#81 - You by Caroline Kepnes (with Laura Petro and Meggie Gates of YA, We Read It!)

Explicit content warning

11/23/22 • 146 min

6 Listeners

Tune in as Laura Petro and Meggie Gates (YA, We Read It!) hang out with Arthur for a review and recap of You, the 2014 debut novel by Caroline Kepnes. This psychological thriller is quite the wild ride, following bookstore clerk Joe Goldberg as he endeavors to show aspiring writer Guinevere Beck just how much he loves her and wants to take care of her—so much so that he’s willing to stalk, kidnap, and murder his way into her heart. The chillingly fleshed-out layers that Kepnes has written for the monstrous Joe, the many literary and film references, reimagining Werner Herzog as a food critic, and the parts of the story that play out like a rom-com are just a few of the topics that the hosts cover.

TW: stalking, murder, toxic relationship, misogyny, sexual content, drug abuse, infidelity, mentions of suicide, brief self-harm

Spoilers start at 26:00

Good Word:

• Meggie: Season 3 of Netflix’s Love Is Blind

• Laura: Season 31 of Survivor

• Arthur: The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

Reach out at [email protected] if you want to recommend things to watch and read, share anecdotes, or just say hello!

Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or any of your preferred podcasting platforms!

Follow Arthur on Twitter, Goodpods, StoryGraph, and Letterboxd: @arthur_ant18

Follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram: @two_centscritic

Follow Arthur on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144101970-arthur-howell

TW: stalking, murder, toxic relationship, misogyny, sexual content, drug abuse, infidelity, mentions of suicide, brief self-harm

Spoilers start at 26:00

Good Word:

• Meggie: Season 3 of Netflix’s Love Is Blind

• Laura: Season 31 of Survivor

• Arthur: The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

Reach out at [email protected] if you want to recommend things to watch and read, share anecdotes, or just say hello!

Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or any of your preferred podcasting platforms!

Follow Arthur on Twitter, Goodpods, StoryGraph, and Letterboxd: @arthur_ant18

Follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram: @two_centscritic

Follow Arthur on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144101970-arthur-howell

Previous Episode

#80 - Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn (with Sam Cabrera-Dixon of Hardcover Hoes)

4 Recommendations

Tune in as Sam Cabrera-Dixon (Hardcover Hoes) returns to 2CC for a discussion on Bloodmarked, the second book in the Legendborn Cycle by Tracy Deonn. The first book, Legendborn, had plenty of goodness to offer fantasy readers as a contemporary YA retelling of Arthurian legend. Is Bloodmarked a worthy follow-up (spoilers: it is)? Comparing the intricate worldbuilding to that of the Blood and Ash series, taking a minute to remember a specific Taylor Swift song, and diving into the layered dynamic between Bree and Sel are just a few of the things that Arthur and Sam do on this episode.

TW: Death of a parent and traumatic grief, combat/battle flashbacks, alcohol consumption, mind control/memory manipulation, drugging/medical abuse, forced captivity, racist macro and microaggressions, emesis (vomiting), blood, ritual magic self-harm to access blood (via hands with safety pin and sword), mild gore, torture, combat/interpersonal violence, murder, death, and mention(s) of: physical abuse, racist violence, sexual violence.

Spoilers start at 12:15

Good Word:

• Arthur: Netflix’s Falling for Christmas

• Sam: Midnights (3am Edition) by Taylor Swift and Christmas by Michael Bublé

Reach out at [email protected] if you want to recommend things to watch and read, share anecdotes, or just say hello!

Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or any of your preferred podcasting platforms!

Follow Arthur on Twitter, Goodpods, StoryGraph, and Letterboxd: @arthur_ant18

Follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram: @two_centscritic

Follow Arthur on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144101970-arthur-howell

Next Episode

#82 - It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover (with Saba)

3 Recommendations

Tune in as my bestie Saba comes back to the show for a discussion on It Starts with Us, the latest novel by Colleen Hoover. This is the sequel to what’s arguably one of her most popular books, It Ends with Us, which even has its very own episode in the 2CC catalog. ISWU isn’t nearly as dark as IEWU, but it still treads into some heavy territory while following the rekindled romance between Lily Bloom and Atlas Corrigan, the challenges that Lily has to confront thanks to the persistent presence of her ex-husband Ryle Kincaid, and the unexpected changes in Atlas’s personal life. Whether or not this sequel is necessary, an explanation of the tragic opening scene in Finding Nemo, and the sinking ship that is Twitter are just a few of the subjects that Arthur and Saba chat about here.

TW: abandonment, emotional abuse, gaslighting, toxic relationships, child abuse, domestic abuse, sexual content, a brief reference to sexual assault

Spoilers start at 16:50

Good Word:

• Saba: Chainsaw Man (specifically the manga)

• Arthur: Coraline (not only the movie, but also the Neil Gaiman book)

Reach out at [email protected] if you want to recommend things to watch and read, share anecdotes, or just say hello!

Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or any of your preferred podcasting platforms!

Follow Arthur on Twitter, Goodpods, StoryGraph, and Letterboxd: @arthur_ant18

Follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram: @two_centscritic

Follow Arthur on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144101970-arthur-howell