Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

This week's we're tackling listener Keith's question: why do you like YA? Bonus: the question spins us into a bit of a tangent as to why we also like doing the show!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Mar 16: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2020)> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia (2020) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brenna and Joe are checking out another Eden Robinson text: her award-winning 2000 novel Monkey Beach, along with Loretta Todd's 2020 adaptation.While we love the book - with its incisive mix of generational trauma, Haisla life and coming of age narrative - the film doesn't work for us - either as a standalone film or as an adaptation.The book includes great characters, a gripping narrative, and unflinching deaths, while the film has a handful of great performances (Adam Beach!), but is marred by a terrible script and distractingly bad CGI. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Mar 16: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2020)> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia (2020) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're circling back to listener Victoria's email about A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow being chosen as a Reese's Book Club selection, Joe makes a faux pas, and Brenna laments her discounted forever tea.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Mar 16: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2020)> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia (2020) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time for Book Club as Brenna and Joe (along with input from listener Tea, Books & Chocolate) discuss Laura Taylor Namey's delightful 2019 romantic drama, A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow. This comfort food book feels refreshing thanks to its focus on character as opposed to romance and its ties to place, though there is one strong criticism about its depiction of "Africa."Still: we're swooning, we're hungry and we can't wait to read the sequel and watch the film adaptation when they come out!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about Own Voices book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Mar 16: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2020)> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia (2020) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our second week of mailbag brings us questions about Own Voices from listener Tea, Books and ChocolateWanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Mar 16: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2020) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks to a suggestion from listener Toni, Brenna and Joe check out Craig Silvey's celebrated 2009 book Jasper Jones, as well as Indigenous filmmaker Rachel Perkins's 2017 adaptation.We both really like the book, which is long and takes awhile to get into, but offers a complicated analysis of racism and class in a small Australian town. The film is still good, but too much has been cut out to do the book justice, particularly Toni Collette's Ruth, whose motivations no longer make sense.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Mar 16: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2020) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the inaugural edition of the HKHS mailbag, we discuss a few titles for future coverage courtesy of listener Miriam.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about Own Voices book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Mar 17: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2020) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brenna and Joe *finally* check out S02 of Sterlin Harjo's Reservation Dogs and we're still head over heels for this series. We're not in sync, though: Joe wants the focus to stay on the central four, while Brenna has no problem on the expanded focus. Plus: overwhelming guest spots, why Cheese and Willie Jack are the best, and the pressure put on the show by the continued lack of other Indigenous TV options.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Feb 17: A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey (2019)> Mar 17: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2020) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the end of the road for HBO Max's Gossip Girl revamp, so expect plenty of sighs and complaints as Jenny, Ari and Joe say goodbye.First we tackle the satisfying lock-up of Kate and the nonsensical Met Gala plot before moving onto the Gossip Girl-free Roman vacation. Joe likes this version of the show, while Ari and Jenny are tempted by the Roger Menzies/app tease and the mysterious stranger that would have driven S03.Sadly it's the end of the show, but we've still got fan fiction!Reference: Andy Swift. "Gossip Girl EP Answers Our Burning Series Finale Questions, Reveals What Would Have Happened in Season 3" TV LineWanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Ari: @TheAriDrew> Jenny: @jennyleighx33> Joe: @bstolemyremote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listener Max is taking Brenna far outside of her comfort zone as we discuss Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2016) by James Tynion IV and Freddie Williams II, as well the 2019 animated film Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Jake Castorena.We're talking properties with plenty of lore, different art styles and mostly similar plots, but the comic feels stuffed and overly adult compared to the film, which has a better handle on its comedy and youth appeal. We may not know how to pronounce Ra's al Ghul, but we know which text we prefer!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say about last week's episode or a comment about Own Voices Book Club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Feb 17: A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey (2019)> Mar 17: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2

Jenny, Ari and Joe are back to unpack the penultimate episode of HBO Max's Gossip Girl and even though we know the show has been cancelled, we're still worried about the throuple!Plus: surprises aplenty at an event we don't fully understand, a pair of strategically framed sequences and we're suddenly interested in the Obie storyline?!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Ari: @TheAriDrew> Jenny: @jennyleighx33> Joe: @bstolemyremote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Banned Book Club comes to an end with Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely's All American Boys (2015), a book about racialized police violence from two different perspectives and featuring contributions from listeners Victoria, Miriam and Tea, Books and Chocolate.This (maybe Middle Grade?) book is one of the most challenged books in America, and still feels too timely and relevant. Brenna and Joe talk about Reynolds' writing, why we're attracted to Quinn's portion, and praise the lack of tidy resolution while pondering why there's no movie.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about Own Voices Book Club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Feb 17: A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey (2019)> Mar 17: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2020) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Jenny, Ari and Joe are delighted that Gossip Girl FINALLY gives Luna her own episode (and shitty parent, natch). It's time for the Tribeca Film Festival and Audrey, Max and Julien are making big moves, but it's Aki and Julien who are paying the price. Plus: more shitty parents, Jenny's cruel streak, Andrew's appreciation that Julien isn't off the hook, and predictions of a European vacation.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Ari: @TheAriDrew> Jenny: @jennyleighx33> Joe: @bstolemyremote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grab your Playboy because Brenna and Joe are headed into the big scary city with Chris Columbus' 1987 feature directorial debut, Adventures in Babysitting.Brenna calls this a romp and it's true: the children-in-peril comedy starring Elizabeth Shue and an annoying Anthony Rapp is delightful, though we still have plenty to contextualize in its suburban fears, its racialized fears and why doesn't Disney consider unhoused people a talking point? Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back listeners. This week Jenny, Joe and Ari are divided as Georgina Sparks' two episode run comes to an end, Kate executes an odd plan and the De Haans are back to their dastardly plans. Plus: More Wendy! Audrey vs Julien! And are we setting up Obie's storyline as the end of season arc?Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Ari: @TheAriDrew> Jenny: @jennyleighx33> Joe: @bstolemyremote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're celebrating the late great Indigenous filmmaker Jeff Barnaby with a look at 2013's Rhymes for Young Ghouls. C/W: infanticide, suicide, drug abuse, threat of sexual assault, residential schools (basically everything).This is a rough text, but Barnaby's tale of Indigenous vengeance against colonial oppressors is also extremely cathartic. Plus: The Aila Test, a brief history of residential schools, how the film uses genre to disarm white audiences, and debate about whether the end of the film is "happy"References:> Ali Nahdee. “The Ali Nahdee Test”> Taylor Sanchez Guzman. “Moving with the Dead” in Rhymes for Young Ghouls. Cleo JournalWanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Georgina Sparks is back, and Ari, Jenny and Joe couldn't be more excited! This wild energy is exactly what Gossip Girl needs, particularly when we're still juggling snoozy storylines like Julien sleeping with a maybe married man (eyeroll), Zoya's sex tape blackmail and Obie's...who could care?Thankfully we're seeing glimmers of hope (a Zoya/Monet team up?). Plus there's clearly more Georgina to come!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Ari: @TheAriDrew> Jenny: @jennyleighx33> Joe: @bstolemyremote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back listeners. We've hit the snoozy halfway point of S02 of HBO Max's revamped Gossip Girl...but "Games, Trains, and Automobiles" is a bore.From Julien's affair with a clearly married man to Shan's out of character behavior to our fears that the throuple is breaking up, Ari, Jenny and Joe don't find a lot to love in this Spring Break episode. Plus: we don't care that Obie's mom is back, Jordan needs to get over Kate and WHERE IS GEORGINA?!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Ari: @TheAriDrew> Jenny: @jennyleighx33> Joe: @bstolemyremote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Little Brooke isn't quite as boring anymore, is she?!Welcome back listeners. It's Valentine's Days on Gossip Girl and Ari, Jenny and Joe are ready to declare "One Flew Over the Cuck's Nest" the best episode of the series to date. Sure we're not enthused by Shan's betrayal or Julien's potential affair, but between the bottoming stuff in the throuple, Round 2 of Monet vs Camille DeHaan, Max reading Jenny for liking 2046, Luna being vulnerable and yes, a Chris Pratt read, this episode is amazing. And just when it can't get better, Charli XCX shows up!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Ari: @TheAriDrew> Jenny: @jennyleighx33> Joe: @bstolemyremote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're closing out 2022 with one final foray into big budget spectacle with Andrew Adamson's 2005 epic adaptation of C.S. Lewis' 1950 British classic The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Up for discussion: the uncomfortable racial aspects of the film, CGI vs practical effects, the wartime elements, religious propaganda, which Pevensie child we identify as, and why it's ok to hate Edmund and Turkish Delight.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.