people’s least-favorite millennial Renaissance woman lighting up the internet, we got together to share our feelings about the book, who we were when we first watched Tiny Furniture, and the cu...

In this episode, we discuss Project Hail Mary , Ryan Gosling, and why teachers are the heroes we really need at a time like this. With the recent release of a fun-for-all-ages adaptation of Andy Weir’s sci-fi novel, we had the pleasure of discussing the book, the film, adorable aliens, and the traumatic moviegoing experiences that have shaped who we are as people for the worse. Tune in to hear us...

In this episode, we discuss Heated Rivalry and the recent cultural fascination with…hockey. With a new television adaptation of the sports romance novels taking the world by storm, we needed to dive into the source material and weigh in. We discuss the books, the audiobooks, and the captivating Crave show starring four of the hottest men we’ve ever seen. Tune in and let us know if you could sit th...

In this episode, we discuss Wuthering Heights and the multitude of adaptations we discovered through our research. With a new retelling of the classic Gothic horror novel capturing everyone’s attention, we decided to weigh in with our semi-expert opinions. We discuss the book, the film adaptations that walked so Emerald Fennell could run, consensual BDSM relationships based on trust, communication...

In this episode, we discuss Sister Wife , a memoir by Christine Brown-Woolley.  Christine is a longtime cast member of the TLC show Sister Wives, a reality series that follows the Kody Brown family. The show gives viewers an inside look at plural marriage. Christine’s memoir is a more intimate look inside her family and marriage, and her ultimate decision to leave Kody and the church behind. We di...