Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

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 consideration of the lingering traumatic effects of gun violence. Be warned: it's rough*.*In a good way. A good soul-crushing way.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @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 24: This One Summer by Mariko and Jillian TamakiMarch 24: The Pigman by Paul Zindel See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 discussion of Caplan and Hendriks' delightful book that does a lot of heavy lifting in a funny, quick-to-read package.Plus: comparing the book's crappy men to their film counterparts, Haley Lu Richardson and Barbie Ferreira's great film chemistry and just how many times will Joe say the A word?If you want more "Big A" talk, check out episodes 1.01 "Perks of Being a Wallflower"  and 2.32 "Never Rarely Sometimes Always (And More Sex!)Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book clu

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, boarding schools, repetition, sexual assault and rape, 1950s crisis of masculinity and "The Man in the Flannel Suit." Plus: an exciting (and slightly daunting) challenged book recommendation courtesy of German listener Laura: Charlotte Roche's Wetlands  (2008).References:S. N. Behrman. "The Vision of the Innocent: J. D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye.” The New YorkerWanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your respon

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, but the lack of world building, the shallow attempt at dealing with Tris' PTSD and martyr complex and the overwhelming need for an editor in Insurgent has Brenna re-appraising her disdain for The Hunger Games.Thankfully the film has Shailene Woodley and her 31 year old love interest Theo James, plus a bevy of A-list actors (none of whom have anything to do) to make it bearable.  Plus: the struggle with 2nd entries in YA dystopias, frustration with the Christina subplot, and Woodley's chemistry with all of the boys who want to kill her, but not her boyfriend. Yeah, this isn't terrible; it's just so...meh.Wanna connect wit

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 chance.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @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:Jan 27: Catcher in the Rye by JD SalingerFeb 24: This One Summer by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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.Plus: using the adults wisely and more sparingly (Joe is especially appreciative of Elizabeth Berkley's Showgirls riff), wanting more for Devante, uncertainty about how Aisha's bisexuality is revealed, and why Principal Toddman needs a win. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @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:Jan 27: Catcher in the Rye by JD SalingerFeb 24: This One Summer by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki See acast.co

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 supporting characters and issues (Disability! Class! Coming out! Mature widowers who don't know Urban Dictionary!) the whole series is just too stuffed to be satisfying. Also: Brenna really needs to know that that kitten is ok.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @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:Jan 27: Catcher in the Rye by JD SalingerFeb 24: This One Summer by Mariko and Jillian TamakiSee you on the page and on the sc

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  schedule, including deadlines to email or Tweet us your responses:Jan 27: Catcher in the Rye by JD SalingerFeb 24: This One Summer by Mariko and Jillian TamakiWanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 runaway delight and Kat Dennings can do no wrong, Michael Cera has baggage, the queer representation is not GLAAD award-worthy and the repeated, egregious use of the "R" word is a major distraction (oh these 2000-2010 YA films). Neither book nor film are a slam dunk, but overall this is a step-up from recent full-length episodes. Hopefully we'll have better luck in 2022!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on

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 (both historical and contemporary) and, finally, Maracle's legacy as a mentor  of female Indigenous writers.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 Dreamperson ways. And then there's the ending, which is both ableist, icky and just plain dumb. We know we're probably in the minority, but this faith-based love affair just didn't stick the landing (also: it just ends!). On the plus side, at least we got to watch Mandy Moore sing  - even if it was a whole darn song for no good reason.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-

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 upsetting depiction of Bethan's really difficult life.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 fares worse: despite decent special effects and a more convincing romantic pairing between returning champ Amandla Stenberg and someone named Harris Dickinson (*not a Hemsworth), the film doubles down on the book's least interesting aspects. As it stands, this pairing simply doesn't stand on its own two feet and Stenberg (see previous episodes: Everything, Everything; The Hate U Give, and The Hunger Games) deserves better!Please note: we learned after this recording that Stenberg identifies as non-binary and will refer to them with their intended pronouns moving forward in future episodes.Wanna connect with the show? Fo

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 escaping from small towns, bad parents and looking ahead to the future. Are there tears? Yes (Possibly on air) Is it relatable? Absolutely. Basically this book is all the feels, so much so that we're not at all bothered by the overly happy ending.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 bathroom is. Plus: more canonical lesbianism, saying goodbye to Mimi and Joe's shock at learning this season is two episodes shorter!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 That Kind of Girl" movement).In hindsight, this is Ernest Cline's shopping list of what he thinks is cool, which means excluding *female texts and even family-oriented material. While the idea of celebrating marginalized pop culture and embarking on mythic quests is still fun, the sad reality is that this book has aged very badly.So what's the film's excuse?! Not only does it misunderstand the point of the book, but the challenges are dumb, Artemis is somehow even worse and it's nearly TWO AND A HALF HOURS long! Don't even get Joe started on all ofThe Shining stuff. In Brenna's words: "Thanks, I hated it."Wanna connect w

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 racism, and see a little too much of ourselves in the Post-Grad Student character. What did we do to you, Ronny Chieng?!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club, Jeff Zentner's The Serpent King? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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, easy read, but the politics - from the reliance on hypnotized, angry women; the cavalier treatment of trans and lesbian character and the weird war-mongering of Israel - have not aged well.The TV show definitely updates and modernizes this, particular the characters of Elliot Fletcher's Sam and  Amber Tamblyn's Kimberly, though Brenna takes issue with the uncertain use of Nora (Marin Ireland) and Yorrick (Ben Schnetzer)'s stupidity. All in all, we have a good conversation despite Brenna's microphone going on the fritz multiple times!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

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, though we *do* have a few quibbles (the plant nursery scene doesn't hold a candle to its book counterpart and we prefer the book's "shared custody" ending). The casting of Krysten Ritter, her Clueless-style costuming is inspired and the witch's candy-facial prosthetics are all spot-on perfection, though. Overall this is a really solid combo!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for pri

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 and fat phobia  (curious because Duncan updated the book in 2010), the queer coded relationship between Barry and Ray,  and why Barry is the worst. Then in the film, we're talking the female focused friendship, Sarah Michelle Gellar's nuanced performance as Helen, Jennifer Love Hewitt's Julie as a bad Final Girl, and Freddie Prinze Jr's queer friendly (but also dumb) portrayal of Ray.There's a lot to unpack! But, most importantly, Brenna actually liked both of these and wasn't scared!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod::Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteJes: @je