Special thanks to listener Emma for recommending A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, which proved to be a great companion to last week's The House on Mango Street. This coming of age narrative takes its time, allowing for tangents as it tells its tale of class struggle at the turn of the 20th century. 

Up for discussion: female friendships, put upon mothers, widowers in the wings, the surprisingly feminist read (for the time). 

Plus: the film's condensed timeline and why we love Aunt Sissy, even if she caused a real life scandal!

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us at our new Twitter handle @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a minisode topic? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

Considered a classic of Latinx literature, Cisneros' book is a series of vignettes set on a street in Chicago. Brenna selected this book to complement our regularsode next week, so we tackle the novel's class and feminist themes. Plus: an ode to lyrical, poetry-like texts!

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us at our new Twitter handle @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a minisode topic? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

Who's ready for an abusive relationship? What about "storytelling" as opposed to good writing? Do you like your FX dodgy and your vampires sparkly? 

The truth is...we didn't like Twilight. But we do try to be fair about how it became a cultural juggernaut and with whom, in addition to dissecting why it is harmful, problematic and filled with bad representations. Hope you're ready for a mega-sized discussion, because we have thoughts!

For reading context:

• Feminist Mormon Housewives
• Sucking the Quileute Dry
• Reckoning with Twilight, 10 years later

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us at our new Twitter handle @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a minisode topic? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

We felt a responsibility to address the breaking news from the holidays surrounding Trickster and Inconvenient Indian director Michelle Latimer. We also offer some context and include statements from writer Eden Robinson and film director Jeff Barnaby.

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us at our new Twitter handle @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a minisode topic? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

Saved By The Bell mega-fan Brenna introduces Joe to the wonders of Pacific Palisades as we tackle the very self-aware new version, who is surprisingly smart, class-oriented and progressive. It's also very funny!

We also follow-up on our holiday activities.

Brenna:

• Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
• Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
• Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel by Jason Reynolds

Joe:

• PEN15
• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• Slay by Brittney Morris

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us at our new Twitter handle @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a minisode topic? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

We're staying gold through the end of 2020 with arguably one of the most significant YA texts in history! This is ultimate "YA for boys" (although it is written by a woman); it's also deeply nostalgic and kinda terrifying.

Expect comparisons to our previous discussion on Stephen King's The Body/Stand By Me, talk about whose story this really is and why Hinton's staunch refusal of a queer reading is misguided. Plus: Tom Cruise, prank wars and struggles with on-screen violence.

Wanna connect with the show? Use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a minisode topic? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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In the final minisode of 2020, we each selected a news item to capture a trend in YA for the year.

Brenna looks at an evidence-based study out of the UK that has found improvements in the percentage of published authors of colour

• Flood, Allison. "Number of young adult writers of colour doubles to almost 20%" The Guardian. Sept 29, 2020

Joe , meanwhile, tackles the dominance of Netflix as the main exhibitor of YA TV and films, courtesy of The Ringer.

• Baker, Katie. "The New Generation of Teen Movies Is Nicer (and on Netflix)" The Ringer. Aug 28, 2010

Plus: starting January 2021, we're starting a Book Club! Read The House on Mango Street with us for Jan 19.

Wanna connect with the show? Use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a minisode topic? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

 This week on the pod, we're getting literary with a deep dive into Selvadurai's acclaimed queer coming of age novel (or is it a collection of short stories?) and the long-delayed, highly controversial film adaptation (now available on CBC Gem in Canada and on Netflix in the US).

Up for discussion: how the book seamlessly interweaves history and coming of ages narratives, negotiating discomfort about our lack of knowledge about the Sri Lanka Civil War, comparing the ending of the two texts, and why the film has sparked not one, not two, but three (!) controversies, including one involving Ava DuVernay.

Wanna connect with the show? Use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a minisode topic? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

We're on the edge of great courtesy ofJulie and the Phantoms, the candy coloured confection of a Netflix trifle that isn't good per se, but is incredibly enjoyable. 

Up for discussion: the surprisingly heartfelt exploration of grief and music (shocking no one, both of us cried watching!); the very Vancouver production, Brenna's bemusement at Julie's "hologram" box and an appreciation of "out" director Ortega's cultural contributions.

Plus: our first game on the fully redesigned Book Three YA BINGO board!

Wanna connect with the show? Use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a minisode topic? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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It's the most wonderful time of the year...for a scavenger hunt across NY city! 

Brenna and Joe are feeling nostalgia for Big Apple circa Dec 2019 (when the series was filmed), though there's a bit less passion for stars Austin Abrams and Midori Francis, who are well-cast and also mildly aggravating.

Plus: we speculate who writes who in the book, tackle the ridiculous written ending, praise director Fred Savage and disagree about the use of holiday music. It's a magical episode!

Wanna connect with the show? Use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Have something longer to say or a minisode topic? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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