At the request of listener Emily, Brenna and Joe travel Down Under to Sydney to check in on Italian-Australian Josephine Alibrandi, the sassy/spunky heroine of of Melina Marchetta's 1992 Aussie YA Classic, Looking for Alibrandi and its 2000 film adaptation by Kate Woods.

The pair are hardly surprised that the book is a staple of the high school curriculum, given its myriad of relevant YA themes focusing on the immigrant experience, class issues, societal pressures and sex & relationships.  Brenna and Joe dedicate a lot of time discussing the novel's handling of John Barton and his suicide, how it doesn't work nearly as well in the film, and the need for happy endings. 

Plus: speculation about John Green's Looking For Alaska (see earlier episode), ties to Canadian play/film, Mambo Italiano and a really successful round of BINGO!

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

• Brenna: @brennacgray
• Joe: @bstolemyremote

Or send us something longer (like minisodes topics!) to [email protected]. See you on the page and on the screen!

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