Ever Since the success of Harry Potter and Twilight movie producers have been interested in the Young Adult book market. Let’s take a look at what got made this year…
Warm Bodies - February 1, 2013
The Book: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion - Alienated from his fellow zombies because of his dislike of having to kill humans and his enjoyment of Sinatra music, "R" meets a living girl who sharply contrasts with his cold and dreary world and whom he resolves to protect in spite of her delicious appearance.
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The Movie: Did reasonably well. It currently rates a 6.9/10 on IMDB, 81% on RottenTomatoes.com, and made approximately $66.4 million on a $35 million budget. It also won the Choice Movie Breakout on the Teen Choice Awards. One I’ve personally seen, but not read, surprisingly! I really enjoyed the movie though, and that defiantly puts the book on my to-read list.
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Beautiful Creatures – February 14, 2013
The Book: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl - In a small South Carolina town, where it seems little has changed since the Civil War, sixteen-year-old Ethan is powerfully drawn to Lena, a new classmate with whom he shares a psychic connection and whose family hides a dark secret that may be revealed on her sixteenth birthday.
The Movie: When I saw the trailer for this movie on TV, I was really disappointed. It looked corny and unappealing to me – and I had read and liked the book! However when I finally got it on Netflix, we enjoyed it. Not amazing for sure, but not as bad as it looked to me from the trailer I saw. However, on a $60 milllion budget, it only made about $20 million, so that’s a big disappointment for that studio. It rates a 6.1/10 on IMDB and 46% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters – August 7, 2013
The Book: Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan - Demi-god Percy Jackson and his friends must journey into the Sea of Monsters to save their camp. But first Percy will discover a secret that makes him wonder whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or a cruel joke.
The Movie: The first movie in this series just about broke even when it was released in 2010. Because this is a very popular book series, perhaps the producers thought it would gain momentum as it went. On a budget of $90 million it grossed about $68 million. The movie rates a 5.9/10 on IMDB and a 38% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Personally I think this is due to the writing changing to many details from the book to the movie. However, it was still nominated for two awards this year, but winning neither.
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones – August 21, 2013
The Book: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare - Suddenly able to see demons and the Darkhunters who are dedicated to returning them to their own dimension, fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is drawn into this bizzare world when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a monster.
The Movie: I’m hoping to see this movie this week (we’re playing it at the library tomorrow at 3:30pm! Come eat popcorn with me!) but I don’t have terribly high hopes for it. I read the book a few years ago and remember just being kind of meh about it. Teens assure me that the book series gets much better as it goes, but I’ve never read beyond the first book. The movie rates a 6/10 on IMDB and a nasty 12% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it was nominated for a MTV Movie Award, but did not win.
Ender’s Game – November 1, 2013
The Book: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card - Andrew 'Ender' Wiggin isn't just playing games at Battle School: he and the other children are being tested and trained in Earth's attempt to find the military genius that the planet needs in its all-out war with an alien enemy. Ender Wiggin is six years old when his training begins. He will grow up fast. Ender's two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world--if the world survives.
The Movie: I almost went to see this one in the theaters since I love the book. However, a friend saw it and recommended that we wait until it was out on DVD/Netflix/at the library. Not a great sign. I’m still looking forward to watching it and seeing how it was done. A 7.2/10 on IMDB and a 62% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Book Thief – November 27, 2013
The Book: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.
The Movie: This one’s been kind of flying under my radar, haven’t read the book, wasn’t even aware of the movie until people started requesting the book at the library all of the sudden. It’ll go on my to-read list first, then we’ll borrow the DVD from the library when it comes out. It’s currently rating a 7.4/10 on IMDB and a 49% on Rotten Tomatoes, so there is some disagreement on it’s quality.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – November 22, 2013
The Book: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - By winning the annual Hunger Games, District 12 tributes Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have secured a life of safety and plenty for themselves and their families, but because they won by defying the rules, they unwittingly become the faces of an impending rebellion.
The Movie: AH! I cannot recommend this movie ENOUGH to everyone I talk to at the library, in my family, my friends, people I meet in the grocery store…etc. This movie blows the first one away. Attention to detail, loyalty to the book, and some great acting by the lovely Jennifer Lawrence make this a movie worth seeing in the theater…multiple times. I really do want to go see it again! Right now! Too bad I’m working. Anyway, its currently still in theaters and rating 8.2/10 on IMDB and a lovely 89% on Rotten Tomatoes. Go see it!
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – December 13, 2013
The Book: The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien - Bilbo Baggins was a hobbit who wanted to be left alone in quiet comfort. But the wizard Gandalf came along with a band of homeless dwarves.
The Movie: Comes out this Friday! I was moderately pleased with part 1. I don’t like that there are three parts for a book shorter than any one of the Lord of the Rings books, but that’s a rant for another day. May go see this one in the theater, since my fiancé is a huge LOTR/Tolkien fan.
NOW! What should you read in preparation for the 2014 movies? Well, more could come, but here’s what you should put on your to-read list right now…
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Expected release date: February 14, 2014
Synopsis: Two years after a horrible incident made them run away, vampire princess Lissa and her guardian-in-training Rose are found and returned to St. Vladimir's Academy, where one focuses on mastering magic, the other on physical training, while both try to avoid the perils of gossip, cliques, gruesome pranks, and sinister plots.
Amazon rating: 4.5/5
GoodReads rating: 4.20/5
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Expected release date: March 21, 2014
Synopsis: In a future Chicago, sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.
Amazon rating: 4.6/5
GoodReads rating: 4.37/5
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Expected release date: June 6, 2014
Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Hazel, a stage IV thyroid cancer patient, has accepted her terminal diagnosis until a chance meeting with a boy at cancer support group forces her to reexamine her perspective on love, loss, and life.
Amazon rating: 4.7/5
GoodReads rating: 4.50/5
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Expected release date: August 15, 2014
Synopsis: At the age of twelve, Jonas, a young boy from a seemingly utopian, futuristic world, is singled out to receive special training from The Giver, who alone holds the memories of the true joys and pain of life.
Amazon rating: 4.3/5
GoodReads rating: 4.11/5
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Expected release date: September 19, 2014
Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community in which he finds himself if he is to survive the monsters roaming the maze and escape.
Amazon rating: 4.3/5
GoodReads rating: 3.99/5
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Expected release date: Part 1: November 21, 2014
Synopsis: Katniss Everdeen's having survived the Hunter games twice makes her a target of the Capitol and President Snow, as well as a hero to the rebels who will succeed only if Katniss is willing to put aside her personal feelings and serve as their pawn.
Amazon rating: 4.1/5
GoodReads rating: 4.02/5
Fallen by Lauren Kate
Expected release date: late 2014
Synopsis: Suspected in the death of her boyfriend, seventeen-year-old Luce is sent to a Savannah, Georgia, reform school where she meets two intriguing boys and learns the truth about the strange shadows that have always haunted her.
Amazon rating: 3.6/5
GoodReads rating: 3.75/5
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Expected release date: late 2014
Synopsis: While in a coma following an automobile accident that killed her parents and younger brother, seventeen-year-old Mia, a gifted cellist, weighs whether to live with her grief or join her family in death.
Amazon rating: 4.3/5
GoodReads rating: 3.98/5
And there you have it! Your guide to YA-Books-into-Movies 2013 AND 2014!
