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 44: A Monster Calls

Ready to cry? Brenna and Joe discuss Patrick Ness’ surprising A Monster Calls (2011) and J.A. Boyana’s 2016 film adaptation.

These texts are both beautiful and emotionally devastating, which means we both cried A LOT.

Plus: Sigourney Weaver as a British grandma, Tom Holland’s secret role, Jim Kay’s beautiful illustrations, and debating why the film flopped so hard in North America.

Read on for more about this week’s episode from co-host Joe Lipsett:

Brenna and I have discussed author Patrick Ness once before when we tackled The Knife of Never Letting Go and its adaptation, Chaos Walking. That text was another in a long line of dystopian YA texts that didn’t seem interested in tackling politics or world building. Needless to say we weren’t particularly excited for a Middle Grade text about grief from the same author.

Well…colour us surprised.

Not only is A Monster Calls beautifully written and gorgeously drawn by Kay, the book is sensitive and nuanced. It’s an exceptional text that proves you shouldn’t judge an author from a previous text!

I guess we need to keep a little more open-minded, instead of being jaded adults!

With that said, this is a pretty moving text and the film is nearly as powerful. It’s a shame that the film, in particular, didn’t catch on with audiences. It definitely deserves to be reappraised because Bayona is doing something pretty special, particularly for young viewers who need help understanding death. -JL

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