Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

We've been good for too long, so it's time for some raunch courtesy of Natalie Morales' 2021 girls gross out comedy Plan B (seriously heed that R rating!)

Brenna and Joe definitely appreciate the heart and the messaging, but there's some iffy tonal shifts in this one, despite great lead performances and a pair of manic pixie love interests. Strap in because we're going on a road trip!

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:

> Mar 16: Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth (2020)

> April 13: We Are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia (2021)

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

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: @bstolemyremote

Have a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at [email protected] 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: @bstolemyremote

Have a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at [email protected] 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: @bstolemyremote

Have a mail bag question or a comment about book club? Email us at [email protected] 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: @bstolemyremote

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

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:

> 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: @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:

> 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: @bstolemyremote

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

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: @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:

> Feb 17: A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey (2019)

> Mar 16: 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 Line

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.