Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

Brenna and Joe return to the liminal space between living and death for a discussion of Gayle Foreman's 2009 novel If I Stay and its 2014 film adaptation by RJ Cutler. Brenna grates against the prioritization of the romance, preferring Foreman's more complicated sequel, while Joe critiques the disappointing visual depiction of Mia's condition and Chloë Grace Moretz's bored performance. On the posi...

With summer around the corner, Brenna and Joe opt for a feel good, comfort food minisode on Lumberjanes , the wildly feminist adventure comic (we read Volumes 1-3 for this episode). We discuss why the long running comic was so successful, its effortless representation and why we're still a little iffy about that animated HBO Max adaptation. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPo...

Lace up those skates because we are hitting the rink with Shauna Cross' 2007 novel Derby Girl and Drew Barrymore's 2009 directorial debut, Whip It . In addition to focusing on female friendship, the texts are a celebration of roller derby, which is brought to life exceedingly well in the film! The book is a very fast read that's totally fine, but we're slightly frustrated by Bliss as a boring prot...

We're telling off the transphobes and celebrating radical queer joy with our latest Banned Books conversation on Alex Gino's wonderful Melissa (originally published as George ). This *wholly* appropriate Middle Grade book about a young trans girl coming out amidst a production of Charlotte's Web is exactly what the world needs more of, so you better believe Brenna and Joe are on a tear about its s...

This week, Brenna and Joe are headed to Broadway to discuss Tim Federle's 2013 Middle Grade book and his 2022 Disney+ adaptation. We love the Adventures in Babysitting vibe of the book, which has real stakes as Nate navigates the dangers of NY through rose-coloured glasses. The film mistakenly gives best friend Libby (played well by Aria Brooks) and older brother Anthony (played horribly by Joshua...

Brenna and Joe are late to the (Oscar) party, but we're finally checking out Sian Heder's delightful film CODA (2021). Yes, we recorded this episode before CODA won several significant Oscars, but the conversation about why the feel good film featuring multiple underrepresented actors from the deaf community wound up resonating with audiences. We celebrate Troy Kotsur's performance, Brenna wants m...

This week on the pod, Brenna and Joe hit the vampire theme hard with a discussion of John Ajvide Lindqvist's 2004 novel 'Let The Right One In', as well as the 2008 Swedish adaptation by Tomas Alfredson AND the 2010 American remake, 'Let Me In' by Matt Reeves. C/W: bullying (all texts), pedophilia & sexual assault (book) Brenna is really put through the wringer this week as we tackle a very lon...

It's time for another entry in our Banned Book Club series as we tackle a classic YA text: Paul Zindel's 1968 'The Pigman" It's time to discuss another book arbitrarily banned or challenged by aggrieved parents! This time it's Paul Zindel's ode to two teens who befriend a lonely widower and (maybe? likely?) wind up contributing to his untimely death. Chiming in on this episode are listeners Victor...

We're diving into Blonde territory this week with another weak book/strong film discussion. First up is Brown's self-published novel, which...isn't great (Elle is unlikeable? She fails to see through Warner's BS til the end? None of the supporting characters matter?) Perhaps we're just blinded by the super fun film adaptation, which rectifies a lot of the storytelling missteps and also stars Withe...

Brenna and Joe travel to Oklahoma to discuss the first season (eight episodes) of Sterlin Harjo  and Taika Waititi's Reservation Dogs. The show follows a quartet of teens with dreams of leaving their reservation behind and it's a great blend of comedy and drama, with some surprising pathos in the back half (C/W: suicide in episode seven).  We praise the show for its representation in front of and...

Put your brain on hold because we're getting dumb with one of the worst books we've ever covered on the show, as well as a surprisingly good film whose last act is very frustrating! Is Ryan's book poorly written, judge-y and lacking in both critique AND YA thrills? Yes! Is the film, whose stars Emma Roberts and Dave Franco have great chemistry and depicts social media (but NOT hacking or the deep...

It's time for another Banned Book Club! This month we're checking out the gentle coming of age story of Rose and Windy (with thanks to listeners Arthur and Victoria for contributing their thoughts).  We're talking internalized misogyny, age gaps, the point when you realize your parents have feelings and you can hurt them, and monochromatic art.  Oh, also: why the heck was this gorgeous comic banne...

We're jetting off to Europe (the UK and France specifically) for an episode that revisits Brenna's coming of age author Aidan Chambers, whose measured and considered prose frequently tackles queer coming of age tales. Here it's the story of the troubled romance between Hal and Barry, which avoids being just another queer tragedy thanks to its often unreliable narrator and Chambers' clever framing...

Grab a tissue because we're in for another emotional episode (guess who cries twice? It's not Brenna) as we tackle a grounded, non-sensational depiction of the aftermath of a school shooting.  Featuring astounding performances by Jenna Ortega and Maddie Ziegler with strong supporting roles for Modern Family 's Julie Bowen and The Divergent Series' Shailene Woodley, The Fallout is powerful consider...

It's been a while since we've talked about "the procedure", so prepare yourself for an education as Brenna reviews the state of reproductive health in Canada and the US (caveat: we use the term "women's" reproductive health, but should have acknowledged that non-binary and trans people also get abortions).  It's in-depth, and disappointing (we might get a touch upset!) but it's in service of our d...

What more can be said about Holden Caulfield, the teenage protagonist of Salinger's iconic 50s novel? Buoyed by contributions from Sophie, Gavin, Miriam and Tea, Books & Chocolate, Brenna  and Joe weave through the trauma, the misogyny, the homophobia, the class and the privilege of one of literature's most famous - and frustrating - teenage male protagonists. With discussions on: a childhood lost...

It's time to revisit the Divergent series and oh boy are we tired of the false conflict between Tris and Tobias!  It's time to revisit the Divergent series and oh boy are we tired of the false conflict- Oh sorry, we fell into the same habit as Veronica Roth and just started repeating ourselves.  Look folks, we bet you never thought you'd get an episode where Brenna apologizes to Suzanne Collins, b...

Dance your cares away! Brenna is living for the revival of Fraggle Rock , another Jim Henson series that she worshipped as a child. Joe doesn't have the same connection, so it's up to Brenna to clue us in on how the new show compares. Expect talk of the visual splendour of the show, the great new incarnation of Doc, as well as which episodes stand out and why even non-fans should give the show a c...

School is back in session at Bayside and Brenna and Joe are very happy to be back with this lovable crew of misfits!  Since we've previously covered the show, we jump right into how the show has matured in its second season, how it handles its own COVID year and which storylines are working best for us, including the season-long Spirit Award rivalry with Valley and the Lexi/Jamie relationship. Plu...

Who's ready for massive cliffhangers? Not Brenna or Joe!  After gushing over the swoon-worthy romance of Menon's debut meet-cute coding novel, the majority of the episode tackles the adaptation issues of the TV show, which misses the mark in more than a few ways. Don't get us wrong: we love  Prajakta Koli and Rohit Saraf as Dimple and Rishi, but the series is so concerned with packing in supportin...

Ready for an impassioned and rant-filled episode? After a year of books about POC, LGBT+ and anti-police books being banned and challenged, Brenna and Joe are ready to take a stand.  We discuss why freedom to read is so important, our own childhood reading experiences (Judy Blume!) and what we think is driving the new wave of intolerance. Plus: read along with us! Here's the Banned Book Club  sche...

It's the end of the year, so we are once again reading a Levithan & Cohn collaboration. Unlike Dash & Lily ... last year, though, we're not quite as satisfied this time around. Is it the manic pace of this "all in one night" romantic adventure or just the fact that the book doesn't offer enough beyond its obvious romance? Sadly the film only fares a little better! While Ari Graynor's Caroline is a...

Big thanks to listeners Tea, Books & Chocolate and Victoria for contributing responses as we read Lee Maracle's famed novel about the coming of age of Stacey, a  teen struggling to find her place in both her village and the white town across the bridge. We discuss whether this is literary fiction or young adult literature (answer: yes), Maracle's elliptical approach to time, real life parallels (b...

Who's ready for tragic teen romance? We're back on a sick lit kick with A Walk To Remember , the tale of "bad" boy Landon and literal good girl / angel Jamie, whose pure love changes him forever.  This is...not a text for us. While we find the book highly readable, Landon is definitely a garbage character (even if that's the point!) while Jamie is too perfect in all the wrong Manic Pixie Dreampers...

Woo boy, is this the wrong text for Joe! While In My Skin is undoubtedly an excellent show with great performances, this was a rough watch for Joe, who cried his way through all five episodes of series one. Talking through the feels, Brenna addresses the class issues in this depiction of Cardiff, Wales, we discuss the depiction of queerness and how (if?) the comedy works to balance out the upsetti...