Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

Greetings listeners. School is back in session as HBO Max's Gossip Girl returns for a second year and a new semester. How are Jenny, Ari and Joe feeling about the fresh start? Well, we're big fans of Monet as a multifaceted villain, Luna's glow-up, the status of our fave throuple, and the curious lack of Obie.Plus: thoughts on the Deb ball, the new Russian classics teacher and will Zoya ever become more interesting? We'll find out soon. XOXOWanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Ari: @TheAriDrew> Jenny: @jennyleighx33> Joe: @bstolemyremote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's an Angie Thomas gush fest as Brenna and Joe cover the author's On The Come Up (2019) and first time feature director Sanaa Lathan's 2022 film adaptation.We are *huge* fans of the book, which is covertly about trauma and features a more challenging teen female protagonist. The film is still enjoyable, but it takes the more commercial approach of focusing on Bri's art/ascent to stardom.Plus: Method Man is great, why Aunt Pooh is such a great character, Jay as a great mom, and why we do not care for a freeze frame ending!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Dec 30: All American Boys (2015) by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greetings listeners. We know you love us, but do you love Gossip Girl (2021)? That's one question we feel is worth pursuing, so join Joe, as well as Ari Drew and Jenny Nulf, as they provide weekly commentary on the HBO Max remake/revamp/sequel.We're starting with our thoughts on S01, including which characters we find hot, which throuple we're obsessed with, and which characters are boring (hi Obie!). Plus: the narrative risk-taking, why Julien and Zoya need to get along, and where the show will go in S02. You know you love us. XOXOWanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Ari: @TheAriDrew> Jenny: @jennyleighx33> Joe: @bstolemyremote Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time for our final Banned Book Club of the year and we're going out with a "classic": William Golding's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies and Peter Brook's 1963 adaptation. Thanks to listeners Natalie and Miriam for chiming in!This is Joe's first time reading the book, but it's so familiar because of its pop culture legacy. It's deeply colonial, though Brenna is frustrated by Golding's penchant for asking questions he doesn't want to explore.Plus: fatphobia and ableism for days, wanting more characterization, how the black and white affects the viewing experience, a trauma-filled shoot, and why Joe would rather watch The Wilds on Amazon!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Dec 30: All American Boys (2015) by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds Hosted on Acas

On its eighth anniversary (and with one year until the prequel film drops), Joe returns to Panem to revisit Mockingjay Part 1. Along for the ride is Alex Heeney, who guested on our episode on The Hunger Games and has strong opinions about Suzanne Collins' book and Francis Lawrence's film. Please note: we're only discussing Chapters 1-13 for this episode.We're still chatting about love triangles and dystopian world-building, as well as whether director Lawrence is better suited to directing action than actors, the mega stunt casting and why the film doesn't deserve its "cash grab" moniker.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremote> Alex: @bwestcineaste / Seventh Row WebsiteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Nov 24: Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1954) / Peter Brook (1964) Hosted on Aca

Joe is joined by Justin Nordell to discuss Peter S. Beagle's 1968 fantasy novel The Last Unicorn, as well as Rankin and Bass' 1982 animated film, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary.We talk about the kindertrauma of both texts, particularly the Harpy and the Red Bull characters, as well as the universality of searching for self-identity and losing yourself pretending to be something you're not. Plus: the "feminine" animation style, the first all-star voice cast and why Tammy Grimes' performance as Molly Grue is so emotionally impactful.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremote> Justin: @jnordell / Insta: @mogwai47Have something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Nov 24: Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1954) / Peter Brook (1964) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Brenna taking a breather, Joe recruits former guest Jenn Adams to tackle director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson's Netflix's '90s throw-back, Do Revenge. The Camila Mendes/Maya Hawke film is perfectly cast and feels extremely timely in its discussion about female friendship and the patriarchy, with plenty of commentary on race, class and queerness. Plus: spotting all of the YA homages, costume designer Alana Morshead's influences, why Max is so hateable and SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR (!!!)Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremote> Jenn: @jennferatuHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Nov 24: Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1954) / Peter Brook (1964) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We hopping on the Lana Condor train for one last Spooky Season entry with Netflix's Boo, Bitch! Spoiler: the first half of the season is silly fun...then the back half happens.We're *extremely* annoyed at the "twist" (not a twist) that the creative team isn't really interested in exploring, how heavily prom and the idea of a high school legacy figure into the narrative and how grating Condor's Erika Vu becomes. What went wrong here?!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Nov 24: Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1954) / Peter Brook (1964) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spooky season continues as Brenna and Joe tackle 2002's gothic vampire lesbian boarding school text The Moth Diaries by Rachel Klein and its 2011 adaptation by Mary Harron. While we're intrigued by the unreliable unnamed narrator and the teen girl drama, Brenna is very frustrated by the book's Afterword, which eliminates all ambiguity. Joe is more receptive because of his familiarity with Carmilla, but finds the film's disinterest in vampirism perplexing. Plus: Scott Speedman in full whisper phase, Joe's love of a particularly bloody scene, bad flying and Brenna delivering backhanded compliments about Joe's choice of vampiresReference: Scout Tofoya. "The Unloved: The Moth Diaries" Roger Ebert.comWanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Nov 24: Lord of the Fli

We're back for another Banned Book discussion about Roald Dahl's The Witches (1963) which we've partnered with Nicolas Roeg's 1990 adaptation, as well as tangential conversation about Robert Zemeckis' 2020 film. Thanks to listener Miriam for contributing!Yes, this book was banned...for promoting witchcraft, not Dahl's anti-semitism, which we have to discuss <sigh>. It's such a shame because the book - with its willingness to put children in danger and its "grim dark" ending - is still great (bonus points for Quentin Blake's illustrations). Then the film is all about Anjelica Houston's Grand High Witch, cute Jim Henson mice, Roeg's POV camerawork and great practical FX.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Nov 24: Lord of the Flies by William Golding

It's not often we get to a show just after it's been cancelled, but that's the sad situation here as we tackle Brian K Vaughan and Cliff Chiang's excellent feminist sci-fi comic series Paper Girls and Stephany Folsom's 2022 Amazon adaptation.We discuss how Vaughan has grown since Y: The Last Man (see previous episode), the perfectly 80s art, and the effortless representation. Then we praise the show for focusing on characters, particularly the interactions between the girls and their older selves and the tampon conversation in episode five. We miss this one already!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Oct 13: The Witches by Roald Dahl (1983) / Nicolas Roeg (1990) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's week 2 of our coverage of Vampire Academy and we're ending with a whimper! The 2022 Peacock series by The Vampire Diaries co-creator Julie Plec and actress Marguerite MacIntyre is confusing, boring and poorly paced. Sure the people are pretty, but that isn't getting us through 50+ minute episodes of some of the worst world-building we've ever seen on a YA series.References: Joe's Bloody Disgusting ReviewWanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Oct 13: The Witches by Roald Dahl (1983) / Nicolas Roeg (1990) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Brenna away one more week, Joe recruits recurring guest Jenny Nulf to gush over Zoey Deutch's star-making turn in Mark Waters' 2014 Vampire Academy.The film wisely eschews a ton of the mythology in author Richelle Mead's novel, though the mix of comedy, YA and horror don't always mesh well (looking at you, Claire Foy).Plus: the book's oh-so-2000s depiction of self-harm and slut shaming, the bland blonde playing Lissa, and complaints that Dimitri is too old and not attractive enough for this adaptation!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Jenny: @jennyleighx33> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Brenna's absence, Joe recruits Nichole Goble for a return to Sick Lit with Justin Baldoni's directorial debut, Five Feet Apart (2019) and its novelization by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis. This free flowing discussion tackles the depiction of CF in the film and the criticisms lobbied at both texts, which acknowledging that they did help to raise awareness of the disease. Plus: the sick bodies of stars Richardson and Sprouse, why we don't buy their love affair, the realities of divorce, and how the different endings between film and novelization change its meaning.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Nichole: @bodiesofhorror> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brenna's back! Eschewing our usual approach, Brenna catches Joe up about her tumultuous summer and her decision to make her Portfolio for Tenure & Promotion open to the public, which leads to a discussion about why transparency and failure is so important.Then we run down some significant YA texts to keep on your radar, including a few that we're very excited about!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Oct 13: The Witches by Roald Dahl (1983) / Nicolas Roeg (1990) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're wrapping up Book Four with a very special guest: Dr. Debbie Reese joins us to discuss Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Since this is Banned Book Club, we're also pulling in responses from listeners Miriam and Victoria. Expects LOTS of discuss about Alexie as a problematic figure, whose writing is marketable to white settler audiences but whose personal and professional actions have been irrevocably harmful to indigenous communities. It's a great conversation!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremote> Dr. Reese: @debreese / WebsiteHave something longer to say? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time for a trans rom com...or is it? Joe is joined by guest Terry Mesnard to discuss Billy Porter's directorial debut, 'Anything's Possible' (2022) which tries to awkwardly marry fantasy and reality to mixed results. We really appreciate that the leads with great chemistry (we're swooning for Abubakr Ali) and that the film doesn't redeem its villains, but it feels like screenwriter Ximena García Lecuona and Porter couldn't settle on a tone or message (grrr on that end credit dance sequence). 'Anything's Possible' is a noble failure, but we'd still watch a sequel in a heartbeat!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Joe: @bstolemyremote> Terry: @gaylydreadfulHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Brenna taking a breather, Joe recruits former guest Jessica Scott to launch into space with Chris Winterbauer's old school rom-com 'Moonshot' (2022) starring Cole Sprouse and Lana Condor.The film is both funnier and more clever than we anticipated considering the title makes no sense and HBO Max film has no budget for Mars effects. Carried by the charm of its leads (albeit with no romantic chemistry), 'Moonshot' has some interesting things to say about the environment, capitalism and greed. Oh, and the interiors of the ship are very cute and the robots are very fun!Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Joe: @bstolemyremote> Jessica: @WeWhoWalkHereHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Aug 18: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/pri

We're head over heels in love...with King Pun! This week we're talking Sammi Cohen's lesbian/bi romance film Crush (2022) which features tons of representation, but not enough kissing. The film isn't perfect, but it is very enjoyable and that's enough for us. Plus: loving the adult actors, Brenna's track and field experience, bad art, and the challenges of casting queer actors to play straight.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Aug 18: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

In advance of its fortieth anniversary, Brenna and Joe check out Amy Heckerling's 1982 film, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. We discuss Cameron Crowe's investigative reporting, what has - and hasn't - changed in YA in 40 years, why sex and abortion don't seem like a big deal in the early 80s, and the cast that almost was.Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Twitter @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:> Brenna: @brennacgray> Joe: @bstolemyremoteHave something longer to say or a comment about banned book club? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com or tweet us your responses before the following deadlines:> Aug 18: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.