Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

Shout out to listener Andrew for recommending what turned out to be our most divisive text to date! Brenna quite likes both the book and the film, while Brennan and Joe...do not.

Brenna argues for the book as reflective of a specific period in British history and also of a kind of British Dude Lit ©, while Brennan and Joe find it too cold and episodic.

All three of us agree that the film amounts to fan-fiction for Manzoor’s own life. As a work of "mainstream" pop culture, Chadha's film leans pretty heavily into coming of age tropes that Joe feels sands off the edges, while Brenna thinks is cute and delightful (white saviour narratives aside).

Brennan's homework:

• Jay’s Gay Agenda by Jason June
• The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons
• The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
• I’ll Be The One by Lila Lee
• The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre by Robin Talley
• Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

Brenna's homework:

• Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

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

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote
• Brennan: @itsrainingbrens / @alternateendng

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.

It's time for a timely and difficult Book Club as we unpack Cherie Dimaline's dystopian YA novel about Indigenous people hunted for  their ability to "dream".  As listener responses confirm, this is an upsetting time to discuss residential schools in Canada, but the book's hopeful (albeit open) ending, the focus on resilience and joy, and the continued survival of Indigenous people helps a great deal.

Plus: what does dreaming actually mean? How do trauma and gender intersect? Why is Canada especially complicit in these kind of appropriative enterprises? And how do we feel about the very traditional YA romance between Frenchie & Rose?

Resources:

• The Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada:  Volume 4
• Thomas Longboat Wikipedia Page
• CBC: Daniel Health Justice "Why Stories Matter Now More Than Ever"

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.

For the first time in nearly 150 episodes (!), we're covering a  novelization of a film instead of a straightforward adaptation!

Fire Song  is a dark and grim tale of contemporary Indigenous life that makes for a tough read/watch. The non-professional actors occasionally make the drama a little too real, and the overwhelming feeling that Shane's life is  awful can feel oppressive, but we appreciate the moments of levity and acceptance (particularly the text's somewhat "Hollywood" ending).

Up for discussion: the literally unsustainable options for Indigenous teen girls, performative masculinity and societal pressures (both from within the community and the long historical legacy of residential schools) and how to read Shane's queer identity from film to book.  

Plus: Brenna's love for Canadian royalty, Jennifer Podemski!

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.

We're checking back into Creekwood High with the crew of Love, Victor. In between seasons the show has really figured itself out because S2 is a marked improvement in both complexity and maturity.

First and foremost: we're obsessed with how the Hulu show is tackling tough issues like bad allyship, unsupportive parents, racism, class, and religion. The two mom storylines hit Brenna hard, while Terry and Joe appreciate the discussion of 'masc for masc' culture and the depiction of different types of gay men (though when will we see a few queer ladies, show?!)

Plus: Joe offends Brenna, praise for Ana Ortiz and Anthony Turpel's performances, the show's tendency to turn boyfriends into Prince Charming, justice for Mia/Rachel Hilson and speculation about S3.

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

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote
• Terry: @gaylydreadful

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.

Our unofficial Pride month continues with Danforth's lengthy, sprawling story of queers in Montana, which gets abbreviated in Akhavan's film, but we're ok with it? 

It's a good conversation about  growing up gay in a small town (vs big city), why Coley's betrayal stings in more ways than one and whether Chloë Grace Moretz deserves blame for being a bit of a bland protagonist (we prefer Forrest Goodluck's Adam and Sasha Lane's Jane Fonda). 

Plus: why Jennifer Ehle is the perfect "Disney villain" antagonist and a CW for indigenous listeners after the recent trauma that occurred in Kamloops.

Resources:

Indian Residential School Survivors Society

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.

We're off to queer summer camp to discuss  Rosen's novel Camp (2020) about a femme theatre gay who transforms himself into a masc jock to win over his crush, against the advice of everyone in his life.

Despite the uncomfortable premise, the book is actually really good! Frank discussions about queer sexuality, a broad diversity of LGBTQIA characters (including great mentor figures) and a surprisingly well-handled discussion of internalized homophobia, representation and repression make Rosen's text a winner. 

Plus: listener contributions from Max, Jane and Tea, Books and Chocolate about their experiences at camp or with the book itself!

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.

Ho Launchies!

We've finally worked up the energy to discuss noted homophobe author Orson Scott Card in a conversation that addresses if it's possible to separate the artist from the art (spoilers: the answer is no).

Still, Ender's Game is an undeniable classic and we both love it. There's so much to discuss: the xenocide, the treatment of boys and masculinity, how women exist solely to balance out men, childhood martyrdom, and the role of religion. 

Plus: Asa Butterfield's height, the infamous Battle School fight scenes, how badly Harrison Ford phones it in and debates about whether Viola Davis' Anderson is a made up character. 

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.

Put on your tap shoes, prep your showmance and get off vocal rest because we are talking the wild and ridiculous HSM:TM:TS (yes, you have to say the WHOLE title every time). 

This is a very Brenna show, but it also has lots to talk about: why can't the writers acknowledge Ashlyn is fat? Does the show have a responsibility to depict real life issues like racism when it's so clearly fantasy escapism? How does the series make up for the lack of explicit queerness in the original HSM film series and where does Mormonism come into play (we may need help with that last part).

Plus: comparisons to A Week Away and Glee, Miss. Jenn as a Kristin Chenoweth doppelgänger, and Joe's struggle to enjoy the central romance knowing the very public IRL fall-out  between stars Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett!

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.

Oh Judy!

We're not quite sure what went wrong with Judy Blume's only filmic adaptation (actually we do: we blame Lawrence and his flat direction and Michelle Branch soundtrack!) Thankfully we still have the original source material, which despite its age, remains a powerful and affecting tale of grief, mother/daughter relationships and finding solace in an older boy who doesn't like you romantically!

Sadly the film leans into the trope-y YA romance, so despite solid performances by Willa Holland and Tatanka Means, this isn't the film we want! Plus: a criminally underused Amy Jo Johnson? Unforgivable!

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.

It's time for another Book Club, which means we need to thank listeners Miriam and Jane for their thoughts on the philosophical, challenging prose of Aidan Chambers.

After explaining her history, Brenna guides Joe through the book, in which both nothing and everything seems to happen. We discuss Chambers' "Dance Sequence" novels, the double naming of characters, the provocative "twist" ending, the capital L literature (read: adult) handling of the material and why #JohnGreenCouldNever.

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.