Over the past few years movie theatres have been flooded with movies based on Young Adult novels that have been adapted for the big screen.
Movie franchises such as The Twilight Saga and The Hunger Games have made millions of dollars at the box office thanks to ideas born in the pages of a book designed for teens.
This trend seems likely to continue with a whole new crop of movie adaptations scheduled for release in 2015.
So what makes these books such a popular choice for moviemakers?
For those of you who have never cracked open a young Adult novel you don’t know what you’re missing.
Yes they’re designed for teens aged 13 to 18 but they are packed with action, adventure and in many cases a little romance.
They have all the emotion and excitement you would find in an adult tome and don’t think that the contents will always be censored.
There are many YA books that are a little steamy and deal with intense subject matter.
They do tend to have a fairly fast pace with less superfluous description than you might find in an adult novel but perhaps this is why they translate so well into a movie.
I find at this stage in my life with two small children and limited time to myself that delving into a novel is often a luxury I can ill afford so I turn to the YA section and grab what comes to hand.
I am rarely disappointed as I am transported to a dystopian future, a mythical kingdom or even just a regular high school.
Occasionally the characters can be afflicted with a little too much teen angst but often I find that the themes of the book and the struggles of the characters resonate with me.
I am drawn into the lives of these fictional people who are so very different from me in many ways and yet fundamentally the same as they just try to navigate life even if it’s on another planet and not in a small town!
As any good librarian will tell you it’s always better to read the book first so you’d better get started.
A few of the movie adaptations coming this year are The Duff by Kody Keplinger, Fallen by Lauren Kate, Paper Towns by John Green and Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.
I always find it interesting to see what the film industry chooses to do to a story, a beloved book can become almost unrecognizable on the big screen.
I find myself thinking why did they do that? Don’t they know that’s not what that character looks like or how they should behave?
Just as you can’t judge a book by it’s cover you also can’t judge it by it’s movie adaptation so pop into the library and check out the YA section you might be surprised at what you’re missing.
Adele Meadow is an Assistant Community Librarian at the Summerland Branch of the ORL. She’s been enjoying and recommending young-adult books for years.
