Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

Brenna and Joe are under house arrest, so please be sure to decontaminate properly before you listen to this episode on Nicola Yoon's 2015 novel Everything, Everything and its accompanying 2017 film adaptation by Stella Meghie.

In all seriousness though: MEGA SPOILER WARNING - If you have not read the book and plan to, DO NOT LISTEN!!!

Brenna and Joe discuss why the format of both texts don't quite work, how the film wastes the likeability of gifted teen actors Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give) and Nick Robinson (Love, Simon) and why we need to become more comfortable with "own voices" narratives failing...or simply being fine.

In Homework news: Brenna pitches a new comic series byGiant Days writer John Allison, colourist Sarah Stern and letterer Jim Campbell while Joe ties the new Blumhouse horror film Ma into the discussion on Everything, Everything.

If you want to connect with the show, use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

We've done our homework and we're ready to chat about books that we've both hyped up and ACTUALLY finished. It’s our much-in-demand homework report episode!

We’re providing updates on texts that we briefly discussed at the top of the show over the last few months in order to let you know if they're worth your time.

We also address managing expectations for an author’s new & different work when you’ve loved their past texts, pondering the correct entry point to get into Adam Silvera’s writing, struggling with Netflix’s creative decisions as Disney+ looms on the horizon and the need for YA to step up and address abortion, especially at this crucial moment in time. Plus: giggles from Brenna’s toddler and sirens outside Joe’s downtown apartment!

Times are approximate:

• 3:21 - 10:14: Dear Sweet Pea - Julie Murphy
• 10:15 - 15:31: Kens by Raziel Reid
• 15:32 - 23:15: Let Me Hear a Rhyme and Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson (plus His Hideous Heart)
• 23:16 - 29:33: They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera
• 29:34 - 34:29: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
• 34:30 - 36:36: The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw
• 36:37 - 40:10: The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand
• 40:11 - 47:38: The Umbrella Academy and Netflix vs Disney+
• 47:39 - 59:20: Sex Education and the depiction of abortion in YA

If you want to connect with the show, use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

Welcome to the halfway point of the year! As promised, Brenna and Joe have selected some forthcoming new young adult literature and adaptation selections for summer/early fall 2019. Get the Library holds list prepped for an onslaught!

Brenna:

1. The Virtue of Sin by Shannon Schuren (June)
2. An Indigenous People’s History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese (July)
3. Frankly in Love by David Yoon (September)

Joe:

1. Ordinary Girls by Blair Thornburgh (June)
2. Destroy All Monsters by Sam J Miller (July)
3. Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett (September)

Honourable Mentions
Viral by Ann Bausam
Slay by Brittney Morris (Aug)
Words on Bathroom Walls
Suggested Reading by Dave Connis (Aug)
Birthday by Meredith Russo and There’s Something About Sweetie by Sandhaya Menon
The Babysitter’s Coven 1 by Kate Williams (Aug)

If you have a selection that didn't make our cut, please reach out to us at #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

Greetings podcast listeners. J & B here with an exclusive scoop: we've read the first book in Cecily von Ziegesar's Gossip Girl series and watched the first two episodes of The CW's TV adaptation and one of these texts is very, very bad.

Which one? We'll never tell (ok, that's a lie - we will, but you have to listen).

You know you love us.
XOXO -J & B

In homework: Joe advocates for a timely re-read of Christopher Pike's Final Friends Trilogy (also known as Until The End) while Brenna...is alive (barely)

If you want to connect with the show, use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

Brenna and Joe head to the 70s suburbs for a deep dive into the problematic world of Jeffrey Eugenides' 1993 "not YA" novel The Virgin Suicides and a comparison of Sofia Coppola's film adaptation, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

After 25 episodes, Brenna FINALLY clarifies to Joe a foundational component of YA Literature. The pair also discuss Eugenides' lack of empathy for his female characters, Coppola's feminist treatment of the material and Brenna's biggest issue about the adaptation.

In homework: Brenna galley-brags about her advance reading copy of Julie Murphy's new Middle School book, Dear Sweet Pea while Joe provides an update on Chaos Walking, the delayed film adaptation of *The Knife of Never Letting Go.

If you want to connect with the show, use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

Brenna: @brennacgray
Joe: @bstolemyremote
Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

If you're going to revisit a YA author, who better to sample a second time than prolific writer John Green? Brenna and Joe dive deep into manic pixie dream girl territory with Green's 2008 novel Paper Towns and its 2015 film adaptation by Jake Schreier.

The pair continue the discussion about male protagonists in realist YA romance, question the blandness of white boy actors and debate the casting of Cara Delevingne. The single biggest question, however, is how screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber screw up this adaptation - and particularly its ending - when they did such an admirable job on The Fault In Our Stars.

In homework: Brenna raises the Easter weekend controversy involving author Jacqueline Jules, prompting an extended discussion about safe spaces and working with people of other cultures.

If you want to connect with the show, use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

Brenna and Joe put on a puffy prom dress and rent a tux for their first dip into male protagonist realist YA romance. Unfortunately they selected Steve Bloom's 2016 novel The Stand-In and Chris Nelson's 2019 Netflix adaptation The Perfect Date which not even current It-Boy Noah Centineo can save.

The pair marvel at how badly written and problematic the book is, while acknowledging that it is one of the few texts to actually address wealth & income inequality. They then contrast it with the film, which has removed 95% of the book's problematic aspects, but in the process, has also been scrubbed clean of any and all interesting aspects, leaving behind only a bland and dull text. Also up for discussion is the hilariously bad father/son casting, the ineptness of Bloom's narrative plotting and the legitimate question of who is the target audience?

In homework: Brenna is uncertain about whether The Fosters' spin-off, Good Trouble is worth pursuing, while Joe begrudgingly acknowledges the new KJ Apa YA film on Netflix, The Last Summer.

If you want to connect with the show, use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

Brenna and Joe are joined by Paul Le as they venture into the world of South Korean manwha and webtoons. The trio checks out the first 25 episodes of Seok-woo's Orange Marmalade, a YA vampire romance that originally ran between 2011-2013, as well as its accompanying 2015 KBS2 TV series.

The unique episodic format of the webtoon poses some narrative challenges, but its clever and unique use of space and scrolling generates plenty of discussion. The trio also analyzes why the TV season is like melodramatic catnip, its unusual ties to Felicity and Brenna poses a Stephenie Meyer-inspired question about vampires and that time of the month.

• Webtoon: https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/orange-marmalade/list?title_no=97
• TV series: https://www.viki.com/tv/26963c-orange-marmalade?locale=en

In homework: Brenna and Paul chat Ry Russo-Young's latest YA adaptation, The Sun Is Also A Star and Brenna offers a director update on the film adaptation of John Green's Turtles All The Way Down while Joe counters with award-winning text Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

If you want to connect with the show, use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote
• Paul: @afinalboy

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

Part of HKHSPod's mandate is to highlight the work of Canadian YA Lit writers. In this exclusive interview, Brenna and Joe are joined by Tanaz Bhathena to discuss her cross-cultural romance The Beauty of the Moment, the ironic story of her first YA book (deemed "too dark for adults") and why including diversity in her writing is natural and completely Canadian.

Find out more about Tanaz's work on her website: https://tanazbhathena.com/ or on Instagram at @bhathenatanaz

Connect with the show on Twitter using #HKHSPod:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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

Brenna and Joe travel to the other side of the world for an investigation into Margaret Mahy's 1984 Carnegie Medal winner, The Changeover and its 2017 film adaptation by Miranda Harcourt and Stuart McKenzie. Brenna appreciates the prickly, unconventional mother/daughter relationship, Joe unpacks how the film uses the 2011 earthquake to inform its narrative and, for the first time on the podcast, an ending dramatically alters the pair's appreciation of one of the texts.

In homework: Brenna and Joe chat about the impact of Disney's closure of the FOX 2000 studio, which produced Love, Simon, The Hate U Give and other 'mid-tier' prestige films. Joe also introduces The Changeover star Nicholas Galitzine's upcoming Netflix series, Chambers, which also deals with mysterious events (the guy has a type).

Links for next week:

• Webtoon: https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/orange-marmalade/list?title_no=97
• TV series: https://www.viki.com/tv/26963c-orange-marmalade?locale=en

If you want to connect with the show, use #HKHSPod on Twitter:

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us an email at [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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