Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

Ugh.Brenna and Joe jump back into sick lit for Jesse Andrews' atrocious 2012 novel Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and its (better) 2015 Sundance award winning film adaptation by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, starring Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, Olivia Cooke and a stunt cast of adults.We dedicate A LOT of time up front addressing our issues with the book, which is racist, misogynistic and features one of the most excruciating mediocre white boy protagonists since I Love You, Beth Cooper.  We find it hilarious that Andrews believes he's subverting (or avoiding) YA tropes; instead he's simply produced an unreadable book. Our advice: do not read this "book"!The film - ironically adapted by Andrews - smooths out some of the books more egregious issues, but it comes at a cost. Earl is diminished to a non-character and Greg's selfish behaviour can't be redeemed. The actors and  Gomez-Rejon's vibrant, experimental direction save this film.Wanna connect with the show? Use #HKHSPod on Twitter:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremote

With so little precious podcast time to spare, Brenna and Joe are scaling back the forecasts. Presented for your enjoyment is a double dose for March and April, along with two important pieces of correspondence about our recent episode on Sex Education, which demanded we dig in (and problematize) both our reactions and word choice a little more deeply. Brenna's Picks:We Are Totally Normal by Rahul KanakiaAvocado Bliss by Candace Robinson and Gerardo DelgadilloCheck Please Book 2: Sticks and Scones by Ngozi UkaduJoe's Picks:Witches of Ash and Ruin by E. LatimerFight like a Girl by Sheena KamalThe Lucky Ones by Liz LawsonWanna connect with the show? Use #HKHSPod on Twitter:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteOr send us something longer (like minisode topics!) to hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In a Uni miracle, Brenna and Joe are joined by their YA Lit classmate and bestie Jen Crocker to discuss Jenny Han's super cute 2015 realist romance sequel, PS I Still Love You and its (awkwardly titled) 2020 Netflix  film, which reunites Lana Condor and Noah Centineo and introduces Jordan Fisher as fan favourite John Ambrose McClaren.The changes between source and adaptation are significantly impacted by events from the first film, which retroactively affects the readability of the second book. Also switching things up: new director Michael Fimognari, who brings a "big screen" visual aesthetic that works for some, but not others. Plus: why the new film isn't as re-watchable, why it's probably good that the book's game of Assassins wasn't adapted and the film's issues with female agency and *gasp* class.Wanna connect with the show? Use #HKHSPod on Twitter:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteJen:  @jencrocker / @crocksy23 (Instagram)Have something longer? Send us an email at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on th

Minisode or regularsode? You be the judge as Brenna and Joe check back in on the British Netflix series Sex Education, which released its second season back in January.How does the series avoid traditional (read: North American) depictions of trauma and abuse? How are new (potentially tokenistic) characters introduced? What aspect does Brenna think the show handles best? And why character has quickly become Joe's favourite?Also, we're getting back to homework basics! Brenna provides an update on her Bingeworthy promise to check out the ridiculously-named High School Musical: The Musical, which Joe catches up on Jan 2020 Forecast entry Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore (not Macklemore, the rapper).Wanna connect with the show? Use #HKHSPod on Twitter:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteOr send us something longer (like minisode topics!) to hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's time for a Nuclear dystopia, so Brenna and Joe hunker down in a Garden of Eden...er...valley of plenty in the hopes that a man of science never comes to threaten the peace. Or is it two men? This week, we're traveling back to 1974 to discuss Robert C. O'Brien's Z For Zachariah, a compelling, female-centric YA account of the end of the world. We're also talking about Craig Zobel's 2015 not-YA film adaptation, which is...a romantic triangle with sexy adults?Both texts are solid in their own right, but we're primarily attracted to the excellent tension and incredibly gripping gender dynamics of the book. The film is decent, although the more on-the-nose religious elements, romance and poorly constructed racial stereotype doesn't work nearly as well. Bottom line: if you only check out one of these texts, make sure it's the book!Wanna connect with the show? Use #HKHSPod on Twitter:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a minisode suggestion? Send us an email at hkhspod@gmail.c

Feb 2020 is a slighter month than January, so there are still great books to add to your library hold lists! Brenna and Joe have poured over the month and selected their top 3-4 picks, along with a few honourable mentions.JoeAlice by Heart by Steven SaterNo True Believers by Rabiah York LumbardRed Hood by Elana K. ArnoldWhat I Want You To See by Catherine LinkaPlus: Solstice by Lorence Alison and Below by Alexandria WarwickBrennaYes No Maybe So by Becky Albertelli and Aisha SaeedThe New David Espinoza by Frank AcevesTurtle Under Ice by Juleah del RosarioPlus: To All The Boys I've Loved Before 2 on Netflix and a new adaptation of EmmaWant to connect with the show? Use #HKHSPod on Twitter:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a minisode idea? Send us an email to hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteOr send us something longer (like minisodes topics!) to hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the

More than a year into the podcast, Brenna and Joe decide to tackle the definition of Young Adult literature (better late than never, right?)Thanks to a prompt from listener Garrett, in the first (true) minisode of the new year, we delve into the specifics:YA as a category, not a genreUsing content and age ranges to distinguish Middle-Grade from YA from New AdultThe appeal of YA for adult readersA bit of history, including the term "adolescent" and its ties to capitalism, particularly in North America; andWhy YA exploded in the mid-to-late 90s and beyond (hint: think wizards and sparkly vampires)In homework: Brenna champions How I Made It To 18 by Tracy White and Joe compares #MurderTrending to One of Us is Lying.Next week: full length ep on Looking For Alibrandi, so get reading & watching!Want to connect? Use #HKHSPod on Twitter:Brenna: @brennacgray / Goodreads Profile: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/107851618-brennaJoe: @bstolemyremoteOr email us something longer or a minisode topic: hkhspod@gmail.c

The wait is over! We're back for 2020 with a brand new full length episode that delves deep into Brenna's childhood love: Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables (1908). This is easily the most popular Canadian YA text of all time, especially when we're considering its adaptations, including the 1985 miniseries and Moira Walley-Beckett's recently cancelled CBC/Netflix co-production, Anne with an E (2017-2019).Join Brenna and Joe for a SUPER sized episode as we discuss the timelessness of this text, why it continues to resonate with audiences worldwide, and how Montgomery's own dark history informs the book series. Plus: all of the brilliant Marillas, the perfect chemistry between Megan Follows and Jonathan Crombie in the '85 miniseries and where Anne with an E both succeeds and completely fails its source material. And we debut a new BINGO superboard!Extra Reading: Hoy, Helen. "Too Heedless and Impulsive’: Re-reading Anne of Green Gables through a Clinical Approach" in Anne's World: A New Century of Anne

Jan 2020 is now firmly underway, so it's time to update those library hold lists! Brenna and Joe have poured over the month and selected their top 3 picks, along with a few honourable mentions, to start the year off strong. Joe Deep and Darkest Red by Anna-Marie McLemoreWe Used To Be Friends by Amy SpaldingYou Too? Edited by Judith GurtlerPlus: Spellhacker by M.K. England,Tweet Cute by Emma Lord and Freeform's Party of Five rebootBrennaThe Hand on the Wall by Maureen JohnsonNot So Pure and Simple by Lamar GilesThe Gravity of Us by Phil StamperPlus:  What I Carry by Jennifer Longo and Rogue Princess by B.R. MeyersWant to connect with the show? Use #HKHSPod on Twitter:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a minisode idea? Send us an email to hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In our second minisode wrapping up 2019, we're going all in on binge mode!It's the holidays, so hopefully you have a little more free time on your hands. Brenna and Joe walk through the films, TV and books that they plan to binge over the break, in addition to teasing a few TV shows that will drop in and around the New Year.Wanna connect with the show? Use #HKHSPod on Twitter:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a minisode topic? Send us an email at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Brenna and Joe are wrapping 2019 with a double dose of minisodes! First up: a look back on the year that was, including books that Brenna finally caught up on, our favourite serious, not-so-serious and least successful episodes (sorry CC - we did you wrong with Ghost World!). Also, the two biggest news stories that we think encapsulate YA at this moment, including Heartprint, an Indigenous Imprint from Harper Collins and a biased think piece about censorship and OWN voices from Refinery29.Wanna connect with the show? Use #HKHSPod on Twitter:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a minisode topic? Send us an email at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For the final regular...er...full length episode of the year, Brenna and Joe embrace the festivities of the season with a trip to Starbucks and a dip into 2008's Let It Snow, the trio of novellas by Maureen Johnson, John Green, and Lauren Myracle. We're also checking out the 2019 adaptation by Luke Snellin, which coincidentally stars every teen actor under contract on a Netflix series.Up for discussion: which of the three novellas does Brenna *strongly* dislike and what makes it far less successful than the other two (A: Addie & Starbucks)? A debate whether this is the most slight book we've ever covered and why the film fails in its ambition to be a YA Love, Actually.  Also: the laughable snow, the logistics of animal adoption and a serious discussion on ableism.  STARBUCKS. In homework: Brenna asks for some holiday cheer in the form of reviews, while Joe circles back around to explain why Greta Gerwig's 2019 adaptation of Little Women  may be the best interpretation yet.Wanna connect with the show? Use

On the eve of a brand new interpretation by Greta Gerwig, Brenna and Joe travel back 151 years to discuss Louisa May Alcott's defining American text Little Women, as well as Gillian Armstrong's 1994 adaptation and the excruciating 2018 modern take by Clare Niederpreum.Comparisons to Jane Austen abound as we try and identify the source of the text's popularity, which prospers in the first half and fumbles the second half by betraying its lead protagonist, Jo March. Up for discussion: May Alcott's erasure of the Civil War, how the heat between Winona Ryder's Jo and Christian Bale's Laurie actually harms the '94 adaptation and why someone needed to tell Sarah Davenport to stop yelling in the '18 version. Also: Brenna makes a very salient point about the depiction of armed forces in the modern version and how what is seen (or excluded) ties into readings of the political moment. Worth keeping in mind!In homework: Brenna introduces the Lumberjanes graphic novel "The Shape of Friendship" while Joe teases the premie

Brenna and Joe are feeling a little "Under Pressure" so we're taking a mental health break with Ned Vizzini's 2006 novel It's Kind of a Funny Story and Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck's 2010 adaptation, starring Keir Gilchrist (Brenna's favourite!), as well as Zach Galifianakis and Emma Roberts.Brenna struggles to grapple with the disconnect between the hopefulness of the book and the real life circumstances of Vizzini's passing as we discuss the way readings of a book change due to context. There's also discussion of how the film acts as both a faithful adaptation and simultaneously changes the fundamental purpose and tone of its source material by becoming a "wacky, feel good" film about mental health.In homework: Brenna laments the cancellation of Anne with an E, which spirals into a conversation about the state of Canadian television and - more specifically - co-productions with Netflix.Want to connect with the show? Use #HKHSPod on Twitter:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer or mini

For the first time in ages, Brenna and Joe venture outside of North America and the UK to tackle a foreign text: German author Wolfgang Herrndorf's bestselling 2010 novel Tschick (published in English in 2014 as Why We Took The Car), as well as Fatih Akin's 2016 film adaptation (English title: Goodbye Berlin).Brenna and Joe discover that this deceptively complicated road trip narrative is the anti-thesis of I Love You, Beth Cooper (see Book 1, Episode 28). Maik's journey of self-discovery addresses both class and race, as well as lessons about trusting strangers and not judging people by their appearances. There's also one of the worst YA fathers we've ever met, the film's completely abbreviated third act that still somehow works and a delightful musicality that we neglect to mention until halfway through BINGO.In homework: Joe reads back mail on the Watership Down episode while Brenna praises the CBC's "100 young adult books that make you proud to be Canadian".Want to connect with the show? Use #HKHSPod on T

Brenna and Joe are joined by Heather Cyr to discuss the first book in Philip Pullman's  His Dark Materials trilogy: Northern Lights or, to North American audiences, The Golden Compass (1995). We're also chatting the failed 2007 $180 bloated children's film adaptation, as well as 2019's HBO/BBC One co-production, His Dark Materials.Brenna and Joe have more interest in the complicated politics and religious tension than the text itself, so Heather steps in to round out our appreciation. Along the way we discuss CGI effects, Nicole Kidman vs Ruth Wilson and why the two minute fight scene between bears loses the film points.In homework: Heather introduces The Girl of Ink and Stars & The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Brenna reluctantly chats about the recent Sarah Desson / Just Mercy Twitter controversy and Joe  talks up the announcement that Tamora Pierce’s expansive Tortall Universe series will be adapted for TV (thanks to TeaBooksAndChocolate's tweet!)Wanna connect with the show? Use #HKHSPod

One year ago, Brenna and Joe embarked on a grand podcasting adventure. This episode marks our birthday/anniversary and we can't think of a better way to celebrate than read the book that we bonded over back in university: Watership Down, the horribly traumatic story of a group of intrepid bunnies who embark on their own adventure to find a new home. Yes, folks, the time has finally come to discuss Richard Adams' 1972 classic YA tome and Martin Rosen's 1978 animated adaptation (along with brief mentions of the 90s TV show and the 2018 Netflix remake). Up for discussion: the various political systems represented in the text, arguments for its longevity and whether it is particularly "British". Also: criticism of its treatment of violence (that dog!), gender (ugh, the does) and race (UGH, that bird).Plus: Brenna and Joe reminisce about the YA Lit course from nearly two decades ago that brought them together and Joe shares an unusual childhood connection to the text...or 42 of them.In homework: we discuss a big f

The time has come for Brenna and Joe to discuss Laurie Halse Anderson's revelatory 1999 YA bestseller, Speak, its 2004 made-for-television film adaptation starring Kristen Stewart and the recent comic with art from Emily Carroll. Joining us for some difficult conversation is Lucia Lorenzi, who helps to unpack why both book and film are so powerful and important.This episode is quite broad, and it addresses sensitive topics such as rape, suicide, depression and trauma. Many of these topics can be triggering, so we recommend listeners proceed with their own self-care in mind. Up for discussion: the humour that Anderson embeds in the text, the use of symbolism and allusions to classic lit such as The Scarlet Letter (see previous Book One episode) and why the film's ending does and doesn't work for us. Beyond the texts, we chat about the importance of institutional rules, training and creating a space for both teens and adults to  speak their own truth, as well as the issue of responsibility. It's heavy, but it's

Lock up your hat store and prepare to meet the wizard because Brenna and Joe are jumping aboard British author Diana Wynne Jones 1986 fantasy novel Howl's Moving Castle and Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's 2004 animated...interpretation.That's right, we're calling it: in a first for the podcast, we have two titles so radically different that the film is barely an adaptation of the source material. The novel is a female coming of age narrative that's a little draggy and a little too full of serialized adventures. The film eschews its female character to tell a war story, replete with stunning visuals but thin characterizations.Up for discussion: Jones' musical depiction of the Welsh language, the book's connection to Enchanted (see previous episode) and the challenges of examining older YA through a modern eyes. For the film, Brenna admits her struggle with subtitles, we discuss which character designs work for us and the grieving process inherent to analyses about adaptations.In homework: Brenna reads a lis