Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

Brenna and Joe are back in Trickster territory as the Canadian Indigenous lit sequel moves sober protagonist Jared to Vancouver and introduces a bevy of new family members, but keeps villainous ex-step father David around for conflict. Up for discussion: our fears for Jared, who refuses to let anyone in, the queer/Chosen family the book spends so much time with; the harrowing pedal-to-the-metal last fifty pages of the book and our predictions for where the story goes in the final book. Also: stick around for one of the show's funniest gags post-credits!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod::Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about the next book club, Jeff Zentner's The Serpent King? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Continuing our spooky theme for the month, we're checking out the 50 minute special, which finds Gonzo and Pepe the King Prawn locked in the Haunted Mansion along with a bevy of (undead) stars.Mega Muppets fan Brenna  walks novice Joe through the brand's plush history before the discussion turns to the new special. We discuss Rizzo vs Pepe, confusion about Taraji P. Henson's character, the split narrative and fan service, as well as Disney's trust issues and how it informs (or alters) the creative process.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod::Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at 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 to scare Brenna! We're digging into the first novel in Wells' series about John, a death-obsessed teen who discovers that his elderly neighbour is a shapeshifting murderer . The good news is that both the book and the film are pretty good, especially Christopher Lloyd's very low-key performance as the titular killer.Plus: getting grossed out about autopsy descriptions,  the film's mostly restrained used of practical effects, an ill-advised relationship for John's mom and how vividly both texts capture the feel of a small town. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod::Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Prepare your magic, your dragons and your plucky shapeshifting henchwomen because we are talking about Nimona! This delightful MFA thesis project began life as a fun, episodic webtoon (see previous episode Orange Marmalade) before eventually becoming a sprawling action adventure about trauma and tragedy. But it's super fun, we swear!Also fun: Stevenson's evolving artistic style and the text's "no big deal" inclusion of queer and disabled characters, which sadly got lost in a lot of critical reviews at the time (Brenna has thoughts!)Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter - @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod::Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about Trickster Drift, this month's book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

To kick off book four, we're checking in on a Brenna fave with a doozy of a hook: Runaways, which features a group of kids who discover their parents are supervillains and set out to stop them. Joe isn't quite as enamoured, in part because the art doesn't sit right with him (leading to a discussion of comic sizing and who the intended audience for this imprint was). Still, there's something laudable about a book that presents a tragic backstory for its characters and then lets them move past it.Less successful is Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage's TV series, which takes ages to get going and mistakenly spends too much time on the parents. While it has a sunny teen vibe and great music, and Rhenzy Feliz and Lyrica Okano are well cast, the show is simply too labourious to get into!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter - @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod::Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on t

Special thanks to Tea, Books & Chocolate, Kaetlyn, Jana, Andrew, Victoria, Miriam, and Max for helping us to celebrate.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter - @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod::Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In advance of the gender flipped Netflix remake He's All That, Brenna, Joe and special guest Lindsay revisit Pygmalion / My Fair Lady update She's All That.The film has an all-star cast, but doesn't seem to know what to do with most of them. And while Lindsay and Joe still find it funny, there's no question that the gender politics, as well as the handling of race and fatphobia have aged *badly*. The film's disinterest in exploring Cook's Laney Boggs in order to prioritize Zack's white male privilege is very late 90s.On the plus side: we have two of the most memorable dance sequences in contemporary YA, a bizarre arc for Jodi Lynn O'Keefe's character and Anna Paquin as the character we wish the film were actually about!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter - @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod::Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteLindsay: @smashtravesHave something longer to say or a comment for our 150th episode extravaganza? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the scre

It's time for some activism! Brenna, Joe and Jenn Adams tackle  feminism, intersectionality, representation, the Patriarchy and misogyny in a book about girls fed up with male privilege.Up for discussion: Jenn's forecast for fourth and fifth wave feminism; making the case that this is one of the stronger adaptations in recent memory; advocating for female vulnerability; the difference between bath robes and tank tops; the frustrating tokenism of trans and disability characters in the film; and Brenna's complete unawareness of who Patrick Schwarzenegger is related to. Plus: for burgeoning Riot grrrls, Brenna recommends Carrie Brownstein's memoir, Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter - @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteJenn:  @jennferatu /  @PsychoAPod / @LosersClubPodHave something longer to say or a a memory for our 150th episode? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for

After discussing journalist/activist/author Hutchinson's book several times, we finally decided to check it out for the pod. It's definitely aimed at a younger audience, but the book is doing a surprising amount of work to educate its audience about pressing contemporary Indigenous issues.Up for discussion: the book's casual indifference to its central mystery, how white characters are stereotyped, the multiplicity of points of view within the Indigenous community, the importance of First Nation teachings and why this location feels unique and different from our other (Canadian) Indigenous texts. Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter - @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod::Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a message for our forthcoming 150th episode? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With no listener feedback, we're riding solo on this Book Club outing, but there's no shortage of things to talk about! We discuss the unconventional stylistic structure (non-linear, multiple perspectives and a touch of magical realism), as well as how the book negotiates trauma and grief.There's also talk of about absent parents, small towns and just how damn good King is at writing both teens and adults.  For anyone who didn't read along, we really recommend this one!Plus: Brenna provides an overview of King's work and how it has changed, which contributes to an extended discussion speculating why her work has never been adapted for TV or film.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter - @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod::Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Blame Brenna for this one! We're tackling Lena Waite's autobiographical series Twenties, about three Black women trying to make it in Hollywood, and it is very clearly not a show for teens. Thankfully we both really enjoy the show, which has some frank discussions about sex and love, has a very funny depiction of well-meaning white allies and features a rare example of a "masculine-presenting stud" lesbian in Jonica T. Gibbs' Hattie. Plus: relating too hard with know -it-all Marie (Christina Elmore), wanting more for Nia (Canadian actress Gabrielle Graham)and fan girling over Vanessa Williams and Parker Young!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter - @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteWanna send us a note in advance of our 150th episode? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Grab your daggers and your Kefta because we are diving into the sprawling lore of Ravka, Fjerda and Ketterdam! Brenna starts off grouchy, but eventually she acknowledges that this series is pretty compelling (despite all of the walking).Joe is more friendly to the world of magic, particularly the two twists that subvert expectations involving the Darkling and Alina's friendship at the Little Palace. Plus: praise for Inej, Jesper, Kaz and Zoya, discussions about the show's racism and cultural appropriation, Joe disses Ben Barnes, Brenna's Hot Take on the age of the Six of Crows' crew, and a big conversation about whether they should even be in this adaptation!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us at our new Twitter handle @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 JuneThe Passing Playbook by Isaac FitzsimonsThe Darkness Outside Us by Eliot SchreferI’ll Be The One by Lila LeeThe Love Curse of Melody McIntyre by Robin TalleyHani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba JaigirdarBrenna's homework:Felix Ever After by Kacen CallenderWanna connect with the show? Follow us at our new Twitter hand

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 4Thomas Longboat Wikipedia PageCBC: 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: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at

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: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book c

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: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteTerry: @gaylydreadfulHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on

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 SocietyWanna connect with the show? Follow us at our new Twitter handle @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:Brenna: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out 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: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out 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: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com. See you on the page and on the screen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out 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: @brennacgrayJoe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about book club? Email us at hkhspod@gma