Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

Are you Green or Orange? We're not quite Red over this listener recommendation (thanks Em!) but both Brenna and Joe find that Bracken's text doesn't fully want to engage with its rebellion or world-building as much as it could (or should?) Instead it's a lot of road trip, with an unconvincing romance and a cliffhanger that suggests we might enjoy the next book in this series more. Alas the film fa...

We're ready to talk about class, parental abuse and friendship as we travel to rural Tennessee for The Serpent King . Guided by thoughtful emails from listeners Tea, Books and Chocolate, Emily and Victoria, we discuss the deeply upsetting lives of Dill and Travis, as well as their rich, entitled friend Lydia (boo, hiss).  We joke because obviously Lydia has a role to play in this narrative about e...

Put on your red hat and mind the children because this meeting of HKHSPod is now in session! You had to know that we couldn't pass up the chance to  talk about season two of our fave feel good show, The Baby-Sitter's Club. It's with great pleasure that Brenna dives into Marie Anne and Logan's relationship,  why Mallory needs more screen time, and how relatable seeing Alicia Silverstone cry in a ba...

Whew boy are we ever unhappy this week! In the decade since the celebration of all things* geeky and nerdy was published, we've done a complete 180 on this property. In part it's because of the over saturation of nostalgia and corporate IP, but also because things like Gamergate and Comicsgate have darkened explicitly male-oriented perspectives on fandom (to say nothing of things like the "Not Tha...

We found a lot to laugh about in this show about 30-something actors playing first year university students in Melbourne. Whether or not that's part of the joke, there's plenty of relatable comedy in this accessible sitcom from Australia's ABC (it's also available on CBC Gem in Canada and the Comedy Central app in the US).  We have lengthy discussions about how the show does and doesn't address ra...

We're dipping back into comics! This time we're hitting some New Adult content with Y: The Last Man , which is Joe's Gateway back into comics as an adult. Both of us have read all of these before, though we don't remember a great deal  (we certainly didn't remember how frequently Vaughan trots out the R slur). This one's tough because the premise is killer (literally) and the comics are a speedy,...

There's nothing like getting lost in a good scary story, so it's apt that we're closing out Halloween with White's book about a witch who lures children into a magical apartment and makes them tell her horrifying tales. It'll be evident very quickly that we're quite taken with the character development, the scope and the speedy pace of the book! The more action-oriented film is also effective, tho...

Blame Brenna for this pick! After learning about Lois Duncan's real life history, Brenna wanted to tackle the author's infamous hit and run thriller, I Know What You Did Last Summer , which is both completely different and simultaneously very similar to the film adaptation by screenwriter Kevin Williamson (see previous minisode). We're joined by Jes Battis to dissect the book's problematic ableism...

Brenna and Joe are back in Trickster territory as the Canadian Indigenous lit sequel moves sober protagonist Jared to Vancouver and introduces a bevy of new family members, but keeps villainous ex-step father David around for conflict.  Up for discussion: our fears for Jared, who refuses to let anyone in, the queer/Chosen family the book spends so much time with; the harrowing pedal-to-the-metal l...

Continuing our spooky theme for the month, we're checking out the 50 minute special, which finds Gonzo and Pepe the King Prawn locked in the Haunted Mansion along with a bevy of (undead) stars. Mega Muppets fan Brenna  walks novice Joe through the brand's plush history before the discussion turns to the new special. We discuss Rizzo vs Pepe, confusion about Taraji P. Henson's character, the split...

It's time to scare Brenna! We're digging into the first novel in Wells' series about John, a death-obsessed teen who discovers that his elderly neighbour is a shapeshifting murderer . The good news is that both the book and the film are pretty good, especially Christopher Lloyd's very low-key performance as the titular killer. Plus: getting grossed out about autopsy descriptions,  the film's mostl...

Prepare your magic, your dragons and your plucky shapeshifting henchwomen because we are talking about Nimona ! This delightful MFA thesis project began life as a fun, episodic webtoon (see previous episode Orange Marmalade ) before eventually becoming a sprawling action adventure about trauma and tragedy. But it's super fun, we swear! Also fun: Stevenson's evolving artistic style and the text's "...

To kick off book four, we're checking in on a Brenna fave with a doozy of a hook: Runaways , which features a group of kids who discover their parents are supervillains and set out to stop them.  Joe isn't quite as enamoured, in part because the art doesn't sit right with him (leading to a discussion of comic sizing and who the intended audience for this imprint was). Still, there's something laud...

Special thanks to Tea, Books & Chocolate , Kaetlyn, Jana, Andrew, Victoria, Miriam, and Max for helping us to celebrate. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter - @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:: Brenna: @brennacgray Joe: @bstolemyremote Have something longer to say? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...

In advance of the gender flipped Netflix remake He's All That , Brenna, Joe and special guest Lindsay revisit Pygmalion / My Fair Lady update She's All That . The film has an all-star cast, but doesn't seem to know what to do with most of them. And while Lindsay and Joe still find it funny, there's no question that the gender politics, as well as the handling of race and fatphobia have aged *badly...

It's time for some activism! Brenna, Joe and Jenn Adams tackle  feminism, intersectionality, representation, the Patriarchy and misogyny in a book about girls fed up with male privilege. Up for discussion: Jenn's forecast for fourth and fifth wave feminism; making the case that this is one of the stronger adaptations in recent memory; advocating for female vulnerability; the difference between bat...

After discussing journalist/activist/author Hutchinson's book several times, we finally decided to check it out for the pod. It's definitely aimed at a younger audience, but the book is doing a surprising amount of work to educate its audience about pressing contemporary Indigenous issues. Up for discussion: the book's casual indifference to its central mystery, how white characters are stereotype...

With no listener feedback, we're riding solo on this Book Club outing, but there's no shortage of things to talk about! We discuss the unconventional stylistic structure (non-linear, multiple perspectives and a touch of magical realism), as well as how the book negotiates trauma and grief. There's also talk of about absent parents, small towns and just how damn good King is at writing both teens a...

Blame Brenna for this one! We're tackling Lena Waite's autobiographical series Twenties, about three Black women trying to make it in Hollywood, and it is very clearly not a show for teens.  Thankfully we both really enjoy the show, which has some frank discussions about sex and love, has a very funny depiction of well-meaning white allies and features a rare example of a "masculine-presenting stu...

Grab your daggers and your Kefta because we are diving into the sprawling lore of Ravka, Fjerda and Ketterdam! Brenna starts off grouchy, but eventually she acknowledges that this series is pretty compelling (despite all of the walking). Joe is more friendly to the world of magic, particularly the two twists that subvert expectations involving the Darkling and Alina's friendship at the Little Pala...

Shout out to listener Andrew for recommending what turned out to be our most divisive text to date! Brenna quite likes both the book and the film, while Brennan and Joe...do not. Brenna argues for the book as reflective of a specific period in British history and also of a kind of British Dude Lit ©, while Brennan and Joe find it too cold and episodic. All three of us agree that the film amounts t...

It's time for a timely and difficult Book Club as we unpack Cherie Dimaline's dystopian YA novel about Indigenous people hunted for  their ability to "dream".  As listener responses confirm, this is an upsetting time to discuss residential schools in Canada, but the book's hopeful (albeit open) ending, the focus on resilience and joy, and the continued survival of Indigenous people helps a great d...

For the first time in nearly 150 episodes (!), we're covering a  novelization of a film instead of a straightforward adaptation! Fire Song  is a dark and grim tale of contemporary Indigenous life that makes for a tough read/watch. The non-professional actors occasionally make the drama a little too real, and the overwhelming feeling that Shane's life is  awful can feel oppressive, but we appreciat...

We're checking back into Creekwood High with the crew of Love, Victor . In between seasons the show has really figured itself out because S2 is a marked improvement in both complexity and maturity. First and foremost: we're obsessed with how the Hulu show is tackling tough issues like bad allyship, unsupportive parents, racism, class, and religion. The two mom storylines hit Brenna hard, while Ter...

Our unofficial Pride month continues with Danforth's lengthy, sprawling story of queers in Montana, which gets abbreviated in Akhavan's film, but we're ok with it?  It's a good conversation about  growing up gay in a small town (vs big city), why Coley's betrayal stings in more ways than one and whether Chloë Grace Moretz deserves blame for being a bit of a bland protagonist (we prefer Forrest Goo...