Actual teenage listener Neve (who is the child of listener Toni from Australia!) writes in to recommend the new iteration of Netflix's Heart Break High, which sounds like an Aussie version of Degrassi!

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected]  

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights" 

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Brenna and Joe dip back into dystopian territory with The 5th Wave, Rick Yancey's 2013 novel and J Blakeson's 2016 film adaptation.

This one is unique because it's aliens, though we are still dealing with a Chosen One narrative and a potential love quad.

Plus: changing (sometimes inefficiently) perspectives, a film that moves too fast but is too long, putting film critics on blast, and whether we'll check out entries 2-3 in Yancey's trilogy.

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected]  

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights" 

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Brenna and Joe kick off our summer programming with a long requested title: Skins.

Every other week we're watching two episodes of Series 1, starting with "Tony" (episode 1) and "Cassie" (episode 2) and already we're into the thick of bad parents, hedonistic behaviour, and major empathy for Hannah Murray's Cassie, who is struggling with disordered eating.

Plus: handlebar moustaches, disgusting food fight parties, and a mid-career Nicholas Hoult!

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected] 

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights" 

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After Victoria requested positive depictions of neurodivergence last week, Miriam reached out with a list of recommendations:

Autism Titles

> A Kind Of Spark - Elle McNicoll

> Geek Girl - Holly Smale

> Even If We Break - Marieke Nijkamp: Marieke Nijkamp

> On The Edge of Gone - Corinne Duyvis

> Metal Fish, Falling Snow - Cath Moore

> The Winter Knight - Jes Battis

ADHD Titles

> Fresh - Margot Wood

> Cemetery Boys - Aiden Thomas

> Kat And Meg Conquer The World - Anna Priemaza

> The Colours of the Sea (Dutch Only) - Miriam Bruijstens

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected] 

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights" 

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Brenna and Joe kick off "the kids aren't alright" summer with Megan Abbott's 2012 novel Dare Me and its 2019 TV adaptation. C/W: implied sexual assault and disordered eating.

We're talking sociopathic girls, awful parents, and red hold blooded cheerleading in a pair of texts that may just feature the most unlikeable protagonists we've ever covered.

Plus: backstories galore, celebrating Willa Fitzgerald and Marlo Kelly, endless musical montages and ponderous voice over, and the dark side of female friendships.

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected]  

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights" 

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After a brief lament about Sia's misguided directorial debut Music, Brenna and Joe tackle a question from listener Victoria about positive depictions of neurodivergence. Brenna defers to former guest Jes Battis' piece in the Los Angeles Book of Review "Imperfect Rhetorics: Neurodiversity in YA Literature and Popular Culture" which focuses on three titles:

> Rainbow Rowell. Carry On

> Rachael Lucas. The State of Grace

> Jen Wilde. Queens of Geek

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected] 

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights" 

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

Joe and Brenna return to Canadian YA to discuss writer/director Molly McGlynn's semi-autobiographical text, Fitting In (2023).

The film has a great cast and explores a compelling story of non-normative female bodies. We have a few issues with the film's messaging, but overall the film is pretty enjoyable.

Plus: praise for lead actor Maddie Ziegler, wishing better for Ki Griffin's Jax, a dilator montage, and plenty of running!

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected]  

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights" 

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Joe and Brenna dip a toe into romantic fantasy with Alice Hoffman's 2001 novel Aquamarine and Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum's 2006 film adaptation.

The book is a cute, slight, fast read, which begs the question: how is the film 1hr 50 mins?! Answer: Add a villain, give her endless cronies, then stretch the action out over a whole summer!

Plus: teen feminism, mermaid FX, himbo lifeguards, and the film's perplexing soundtrack decision.

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected]  

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights" 

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Brenna and Joe respond to a question and a request from listener Tuck, who wants to know if we'll cover A Series of Unfortunate Events and recommends Otfried Preussler's hard to find (in English) book, Krabat: The Satanic Mill (1972).

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected]

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights"

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Brenna and Joe dip back into queer romance (and fan fiction!) with Book 1 of E.L. Massey's Breakaway series, Like Real People Do (2022).

This is very cute and sweet...but where is the conflict?! Everyone is so perfect! Massey needs to let people suck!

Plus: comparisons to Heartstopper, Red, White & Royal Blue and The Kissing Booth 2, predictions for where Books 2-4 will go, and why Kuzy and Hawk are our fave characters.

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray (BlueSky/Instagram)

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (Twitter/Instagram) or @joelipsett (BlueSky)

Have a mail bag question? Email us at [email protected]  

Theme music: Ben Fox "Think About the Lights" 

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