On Road To Cinema: 24 YA Books About to Become Movies

On The Road To Cinema: 24 YA Books About To Become Movies







It could be argued that it all started with the Hunger Games, or maybe so far back as to the Harry Potter saga, but it is undeniable that adapting young adult books and turning them into blockbusters has become a sweeping fad. And, honestly, who's complaining? Some of the best cinematic masterpieces were inspired by books or plays. The Godfather, Gone With the Wind, A Streetcar Named Desire all started out as books and were made into classic movies anyone not living under a rock has heard of. At one point, it seemed as if we were drowning in adaption after adaption, and then there's suddenly a noticeable lull in the young adult book-turned-movie factory. So what is in store? What's about to rock the movie screens? After loads of research, I've discovered the answer: a lot. I'm talking copious books on a rather impressively extensive list. I've picked some of my favorites.








The Definites:
There are some movies that are definitely making it to the big leagues of the cinematic arts. Some have trailers, casts, and producers and are strongly expected to premiere behind the red velvet curtains. Here are some the definites that are expected to show within the next couple of years.

Mockingjay Part 2
November 20, 2015
We all know that multiple movie reigns will be coming to an end in the coming years. The Hunger Games is releasing its final installment of the well-loved trilogy. The Mockingjay is a movie that will definitely give the audience a healthy dose of violence and war, but also some closure on the Peeta front. It works out evenly in the end in my opinion. After this final installment, The Hunger Games dynasty will have officially ended; it was a good run, it really was, but it's time for the younger ones to have their chance are stardom, don't you think?

Allegiant Part 1
March 18, 2016
Some series are just in the midst of their fame. Divergent and Insurgent were made, watched, and reasonably loved (Theo James, hello?!). Now it's time for the final book to make a debut on the wide screen. Allegiant is undoubtedly highly anticipated (and, in a similar manner of the production of Hunger Games, it will be two parts- goody), but that's not really the question on everyone's mind now is it? I'm just going to say it: can they really carry through with the end? 





The Scorch Trials
September 18, 2015
Dylan O'Brien was loved before the Maze Runner, but after? Forget about it. He became an instant teen pop idol, even more than he originally was. Those ignorant of O'Brien's movie star status were happily introduced to him through Dashner's action-packed dystopian thriller. And now, we can say hello to The Scorch Trials. 

Me, Earl, and The Dying Girl
June 12, 2015
This one is so close. Me, Earl, and The Dying Girl, a novel about Greg and his friend Earl and their serendipitous meeting with a girl diagnosed with cancer, is set to release in the near, near future. Like only a few days away kind of near. Readers will finally be able to see this weird, somewhat hilarious story in the shape of cinematic magic.

The 5th Wave
January 15, 2016
The 5th Wave was an instant success and the primary cause of emotional breakdowns around the world (including me). Film makers took notice of this literary phenomenon and decided to take action. Good choice, film makers. Chloë Grace Moretz, Maika Monroe, and Maria Bello were casted as the stars of this post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure. 






A Monster Calls
October 14, 2016
A Monster Calls was an award winning novel about a little boy, his mother, and a monster. Published in the format of a chillingly dark, yet inquisitively creative, picture book, A Monster Calls was a reflection on guilt and death, youth and maturity. Patrick Ness wove enthralling language and invaluable lessons into a book film makers would've had to been blind to not notice. Liam Neeson, Sigourney Weaver, and Felicity Jones have already signed on for this movie.




Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
March 4, 2016
Mysterious, dark, chilling, weird, and peculiar are all words you could use to describe the popular novel Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. After finding a pile of strange and inexplicable photos, Ransom Riggs was inspired to tell the story of a group of talented orphans cared for by a caring bird. Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, and Samuel L. Jackson are already part of the cast for this movie.




Papertowns
July 24, 2015
The Fault in Our Stars was a huge success. It, to this day, continues to remain one of my favorite movies (and books) of all time. It did not come as a surprise to me when film makers started to pick up the film rights to John Green's other literary masterpieces, and good for them. God knows they have more than a large enough fan base for a blockbuster movie. Papertowns, while not one of my favorite book by John Green, will be on the very top of my list of movies to see this summer. Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne, and Halston Sage will be the stars of the latest John Green film.

The Not So Definites:
While some movies are absolutely going to make the big screens, there are others whose movie adaptions are mere rumors in the cinematic grapevine. The movie rights have been sold, but how are we to know that they'll actually make it? It's common knowledge that many attempts have failed just at the finish line in terms of the movie transformation. It is my sincerest hope that all of the following books make it to my local movie theater.



To All The Boys I've Loved Before
Info:
Optioned by Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment
Annie Neal will write the script

The Night Circus
Info:
Rights were bought by Summit Entertainment and David Heyman

Moira Buffini will write the script







Eleanor and Park
Info:
DreamWorks Studios picked up the film rights
Carla Hacken will be a producer along with Matt Kennedy
Shooting for the film is set to start in 2015




Legend
Info:
Film rights were sold to CBS films
Wyckiff Godfrey and Marty Bowani will produce
Andrew Barter and Gabe Ferrato will be writing the script with Marie Lu






We Were Liars
Info:
Optioned by Imperative Entertainment
Screenplay will be written by E. Lockhart





Just One Day
Info:
Just One Day and Just One Year will be combined into one movie
Universal pictures is in charge of production
Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage will produce along with Gayle Forman and Lis Rowinski





The Diviners
Info:
Film rights were sold to Paramount Pictures 
Bray has been named to write the script
Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage will be producing





Looking for Alaska
Info:
The team for this movie will greatly resemble the ones behind Papertowns and The Fault in Our Stars. 
Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen will produce
Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber will be the screenwriters
Options secured by Paramount, even before The Fault in Our Stars




Graceling
Info:
Reliance Entertainment will partner with Kintop Pictures in filming
Deepak Nayar and Tabrez Noorani will produce
Piers Ashworth will be the screenwriter






Jellicoe Road
Info:
Directed by Kate Woods
Produced by Sue Taylor and Goalpost Pictures






Saving Francesca
Info:
Melina Marchetta is writing the script
Jo Werner will produce







Queen of Tearling
Info:
Emma Watson will be executive producer and star
Warner Bros. purchased film rights






Raven Boys
Info:
New Line Cinema bought the film rights
Akiva Goldsman is producing
Area Johnston and Dave Neustadter are overseeing






The Scorpio Races
Info:
Jack Thorne will be writing the screenplay
David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith are producing
Focus acquired film rights



Tiger's Curse
Info:
Shekhar Kapur will direct
Raphael Kryszek, Mary Parent, and Ineffable Pictures will produce
Julie Plec will be writing for the film
Paramount Pictures has screen rights






Uglies
Info:
20th Century Fox and John Davis have film rights

We Were Liars Review

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Title: We Were Liars

Author: E. Lockhart

Series: None

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publication Date: May 13, 2014

Genre: Realistic Fiction; Contemporary; Romance; Mystery; Young Adult

Pages: 227

Format: Hardback

goodreads

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.
 
We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. 

Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

The epitome of class and style. The personification of erudition and grace. That is how I would describe Lockhart’s books. I haven’t read one of her books that I didn’t end up loving. Well…all two of them.

Cadence Sinclair Eastman can’t remember the last summer she was in Beechwood. All she remembers is waking up alone on the beach, cold and wet from the sea. Her mother won’t tell her what happened. Everyone, including her cousins and her beloved Gat, is tiptoeing around her like she is an explosion with mass casualties waiting to happen. When she finally returns to the beach house on her grandfather’s private island, she is determine to remember. What she finds is nothing like what she thought, and will change her life in ways she’s not sure she’s ready for.

Ambiguity is one of my favorite ways authors start a book. When they just drop you in the middle of the story and it’s up to you to figure out the beginning and the end. Keeps me intrigued. It also exercises the mind, and that’s always fun. And let me tell you, did this book keep me entertained! There wasn’t a dull moment in We Were Liars. And I was always guessing. Constantly working out what exactly happened those two summers ago. And I was way, way, way off. I could not have been more wrong. And the twist! The oh-so-infamous twist! Oh, my God! It was so weird, but in the way that makes you go, “Holy-mother-of-everything good-in-the-world, I can’t believe that just happened!” It was so genius and yet so tragic; I honestly did not know whether I loathed or loved the author in that moment. I’m still on the fence, actually. My feelings change day by day.

The lyrical prose and elegant language that Lockhart used was to die for. It was so beautiful. You could feel and touch the emotions of the characters, fully understand the frustration and sadness of Cadence (mostly because you were just as frustrated and depressed from not understanding anything in those first few pages). While this book was in no way a poetry book, there were moments it seemed like it was. Lockhart effortlessly combined all the splendor of poetry with the fullness of an everyday novel. It added some spice and flavor, and, I have to say, it was delicious and supremely satisfying.

I would recommend this to all readers of Melina Marchetta (especially to the lovers of Jellicoe Road). I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Marchetta’s and Lockhart’s writing are so similar. I love both, and I think others should make it a point to read them. This book was exquisite and one of my favorites. Plus, John Green read it, so who was I to say no?

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks Review

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Title: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Author: E. Lockhart

Series: None

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Publication Date: March 25, 2008

Genre: Realistic Fiction; Contemporary; Young Adult; Mystery

Pages: 345

Format: Hardback
goodreads

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:
Debate Club.
Her father’s “bunny rabbit.”
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:
A knockout figure.
A sharp tongue.
A chip on her shoulder.
And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

Frankie Laundau-Banks.
No longer the kind of girl to take “no” for an answer.
Especially when “no” means she’s excluded from her boyfriend’s all-male secret society.
Not when her ex boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places.
Not when she knows she’s smarter than any of them.
When she knows Matthew’s lying to her.
And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.

Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:
Possibly a criminal mastermind.

This is the story of how she got that way.

“I, Frankie Landau-Banks, hereby confess that I was the sole mastermind behind the mal-doings of the Loyal Order of the Bassett Hounds.”

As Frankie Landau-Banks returns to her high-class private school as a sophomore, she has changed– whether for the better or for the worse is uncertain. Her body had filled out in all the right places and people, especially boys, are starting to notice. While she can’t complain about the radical change, she does resent that she is still the “bunny rabbit” in the family. She is not taken seriously by anyone and underestimated by everyone. When her dream guy finally takes notice and becomes the boyfriend she always hoped for, she can’t help but want to be more than just a pretty girlfriend. When she learns that her boyfriend is part of a secret society called the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds, she decides to take matters into her own hands. As a result of her evil genius ideas, the Basset Hounds become infamous and notorious for brilliant pranks all around the school. When Frankie’s ideas suddenly become a serious problem for the administration, and someone is blamed for her ideas, she must make decisions that will change her entire of idea of who she is and what she wants to become.

This book was as amazing as any book can be. Witty, sarcastic, and intellectual in most brilliant of ways, it is hard to do anything but love this book to its very spine. I fell in love on page one, and kept adoring it until page 345. The Disreputable History is the reason why I read books. I love to find ones that are as creative and intelligent as this one. Every character, even the dumbest, was smart and witty, in ways I can only wish to be like. If everyone talked like how people talked in the Disreputable History, then I would like people a whole lot more.

“In some ways, we can see Frankie Landau-Banks as a neglected positive. A buried word.

A word inside another word that’s getting all the attention.

A mind inside a body that’s getting all the attention.”

Frankie Landau-Banks (is that just the coolest name you have ever heard, or what?) is a woman who dreams of being seen as more than just a woman. She is extremely resourceful and smart and wants nothing more than being seen as such. She recognizes the unfairness in the world where woman are seen inferior to men. She resents that femininity is seen as weakness, and balls are a symbol of courage. I related to Frankie like she was one of my best-friends, and I wish she were a real person so I could get to know her more.

The language in this book was astounding. I had to read a few sentences over and over just because I loved them so much, and didn’t want to forget them. The idea of neglected positives was enthralling and amusing. Lockhart used words how they were meant to be used; how they were meant to be seen and understood. E. Lockhart is an amazing author that I would love to meet. I can’t wait to read more of her in We Were Liars, a book already climbing charts and reaching a well-known popularity.   

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is an amazing book that everyone should read. I loved it, and it reminds why I love to read in the first place.

“It is better to be alone, she figures, than to be with someone who can’t see who you are. It is better to lead than to follow. It is better to speak up than stay silent. It is better to open doors than to shut them on people.”