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 25: The Catalogue of the Universe

New Zealand month begins with a classic text: Margaret Mahy’s The Catalogue of the Universe (1985).

Brenna and Joe discuss the literary prose, the need (even in the 80s) to use romance to sell YA, and the divisive reader reactions to our dual protagonists.

Plus: great families, a wild finale, and an overview of Mahy’s prolific career…which weirdly never made a splash in North America.

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

Occasionally HKHS Pod will program a theme month (like “Spooky Season” in October), but we’ve never exclusively focused on a single nationality before.

We *have*, however, discussed New Zealand author Margaret Mahy before. Back in the podcast’s first year, we tackled her biggest international title, The Changeover. We went into this new title with the understanding that it would also be a genre title, but lo and behold, it isn’t!

While The Catalogue of the Universe has its own rhythm and slightly unorthodox narrative structure, Mahy excels are crafting complicated YA characters. That’s really evident here, particularly in the emotional nuances between leads Angela and Tycho.

I’m honestly a little surprised that this never got an adaptation considering how beloved it is in NZ! -JL

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