Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

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

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Mind your Noise because we're headed to New World for a discussion of Patrick Ness' famed first novel in the Chaos Walking series, The Knife of Never Letting Go (2008), as well as Doug Liman's long-delayed 2021 adaptation.

This one is a struggle: not only is there plenty of walking, but the repetitive writing, the whimper of a climax and the disinterest in exploring colonialism (despite introducing it!) makes for frustrating reading. The film is watchable thanks to Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley's charm, but it fails to adapt large parts of the book and feels like a pretty standard big budget dystopian YA. Overall this is a mess...and the dog dies to boot!

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

> Sept 7: Lord of the Flies by William Golding / Film by Harry Hook

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It's embiggen time as we tackle many volumes of G. Willow Wilson's Ms. Marvel, as well as the entire six episodes of Bisha K. Ali's Disney+ TV series. We're both BIG Kamala Khan fans, so we were psyched to discuss the Brown girl from Jersey City who saves the world.

Talking points: why Kamala is such a great character and why Iman Vellani is perfect to play her, the series' focus on her family, Bruno's disability arc in the comics and why we have no patience for those who criticize the Partition storyline.

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:

> July 21: Cousins by Virginia Hamilton

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

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We're delighted to be tackling a new queer Canadian Indigenous film with Bretten Hannam's Wildhood (2021).

Featuring great teen performances and picturesque Nova Scotia landscapes, this road trip movie about a pair of two-spirited Mi'kmaw boys is beautifully shot by cinematographer Guy Godfree (Giant Little Ones). We have some quibbles with the leisurely pacing, the sex scene and the arbitrary use of subtitles, but we're happy to see another side of Atlantic Canadian represented onscreen.

Reference: Herb Wyile. Anne of Tim Hortons: Globalization and the Reshaping of Atlantic-Canadian Literature. Wilfrid Laurier University Press

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:

> July 21: Cousins by Virginia Hamilton

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

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It's time for a Brenna pick as we tackle Jandy Nelson's 2010 story of sibling grief, as well as Josephine Decker's 2022 adaptation. It's a bit magical, a bit too busy and filled with extremely messy characters who are grieving.

The film is visually exciting, but sometimes feels at odds with its emotional resonance (and features no chemistry between either love pair). Overall: Brenna teared up and Joe found it too long.

Reference: "Josephine Decker Talks ‘The Sky Is Everywhere,’ Visualizing Emotions & More [Interview]" The Playlist.

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:

> July 21: Cousins by Virginia Hamilton

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

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

Wanna read/watch something gross? Well we have you covered! This month's Banned Book Club is tackling Charlotte Roche's notorious, controversial German bestseller Wetlands (2008) and David Wnendt's 2013 film adaptation.

Using insights from Laura (who originally brought this to our attention), as well as Miriam, Juha, Victoria and Tea, Books & Chocolate, we tackle the gross out factor, ponder the "feminist" interpretation, and critique the ending.

Plus: why is the film more palatable? How delightful is star Carla Juri? And, that age old question: are we just prudes?

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:

> July 21: Cousins by Virginia Hamilton

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

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