Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr

A quick reminder that your responses to Kacen Callender's Felix Ever After is due Friday, July 18.

And also: the announcement of our August 2025 selection, which is Elizabeth Acevedo's Clap When You Land (2020). If you wanna read along, the due date for responses is Friday, August 22.

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

> Brenna: @brennacgray

> Joe: @bstolemyremote...

We're back for our third Judy Blume text with Forever! The 1975 book was written to candidly discuss a sexual relationship between teens and even if some aspects don't quite hold up, Brenna and Joe find its frankness refreshing.

On the flip side, the Netflix series from 2025 falls somewhere between IP cash grab and spiritual adaptation. Creator Mara Brock Akil interprets the text through a celebratory Black lens, though we could do ...

We're doing a mega mailbag round-up with bits and pieces from listeners Neera, Victoria, and Sophie.

First up: an apology to Neera about Inkheart and an observation about 2000s YA and middle grade fiction.

Then: More fall-out from Quiet on Set with regard to Drake Bell's sexual misconduct charges, as well as the Pride Month murder of Indigenous gay man Jonathan Joss.

Finally, a few recommendations from Sophie, including a pair of titl...

Class is back in session as Brenna and Joe kick off Skins Series 2 with a look at the first two episodes.

From the bold decision about Tony's traumatic brain injury to the sidelining Cassie to Maxxie's dancing to...Sketch (?) it's a brand new summer of the kids are not alright!

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

> Brenna: @brennacgray

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (...

Book Club returns as Brenna and Joe discuss Sarah Dessen's 2006 novel Just Listen, along with responses from Miriam, Victoria, and Tea, Books & Chocolate. C/W: sexual assault and disordered eating.

We *loved* this book, which feels fresh, accessible and side-steps glamorizing or wallowing in the trauma.

Plus: girlhood, placelessness, glass house metaphors and radical honesty.

Wanna connect with the show or comment on July's select...

Brenna and Joe check out coming of age film Uproar (2023), directed by Paul Middleditch and Hamish Bennett and written by Bennett and Sonia Whiteman.

The 80s-set New Zealand movie follows Josh (Julian Dennison), a Maori boy who becomes politically engaged when his small town hosts a South African rugby club during Apartheid. It is an unintentionally timely text considering the recent wave of protests and the reticence of older ...

It's easy, breezy time as Brenna and Joe check out our first Jennifer E. Smith text with Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between (2015) and Michael Lewen's 2022 Netflix adaptation.

This feels like a classic first year HKHS combo: a beach-read book and an enjoyably slight romantic film, anchored by likeable leads. We're especially shocked at the negative reviews for the latter!

Plus: our fave stops on the tour, Jordan Fisher's music...

A quick reminder that your responses to Sarah Dessen's Just Listen is due Friday, June 20.

And also: the announcement of our July 2025 selection, which is Kacen Callender's Felix Ever After (2018). If you wanna read along, the due date for responses for July is Friday, July 18.

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

> Brenna: @brennacgray

> Joe: @bstolemyremote (...

Thanks to listener requests, Brenna and Joe dig into the fantasy world of Cornelia Funke's Inkheart and its 2008 film adaptation starring Brendan Fraser.

It's...not what we expected. In addition to less driving, Joe wanted more fantasy, while Brenna wanted more famous characters.

Possible reasons this didn't connect for us: translation issues and the revelation that it may have been meant to be read aloud at bedtime!

Plus: Helen Mirre...

At the request of Miriam, we're re-starting Book Club! Our first pick is Sarah Dessen's Just Listen (2006), which concerns rape and eating disorders (C/W).

In order to proceed, we need your thoughts! Send us an email response at hkhspod@gmail.com before June 20th!

Follow us on Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the hashtag #HKHSPod:

> Brenna: @brennacgray

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

Have a...

Brenna and Joe tackle the buzzy four episode Netflix limited series Adolescence (2025).

Created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham (with all episodes directed by Philip Barantini), the show has drawn raves for its single long take format and outstanding acting.

But what's missing from the discussion? Does it earn the acclaim? And what should a potential S02 look like? Let's discuss!

Wanna connect with the show? Fol...

Brenna and Joe have a quick conversation about Miriam's email regarding the stark realities of Olympic winners, with a quick comparison to lottery winners.

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

> Brenna: @brennacgray

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

Have a mail bag question? Email us at hkhspod@gmail.com  

Theme music: Letra “Like...

Brenna and Joe return to inspirational sports movies with The Fire Inside (2024), but this is secretly two movies in one!

The first is the story of Clarissa "T-Rex" Shields fighting for boxing gold at the Olympics; the second is what happens upon her return to Flint, Michigan.

Anchored by two stellar performances from Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree Henry, we prefer the second, more interesting movie and speculate the stronger film tha...

We're back with a fresh Mailbag courtesy of Sophie and Tea, Books and Chocolate.

First up: a question about the popularity of comic adaptations of books such as <gulp> the After series?!

Then, a response about the recent Quiet on Set episode which further complicates the issue of kids working in entertainment.

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

> Brenna: @bre...

Thanks to a prompt from listener Victoria, we're checking out Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV (2024), the five part docuseries exposing harmful working conditions on Nickelodeon shows in the early 2000s.

It's grim to say the least, not just for survivors like Drake Bell, but broadly speaking all of media that employs children. Should we even be watching this kind of content? Cue the existential crisis!

Wanna connect with the s...

We're checking out director Sydney Freeland's Indigenous basketball movie, Rez Ball (2024). C/W: suicide (off-screen)

Co-written by Reservation Dogs' Sterlin Harjo, this underdog feel-good sports film does exactly what you expect and not much else (Prompting another round of "it's fine, why does it need to be more?"). Still, at nearly 2 hours, Joe wishes there was stronger character work and Brenna is frustrated by the mother charac...

Brenna and Joe return with their first book to film adaptation episode with a discussion of Scott Westerfeld's 2005 dystopian novel Uglies and the long delayed 2024 film adaptation by McG.

This is...a miss. The book has extremely shallow commentary and has editing issues, while the film has (yes) ugly CGI hoverboard action and an unconvincing love interest. And then there's Laverne Cox as a villain who forces children to undergo sur...

Brenna and Joe are joined by Conrad Chambers, Joe's co-host from The Queer Gaze podcast, to discuss 2023 UK gay coming of age film Bonus Track.

It's a little bit slight, albeit full of charming performances and nicely fills the gap left by Heartstopper and Sex Education.

Plus: nepo babies, a Josh O'Connor cameo, and confusion about the period setting.

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on Instagram and BlueSky @HKHSPod or use the ...

Brenna and Joe are back for another mailbag, with recommendations from Tea, Books and Chocolate, gentle criticism about Heartstopper S03 and a call to action from Miriam, and request for coverage about child actor exploitation on set from Victoria.

Want to recommend a book or participate in a new iteration of Banned Book Club? Contribute your suggestions in this open Google Doc: https://tinyurl.com/mryhx96a!

Wanna connect with the sh...