It's finally time for Brenna and Joe to discover Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Benjamin Alire Sáenz's award-winning 2012 novel and Aitch Alberto's 2022 film adaptation.

We're *huge* fans of the book, which has 2(!) sets of great parents and a beautiful, heartwarming queer friendship/romance. The film is solid, but it's missing nearly all of the parents' backstory and makes the queerness something more violent and scary.

Basically what we're saying is: READ THE BOOK!

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected] 

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights"

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Brenna wanted to remember Matthew Perry, so we're revisiting Burr Steers' 17 Again (2009) starring Perry and Zac Efron.

While some of this hasn't aged well, this time travel/body swap has a lot of heart and Efron's comedic chops are solid. While Joe could do with less Thomas Lennon, the sweet romance between Efron and Leslie Mann generates a lot of goodwill.

Plus: slaps, incest jokes, tired geeks, and losing your house in divorce court.

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected]  

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights"

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brenna and Joe kick off 2024 with Abigail Hing Wen's fantastic 2020 book Loveboat Taipei ...and Arvin Chen's extremely generic 2023 film adaptation, Love in Taipei.

The book is rich, readable and filled with complicated characters which only makes the film, bland even by YA rom-com standards, even more of a disappointment.

Plus: class critiques, challenging female friendships, sexual mistakes, street food and our surprise that - despite its standalone story - the book is actually the first in a trilogy!

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected]  

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights"

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brenna and Joe squeeze in one final Mailbag for the year. At the request of listener Tea, Books and Chocolate, we're talking about the juiciest of YA scandals from recent years, including John Green leaving Tumblr, Maggie Stiefvater vs Halsey, Sarah Dessen's Twitter mob, Lauren M Davis vs Marvellous Michael Anson (unfolding *right* now) and Kathleen Hale stalking a Goodreads reviewer.

Happy holidays everyone!

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected]  

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights"

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brenna and Joe celebrate the holiday season with a look at the Stephanie Perkins-edited collection of seasonal stories.

We chat about the stories we liked the best ("It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown", "Krampuslauf", "Midnights", "The Girl Who Broke The Dreamer" and "Welcome to Christmas, CA") with special lumps of coal for a few less successful entries ("Polaris is Where You'll Find Me", "What The Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth?" and "Star of Bethelem").

It's a mixed bag!

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected] 

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights"

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here's a short and sweet Mailbag from Tasmanian listener Emily, with a recommendation for a future read: Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat.

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected]  

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights"

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've got a golden ticket! To coincide with the release of new film Wonka, Brenna and Joe dip into Roald Dahl's problematic 1964 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as well as Mel Stuart's 1971 adaptation and Tim Burton's 2005 "more faithful" take.

There's *lots* to discuss: colonialism, racism, slavery, "the deserving poor," mixed moral messages, Anna Wintour hair, Michael Jackson and practical FX.

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected]  

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights"

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks to listener Charlotte, we're checking out The Shamer's Daughter, book one in Lene Kaaberbøl's The Shamer Chronicles, as well its 2015 film adaptation by Kenneth Kainz.

This medieval fantasy novel has a fantastic protagonist, strong female friendships, and complex moral stakes. The film is less memorable: it is a little too grey and happy to forego politics for explosions, but it does keep the book's dark ending.

Plus: why Brenna won't forgive the puritans who complain about the book's language.

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected]  

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights"

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After our episode on You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah, listener Tea, Books & Chocolate wrote in to share her experiences, including expensive gifts and a Mitzvah project that involved a protest rally with grandma!

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected]  

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights"

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brenna and Joe are working on our Mitzvahs as we discuss Fiona Rosenbloom's 2005 book You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah and its 2023 Netflix adaptation by Sammi Cohen.

While both texts are relatively slight, we found these quite enjoyable. The book's conflict is a little manufactured and the Judaism lessons can be a little after school special, but we're big fans of Stacy's relationship with younger brother Arthur.

The film, meanwhile, features the whole Sandler clan, but Sunny and Sadie are great comedic actresses and there's so much musicality here that we're willing to forgive how Mean Girls-ish this feels.

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected] 

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights"

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.