Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

It's time to scare Brenna! We're digging into the first novel in Wells' series about John, a death-obsessed teen who discovers that his elderly neighbour is a shapeshifting murderer . The good news is that both the book and the film are pretty good, especially Christopher Lloyd's very low-key performance as the titular killer.

Plus: getting grossed out about autopsy descriptions,  the film's mostly restrained used of practical effects, an ill-advised relationship for John's mom and how vividly both texts capture the feel of a small town. 

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 book club? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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Prepare your magic, your dragons and your plucky shapeshifting henchwomen because we are talking about Nimona! This delightful MFA thesis project began life as a fun, episodic webtoon (see previous episode Orange Marmalade) before eventually becoming a sprawling action adventure about trauma and tragedy. But it's super fun, we swear!

Also fun: Stevenson's evolving artistic style and the text's "no big deal" inclusion of queer and disabled characters, which sadly got lost in a lot of critical reviews at the time (Brenna has thoughts!)

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 Trickster Drift, this month's book club? Email us at [email protected]. 

See you on the page and on the screen!

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To kick off book four, we're checking in on a Brenna fave with a doozy of a hook: Runaways, which features a group of kids who discover their parents are supervillains and set out to stop them. 

Joe isn't quite as enamoured, in part because the art doesn't sit right with him (leading to a discussion of comic sizing and who the intended audience for this imprint was). Still, there's something laudable about a book that presents a tragic backstory for its characters and then lets them move past it.

Less successful is Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage's TV series, which takes ages to get going and mistakenly spends too much time on the parents. While it has a sunny teen vibe and great music, and Rhenzy Feliz and Lyrica Okano are well cast, the show is simply too labourious to get into!

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 book club? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

Special thanks to Tea, Books & Chocolate, Kaetlyn, Jana, Andrew, Victoria, Miriam, and Max for helping us to celebrate.

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

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

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

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

In advance of the gender flipped Netflix remake He's All That, Brenna, Joe and special guest Lindsay revisit Pygmalion / My Fair Lady update She's All That.

The film has an all-star cast, but doesn't seem to know what to do with most of them. And while Lindsay and Joe still find it funny, there's no question that the gender politics, as well as the handling of race and fatphobia have aged *badly*. The film's disinterest in exploring Cook's Laney Boggs in order to prioritize Zack's white male privilege is very late 90s.

On the plus side: we have two of the most memorable dance sequences in contemporary YA, a bizarre arc for Jodi Lynn O'Keefe's character and Anna Paquin as the character we wish the film were actually about!

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

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote
• Lindsay: @smashtraves

Have something longer to say or a comment for our 150th episode extravaganza? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

It's time for some activism! Brenna, Joe and Jenn Adams tackle  feminism, intersectionality, representation, the Patriarchy and misogyny in a book about girls fed up with male privilege.

Up for discussion: Jenn's forecast for fourth and fifth wave feminism; making the case that this is one of the stronger adaptations in recent memory; advocating for female vulnerability; the difference between bath robes and tank tops; the frustrating tokenism of trans and disability characters in the film; and Brenna's complete unawareness of who Patrick Schwarzenegger is related to. 

Plus: for burgeoning Riot grrrls, Brenna recommends Carrie Brownstein's memoir, Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl.

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

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote
• Jenn:  @jennferatu /  @PsychoAPod / @LosersClubPod

Have something longer to say or a a memory for our 150th episode? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

After discussing journalist/activist/author Hutchinson's book several times, we finally decided to check it out for the pod. It's definitely aimed at a younger audience, but the book is doing a surprising amount of work to educate its audience about pressing contemporary Indigenous issues.

Up for discussion: the book's casual indifference to its central mystery, how white characters are stereotyped, the multiplicity of points of view within the Indigenous community, the importance of First Nation teachings and why this location feels unique and different from our other (Canadian) Indigenous texts. 

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 message for our forthcoming 150th episode? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

With no listener feedback, we're riding solo on this Book Club outing, but there's no shortage of things to talk about! We discuss the unconventional stylistic structure (non-linear, multiple perspectives and a touch of magical realism), as well as how the book negotiates trauma and grief.

There's also talk of about absent parents, small towns and just how damn good King is at writing both teens and adults.  For anyone who didn't read along, we really recommend this one!

Plus: Brenna provides an overview of King's work and how it has changed, which contributes to an extended discussion speculating why her work has never been adapted for TV or film.

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 book club? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

Blame Brenna for this one! We're tackling Lena Waite's autobiographical series Twenties, about three Black women trying to make it in Hollywood, and it is very clearly not a show for teens. 

Thankfully we both really enjoy the show, which has some frank discussions about sex and love, has a very funny depiction of well-meaning white allies and features a rare example of a "masculine-presenting stud" lesbian in Jonica T. Gibbs' Hattie. 

Plus: relating too hard with know -it-all Marie (Christina Elmore), wanting more for Nia (Canadian actress Gabrielle Graham)and fan girling over Vanessa Williams and Parker Young!

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

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Wanna send us a note in advance of our 150th episode? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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Grab your daggers and your Kefta because we are diving into the sprawling lore of Ravka, Fjerda and Ketterdam! Brenna starts off grouchy, but eventually she acknowledges that this series is pretty compelling (despite all of the walking).

Joe is more friendly to the world of magic, particularly the two twists that subvert expectations involving the Darkling and Alina's friendship at the Little Palace. 

Plus: praise for Inej, Jesper, Kaz and Zoya, discussions about the show's racism and cultural appropriation, Joe disses Ben Barnes, Brenna's Hot Take on the age of the Six of Crows' crew, and a big conversation about whether they should even be in this adaptation!

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 comment about book club? Email us at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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