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 28: Wild Pork and Watercress/Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Brenna and Joe close out a month of New Zealand programming with a look at Barry Crump’s 1986 novel Wild Pork and Watercress, as well as Taika Waititi’s long-in-development adaptation from 2016.

We’re talking about how prolific Crump is, Waititi’s humour, and the depiction of Māori youth across several texts.

Plus: montages, survivalism, tanks, and justice for Aunt Bella!

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

It’s the end of the road for New Zealand month, so after talking The Catalogue of the Universe, Whale Rider, and Flight of the Albatross, Brenna and I are finally discussing Taika Waititi’s film, Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

This is the film that launched this theme, because we always planned to cover it (and possibly Jojo Rabbit).

What’s fun is how different, but similar the book and film are. Crump and Waititi have very different comedic sensibilities, but Brenna and I appreciated how each makes the story their own.

This was an interesting experiment and I’m really glad we spent so much time on titles from one country! -JL

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