Category: Book adaptations

Movie adaptation: ‘Before I Fall’ by Lauren Oliver

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The movie adaptation of ‘Before I Fall’ by Lauren Oliver is due out in movie theaters on Friday March 3, 2017. Photo: google

Lauren Oliver is The New York Times bestselling author of young adult novels including ‘Replica,’ ‘Vanishing Girls’ and the Delirium trilogy: ‘Delirium,’ ‘Pandemonium’ and ‘Requiem.’ Her middle-grade novel ‘Liesl & Po’ earned her a 2012 E.B. White Read-Aloud Award nomination. The 2010 stand-alone young adult novel ‘Before I Fall,’ about a young girl who keeps reliving the last day of her life, has been made into a movie and will be released on Friday March 3, 2017.   It stars Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Logan Miller, Kian Lawley, Jennifer Beals and Diego Boneta.

According to Amazon, ‘Before I Fall’ is the story of seventeen year old Samantha ‘Sam’ Kingston who is killed in a car accident in her hometown of Ridgeview. It is written in first person narrative as Sam is forced to relive the day of the accident every day for a week. Because she is trying to figure out why this is happening to her she does things differently everyday hoping for a different outcome. Some of her actions seem out of character for her and surprise her family and friends. When she died she was the type of girl who seemed to have it all including popularity, a boyfriend and unfortunately the kind of social life that made life unbearable for outsiders and social misfits. The novel is a combination of Mean Girls and Groundhog Day that has Sam trying to solve the mystery behind her death and discovering the true value of everything she is in danger of losing. At the end the Sam who inevitably accepts her fate is vastly different than the girl at the beginning of the book.

Movie adaptation: ‘Hidden Figures’ by Margot Lee Shetterly

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The movie adaptation of Margot Lee Shetterly’s ‘Hidden Figures’ is now in theaters. Photo: google.com

Margot Lee Shetterly is an American nonfiction writer best known for her debut novel “Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race.” It chronicles the true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped give rise to America’s greatest achievements in space. The movie adaptation is now in theaters and it stars Taraji P Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst and Kevin Costner.

According to Amazon, “Hidden Figures” is the story of female mathematicians known was “human computers” who used pencils, slide rulers and adding machines to calculate the numbers necessary to launch rockets and astronauts into space. Among these were a group of exceptionally talented African American women who originally taught math in the South’s segregated public schools. That was before they were called into service to work in America’s aeronautics industry during the labor shortages of World War II. They moved to Hampton, Virginia during the Jim Crow law years when the law required them to be segregated from their white counterparts. They became known as the women of Langley’s all black ‘West Computing” group and helped America defeat the Soviet Union in the space race. Specifically it follows the lives of Dorothy Vaughn, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden starting from World War II, through the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement and shows how their superior intellect changed their personal lives and their country’s future.

Movie adaptation: ‘A Monster Calls’ by Patrick Ness

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The movie adaptation of the children’s book ‘A Monster Calls’ by Patrick Ness will be out this Friday January 6, 2017.

Patrick Ness is a British-American author, journalist and lecturer who is best known for his young adult novels. These include “More Than This,” “The Rest Of Us Just Live Here,” the best-selling Chaos Walking trilogy and “A Monster Calls.” “A Monster Calls” is about a young boy who struggles to cope with his mother’s terminal cancer and is often visited in the middle of the night by a monster who tells stories. The movie adaptation of “A Monster Calls” stars Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones and Lewis MacDougall and is due to be released this Friday January 6, 2017.

According to Wikipedia, “A Monster Calls” is a novel for children based on an idea by award winning author Siobhan Dowd who died from cancer before she could write it herself. It is illustrated by Jim Kay and is set in modern day England where thirteen year old Conor O’Malley wakes up from the same nightmare he has been having for the last few months. At seven minutes past midnight a voice calls him from outside his window which overlooks an old church and a graveyard sheltered by a yew tree. This monster is a mass of branches and leaves formed from the yew tree and claims to be a version of the green man. It warns Conor that it will tell him three true stories after which Conor must tell a story of his own and if it is not true the monster will eat him. The monster continues to visit him and in between these stories it is revealed that Conor’s mother is struggling with cancer and that he is lonely and alone with no support from his distant father or his pushy and cold grandmother. On top of that he is also being bullied at school and as the story continues his mother’s condition worsens and his relationship with the monster has unforeseen consequences. It is a haunting and dark novel of mischief, loss and monsters, both real and imagined.

Television adaptation: Letty Dobesh Chronicles by Blake Crouch

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‘Good Behavior’ is the television adaptation of the Letty Dobesh Chronicles on TNT by Blake Crouch. Photo: amazon.com

Blake Crouch is the best-selling author of suspense novels most notably the international bestselling series Wayward Pines. It was adapted into a television series for FOX with M. Night Shyamalan as executive producer. He has also written several novellas including the Letty Dobesh ones which include ‘The Pain of Others,’ ‘Sunset Key’ and ‘Grab.’  These have now been developed for TNT for the series ‘Good Behavior’ starring Michelle Dockery and it premiered earlier this month.

According to Amazon, Letty Dobesh is a thief who has just been released from jail early for good behavior but she is back to her old tricks again.  While burglarizing a luxury suite she overhears a man hiring a hit man to kill his wife. She may not be perfect but she still wants to do the right thing.  Since she cannot go to the police she tries to derail the hit herself but instead ends up putting herself in danger.  The first episode sets up the series by having Letty spend the night with Javier the hit man so she can get more information about the victim.  She wakes up the next morning and hurriedly tries to beat him to the victim’s house and successfully convinces her that she is in danger.  Unfortunately things do not work out as well as Letty expected and she ends up back in her room where she gets high.  Javier storms in and demands answers and ends up blackmailing her into working for him.  Hopefully the rest of the season is just as suspenseful and the characters continue to grow.

Movie adaptation: ‘A Man Called Ove’ by Fredrick Backman

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The movie adaptation of the Swedish bestseller ‘A Man Called Ove’ is now in theaters. Photo: amazon.com

Fredrick Backman is a Swedish columnist and blogger.  He is also The New York Times bestselling author of “A Man Called Ove,” “My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry” and “Britt-Marie Was Here.”  In his native Sweden they were all number one bestsellers and have been published around the world in more than twenty-five languages.  The movie adaptation of “A Man Called Ove” starring Rolf Lassgård is now in limited release.  It is in Swedish with English subtitles.

According to Amazon, “A Man Called Ove” is about a grumpy old man called Ove.  People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell” because he has strong principles, strict routines and a short fuse. Just like everyone else, behind that cranky exterior there is a deeper story filled with sadness.  He has always been this way but since his wife Sonia died it has gotten worse.  He has decided that life without her is not worth living and has planned to join her.  His life begins to change when a young couple with two young daughters moves in next door.  They accidentally flatten his mailbox and that sets in motion a funny and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul.  In the end Ove’s life, as well as those of his neighbors, will be forever changed.