Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr is a weekly Canadian podcast about young adult literature, their film and television adaptations, and everything in between. Now in its sixth season, the podcast—hosted by film critic Joe Lipsett and English professor Brenna Clarke-Gray—aims to highlight the cultural worth of young adult and middle-grade texts, with a focus on Canadian, Indigenous and minority creatives and stories.
Join us weekly for deep dives, as well as a round of YA BINGO.
Book 6, Chapter 12: You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah
Brenna and Joe are working on our Mitzvahs as we discuss Fiona Rosenbloom’s 2005 book You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah and its 2023 Netflix adaptation by Sammi Cohen.
While both texts are relatively slight, we found these quite enjoyable. The book’s conflict is a little manufactured and the Judaism lessons can be a little after school special, but we’re big fans of Stacy’s relationship with younger brother Arthur.
The film, meanwhile, features the whole Sandler clan, but Sunny and Sadie are great comedic actresses and there’s so much musicality here that we’re willing to forgive how Mean Girls-ish this feels.
Read on for more about this week’s episode from co-host Joe Lipsett:
After two weeks of dystopian The Hunger Games, including Mockingjay Part 2 and the trilogy prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, it feels great to move back into realist YA.
There’s something of a Judy Blume vibe to this coming of age text (we’ve previously discussed Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret – both the book and the film, as has That Shelf’s Larry Fried earlier this year). Not just because the main character is Jewish, but because of the focus on female friendships. And while the book shows its age with its music references, the film is *so* of the moment with its soundtrack.
Brenna and I are the first to admit how successful casting the whole Sandler crew is for the film. It’s not a slam dunk, but it’s highly enjoyable. We would happily watch a sequel to this one! –JL
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