It's not often we get to a show just after it's been cancelled, but that's the sad situation here as we tackle Brian K Vaughan and Cliff Chiang's excellent feminist sci-fi comic series Paper Girls and Stephany Folsom's 2022 Amazon adaptation.

We discuss how Vaughan has grown since Y: The Last Man (see previous episode), the perfectly 80s art, and the effortless representation. Then we praise the show for focusing on characters, particularly the interactions between the girls and their older selves and the tampon conversation in episode five. We miss this one already!

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

> Brenna: @brennacgray

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at [email protected] or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:

> Oct 13: The Witches by Roald Dahl (1983) / Nicolas Roeg (1990)

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It's week 2 of our coverage of Vampire Academy and we're ending with a whimper! The 2022 Peacock series by The Vampire Diaries co-creator Julie Plec and actress Marguerite MacIntyre is confusing, boring and poorly paced. Sure the people are pretty, but that isn't getting us through 50+ minute episodes of some of the worst world-building we've ever seen on a YA series.

References: Joe's Bloody Disgusting Review

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

> Brenna: @brennacgray

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at [email protected] or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:

> Oct 13: The Witches by Roald Dahl (1983) / Nicolas Roeg (1990)

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With Brenna away one more week, Joe recruits recurring guest Jenny Nulf to gush over Zoey Deutch's star-making turn in Mark Waters' 2014 Vampire Academy.

The film wisely eschews a ton of the mythology in author Richelle Mead's novel, though the mix of comedy, YA and horror don't always mesh well (looking at you, Claire Foy).

Plus: the book's oh-so-2000s depiction of self-harm and slut shaming, the bland blonde playing Lissa, and complaints that Dimitri is too old and not attractive enough for this adaptation!

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

> Jenny: @jennyleighx33

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say? Email us at [email protected]

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In Brenna's absence, Joe recruits Nichole Goble for a return to Sick Lit with Justin Baldoni's directorial debut, Five Feet Apart (2019) and its novelization by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis.

This free flowing discussion tackles the depiction of CF in the film and the criticisms lobbied at both texts, which acknowledging that they did help to raise awareness of the disease. Plus: the sick bodies of stars Richardson and Sprouse, why we don't buy their love affair, the realities of divorce, and how the different endings between film and novelization change its meaning.

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

> Nichole: @bodiesofhorror

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say? Email us at [email protected]

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Brenna's back! Eschewing our usual approach, Brenna catches Joe up about her tumultuous summer and her decision to make her Portfolio for Tenure & Promotion open to the public, which leads to a discussion about why transparency and failure is so important.

Then we run down some significant YA texts to keep on your radar, including a few that we're very excited about!

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

> Brenna: @brennacgray

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at [email protected] or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:

> Oct 13: The Witches by Roald Dahl (1983) / Nicolas Roeg (1990)

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

We're wrapping up Book Four with a very special guest: Dr. Debbie Reese joins us to discuss Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

Since this is Banned Book Club, we're also pulling in responses from listeners Miriam and Victoria. Expects LOTS of discuss about Alexie as a problematic figure, whose writing is marketable to white settler audiences but whose personal and professional actions have been irrevocably harmful to indigenous communities. It's a great conversation!

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

> Brenna: @brennacgray

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

> Dr. Reese: @debreese / Website

Have something longer to say? Email us at [email protected]

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It's time for a trans rom com...or is it? Joe is joined by guest Terry Mesnard to discuss Billy Porter's directorial debut, 'Anything's Possible' (2022) which tries to awkwardly marry fantasy and reality to mixed results.

We really appreciate that the leads with great chemistry (we're swooning for Abubakr Ali) and that the film doesn't redeem its villains, but it feels like screenwriter Ximena García Lecuona and Porter couldn't settle on a tone or message (grrr on that end credit dance sequence). 'Anything's Possible' is a noble failure, but we'd still watch a sequel in a heartbeat!

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

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

> Terry: @gaylydreadful

Have something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at [email protected]

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With Brenna taking a breather, Joe recruits former guest Jessica Scott to launch into space with Chris Winterbauer's old school rom-com 'Moonshot' (2022) starring Cole Sprouse and Lana Condor.

The film is both funnier and more clever than we anticipated considering the title makes no sense and HBO Max film has no budget for Mars effects. Carried by the charm of its leads (albeit with no romantic chemistry), 'Moonshot' has some interesting things to say about the environment, capitalism and greed. Oh, and the interiors of the ship are very cute and the robots are very fun!

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

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

> Jessica: @WeWhoWalkHere

Have something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at [email protected] or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:

> Aug 18: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

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We're head over heels in love...with King Pun! This week we're talking Sammi Cohen's lesbian/bi romance film Crush (2022) which features tons of representation, but not enough kissing. The film isn't perfect, but it is very enjoyable and that's enough for us.

Plus: loving the adult actors, Brenna's track and field experience, bad art, and the challenges of casting queer actors to play straight.

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

> Brenna: @brennacgray

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at [email protected] or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:

> Aug 18: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

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

In advance of its fortieth anniversary, Brenna and Joe check out Amy Heckerling's 1982 film, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. We discuss Cameron Crowe's investigative reporting, what has - and hasn't - changed in YA in 40 years, why sex and abortion don't seem like a big deal in the early 80s, and the cast that almost was.

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

> Brenna: @brennacgray

> Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at [email protected] or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:

> Aug 18: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

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