Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

[Music]

My big takeaway was, you know what? This one wasn't for me. This clearly was not for me. Wow. Yeah. Maybe she doesn't like the gay thing. I don't know. Yeah. I don't think that's the way to gay book we read. It's just like half this book I didn't mean. And honestly, the political stuff was so cringy and made me like, "Oh, uncomfortable." You don't smear lipstick all over your face like a fucking clown. Just because you've been in a stressful situation.

Like, you put so much effort in, you read it twice and so we didn't just slip through it and then you were like, "Oh, you're right." [Music] Hello, everyone, and welcome to Mean Book Club. We're back. We're better than ever. It's our season 16, our five-year anniversary. And the seventh episode? Insane. It's an end of an era. What'd you just say? Can see an era. Oh, can see an era, which I think is for 15 years. He is an era, yeah. It's absolutely not five. It was confusing. But this is great.

Sure. This episode, we did "Red, White, and Royal Blue" by Casey McQuiston. Oh, I don't like that reaction. Royal blue. Huh. Yeah. No Oxford comma, if you're... I don't know if you could hear that from my reading, but... And it disgusted me. Nothing I love more than an Oxford comma, and that's the truth. People that... Yeah, I do really like it. Stay in lines that were formed. People that put their carts away in Oxford culpits. That's why I feel so sorry. Do you like the Vampire Weekend song?

Um, I like that they use the word "oxford comma." [Laughter] The song itself is fine. So the title starts off, it's divisive from the beginning. So we know this is going to be a good book for us to do. Let's go introduce ourselves. You know us, you love us, but I'm Sarah. I'm Clara. I'm John Eihlson. I'm Sabrina. I don't know what happened. You're just so excited that I'm back. Yes, it's me. It's Sabrina! Yeah, we did miss you last season. We too too many without you. People were really angry.

People were leaving us one star reviews. I actually got a lot of complaints. I kept listening and then as I was listening, I would like respond as though I was there. It was really sad. We should have recorded that and then it released it as for bonus or for patreon members. Yeah. I think they would have liked it. Directors cut. Also, I apologize in retrospect for any cruel comments, directed your way. Well, let's see if I listen to all the episodes. What could she be referring to?

But guys, let's not talk about the past. We're going to talk about it in a year and now. I just assume. But yes, let's stay in the present. This episode, we have a special guest. John, would you like to do the honors? I would love to. Okay, our guest is a wife, a mother, an event planner working in higher education and a born and bred new Yorker who considers herself a connoisseur of contemporary romance novels. Aaron Sorkins the West Wing and the Dynasties and Monarchies of Europe.

Thanks to Wikipedia, rabbit holes. And contrary to all that, she picked this book as a hate read. Please welcome Rachel Christensen. Oh, hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Thank you so much for having me. We're so happy you're here. And Sabrina Rachel and I are all together and we're really happy about that. And we eat cookies. We're really happy about that, too. Most important. We're really rubbing it in. I'm sorry Sarah. We're going to have our house as separate houses. Our cookie list houses.

Well, you guys chose to move. All of that we had in here. I hear your hurt and then that makes me less jealous. I know you're not that happy. All right. Rachel, we know you for so long. We're so excited to finally get you on the pod. And I think it's a great one. I think it's a great one we got you here for. Yeah. I'm excited to be here. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you for-- Thank you to John for building all of my texts about like when can I be on Mean Book Club?

When can I hang out with all of you? Yeah. It is. I mean, this is our guest, our guest, our just people. We want to hang out with. [LAUGHTER] So that one's perfect. It deserves it because of your fall season one, I believe. We did DaVinci code and me and Sarah and Rachel shared a car ride and listened, made her listen to DaVinci code on the car ride. Yeah, she's the same. So I was there, too. But we didn't have her on the podcast. It was so long.

Yeah. She said a lot of really funny things while we were listening to DaVinci code and then we just stole them and we were irritated them as though they were our own clever. And never hinted for a moment. Getting my credit 15 years later. Well, we said we had to wait to have her on just because we didn't want to know how instrumental she was. Now I'm comfortable putting it out there. Yeah, comfortable in my skin, you know? Yeah, of course. Of course. Brave, close.

But why are we reading this book? It's because as always, we had a fan recommend. This is from Anna Gurgale. I'm sorry. I hope that's-- is it "Jurjely?" How about Anna G. And she'll ask me. OK, that's safe. But I would like to know if you could please write it and tell me how to pronounce your last name. But not that spelling. She said, "Please read Red, White, and Royal Blue" by Casey McQuiston.

It's a love story between the imaginary son of the imaginary first female president of the US and basically Prince Harry of England, renamed Henry. It is fun and sexy, which you guys deserve, but also cringe as all hell and shamelessly ridiculous. Oh, perfect. OK? Now I want to read it. Yeah. That's why I was like Arthur. Is familiar to me. Yeah, that's a cute, great book. But it's not called the "cutering" frustrating thing. It's called "One Last Star."

One last, which is such a-- But we just had a lot better names for it. One last stop was one of the worst. What a-- was not a good name. It might have-- Well, it's just called New York City subway. Wow. Well, it could. That's where to pick the book up. Like, if they did the best title, it would have given away the twist. What, the day is a title? Title traveling, "Cutering"? Yeah, how she began her time travel? Well, that's not a title. What other than that was a twist?

I don't know if that was a twist. How she began her time travel. What's the title you think would be such a title? She took a one last stop because she fell onto the third rail. So that's the title, just like, it would be the best title.

Oh, no. Oh, no. No, no, no. No, no, no. Oh, no. No, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I know what I'm suggesting is the third rail. Oh, OK. I feel like we had better work. I think that book up. That book up. But yeah, that's-- I would pick up that book.

OK. And just a flag for everyone, just a reminder, Casey McQuiston uses they then pronouns. And, you know, we will-- you don't get to criticize the book if you fail to do so. OK. OK, that's fair. I was sad. OK. So how did you guys read this book? I read an audio book that-- it's through a service called Hoopla, which my local library gives you one book a month or something from there. Stingies. So a library service, but not the books at the library.

I don't know what it is, but the library was-- So you might support a library. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm good. I can go. Hi. Great. Yes, you can. A library. In the car, to and from my camping trip to Acetig Island, where I was asked it from my campsite by horses, but that was it. And I listened with Meg and I snuck it on to 1.25. She's like a one-time speedstand. And I thought that it was flying under the radar, but it wasn't. She was like, it's so fast.

I can't even-- I can be-- There must have been pain, Paul, for you. Yeah, that was amazing. And then I got home. I lived your life on like four hours left. And I slept on the couch and listened as I slept. And I woke up very early. I listened a little bit and I was-- But you listened as you played most-- I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I was just trying to sleep. I was just trying to sleep. Just to clarify, you were sleeping and listening to the audio book. You know that doesn't count, right?

I rewound it a little and then fell asleep again. So Sabrina heard the first eight hours of a 12 hour audio book. Yes. And then I looked at the way he appeared. Not the way he appeared. It was like a study guide page. I read that. The first episode-- I think he probably got it. I tried really hard. You know what? I also think it's fine. It's fine. In the end, sure, it's fine. It's fine. Who made a study guide for this book? Abby had a question.

Can we talk a little bit about how you were ousted from your vacation by small horses on an island? Wow, of course. Just a touch on it. I did not. I did not. I just thought I misunderstood what you said. No, it was crazy. We were around our campfire. And then all of a sudden, we were first all we went there. And it's famous for having wild horses. And we were like, I hope we get to see them. And boy did we. They-- we were around a campfire. They came up.

They came in hot and just like pushed us away. From our-- we like abandoned our little campchairs. We abandoned all of our stuff. And then we were like trying to get the way we were like waving our arms and we were like, yeah, yeah, yeah, go away. And then the baby laid down and went to sleep. And then a big one laid down and went to sleep. And then they just stared off in a formation. And they were all stand sleeping. And so they could walk down the beach, hoping they would go away.

They did not. We came back. They were still there. And so we snuck into our tents. And then in the middle of the night, they ransacked all of our stuff and trampled it and ran around in circles. So we love the purpose. This is why I'm not a horse fan. I'm sorry to say that to you, John, but this is horrifying. This is a nightmare. This is a nightmare. I could have done something. You think that. I'm like a parcel tongueman for horses. That's me. No. They see me and they know I'm one of them.

They were forced, but done, John. What I've done, I would have seen what they needed. We would have connected on a spiritual and higher level. And you would have missed each other's eyes. All right. We did all. We did all. We did all. So I wrote the book on Kindle. I like to do this thing when I order on Amazon, where I pick whatever day gets me extra digital points. So that I get free books on Kindle and I never have to pay for a book. So that's how I read it. I got a free book in Amazon.

Nice. And I read it twice. Whoa. Just to be sure. Right. I see very fast. The way that Sabrina listens to books is how I read books. So do you feel like a little insulted with Sabrina's method of like you put so much effort in you read it twice and Sabrina just slipped through it? No, because I kind of understand like what made her fall asleep. Yeah. But if I could have fallen asleep while reading it, I would have see. See? See? See? See? So still validated.

I got a physical book out of the library. So showing you off. Everyone. Nice. I tried to get it through the library and the wait list was two months long. But that's ridiculous. Yeah. I was surprised. I did do a lot of disappoint people when they read the book. Yeah. Yeah. I almost bought it at the airport. Thank God I didn't. I still bought it via Audible, but there's something less awful about having it virtually even. Interesting. It's not taking a lot of space to do the read it.

Yeah, you would have thrown it away. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, sure, sure, sure. Or join me through to the library. So I could have one more copy. Today's specifically saved, do not quote unquote donate books for your drop box there. I think it's been to make people putting in trash like red, white, and white, blah, blah, blah. You could do another free library boxes around the street. Oh, yeah. You can shove anything in there. I used to take them to free-bird bookstore. Oh, that's nice.

I do sometimes take books that Matt is actively reading and he has to go to free-bird bookstore and buy them. Oh, my God. That's perfect. That's happening more than once. He takes several years to refoxed. I don't know how to make that clear. And he remembers them. Like he's like, ah, yes, page 29 where I left off. That's so creepy. Oh, my God. That's so sad. Oh, OK. All right, guys, you ready to do the summary? Yeah. Yeah. Great. I'm very excited.

Everyone's-- you just have the names I didn't write. So it's going to be simple, straightforward. They don't see a whole lot of Jonah. [LAUGHTER] All right. This is funny already. All right. All right. Rachel, you got it up? Yeah. All right. Let's go. We see Alex, the president's son, Dresden and Gucci, leather, American flag suit, texting. Ugh, so mad, president and mommy is making me pretend to be friends with a hot piece of royal ass. So you think he's hot? Well, people think he's hot.

I think he's stuffy and British. Really, I just hate it. Why? Because he is Britain's special boy, and I am America's special boy. We are opposites and we fight. Are great Britain and America friends? Yes, and that's exactly why Henry and I have to pretend to be friends. The countries are such good friends that if the special boys don't like you, people question the entire relationship, probably stop trading and spying together. Would be bad. I see. So when do you see him?

I'm seeing him tonight. I'm sleeping over in his room. We're sharing sleeping bag. It's gonna be so fun coming from all the only place for my dick to go will be in between his cheeks. So hard, like, like difficult hard. So you want me to rex it your cock? Wait, who is this? Not my sister June. We see Prince Henry wearing a pink tweed jacket, a white collared shirt and a union jack thong. No, it's Prince Henry. And I also very much so want to bone you.

I'm closeted because British people are homophobic. Well, I'm not gay. I had sex with women as well as men. Wait, I guess that makes me bisexual. Okay, let's have sex. Do me. Whoa, boring people are so good at sucking dick. It's a shame. I'm not a gay. But it was not the end. There were actually 300 more pages of Republican bad, Democrat good, British monarchy bad. Remember the 2016 election? Email servers, the close call.

What if Hillary Clinton did win because she did believe in herself hard enough and didn't have a gay son? Well, that's what happens here. It's cringy and a weird tonal shift from the gay enemies, televers, romcom, you were reading earlier. These are just my thoughts. My name is John. I'm not a gay. Wow, that's weird. Had that thought already in the book, then where I was like, but this is not the end. Why are there more pages? Yes, yes. So many times.

They wanted us to be invested in whether the mommy president wins another four years in office and I was like, we know she's going to win. Yeah, I don't care. Also, I ruined the reveal by being British right off the bat. No, it was the other British characters. You were fine because we're forgetting that this was like over text. So, you know, he couldn't read the British, but we could hear it. It didn't come through to me that it was over text, but I do see that he was texting. Oh, okay.

I thought it was a really good artistic choice. Yes, and insightful. Thank you. Really good. Sarah really got some money. Scanning to try and figure out who I was and it said, I'm Henry because Sarah just listed as our names. I think it was a good summary. I'm not going to find any fault. I liked my part, too. I did like having a lead. You were the lead. Yeah, I liked it. My part was, I'm a script artist. I liked it, but, yeah.

I know it's on it in actual, but that was actually completely acting. Wow. I was thinking about it because did you guys see the trailer? I guess as we record this, the movie version should be, should probably have premiered on Amazon. Yeah, I thought it was on already. It's on August 11. So, probably you're listening to this. It's either, there's probably coming out around that date, so it's either just come out or it's about to come out.

But as we're recording it, the trailer just dropped today. We did it. Yeah, I linked to it. I'm so excited to watch it. I really want to do it as our Patreon episode. Yes. Yeah. The day it comes in my question, but it would be good to at least someday do it as a Patreon. Okay. Maybe two soon. There's all business right away. All business, I'm just trying to get lost. We'll just watch the trailer and try to tell me, you don't want to watch it. I didn't say I didn't want to watch it.

I just said maybe not this season. Okay. Whatever. Okay. I'm gonna jump on his jugs. Janna. Ba-da-ba-ba-ba-ba. It's John's jugs. And guess what? I did good. Okay. So, I went to Henry Street Wine and Likers. In my neighborhood, beautiful, a little wine shop. I love it. And I walked in and I said, very pregnantly, I'm looking for wine. And it needs to go with this book called Red White and Royal Blue. And the guy was like excited. He was like, okay. I'll be something about the book.

I thought that would be enough. Just taking it around with the chit-sir. And I was like, okay, it's about the first son of the United States who falls in love with the prince of the United Kingdom. And it was the first time I ran into trouble with this book because I was like, I want to make sure he knows I didn't like this book and I want to say it in a negative way. But as I was saying it, I was like, I need to spin it.

So he doesn't think it's because I didn't like the homeless son of the sh*t. So I found myself at about a bit of a pickle because his eyes kind of lit up when I explained it, but I had said it in a downbeat way. So I was kind of like, yeah. It's for my book, love. And I'm not sure. You didn't tell me about the book, Felix? I didn't tell him about it. You just said "pokastia" in hand of a business card? Opportunity to advertise.

Wow. Actually the other man who checked me out was also interested in why we were reading it. And my confidence was so busted because I was raised my head about like, I want you to know I liked it. But not for, or I just liked it, but not for a bad reason. And again, you're in your head about that and not the fact that you're a very visibly pregnant woman by wine. So then I got in my head in that way. But he picked out a lovely wine.

It's bright, light and colorful, perfect for a gay summer romance. And it is not that one. That's my fake little wine, that one. Oh, cute. St. St. Sob. And it is, he said he loves it. So we're going to try it right now. And then I went to Boyson in Park Slope and paid $15 more for a non-alcoholic wine, which is ridiculous. I know. Did you ask them to match the book to a non-alcoholic wine? No. I just said is there a pregnancy safe wine? And he was like, there are all none of these have alcohol.

Is there a pregnancy safe? Because I'm going to drink the whole bottle. Oh, my poor. Yes, please. So this one doesn't match. It's just, it's a sharp name that has zero alcohol in it. So we'll give it a try. Does it taste like-- I hope it tastes like $40 or so. Fag wine. All right, but why would you like that? But it's the same stuff. After being so getting so in your head and frazzled at the first wine store, you still had no problem asking a tough question to the next one.

Like, in the whole hell, I guess. I'm going to stop here. The next one. Not necessarily a dumb question, but maybe a little bit embarrassing question. Well, then he said who's drinking it? And I was like, me. So I don't know. But also he-- oh, it's red. I wasn't expecting it to be red. But it's a silly red. It looks like a red. OK, I didn't know. It's not a shardinay. Well, mine is a shardinay, but the so-- Fag wine is shardinay. The real wine is-- red. It's a very light red.

It's one of those reds that doesn't really stick to the sides of the glass. I'm nervous about it. Right? Don't worry. You don't have to drink it. And while they pour and try the wine, we're going to go to a quick commercial break. We'll be right back after this commercial message. [MUSIC PLAYING] And we're back. What do you guys-- what are your review of the drinks since you guys are sipping them? Yum-o. Love it. OK, wow. A red double win. A double win. We each of our own bottles.

I might drink this bottle, or-- That's fine. All right, that's huge. We haven't had a glass-- Super drunk. Oh. Yeah. Just wanting to look fit for my wedding. But you have a big batch that you need. But we're good on you. You have a big-- [LAUGHTER] There's nothing to eat. There's nothing the wine's not going to make that butt go away, sweetie. How appropriate for this book to be talking about butts? Oh my god. Big butt. Big butt. There's a lot of butt talk.

I'm saying, you look at-- Sorry, I'm probably coming up. You don't want to stop drinking. If anything, you want to drink more. Oh, since I made that appointment, you can get up all every single day. [LAUGHTER] If anything, I've upped my frequency of drinking. Right. It's water is what you need to cut out when you get closer. Absolutely. Get that water away. Yeah, get it out. This water is very-- Pass out for your wedding. You know, it's worth it.

All right, guys, this book, Red, White, and Royal Blue. It is Casey McQuiston's first book. Oh! It was a New York Times best seller. It was released in May 2019 and was the next month for one week, a New York Times best seller in paperback trade fiction. Now I do think it could make a comeback when this movie comes out. That would be surprise if it's not back up there, but it was a one-weeker. That's correct. Good answer.

Yeah. And Casey McQuiston first came up with the idea for what would become Red, White, and Royal Blue. And as you guys know, everyone knows the 2016 US presidential election. She's-- They say they watched-- We were there. They watched a season of the HBO comedy series VEEP and read some Clinton and Royal Family biographies. How does that make you feel? I'm surprised.

I'm surprised they did that much research, to be honest, because I read this book and I was like, I guess anyone could just write about anything. Anything. Yeah, yeah. And the way the characters are watching the West Wing, they're watching Parks and Reck, I'm like, yeah, she watched VEEP and then she wrote a book. That actually upsets me because I was like, how dare they speak-- That's not fair. The name of VEEP. It's not fair. It's not fair to VEEP. It's not fair to VEEP.

It's like, it's not VEEP's fault what idiot does with it. But it's not fair to be like, you know, this is a derivative of VEEP. No, it's fucking not. I wonder, I'm pretty approached to do it. Do you just show good Julia Louie Dreifest to play Ellen in the Amazon? No, oh my god, you know who plays Ellen? How cool is it? What about it? It's Uma Thurman. I need to see. I'm like, good guy. It's such a good get that I'm like, what is going on with her career? I know. Look, I think it looks good.

I think if you watch a trailer, I think her hair looks bad. I like that it's supposed to be his best quality. And also they made Alex taller in the show. Yeah, I know that. But I mean, what can you do? It's fine. It's not a big deal. It's a man-top man. It is, it is, it is wrong. But I guess if you have Uma Thurman, that's going to be, that's a tall woman. That's a tall mommy. It's not a tall man, I'm a president. Uma Thurman, he said he would review for violation of the state's obscenity laws.

He wanted it out of libraries. I think he was just looking for an excuse to read it. Oh absolutely. He had to review it. Everyone's reviewing this guy's. I've got to take home all the copies of it. Also, the share? Maybe he was a study guide. Oh my God, he's keeping damage. I bet he was disappointing because the sex scene, I had a hard time picturing it from her description. Oh, well, yes, we'll get into it. Can I give an example of who's sex scenes? Here's an example.

They both make some involuntary, unflattering noises. Ooh, baby. I added the ooh baby. That wasn't even a joke. Yeah, I don't remember it. That's how Casey describes sex. I was straight in the more stuff in my head. So I don't want to, I don't think we need to go into Casey's background because we talked about them when we did one-liners projects. Yeah, I don't really have anything. I didn't cover any highlights. Okay, sure.

Are they like the idea that like, yes, they are the early 30s by non-binary, they're a pie enthusiast. They write queer books. Pie likes the baked good? Yes, like the baked good. And Casey would love to write a character that's a pie math enthusiast. We'll make a video. Maybe like this is such a corkyl trait. And they got a journalism degree from Louisiana State University.

So oddly enough, doesn't say anything about being in the Pete Buttigieg fan club, which is what I would have expected from later on this book. Oh, fine. But yeah, that's the background of the book. Obviously, extremely popular. This is a book that skyrocketed them to fame. And it's going to be a movie that comes out now or soon, depending on when this comes out. And then the last or the least church event, all of that happened to such a bad book.

I get it, though, but honestly, the book is very good. I will say I like the premise. Like the premise. I was like, yes, I started this book and I was like, this is a book for me. I was really excited. Imagine if the people did it. Okay, yeah, yeah, but that wasn't when I was, yeah, but we'll talk about it. I agree. Okay. But there's also a ton of that. So it's going to be fun to talk about. That's funny, Sarah, just because I, my big takeaway was, you know what? This one wasn't for me.

This clearly was not for me. Wow. Yeah. Maybe she doesn't like the gay thing. I don't like the gay book we bred. Some of my best friends are gay. Oh, really gay, Brad. That doesn't mean anything. I just have so many friends. It doesn't mean anything. The proportionally, I feel it's a high percentage. She's not discerning. Okay. Not discerning. You're right, Alex. Alex, I'm so excited. I have no friends. Alex is the main character. He's the son of the president, president Claremont.

And yet he does it. He's just friends with a sister and then like the vice president's granddaughter. Well, he's in college. And he lives in home in the White House. It's sad with any possible friends. Yeah. And he explains it. He's like, it just made sense, financially. I think you know that money. It's not that scared. I think you family has money. You're going to do it. Yeah, I think you'll be just fine. I'm not. I have the college experience, Alex. It'd be so hard though.

Well, I guess, I mean, the book didn't indicate that in any way. Yeah, well, there was no answer. The question was, just like, here are normal people. I'm going to give them title of president's son and prince. But since I don't know anything about that, they're just going to be exactly like all the people you know in college. I think he's a lot like my toddler who thinks that she's like a 30 something.

And though he just wanted to be there and be a grownup with the grownups, but actually he's a child. And thus needs to live it up. Exactly. So I don't know who wrote this information about Alex in the-- I did. Go ahead, Cher. OK. So here's a little bit about Alex. You know, he's normal because he made tables of his classmate strengths and weaknesses when he was a child. I love it.

At one point, he is a huge dick to a security guard that is just trying to protect his client, prince Harry, I mean, prince Henry. And he is an algal madafiliac. What does that mean? So that means he is a person with a sexual attraction to statues. And if you run closely as I did, there was a point in the book where he sees a statue of Samson and he is infatuated by the statue. OK. This is my most attractive thing he's ever seen. I know, but I believe you. That's a fun fact.

I also-- I think Google does Samson's statue. OK. You can see how hot it is, how big that is. I don't know. Yeah. Check it out. Yeah. Yeah. I think he more so got off on history. He and Prince Henry both were big lovers of history. The other main characters, Prince-- OK. Alex Claremont Diaz, everything is mostly from his perspective. The Moose. It's a statue of Moose. It's a statue of Moose from his perspective. It's a tiny from his perspective. It is in what, third person-- Yeah.

Yeah. I was thinking about what is this tense. It's present. It's present tense. Right? Oh, Sarah, if he's attracted to him, all right. It's called Krona Felia. Samson. Like Samson and Delilah? Yeah. Like Samson and Delilah. It's a statue of-- This is so big. This is a real statue, Sabrina. This is again, and we're talking about an image. And this is a podcast. OK. We have an image. He was in his first person omniscient. I believe it was where. What he-- It's first person omniscient.

OK, because it's like-- Oh, he's a really hot person. He wouldn't be in the story. I thought first person was like, I do x, y, g. But it's-- yeah, it's not i. There's no i. But you might still be right. What's the first-- I don't know if this point of view is-- Maybe it's second person. Wait, yeah, what's second person? Second person is you. You rarely see that. It's like-- When it first told from the first person to say, by an area, or-- Yeah, it is. It's not a first-nommission.

That would be-- If he was telling this story, then also knew it was going on with-- I think it's just regular third person, maybe. No, because we only know stuff about Alex. So it's not omniscient. It's just third person. It's just third person. Yeah, just limited. That's right. So just what Clara said, and I said, no. Third person is what-- I didn't know that. Third person limited. Third person limited. I think that's just third person.

Well, John, I bet me a book fox is telling me it's-- It's called third person, Ligana. Sorry, Clara was a Lissandra. I've been looking at the statue of St. James and Slay in the Gond. And I'm incredibly attracted to this. It's a pretty hot statue. All right, Sharon statue. I feel like this would have been the time for the masters in English to jump in. No. All right, guys, we're going to share this in the chat. We'll look at it, but I'm going to try to move on. We'll see how successful this is.

Good luck. I just want to make sure, John, I heard that you said is a divorce statue. [LAUGHTER] I'm not attracted to horses. I just think some horses are sexy. They themselves think they're sexy, not me as a viewer. They themselves are sexy, not me. It's not my-- Still good. You're sharing the picture with us. OK, great. This is just the horses. Yeah. Is he hitting someone before they invade? Yeah, it's murder. He's murdering a Philistine. I can't. But really, they're about to fuck.

Oh, the wild courses are beautiful. OK, let's get back on track. All right, Prince Henry Fox, Mount Christian Windsor. I have to first say, did you guys see that he's the Prince of Wales? He's not the Prince of Wales. Right, but in this book, it says Prince of Wales. And it may be so angry. He was like, no, he's not. That? How? So it does explain to me why this doesn't make sense? It doesn't make sense. Right, the Prince of Wales is the direct heir to the throne.

So his mother should have been the Princess of Wales. He's like-- All right. But he's signed Prince of Wales. Because so Wales is essentially his last name, because it's his mother's title. So he's not Prince of Wales, but he's Prince Henry of Wales. Just like-- OK, so you're saying in his children-- OK, OK. The Cambridge children are like Prince Louis of Wales now. But he's not-- Oh, right. He's the Prince of Wales's son. And this is why we brought you on, right?

Yeah, that's why we brought you on. I'm like, yeah, I was-- Clara Vrockville, Maryland. It's a weird-- And like-- It's weird. --they wrote a lot of weird ways in which they address Henry. And they're like, he's the heir to the throne. And I'm like, no, he's not. Right, that grew me off so many times. His mother is the heir to the throne, and then his older brother is the heir to-- And then he's an older sister too. Yeah. Like, he's the third child. All right. He's black and he's her-- --spaired.

He's black and he's her-- --spaired. --why did they care? He's black and he's her-- --spaired. --but he's not the spare. He's the spare of the spare. He's the third kid. Maybe he's the-- --spaired. --he's the spare of the child. --what the child's spare means. He's going to have kids. All right, yeah. We don't really care if he wants to have kids or not. I bet that was an unnecessary point of their argument when they were visiting the Queen.

All right, this is going to be a lot of-- --it doesn't matter if he has kids. It affects nothing. [MUSIC PLAYING] But more about Prince, I know you talk about it. Fox, Monk, Christians, Wizard of Wales. No, we're not re-explaning. He's troubled. He's a famous-- because we can't have two normal protagonists. We have to have one who is somewhat emotionally available, and we have one that can open up. And you know he's a deep and troubled soul because he says things like, for me-- --for me.

--memories are difficult. Very often, they hurt. --memories. Is that the word? --memories. --memories hurt. And then he also ghost Alex for a week. And Alex is like, I guess our relationship of two months is over. And he confronts about it. He's like, how could you think I didn't care? Well, you didn't contact me at all for over a week. You broke up with me. I knew you just did that. --yeah. Yeah, he's very emotional, and his dad died, and it made him sad. --He had a shout out.

--I loved that his dad played James Bond. --I'm going to say that. --Say this to him. --That's a tough room to do. --I love that one. --That was such a great detail. --I also did love that detail. --I thought it was interesting, but I was also completely dis- --because I'm like, if this is a royal-- this we're in a reality where the royal family, the princess, or the next in line, married, went against the grain, and married a man who was a movie star, and she's still in line.

They've already had to deal with this. They're really like that anti-gay. He's not even in line to become-- --He's so deep in line. It's so weird. --It was problematic that he was James Bond, because he shouldn't have had a job. Like his job should have been to be-- --Right. --When did they get married? --Well, they started dating when they were like 23. And I don't think he played James Bond at 23. --Yeah, I agree. --It was confusing. --It's wrong that he was James Bond.

--So that wouldn't actually be possible. He would have had to quit his job and be a full-time royal. But I think it's also awesome in terms of the details. But you're going for cool, Brit knowledge, the fact that his dad played James Bond. Very cool. Well respected. --But he's dead. --That's what makes me so happy about him is that he was dead. --Yeah, yeah. And I don't know. I found the character, Prince Henry, which also, I guess, you keep saying it's Harry. Perry's real name is Henry.

It is, it is funny. --It's so definitely based on his-- --So funny. And there's the Prince fill-up, which is-- I guess it's not as-- --Wait, is that his brother in this, but fill-up, yeah. --They like, yeah, they like switched Philip and Catherine. --For some reason. --Yeah, yeah, but they're like-- --And Beatrice is also his cousin. --Yeah. It was weird. I was like, why are we not? So it's not the real family, but you're going to use some names that are using some of the names.

--And the last name, they use Windsor. --Yeah. --I do feel like there was some pointed names over and over. Like they have a, like, a little pamphlet that they can choose from. And then those are the only names that are allowed. But the author actively chose names that were active in the royal family. --Yeah. --Like, King Philip, which obviously the Queen's husband was Philip. --Sure. --Harry Henry. He may as well have had Diana William. --Yeah, yeah, he does.

I guess that was a book that-- --Megin, Megyn. --The Philip could just make heirs, then he would have. --I mean, because this book has so much alternate universe starting from, like, 2016 forward, didn't it feel like Casey was just kind of dealing with some shit after the 26th election? And they were like, man, I wish this didn't happen. I wish, from what didn't exist. I wish the pandemic didn't exist. I wish I could. They were just some gay. --I wish I was just a gay.

--I didn't have to think about that a lot, where it was like, is this what it could have been like for Harry and Megyn if, like, Diana had been around instead of Philip? --Right. --I was like, his mom would just be there to advocate for her? --Yeah, maybe. --I didn't think about that at all. --I think it was really interesting, like, imagine your universe. --Yeah, but it really felt, it felt like I was watching, I was reading someone deal with their own shit, like, the deal with their personal.

--I wish the way I dealt with my own shit was to write a best song, "Demondale." --That'd be nice. --It will be for me soon. --Don't worry. --That's all menace. --That would write better. --You're very careful. --You're very careful. --What is this, Sabrina? Are you writing a book? --You know what are you telling me? --Well, maybe sometime in the future. --Okay. --Oh, I see. --I see. --If you say it on the podcast, then you have to actually do it, so you're just trying to motivate yourself.

--Exactly. --Manifesting your dreams. --As we follow through on every promise we've made on that. --There are other characters, but I don't really need to talk about them right now. I think we can just go right into the story. --Okay, let's do it. --I would love that. --Can I start? --For first, more than half, it feels like the first half is what's his name, Alex convincing himself and us that he hates Prince Harry. --No, first half is incorrect. You mean first 30 pages?

--It felt like one time. --They are kissing by a book. --They kiss by --What page a hundred? --Before page a hundred? --I wonder if they kiss. --Is there a sprig? --Well, I guess they kiss. --Yeah, it's --Okay. --This all happens so fast compared to the politics part. That's my only point. --But keep going.

--Okay, well, I guess because from the premise, we know that they get together and sort of the implications politically is what's going to be interesting spending so much time on the preamble of them not knowing they like each other was frustrating. Like get to the fucking book. We know they end up together. --I disagree so well. --So well, they won't be. --It's the will they want they for me, honey, and I was the will they want they for me. --And it is the will they want they for me.

--You got to see the answer first. --We knew that they were going to. --Sure, but you always know they're going to. But you want it's the experience of the will they want they the push and the pull. That was taken away from me so early in this book. And they could have brought it back.

--So I've done a thing where oh Henry finds out that there was this, that Alex was pretending for some time or and then they're like, do you really love, there's some like, there could have been more drama around it, but it was just to me resolve so quickly. --So quickly. --And I was like, I'm done with this. --It was interesting at all. --I was done with the book after they were having sex. I was done with it. --Okay, well I was. --There could have been a better will they want that.

--I would like to take issue, well, I do and I don't. I want to take issue with the most absurd premise of which Sarah you absolutely did hit on in the summary, but I want to like punctuate how crazy this is. The whole reason they're spending time together after being sworn enemies for years is that they're out of royal wedding and they're hanging out and I don't know.

They like fall into a cake basically and then the world is like, oh my god, the first son and the prince are beefing, which is like, you mutually fall into a cake that's not like a big beef for at all. And then there's like this press team solution where it's like, we have to set up them becoming best friends. They need to do several in-person events together. They should have each other's phone numbers to text because people will ask for the receipts.

And then like, that's why they're hanging out. --It doesn't really make sense. --It doesn't really make sense. --The whole thing, yes. --Sorita, I need to question your logic here. The idea that Hunter Biden and Prince William getting some sort of fisticuffs had fallen into a cake at a wedding. You think that wouldn't be gigantic? --Okay. --A very emotional news. --It could be anything every tabloid is like, oh yes, thank you. --But they didn't fight. --They just fell.

--Well, it was Hunter Biden's second tabloid counter. --But it could still, you had to make it like someone pull out. --Sure, but I just mean like it still would be so easy to be like, yeah, they tripped and fell or like it would be easy to like, set it aside or it would blow over. --You don't need to solve it. --But a lot is interesting. That does sell papers.

--Yeah, I think it's one of the-- --Okay, so even if it is big news, how would being like, let's say they've been friends all along and prove it with a weekend slumber party, how does that solve it? --Exactly. --Right. --Also, I'm sorry, but you have a gay man. Who at one point in the book says, I am so fucking gay. And then a bisexual man and you're having them have these slumber parties. No one in their life is like, hey, this person's gay. --He's too really hot, guys.

--Hobby these two little things. --Hot gays have slumber parties. And then being upset that they're gay, I am with you. --Yeah. --Also, like, technically Henry wasn't out. --Right, but Alex didn't know yet that he was bisexual, which is so easy to know. --He absolutely would. --Absolutely would I kill us today? --He wouldn't know. --But if you're that gay that you're like, I'm so fucking gay, people know. --Mm-hmm. --Yeah. --He's also like, they're in love with Alex forever. --Right.

--So, you don't want to raise a flag and say, this is going to be bad. --Also, at the beginning where Alex just kept being like, we're like enemies. And like, cuz like, you know, I love an enemy is to love her story, but it was like-

They- it was so flimsy as to why they didn't like each other. There was like- - That was like, - But it was like, but the thing, when they're on the plane, I like, I highly did every time I threw up this cuz I was like, "This is the most insane thing" when they're on the plane and there are like, there are a few things about Alex and June that knew White House Highers are briefed on before they start, and it ends with Alex's long standing grudge against the youngest prince

Like, it was a few years, it wasn't actually that big of a deal. Why does it have to be like a long standing grudge? Like, they're enemies, they're sworn enemies and mortal and whatever. Like, what the fuck, dude? Are you 12? - Yeah. - No, I'm thinking against this guy? That's what made this feel like, because of his attitude to beginning, felt like- - That's what made this feel like- - When I got the heat at her, then he was like just 21, I was like, "I don't make sense, yeah, I'll be inside."

- I'd like to talk about the sort of moment where he started to soften on Henry or Henry. - Or do you mean "Hot"? - Get "Hot" or "I don't know" - I thought the same thing! - No! - I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it. - So there are, you know, children's cancer ward, Sarah, no time for jokes. - And then, Sarah, do you have a good, you have a singer ready? And then, what's his, Alex still hates Henry? And then he listens to him reading to a cancer patient and is like, "Wow, he's really nice."

And then, they hear gunshots and are shoved into a closet, and there's nothing in the closet together, and they start talking about Star Wars and stuff, and neither of them are like the sick children are getting shot. No one brings it up. It's like, "Wow, you're a teenager." - A pinion of her again that he's reading to the sick child, but it doesn't, it's supposed to be something they haven't come in, they both really cares, like, "No, they fucking don't."

- They're joking around in the closet and getting to know each other. - You're absolutely right, but like, stop ruining that scene for me because it was one that I liked. - Okay. - It was really crazy. They were debating which the best Star Wars movie was. - And sort of like getting grab assy, and it's like, "Security won't lose out yet, just they don't have the old figures." - Code blue, you're not thinking about what's going on.

- I think that means that they were made for each other, like if... - They were. - Both of you have that reaction. - I guess it's their trauma response, you know? - I invalidate Star Wars that response. - Yeah. - I'm sorry. - That's why I don't accept that the author's right about... - Yeah. - It ended up being fireworks, but like, how did the author not catch that? - Like... - Yeah, maybe? - Potential shooting in a children's cancer ward is a big thing to talk about.

- Yeah, yeah. - The author didn't care about the sick child's red. - I don't think she did. - Maybe she thought the sick child's red. - I don't think they did. - Maybe the sick children were doing the shooting and that was... - So was I... - Sure. - Is that okay? - Is that okay? - If it's a sick child killing... - Oh, I didn't know that they made it okay, so... - No it does. - I think in the original makeup... - It might have been a makeup wish. - Also, it wasn't Star Wars, it was Harry Potter.

And then it was changed once the JK Rowling changed. - Oh, really? - I believe... All right, I read that that was... There were significant Harry Potter references removed and I... I just... I have to assume that... - That would make sense. - That would make sense. - That was... - 'cause that's kind of a... - Millennial thing to talk about. - Yeah, and this is so Millennial. - Do you think... - Yeah, I think so. - So I go back to it if one of the shooters was one of the kids...

Do you think if a kid's makeup wish was to take a life, they could be paired up with someone who wanted to be euthanized? - Why not? - I can't hear you that well, but... - You're so cute, dark. - Or... - Like a deck, a deck row situation. They pushed the button. - I said, do you think if a kid's desire was to take a life, they could be partnered up with someone who wanted to be euthanized? - Oh, that could be... - I think Johnny... - Do you think there's a makeup wish kid?

- It's not just any kid. - No, Johnny, I think you could set up a little dark whip, little makeup wish business there. I think you'd got a real idea. - The wishes they... - Why don't want you to have... - Yeah. - Don't you have your ins and outs to roots? - Yeah, sure. - I don't know what kind of chemicals go into that, but sure, if you can. - So these are... - Are we... - Are we... - So they go back to the book.

- So, yay. - And they start being their flirty, they're making each other laugh, they're texting. I don't know... - I'm just thinking about it. For some reason, Henry comes to the US, they don't remember some... always some vague reason, like... - The Pride Menace. - The Pride Menace. - Their cares. - For the dinner. - State dinner. - And he finally, Henry, is like, kisses him. - I mean, that's... - Oh, you know why he comes? It's because they have a new... - Oh, the New Year's Day.

- The young... - And they white house... heirs... I always throw the best New Year's Eve party with celebrities. He's like, "No, I don't fucking think so." (laughing) - I don't see you. - The right answer is, "I love it." - Cute. - I don't think any slip, I don't think any... What they say is like, "The Stranger Things Kids" come and like... - Oh yeah, they kept saying the guy from Stranger Things. - Yeah, they do. There's so many references in this book, they really work.

I feel like, especially with the references and the... and then the polytechnic stuff, I can't tell if that'll be easier to read later or if it's like... Like if it's worse just because we're so close to it, or if it's gonna get... - Or it's so much time. - Or over time, it's gonna feel worse, if that makes sense. - Yeah. I don't know if it'll feel worse so much as dated. - I do know that it'll feel worse. - It already feels dated. - Yeah, it already feels dated. - Yeah, it already feels dated.

- I mean, any specific is dated. - Coca-Cola dated. - Coca-Cola is actually... - No, timeless. - These most known word in the entire world. - Yeah. - Except my thumb. - No, it's Coca-Cola. - I love Coca-Cola. - I love me too. - I would do something in that vein. - I think it's Coca-Cola and bye bye. - You know what Coca-Cola does? - Coca-Cola sends to underdevelop nations like a bunch of paraphernalia. They'll be like shirts.

They'll be like, you'll be at a convenience store and their awning will be a Coca-Cola awning. - Oh, yeah. - They'll have like umbrellas and pills. - So, that's how they're Coca-Cola. And it's just like propaganda. - Yeah, we love it. And as always, Coke is one of our sponsors of the pod. We love Coca-Cola, but let's also throw to our other sponsors for some commercials and we'll be right back. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - And we're back.

Okay, we're talking red, white, and royal blue. So after the kiss, I think our buddy, Alex starts thinking. And then you get, I think a chapter or two on him figuring out that he's bisexual. And I actually liked these chapters. I thought they were very funny. - Maybe. - Is this another thing where you're laughing at the book but you didn't even get a friend? - No, I thought it was like Charming.

I was like that he was reaching out to these people he hooked up with and being like, was that me being gay? - Yeah. - I don't know. I thought it was Charming. I don't know, but I also want to know. - Okay, well, he reached out to the guy in high school who he mutually jerked off and said, was that gay? - Here's the thing, I do think that is true to, I'm gonna educate you, Sabrina, on something. - True, actually. - Actually, experience.

I think that is true to when you are like exploring if you're gay or bisexual because you're like, does everyone do this? - That's, yeah. - I suppose fair. - But, yeah, that's a frame of-- - Sabrina, talk about your ex-girls. - You're kind of like dicks. (laughing) - Sabrina, did you have to realize you were bisexual and did you just always know? - I did have to realize that. - I did. - Did you do it by call for the way you looked up? - Although, I actually, I suspected for a really long time.

I think I famously said on this podcast before, if not in person to all of you. I distinctly remember, I crushed early, like I had crushes early. My preschool crush, boy. First day of kindergarten, girl across from me, I was like, she's beautiful. (laughing) - I love that. - And, never materialized, couldn't possibly remember her name. But I do remember, she was a twin. I do remember with a boy, it was fraternal twins. I was like, well, there's a boy version. Shouldn't I just like him?

(laughing) And it turned out they weren't actually in my class. They were just at kindergarten orientation, so I didn't materialize. Then in college, I was like, I could be a lesbian. And my friends, no one on this pod, notably everybody else was gay. I said, I could be a lesbian if it may say, no. (laughing) - And I just tried to do a clock, and just trying to fit in. - Like you said, I could be a writer. - I could be a, no. - That's funny.

I remember your process, and we get a disout of you don't like this, but I remember-- - Oh, I know, I was just gonna say we don't have dinner now. - Okay, I remember, so we just process was, I'm straight. And I was like, actually, I think I'm asexual. (laughing) I've never been attracted to anyone, and then it was, I'm straight, I am dating a woman, (laughing) do not identify as bisexual. And then, we landed on. - We landed here.

Which I think is actually pansexual, but I had to be more sexually okay, okay, okay, okay. - Because that statue of stamps. (laughing) - Are you crazy? - I knew you got the statue. - Never mind, look it up, it's a good statue. - Well, I don't even really remember this part of the book. - Okay. - So I'm gonna say Sabrina's story was more riveted. - Well, it was the last part of the book that I enjoyed. That's why I remember.

- Then after that, it was just like, they were, oh no, you know what, I guess they did. Oh, you know, let's talk about them, hooking up finally, and then, doing it. - Well, the little kissy first. - They did a little kissy make out. - Yeah, and like, that's it. - Like, like, clue to Alex in. They're at this dinner, and, this is before the watching, oh no, is it the watching? It's like, Alex is like, dancing. - That's the party, that's the new year's party. - That's the party.

He's dancing and he sees Henry just like, watching him riveted all night. And then he and Nora, Nora, by the way, is the vice president's granddaughter. - The brainy one. - The brain, she's, oh, - She's so brilliant. - Oh, my gosh. - She's so annoying. - Yeah, they're all immense. - Nate Silver is trying to get her to do some work for him. You know, it's, let's all work. - Yeah, Nora calculated that he had a 78% late in homosexual tendency. So she's fun, she's someone you wanna be around.

- And she is bisexual. - She is. - She is a single. - Oh, for people who didn't sleep through the last 30-foot, I do have a question, but I'll get you it later. - Okay. So anyway, Henry's watching Alex dance, sweating on the dance floor, then like midnight kiss, Nora and Alex kiss, and then all of a sudden, Henry disappears. - With a bottle of alcohol. - With a bottle of alcohol. And Alex is like, where could he be? And then he goes out to a garden, of course. Henry is brooding under a tree.

- Oh, there's snow everywhere. - There's snow everywhere. - There's not that much snow in there. - No, no, no. - And then he's not snowing DC. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - And it's pretty fucking rarious. (laughing) As early as New Year's Eve on on the floor. - Our DC correspondent. - So then he's like, Alex, what's, or no, Henry, what's up, man? And he's like, don't you see? And he's like, no, bro, what? He's like, oh, I, you kiss his kiss. - But first he makes the noises. - Yeah, he does that.

- Then Alex doesn't get it, and then he kisses them. And then Alex likes the kiss. He like leans into the kiss. He's like, yes, good kiss, good kiss, like the kiss. And then Henry runs away. - Yeah. - Leaves the country. - Leaves, you leave the country. - Stop giggling. - Let's know, leaving footprints. - Out of private plane. - With his best friend, Paz, who runs a bunch of charities, even though he's a- - All of a character I could. - I fucking love Paz. - Oh really? - I don't remember.

- But I find him hysterically weird. - Oh, I don't remember any of the side characters in this book, like they all were interchangeable to me. I don't know, I cannot tell you anything about Paz. - I don't know. - Wow. - Paz is the one who's like, I think care. - Yeah. - And he has a shine on the jacket. - And he got the kimonos, everybody. - Oh, the kimono accessory. - Rich like, dress like why? - I do remember any of the people who make their hair their personality. - Yeah, June is one.

- Oh yeah. - June's the sister, who characteristics are like, I like to write. - Also smart and successful. - Like, yeah. - She's the one who keeps me a lot. - Yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Everyone in this book is like, really good, top of the world, they have problems, but it always works out. - Yeah, it is. - It's a bit, it's a bit happy ending for everything that's possibly, but it, - But it, - Except when, - Oh fuck, I do this again. - Happy ending. - Except, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Like, sex. Except it doesn't work out for poor Alex when he, it's revealed that he and Henry in a relationship and he gets removed from his mommy's reelection campaign. - It's getting a job in the first day, exactly. - It's getting everything he has. - He has given your kims jobs. - Everything he had ever worked for his whole life. You're 21 and you're working on your mother's reelection campaign. - Fuck that year. - Aw, yeah. - Fuck that year.

- You didn't lose anything, you didn't, - And it also, - Or anything. - It wasn't because he's gay, it was because like, he had been secretly flying and stuff to do to see Henry and it would look bad because it was like, oh, is he using campaign money to have like his secret love affair? - He was just too much of like a press target. - Yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - I was, - He was enough of a press target when she hired him. - Yeah, I agree. - I agree.

- Yeah. - And I didn't understand even what his job was with the thing. It was like, - It was to make binders. - Yeah. - To make a border. - To make a border. - To take the plastic. (laughing) - Print paper. - It's like, - Print emails, print paper. (laughing) - He knows how to see the server. - He's a price server. - They talk about him like, pouring over a map of Texas of that figure out how to make Texas blue. It's like, you can't redraw the district.

- I know he was literally trying to redraw them. - But then how would you make that? - How would that make it? - It was like, - I can circle-- - I was putting your coloring book. - I was circling Democratic areas of Texas all the way. - I've been really good, Alice. - You keep coloring in the area around Austin. That's really helps mom. - Good job, buddy. - Should we hang it on the fridge? - Everything I worked for, taken away. - Can you keep my body loose? - This is cracking me up.

- I hope he falls on hard times, genuinely. - Wow. - Yeah. - You know what I'm saying? - The book is-- - You just had to cover for-- - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Because it's so successful all the time, everything that could be a problem solved in pages, like it makes you want him to get hurt or something. - Yep. And even, I guess, Henry, he kind of had-- there was this whole chapter where he's like, with his royal family and having to come out to them.

And then there are all these characters that had these big speeches, like Catherine, who's his mom, who's actually there to throw. And she's like, I'm sorry, I wasn't there for you, but I love my gay son now, like all this stuff and I was like, who is this character? I don't care. Like, I'm watching this. I'm so interested in this emotional turmoil from this new character we just met. I don't know, it was so weird. - Yeah. - I think that's the actual heir to the throne. - She is, yeah.

- And I think if they said, like, since the father died, she'd been out of it, or not really in the picture, it's like show that, like, maybe if we had seen her, like, ignore him or him, ask her for something, but it was just like, she's out of the picture. - But don't worry about it, book reader, until here we go. She loves him and she's saving the day with her love for him. It's like, yeah, the drama of every parent having a perfect reaction to their gay child coming out.

(laughs) - Grandma did like it though. - Grandma didn't like it. - Grandma's the villain. - Say you should be. - Grandma's the villain. - She thought because she thought the British people and like it, but then they were like, open the windows and they're like, look at all these people, or waving, pride flags. (laughs) - So what day is it today?

- Yeah, that whole little section was like, I got the douche chills and like you feel embarrassed for someone who was describing how like, street art portraits of Alex and Henry went up overnight and like all this, and as if, I guess because they were putting that on us, the public, like that we would be like, hooray for love, these two like lucky rich fuckers, - Yeah, they're so, they're so, - I don't give a shit. - Okay. - Lara. - Yeah. - This is sounding a little homophobic.

- Wait, Clara, do you not like people to judge? (laughs) - I don't like him, I don't, and I'll tell you why I don't like him. Your last name has buddened, it's pretending it doesn't. (laughs) - It's ridiculous. - We're all just gonna not make fun of your last name. That's not how the world works. You have last name like that, you get me fun of. - Wow, I'm sure, - I'm in this school, - I'm in high school, and high school were hard for him. - Yeah. - They should have been.

(laughs) - That's the way the world works. - I really think his marketing has been good 'cause I've never been thought about. - How his name is bud? - Yeah. - Wow. - But again, here's what I think about with him. - Bad at job, husband, good, weird teeth. - Bad at job, bad at job. - Really? - All of the flight delays? What's he, director of? - Transportation. - Secretary of State. - Because of what he had in his face. - He needs to put, and the train crash in Ohio?

- Oh, and, - He's not like, - He's not like, - And the submarine guys. - And the submarine. - And the orcas sinking those yachts. (laughs) - That's buddhist gigs, fault. - He has a control private companies. - Oh, the train thing is definitely his fault. - Well, the train thing, well, I don't know if it's his fault. - It's, if not, - It's fault, who's? - I'm gonna say, intrac, - We need, we know Sabrina. - I'm gonna say, - I'm a trained company. - I'm gonna say, - I'm a trained company.

- I thought it was interesting that she didn't, sorry. I thought it was interesting that they didn't choose to have either of them go into the military. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Henry was supposed to away. - He didn't. - Yeah. - Henry, so he was. - Yeah, the real, - Henry was saying. - Henry was saying military. - There's like the, you know, YP buddhist gigs.

Did it to sort of like, convince homophobes that he's a good guy and we fought for the country and stuff, the sort of, when I mean, that's not why he did it, but like, it serves as that. - He only really. - Yeah. (laughs) - But, yeah, I thought it was a weird choice. It's like, just based on him if you're basing it on him. (laughs) - Uh-huh. - Wow. - Yeah, there's a lot of stuff like that. - I don't know how direct it was. - I don't even, - I gay person.

- I think we need to mention Senator Luna. - Oh, Luna! - This is Luna! - Because he's introduced early on, he is kind of like, Alexis Mentor. He's this independent senator who is a gay, is he Mexican as well or is he... - He is Latino. - He is Latino. - I don't know why he's like... - He makes Mexican immigrants. - Okay, okay. - He makes immigrants.

- And so, and he worked on his campaign early and we, I don't know, he just, he just saunters into his office and flops down on the couch for a jaw sash anytime. I accidentally making all these innuendos, which I don't know. (laughs) - Insane to me that he is able to like, just walk around the senate building. - Yeah. - Like, I highlighted this word so that cash tags along for some of Alex's senate recon missions, so nobody panics when he disappears for a few hours.

Today, cash hangs back on a bench, catching up on his podcast. That's not what the secrets are about- - I'm doing. - Sometimes, I guess. - Sometimes you defend lives, sometimes you get a pot. - Yeah, sometimes you get just like sit on a bench and be like, "Hey, it's fine, a big fine, he's just 21-year-old's wandering around a building that he shouldn't be in, wandering into offices and he shouldn't be allowed into."

But this comes back later because it's the re-election campaign for his mommy and then we find out Luna is the vice presidential candidate for the evil Republican Richards and it's like, "I, wow." - Yeah. - I really thought it was- - Is he vice presidential candidate or was he just like part of- - Vice presidential candidate? - V.P. - Yeah. - I don't know about her.

- Yeah. - I thought it was gonna be the dad and I was really disappointed when they were like all so shocked before they revealed the name and I was just like, "Oh, it's a friend." - Yeah. - He's like, "I thought it was gonna be the dad because the dad was like a senator, something in the head of fight with her mom." "Oh, can we talk about that so that the dad comes over, they're divorced. The dad comes over and asks the president if he can work on the campaign and she says, "No."

And they- - I really don't know what they want. - They want to talk about it. - Or something like that. And then Alex like huffs off as if he's experienced something other than a slightly heated conversation. - He's a very delicate boy. - Father has passed on. - Yeah. - And is like, "I know we don't, we're just friends." This is before I think they've hooked up and he just talks to him about the fight. - Oh yeah. - I mean, my daddy are fight. And I just keep opening up to people about it.

It's like, really? It seems like you open up really fucking easily. - Well, they have to say- - They have to say- - First friend he's ever made. - That's true. - He has his first friend. - Other than his sister. - Which is so sad. - Well, pissed me off. - Pissed me off. It's like, "Can we come up with something actually upsetting for him to talk about?" - Also, there was a hope when they were- the section where they were just friends, there was something weird where he was watching the turkeys.

- Oh yeah. - What was that? - He's giving. - Yeah, we have butterscotch, the turkeys- - Oh my god. - Get in one with my bag for a hotel room for the turkeys in the table. - Oh, he made it in all. - It made it in all. - It made it all. - I needed them to be like, because he's wants to be a future politician. He thought it would look good or something, but they don't say that. They just say he doesn't like taxpayers paying for the hotel to stay- - For the turkeys to say to hotel.

- So it's so ridiculous. - I heard- - Oh, tell, tell, tell. - No, what a hotel is like, pets allowed, yep, a foul? - Sure. - Wild foul. - Wild foul. - I think they got from- - That they got from Veepe. - In Veepe, they have a hotel room and Mike takes his fiancee to use it, because it's like a really nice hotel room. - Oh, you're right. - So that's just- - That is true. - That is true. - Oh my god. - That fucking- - She's your own ideas. - Yeah, they see can't be a bitch. - The better way.

- I just called them a bitch. - That you called them a bitch, Clara. - I didn't realize I called them a bitch, but I like it. - For Veepe, which I feel like is- - My- - You know, when I'm lying, she doesn't like it. - Sorry, what did you say? - No, it's not. - I was- - I'm sorry, what did they do in the play, November? - Oh yeah, I don't remember. - I don't know the play. - I do know it, but I don't remember. - I'll move on from that. - Can I give an example of Casey McQuistans riveting writing?

- Yes, absolutely. - Yeah, writing. - Great. So there is this character, Zara Bankston, who is just a hard-nosed, comms director, that no one can step to. And everyone does what Zara says. At the end of the book, President Mommy wins her reelection, shockingly, and everyone's all really excited and emotional, and this is the quote. Okay, people says Zara's voice through the rush of blood, and love, and adrenaline, and noise in his ears. Her mascara is streaming.

Her lipstick smeared across her chin. Victory speech in 15. So I started to talk about that. We're all women. Have you ever managed to get just not from sexual activity? - She ate something. - Something. - I don't know. - I will say, if you have a luscious lower lip, how is she turning this into a lip reminforated? Sometimes the bottom of your lips lipstick will find its way to your chin because your lips just so plump. - She's like the top of your lipstick. - I agree. I actually could see this.

I don't have a luscious lower lip, but I'm just like, anytime I would put lipstick on, it gets everywhere. So I just don't doubt. - Luscious lower lip. - You can answer carefully. - I approve that. - Thank you. So I would get on my nose. - I think so, yes. - Okay, this is not the right focus group for this. This is not a thing that happens to women. - You don't say anything. - I have lipstick all over your face like a fucking clown, just because you've been in a stressful situation.

- Why isn't she wearing water proof? - Yeah, that's true. - She's been in the situation before. - She should look at a mirror. - Right, hold on, falsies. - I also just wanna say, I really liked this character, but I took Umbridge with her job, because she's the deputy chief of staff, which she actually should be is the director of crimes, or the press secretary, given the work she is doing. - But she's the deputy chief of staff. - Yeah, well, you got bigger fish to fry.

- Yeah. - Why are you following from the children? - Don't ever look at the children. There's a country to run. - You should be working with legislators. - You should be like running things. - I don't know. - She's so very on the nose. - I was looking at her. - I had to double check. I was like, why is that her job? - Yeah, I was confusing. I kept thinking like, oh, wait, is that not, like what character is she? It was hard to contract her, because she didn't do the right job.

- She was just another interchangeable female in this book for me. - Yeah, I mean, the first one, a lot. - She cursed a lot. - He's like, okay, I'm eating. - And was it revealed that she's like, engaged to someone in the British monarchy as well? - Oh, yeah, the barrier is. - But that doesn't matter. - Not in the monarchy in the staff. - Okay, but it's still, - And like Henry's guy. - Why is that not a conflict of interest though? - How is that not a conflict of interest?

- We can't even become a different government. - The chief of staff, without revealing it. - It's deputy chief. - But it's more of a problem if the son of the president does it, but if the chief of officials of the White House - It should be. - It's just like, - It's just like, - Her thing about like, "Well, we're more discreet." I'm like, "Yeah, but all these things are so good." - But also, I just think it's stupid. It's like too much coincidence. It's too, I'm just like, "I don't need it."

- I don't need it. - It was like, "I'm sorry." - Because she could've gotten his phone number. - Yeah, they were like, - It could've been like, it could've been like, because we've got this plan where you're supposed to be best friends like had to have his phone number as a backup. - And there is, - Part of my job, - There was some scene where they were like, "Oh, Zara." And she's like, "Oh, my boyfriend." And they're like, "Yeah, ha, ha, who?" And then later she's engaged.

And they're like, "Oh, who is fiancee?" And I was like, "I think they want me to be interested in who this mystery person is, but I do not care." - No, I don't care. - It honestly would've been better if they'd never worked out before. - That's great. - You're just like, "Oh, okay." - Some things are missing. - You have a life-familian book too to find out more. - Truly. - Right, white and light blue. - Oh, they're having a baby. Oh, my God. - Oh, I love it. - She's all different shades of blue.

- But anyway, at this point in the book, Henry and Alex love each other very much. And they're not, there was like a minor, like we mentioned, there was a little bit where Henry leaves because Alex is like, "Imagine us here in a year, like together." And then Henry leaves and ghosts him. And then, here, sorry, Alex shows up, flies to Henry because he's so much money, you can do these things.

And it's like banging on the door and it's like, "Let me in!" And then they have a big fight, but it was resolved immediately. - It wasn't. - Yeah, it was something where like, Henry was like, "We can't actually do this, or I can't actually do this." - I can't actually be a love song. - Yeah, yeah. - I just like you all that time. - And guess what? And then by the end of the conversation, they've changed their minds and we can't see you in love. - And we're drunk.

- Then on, everything was resolved with them, but they were still, like, I'm not kidding you. - You 100 pages left in the book. You're like, "What is in this book?" - Is it the same. - What possibly. And then suddenly, we're like, "Oh, but no, "we have to make it all the way to the election." Why? I don't know, because to be... - He's not working on the campaign, so why do we... - And like, it's re-election. - Man, I...

It's not like the first time when she was the first fee while president to be elected. And like, re-election. - It was also very funny. They were like, "Somebody hasn't lost re-election since." - HW, but... - And I was like, "That's not what I am." - Yeah. - That means the election cycle. - Yeah, it's a lot. - It's a lot of time.

- It also, I have to confess a little bit, it took me too long to realize it was mommy president when I was reading the book, when they were saying that... - We're like, "Ellen's such a weird name for a boy." - Yeah. - It didn't even compute to me that that was a possibility. - Wow. - That's why you really showed your book. 'Cause you could hear it. - Yeah. - I did do the audio part. - She did. (laughs) - To make a woman a player with a better name. - Yeah, I think so. - I don't think so.

- I don't think so. - I don't think so. - But I just have one person reading my book. - Ooh. - It was a man. - Yeah, I also had a lawyer. - But he doesn't theme me on the book. - He did voices. Yeah, he did voice. - Did he do accents? - Yeah, yeah. - That's cool. - My reader was Hispanic. - So he really was a gusto. - Yeah, the president of the time said voice. - Yeah. - I didn't really like him, but now it sounds like I'm saying that because he's his friend.

(laughs) - I didn't think he did that good a job. - I don't think he did that good a job. - Well, anyway. - I mean, he did the accents and stuff, but like, I found his main voice for Alex annoying, but maybe that's because Alex was a-- - He was annoying character. - Character. - What did you guys think about all those chapters that were just like them writing emails back and forth or texting back and forth? - As soon as I started emailing, I was like, "Well, these are gonna get released."

- Yeah. - But the actual content of them, where do you guys land on that? - A couple things for me. - Oh, that was as an audiobook listener, horrible to hear their email address at right time. (laughs) - The content, who says that stuff in email? - It's not instantaneous. It's like a pretty long time for there to be like this hot back and forth. - Yeah, yeah. I don't know what, I was just so bored by this point. They kept like referencing old gays or like historical gays.

- I feel like they would like quote, "Pole him's a lot" and then be like, "He's such a good writer." Like, "Oh, Henry's such a good writer." Like, "Didn't he?" And then just a quote. (laughs) - So I have to say, the letters are actually-- - Okay, okay. - Probably the only part of the book that I like genuinely liked because-- So I got into reading romance, fiction, women's fiction, whatever, we're supposed to call this genre through Jane Austen. And like, letters is that like the best part?

- Yeah, and it's when they're writing letters to each other. And it's like, you have to describe your feelings and like, beautiful verse because you can't in that stage of England. Like, you couldn't actually tell somebody how you felt. You had to like, write beautiful verse and prose. And so I actually really liked the letters. And I was like, "Could the whole book just be the letters?" - Wow. - Like, when we thought they were the same thing. - I was like, "I want these characters."

- There was like trash, I hear the letters. - Trash the letters. - Cut it out. - Like, let's just have them, you know, will they won't they? Let's have them fucking. I don't need anything else. - I was just-- - I was just like, after the first fuck, one of them getting amnesia, and then you have a whole new will they won't they? - Because like, does he remember him? - Yeah. - Are they gonna find their way back to love? - Yeah. - Made me through the letters.

- Maybe they could find the letters and be like, "Well, I'm most of really loved him." - Yeah, so you want to just like a gay 50 first dates. - Yeah. - Yeah, but I need it something more. - Yeah. - But which role? - With Adam Sandler play. - I'm really Alex. - We go play both. - He plays both. - We're, we're ready. - Now we're ready. - Like, when he played himself in his sister. - Yeah, exactly. - A good Jack and Jill. - I love that. - Great casting.

- The letters felt like, a little bit... - They were pretend to be me. - I think because, yeah. - Okay, okay. - Well, I don't like that. (laughs) - You think you're fucking better than me? - That's right. - I was like, there was nothing I was like, I wanted some, with the book, I was like, what's going on? I want some like, drama, I want some action, I want some tension. It just was not there for so much the book. - Yeah, there was, yeah, because, yeah.

- I think it could have been what interests me if Henry was like, more torn about telling the truth about like, doing this to his family and like, going against everything that he'd been taught. - Yes, I would have written that. - I think that could have been more interesting. - Especially when his family is so damaged by the father's death, like the mom's so fragile and stuff, they're, you have the base there, you just didn't write it. - And British Machry is like so insular. - Right.

- Those are his people. Those are like the only people he interacts with and talks to. - And then that became normal throughout the book. - He should have put it in the side that's like, not as interesting. - Where all the characters only had their family as friends. So that became the norm in this world. - That's why they're being gay. - Can we talk about the sex scene? - Oh yeah. - Maybe I wasn't picking enough attention, but I think I concluded that who was the top and who was the bottom.

- Yeah, that, yeah. - But you had to, but you're, - Corly. - I agree, I thought, - It was described on the book. - I thought the, wow, I was just about say roleplay. That's not what for play. I thought the four plays a little about was well done. Right up until they were like put your D in my B and then it was like, - I don't, it was, it was connozzent. - It was connozzent. - It was like, - It was like, - It was connozzent. - It was like, - I was gonna hear what your heart is saying.

- And not what your body is saying. - Yeah, I was like, - And at the bottom. - They did not, yes. - Alex was the top, correct? - Yes. - Yeah, but it was, - I found it, - That was like, - But you know what? - I touched like my head, - I was fine. - I was fine with him starting at the top, but I really would have liked some switch hitting at some point and I didn't get it. - Yeah, because it makes sense when he's so new to it and reset his down and before. - Yeah. - I feel like it makes sense

to the top of then the switch. - I feel like, - Switch. - I was switch. - It's not fair if you don't switch. - Henry's down and before. - He's been flying under the radar. - He was like, - He's like, - Oh, - He's like, - going to uni. - Yeah. - I was like, - He's like, - He did this with guys and then when he asked them to sign paperwork, that's when they went away and I'm like, you gotta get them to sign paperwork before. - Yeah, I have. - You don't film people

without it's paperwork. - Real weird people to ask their sign paperwork after. That's the kind of thing that gets written in a magazine or you cry. (laughs) - I think also I just have her far more interesting things about sex from my gay friends. All of my gay friends are far funnier than these two characters. - Oh yeah, they're not funny at all. - No, they're not. - There's one quote that's like, you know what Henry's kind of quiet.

It's like, you know what they say, "Still waters deep-dicking." That is something that would be a scale of one to a hundred of things my gay friends have said that are funny. - It's a 10. - Yeah. - I get better content in throwaway text messages. - Yeah. - So if you're gonna write these characters, be good at it. - Yeah. - I feel, I case he is not. - He's not. - If you're gonna write a book, be good at it. I think that's the next line of rule. - Thank you. - Thank you. - I agree.

- I would say you write a bad one. Just keep it on your computer. - Don't show it to me. - Yeah. (laughter) - Don't make me read it. - Don't make me choose to be. - I do feel like so often female characters are underdeveloped. And I kind of like that here, it was the male characters that were underdeveloped. - No one's refreshing. - But also the male characters. - Yeah. - Yeah, that is also true. But you usually get well-developed men, little garbage-witching.

- So, but it's because I'm refreshing - It felt like people are refreshing - that all the characters were bad. - Just to keep going with the plot of the book. So we've mentioned it. There was these emails were hacked. The server was hacked. And it's like, now everyone knows about it. It's a big deal, but not... - But there's a private server thing issue. I'll Hillary Clinton, but it's like, not that big of a deal because she still wins. - So wins. - It's like he didn't do anything wrong.

They don't explain it, but they just conclude he didn't do anything wrong. They also do not talk at all about the emotional fallout of having your, you know, what's it called? - Sex thing. - Sex thing. - Have you sex thing? - Have you sex thing? - I'll be in that. - What's it called? - What are you dirty sex? - Sex thing. - Oh, the world. - All right, well, when you're done, make it far of me.

This is my point, which is that the emotional fallout should have been pretty severe for having that be public. - Yes. - Instead, they don't talk about it at all. - I did appreciate that like his mom asks him, she's like, "Are you okay?" And he's like, "Oh, I hadn't considered how I felt about this." - Really? That's why I think it's good to be the bad. - Yeah, my life is bad. - My life is bad. - And he's been like pretty selfish to be honest with the book, so it doesn't make a lot of sense.

- He doesn't really have friends to support him. - It is so sad how few friends he has. - Friends, it's about, yeah. - Oh, now it's done about six or something. Because now I'm friends with family. - Oh, that reminds me. Okay, the thing that I said I was going to come back to. The night that they all go to a karaoke bar. - Incredible. - How much fun did you have? - So much fun, I love that part. They go back to a hotel and Henry's sister, who's so rare because she has consumption issues.

She drops off Alex's sister, June, Pez, which is, sorry, which is Henry's best friend. And they go all the way. - And Nora, in the same room. And then Alex and Henry go to their room. And then... - Beatrice gets her own room. - Beat gets her own room. - The next morning. - I like that about her though. - They, she's like, "I'm not dealing with this shit." - The next morning, Nora has lipstick on her neck. And Alex is like, "I noted this."

In the four hours that I slept through, did we find out was there like a throttle? - No, but I definitely think that they were planning so many seeds about June and Nora hooking up. - Yes. - When is the check-ups going on? - Yeah. - Like when is that? - They never say it. - And then it is. - They never say it. - It's just a joke. - They're gonna get to have private lives. - I think she just forgot. I think, or I think they just forgot.

I think in case she was writing it, they just were like, "This is gonna be good." And then they forgot. - Well, that's what happens when you just turn in a first draft and act like a public, so things fall through the cracks. - You'll have to reread it even so. - Yeah, you're like a catch those things. - It was amazing, had a dirt. - I wanted, I wanted so many things. I wanted B in Nora, I wanted Nora and June. I wanted the threesome. I just wanted anything.

Although I guess I'm still talking about it and thinking about it, so maybe they did exactly what they shut up. - The funny thing is, - It's a great sand fiction. - I bet there is. - The funny thing is for me, I'm gonna forget about this book. - I hit stop recording. - Wow. - A few months from now, I wanna remember that I've read it. - Absolutely not. I'm gonna wait him. - Oh, yeah. - The story comes out. - Yeah, I'm watching this fucking movie. I'm so excited.

- Oh, yeah, that, the movie, for sure. - But then after that, she'll forget about it. - Yeah. - 'Cause National enjoyed it twice. - Just further, I just wanna wrap up the plot. I feel like we've almost set it all. - Yeah, and then I think we should move to hate the set. - Right, that's how I'm set. - So we get, follow up the server, oh my god. And then it comes out, then somehow it gets leaked to them that like, oh, it was Richard's campaign who hacked the servers and did this stuff.

And how do they find that out? Who gave them that information? It was Senator Luna. - Oh, yeah, I forgot. - Senator Luna. - The big and cheeseburger, - Yeah, it was like the latest. - Yeah, that was the clue. That's how Alex knew. It's because Senator Luna basically only, like, joined the presidential campaign and said he would be vice president, just so we could like, spy on them. I think, was all he just like, - That's it. - That's not vice president, part of the cabinet. - Was it?

- Oh, it wasn't, why didn't they-- - Why didn't they not buy president? - They did not buy president, part of the cabinet. - I know, I think that would have been stronger, but it also would have meant like a bigger rift. - Which made me wonder what it is. - It was still ridiculous to me. - Well, I assume it was vice president, and it didn't matter. But anyway, to join part of the cabinet to secretly spy and sabotage from the inside, it's so dumb and unrealistic.

And then, how do they figure out that it was Luna who helped them? He put a secret code, which was the address to five guys that only Alex would know about. - I would have appreciated if it had been something that had been dropped an Easter egg earlier in the book, like the Skittles, they talked about how they always had a little bond over Skittles, and it was brought up Skittles. And then, why the fuck is the code? This thing we've never heard of.

It would have been a nice moment to hear the code and be like, "Oh, or something." But it was just like, "Oh, it's a totally new information. "Isn't that charming?" (laughs) - I just, yeah, the whole premise was stupid. And then, of course, she wins. It's close, but, did she win Texas? I can't even fucking remember. - She wins Texas. - This part, Texas goes blue. - This part, Texas wins. - The brain of you are sleeping, I get it. I was so bored with this. - I did hear this part.

Or I read it in the book. - Well, it's like the last 20 pages of the book. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - And then, we're over. - And is it sort of implied that it's like, "Because people supported Alex that they-- - I don't know. - She was Texas. - I don't know. - It doesn't make sense. - It doesn't make sense. - It doesn't make sense. - It's highly unlikely. - And like, nothing in the book was about her doing things in Texas, other than like, the only thing that's mentioned is Alex drawing on the map.

- That's what did it. He drew a really good on that map, and it made people look at it, be like-- - I think they're rallying. - We like the way this works. - It still unproperated. - It felt like that big ending should have been like, "Oh, Alex did something." Or, you know, he's our main character. He somehow is involved. - He's not even on the page. - It was just like, it happened.

- It felt like just another, like, I just want everyone to know everything works out perfectly for these people we love so much. Just like, "Why did we have to have another perfect little bow on it?" - Yeah, so I'm already happy together. - And then we're supposed to celebrate that Prince Henry buys a brownstone in Brooklyn. - Oh, great. - Oh, no. - Oh, man. - Oh, great. - Another foreign investor taking up a problem. (laughing) - I was so happy. - Should be available to New York citizens.

- Wait, it's because he's like helping - Throw out a homeless shelter. - Okay. - For like gay orphans. - Yeah, he does. - He does. - He's like, "You gotta care why he got it." - He got it. - I don't care why he got it. - Why'd you get a money to some of them in the listings? - Yeah. - How about that's their home? - That's not good press. - Yeah. - And what's he gonna do is there's a shooting in that gay orphanage. He's gonna hide in a closet. - Yeah, he's gonna start a party.

- He only took that star in Brooklyn Heights or Park Slope. - Oh my god. - He would twin-ever. He wouldn't feel single. - I just realized that they were both hiding in the closet. - They don't have to do something. - I didn't get that before. - Oh, and again. - Wow. - I'm not sure it's a purpose. I'm not sure it's on purpose. - I wouldn't give them that. - We gotta do what's on there. - I missed it. - They were hiding in the closet, Sarah said.

- Really significant. - Yeah, like, - If you got that before, you can't turn them in. - I didn't. - I didn't. - I didn't. - No, I don't know. - They got shoved in a closet. - I didn't get the symbolism there is what I'm saying. - I still don't think she didn't own purpose. - All right. - I still don't think they did it own purpose. - Yeah, let's take another commercial break and we'll be right back with "Hate Rates," et cetera, et cetera. BRB. (upbeat music) And we're back.

All right, guys. It's time to do some good reads, five star reviews, because you know, a lot of people love this book and we wanna hear from them. So this first one's from Colleen. She says, "I'm on a cruise right now. "I saw a few people talking about this book before. "I left for vacation, so I downloaded it. "I finished shit by the second day on my cruise. "I ignored everyone. "I didn't even go to trivia because I was enjoying this book so much.

"I wanted to write a review for it when I finished shit last week, "but I only get internet when we're docked. "To the internet on this ship is 99 cents a minute." And to make matters worse, it's slow. So it takes a good 15 minutes just to get good reads to upload. But I felt bad not writing a review because I think a book, this book is important and it needs to be read. And it's also cute and hot and funny, kind of like our cruise director, but that's for another day.

All in all, this book costs me a few dollars to buy, but this review costs me about $20 to leave. So someone start me a go-fund me. #WorthIt And again, that was Colleen Hoover, our favorite reviewer. Oh, she's-- I feel like she was so obligated to write a positive review and didn't mention, tried not to mention the book as much as possible. She shows, she like, had a warning-- Yeah, she does. She shows up in five star reviews a lot for these books that we're reading.

But I have to say, I do find her reviews entertaining, so no shade. No shade. I like that it wasn't a better title. I don't know if she gives so many reviews. I like that she's a voracious reader. So I have one from Chelsea Dawlin Reads, it's dated 2/21/19. It may only be February, but I'm calling it now. This will be my number one favorite book of the year, possibly even of all time. Casey Bequiston is a national treasure. It needs to be protected at all costs.

God fucking blessed America. Also, I would die for Nora. That says, "Re-read." 5/24/19. I don't know. Re-read, 5/24/19. Alex had me forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever. Re-read, 11/9/20. This book makes me so so happy. I guess that's nice, but I think that's nice. I think it's obsessive and freaking and stalker. Also, this person is stalking them. I'm worried about her. I agree. I guess I'm glad that someone was such unsettled mental health.

I just found one from a guy named Todd. I'm assuming a man. This book was even better than I had dared hope. And then there's a jiff of Prince Harry dancing in Africa. Ah! I love it. Of course, you're dropping Prince Harry right into this. I've one from Kai Spellmire. This book doesn't receive the same epic treatment as crazy rechations. I'm going to sue Hollywood. Actually, no period. I'm going to sue Hollywood. Wow. Also, I hinged ending to a sentence, no period. No period.

I find that a message. Can I address something that I have not seen the cover of the book? Because I did the audio book and I didn't even look at the little thing. There is a lot of chatter in the beginning about being angry that there wasn't an Oxford comma. It's an ampersand. You know, put a comma before an ampersand. You eliminate the comma. So I do think Casey's right here. Unless your book version had the word "and." No, it's an ampersand. No comma before an ampersand.

Well, now I hate the meaning more. Now I hate them even more. I don't like this feeling that I'm feeling. Why can't you make me happy like that reviewer? Thanks a lot, Casey. Somebody wrote. I think it's optional. I think it's still optional. No, it's not. I don't think it's optional. I think there is no comma before an ampersand. If I saw a comma before an ampersand, I would have who's the leader watch Sarah handle being wrong about something. Well, I'm looking up. I don't know.

I feel too hard. I feel too hard. Fight. Regular fights too. Yeah, if you just talk to me and say something, I might plot my phone. I took it hard as well. Can we do our hate rates? Okay. Claire, I need to strike back after all of those positive ones. Okay. I'm going two out of five stars. It wasn't very long. It annoyed me that their lives were perfect always. Even when that thing happened, it was resolved quickly. But I felt good and smart when I brought up the Cancer Award shooting thing.

Absolutely. And everyone agreed. So I'd like that feeling. And also I thought this book was better than the Q train book we read. She didn't tackle mysticism. The third rail. They didn't tackle. I thought it was better than the Q train. They didn't try to tackle time travel or mysticism. And I think that the book benefited from that. They did. Shackle something they equally knew nothing about. One thing. Oh, I just forgot that they claimed VEEP as a source.

And that's the sort of personal feeling to me. I'm not going down to one out of five. Because I like VEEP. Sarah Rachel Sabri. I'm going to give it a one and a half out of five. It's similar to Clara. I have I have a lot of issues with this book, but I did really like the letters. And I did really like be a dress. His sister. I found her to be a compelling character. I don't remember that character at all. Henry. Henry sister. Yes, Henry sister.

I liked her little speech about their father passing away. And how great that that's itself in your life. And I liked how sober she was whenever I was like incredibly drunk. I was like, I see you. I see you. So yeah, one and a one and a half out of five. And I'm like a little upset now that I own this book. And I. We are not as sweet in my kind of lap. I've already run it twice. I've been took that time from me.

So. Yeah, I don't think I'm going to give it a third reread, which I do sometimes do two books that I really like. Wow. And I'm just glad I don't own it. I'm going to use this time to talk about the impersonation. I'm researching as well. I'm finding out. I think the information on Clara. Are you on Clara? Because we know it's not. This is my time to talk about my impersonation. It's not Clara. It's not Clara. It's not Clara. Right. The book two out of five. You've heard my opinion.

The point is an ampersand is an abbreviation. It's actually not recommended for any formal writing. So the issue is not so much the comma. It's the use of the ampersand at all in the title of the book. And that is inherently incorrect. Sorry. Go. I passed it to Sabrina. Oh, so actually I'm right to come to Oxford. Come on. Good. Thank you. What? No. Yep. That's how Clara is a durper. Okay. I'm not ready yet because I haven't figured out the ampersand question.

Well, it's highly discoureted formal writing except in the rarest of instances. Oh, I just, I, I'm actually, can I update my review? My score? My hearing. I'm going to add a quarter of a point. Because it was an opportunity for me to spend time with all of you. I'm going to talk about a book which I don't, I'm not in a book. So I don't talk about books, but I read a lot of books. So it was nice to have an opportunity to discuss a book and discuss it with friends.

So an extra quarter of a point because it's not really about the book. It's about the right, right, right. But that's part of sometimes. Yeah. It helps it. You know. Mm-hmm. Sabrina, did I buy you an uptime? I. It's really unclear. I'm going to give it, I'm going to give the book a three. I, I'm like, John, I love that it was gay. And I love the royals. I love, um, the, I love the premise. Okay. Gay, Prince, buy for a son. Kiss, chef's kiss. Excellent. Does a comma proceed? An ampersand?

That I simply don't know. Look, I have one sentence to send. You're the one who said it didn't. Decasey, so we can include this. Well, it looks like Chicago man. Honestly, what we needed you is we do need to make it clear. Just make it an Oxford comment throwing the word and call it a day. But you've chosen to use the ampersand, which don't give me a wrong. I've used it before. I like an ampersand. I think they're cute. They look like a curse of S. My name is Sabrina.

I love a big curse of S. This is ridiculous. So, for that reason, still a three. Okay. Um, same. Yes, it's my turn to talk about the ampersand and Oxford. I mean the hate rate. Yeah. You just distracted me really hard. Okay, so this book, wow. A premise going into it. Beautiful. You know, I love, I keep saying it. I love the enemies to love her is trope. I love a will they won't they?

I did think that the four play was very well written, even though I would have loved some more description of the D and B. Um, and anything beyond that. There's just like half this book I didn't need. And honestly, the political stuff was so cringy. It made me like, oh, uncomfortable. And it's just like, what I wish could have happened in my liberal America. And then like, rough Republicans, bad. I, I just really hated all that. That was a huge turn off for me.

I just wish they had stuck to the like keeping the politics kind of like at bay. Like at a distance and then stuck to the, this gay romance, which I would have, I would have preferred that book. That means said the movie does look really good. So I'll give this a three and a half out of five. Three and a half out of five. Because there was a lot, there was stuff in here. I liked, okay, just a lot I didn't like, but you know, the less of I liked, I did really like so.

I'm so happy that you're happy. Um, well, on that nice note, let's pick an asshole of the cast. Are we going to do that this season? Are we going to do that this season? I got a little fucker at the cast. Yeah, little fucker of the cast. Yeah, but for this book, I think it should be asshole. Okay. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. Rachel's not the source. One goes for it. Poor little fucker because Alex was a short king. Oh, was a little fucker. Short king fucker. Yeah, works either way.

Wow. He is a short king fucker. He is a short king fucker. Who's a short king fucker of this cast? Short king fucker, short king fucker. I have a little. Actually, that's kind of nice. It does. So I was like to be a... Okay, so let's change it back around. Who's you? It would have been standard. I think Sabrina is an asshole. What the fuck? Because of the boy in person thing, it derailed the cast. It said I was wrong. No, it's not, it's not, it's been a real big person. It derailed the cast.

It's a little life. I like to be a ton of harder. I like to be a ton of harder. Yeah. What have you done? What have you done? What have you done? What have you done? What have you done? What have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? What have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done?

I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done?

I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done?

I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? I was like, what have you done? But, you know, I'm going to go for Rachel because, you know, who corrected me more than Sabrina? Rachel did. So, she's going out. I was wrong about the vice president. She's going out. I was wrong about the vice president. She's going out. She's going out.

I was wrong about why he actually has some principles and doesn't matter that she was right and I was wrong. No, it doesn't matter. How dare she. I'm not a Rachel. I take ownership of my. How dare you be so right? Little fuckerness or less than that scenario. Well, you don't have to own it. It might not be you. It might not be you. It might not be you. It might not be you. It might not be you. That's why she's trying to be more self-aware. Let this be a lesson.

Rachel, who is the little fucker in your mind? Um. You have a lot of power right now actually. Yeah. Wow. She's not going to vote for herself. Unless she's feeling really guilty. That's a job. Don't do that. Sorry. Sorry. I'm going to go. I'm going to go with Clara. I think she has been the most. Entagantistic of the sort of my. That's what I'm supposed to do. - That feels good. I really think you understand. That's what I'm supposed to do. - All right. - I I'll make you a crown. - Oh, okay.

All right - Are you super clear? I really thought I was gonna meet me. I actually can't believe that my vote matters at all. You could make it you. - No, it's not too late. - Yeah. - I can vote for yourself. - I am gonna vote for myself. And I know that that's a giant move, but here's the thing. I came out so hot on the Nohama before Amherstand. And I've been trying to research it. And I think it's just a style of writing that I'm used. Chicago where I think that that would be horribly upon.

- Chicago girl. - Well, here's the thing, I am an Oxford comma gal. But if an ampersand is involved, I do not Oxford comma that looks ugly. And I stand by that. - Yeah. - But it seems like some people are stupid and do that. So I have to think they care not for aesthetics. - Yeah. - I mean, so I hate to say this, but MLA style says admit the serial comma when using an ampersand. - I know. - I don't see a real comma, not an Oxford comma though. They're the same. - Are they the same?

- Yeah, serial comma is the same. - Are we talking about the annotations? - Use it. - It's just so fun. - This is fun for everybody to listen to. - Well, it sounds like everyone's, wait, John and I did you vote? Yeah, you voted first. - Yeah, I vote. - It's clear, I helped it become so-- - It's clear. - So it's clear and subrina. - For all little fuckers. - Split, no, no. - Well, you could have voted for yourself. (laughing) - I don't think I can get any of this. - I know, I can't.

- And I might not be one this whole season. - Oh, is that what you think? - Well, hard to say. - Oh, well, so far so good. - I'm just so better than Clarice. - I'm just so good for this. - I'm just like, wait, just for the record, like I know Clarina has the same number of votes, but I did vote for myself, which is like a little less. - Okay, do I think it makes it more? - No, it's not. - It's a little less, so it's like, it makes it more. - It makes it more. - It ain't clear about it for me.

I mean, do you see the correlation here? - All right, guys. - Yeah, a lot of people voted for you. (laughing) - No, it was just you. - All right, guys. - That's two. - What are we reading next? - Such an episode. - But, woman from TravelTree. - Travel some Creek. - Travel woman of Troublesome Creek. (laughing) - What happened? - I'm sorry, what did I say? - I thought that. - It sounded really wrong. - It sounded like you just stroke in the middle of saying it. (laughing) - You're so confident.

- You're so, there's a lot of people from Troublesome Creek. - Travels. (laughing) - It is like she just tried to plow through riding on confidence alone. Like so much of her life. (laughing) - It sounds like a lot of people wish they voted for her. - Why? - That's true. - Don't want me to say my mind of mine. - Yours has no alcohol. - And I've had more. (laughing) - All right guys, it just is so much like wide. It's hard to believe it doesn't about. - So both women of TravelTree.

- Travel some Creek by Kim Michell. Richard's in is our next episode. Rachel, do you have anything to plug? You wanna plug your Insta, your daughter? What do you wanna plug? - I have nothing to plug. I have not on social media. If you were interested, I have LinkedIn page, but I will not. - Okay, great. - Do you have something to give you comments, criticism of Rachel? Send 'em our way. We'll make sure she gets them. We'll make-- - Send a postcard. - Nothing to plug Rachel.

- Send a letter she loves. - She loves letters. Do it in January. - Yeah, love it. - We also love it. - We are mean book club, mean book club on all the socials. Please become a patron of the mean arts. We love you guys. You're getting bonuses, get pumped. Yeah, I think that's it. We'll just see you next step guys. - Yeah. - We're just getting started. It's like the beginning of summer. - Yeah. - I mean, it's not. - It's gonna be summer. - It's like that energy. - It's well-turned really hot.

- All right, we're just, it's summer energy. - It's summer energy. - It's so much ahead of us now though. - All right, bye. - Bye! - Bye! (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (drum beating) [BLANK_AUDIO]