Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

We're skewing extremely young with our latest pick: Emma Yarlett's 2014 picture book Orion and the Dark, and Sean Charmatz's 2024 animated adaptation.

The book is fun and cute, perfect for young ones who have anxiety or fears. The film is from a screenplay by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich and Adaptation) so it has A LOT going on, including new characters, a focus on generational storytelling, and time loops. It's more of an exercise than an adaptation, which doesn't always make it successful!

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.

You've never had a Wonka movie like this before! Well...unless you've seen writer/director Paul King's Paddington films, which have a lot of shared DNA, including a silly role for Hugh Grant (delightfully slumming it).

We're not surprised at the incredible success of the film, which is anchored by Timothée Chalamet and a deep bench of character actors. And though the film doesn't quite hang together and features some odd choices (fat suits?!), this secret musical is still a crowd-pleaser.

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.

Now that we're recording regularly again, Brenna and Joe are back with new Mailbag episodes. To kick off 2024, Tea, Books and Chocolates writes in to tell us about a mom & daughter book club experience reading Twilight.

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.

It's Stephenie Meyer time as we, along with returning guest Jenny Nulf, tackle the second title in The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

Our main take-away? This is a deeply boring book and while Chris Weitz's film isn't more interesting, at least the actors, particularly Michael Sheen, bring some fun/camp to the proceedings.

Plus: Bella's misread of Romeo & Juliet, pop parties in Salt Lake City, why no one can possibly be #TeamJacob and why Edward deserves to die.

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)

> Jenny: @jennyleighx33

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.

The second half of our "17" double bill concludes with Kelly Fremon Craig's The Edge of Seventeen (2016) which finds Hailee Steinfeld playing a frustrating/unlikable social outcast. C/W: Attempted sexual assault

Plus: Why it's important to read the film from Nadine's perspective, the film's cringe-y but authentic scenarios, Joe mispronouncing Kyra Sedgwick's name, and Brenna spotting a Dawson's Creek alum.

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.

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"

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

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.