Transforming Young Adult novels, especially series, into movies is all the rage right now. The uber successful "Harry Potter" series by J.K. Rowling sparked this fad, all seven books getting their own movie and, another trendsetter, the final book getting a two-part cinematic finale.
However, the books chosen for movie adaptation may not have been the wisest choices. Here’s what they should’ve made:
1. "Maximum Ride" series by James Patterson...
This series chronicles the lives of Maximum “Max” Ride, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel – a Flock of winged children running from the evil scientists that experimented with human-animal genetics to create them. There are nine books to the series (plus a manga series and a Marvel comics series!), featuring talking dogs, clones, superpowers, corrupt governments, robots, an apocalypse and what it means to be family. Plans to make a film version have been stop-and-go since 2007.
...instead of "The Hunger Games" series by Suzanne Collins.
This dystopian series has been crazy successful, its films featuring an A-list cast, and they are one of the franchises that split the final book into two movies. While its commentary about corrupt governments and media distraction are admirable, it was a bit undermined by how much entertainment-driven media its received rather than opening a dialogue about said commentary.
2. The "Gallagher Girls" series by Ally Carter…
Starting with, "I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You," this six-book series is about a girl named Cammie and her friends as they attend the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women…A.K.A. spy school. These action-packed books are a bit fluffy and definitely female-oriented, but their themes about friendship and trust and inclusion of crazy awesome gadgets and evil societies are fun for everyone. The series has been optioned for film a few times, but so far nothing has come of it.
…instead of "The Mortal Instruments" series by Cassandra Clare.
The "City of Bones" film, an adaptation of the first book in the series, while having a fantastic cast, had a confusing and cheesy story construction, and overall was not received well. The movie got terrible reviews and did relatively poor in the U.S. box offices. They planned to continue the cinematic series, but problems arose and finally the project was abandoned after the "Shadowhunters" television show was announced.
3. The "Skinjacker" trilogy by Neal Shusterman…
Set in Everlost, the land between life and death for children, protagonists Allie and Nick must learn to navigate this strange world, including its physical rules and the politics set by unofficial ruler Mary and the monster McGill. The series features supernatural powers, corrupt power and responsibility and questions of the afterlife.
…instead of the "Divergent" trilogy by Veronica Roth.
Like "The Hunger Games" and "Maze Runner" series, themes of youth authority and corrupt power in a post-apocalyptic world. The films have a great cast and have done well in the box offices, but has had mixed reviews because it’s just another one of the typical YA formulas being championed right now. The third book is set to be released in two parts, "Allegiant" in 2016 and "Ascendant" in 2017.
4. "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern…
While not necessarily Young Adult fiction, "The Night Circus," is a fantasy-romance critically acclaimed by youths and adults alike. Set in a magical circus of their creation, magicians Celia and Marco are competing to see whose magical practices are better, but fall in love along the way. Their love story is the only cliché aspect of the book – the luxurious writing, every single character and the circus itself creates an enchanting experience for readers. The film and television rights have been optioned and a movie adaption is supposedly going to be produced as of 2012, but no news has been heard since.
…instead of "The Twilight Saga" by Stephanie Meyer.
The movie series, one of the franchises that split the finale, did amazing in the box offices and employed a great cast, but were critically mixed then panned as the series went on. While the movies had faults themselves, the biggest problem was that they were adapted from poorly-written books ridden with unhealthy relationships and depth-stunted characters.
5-7. "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" series by Rick Riordan, the "Inheritance Cycle" series by Christopher Paolini, and "A Series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket…
…instead of, well, themselves.
Each of these series debuted cinematically, each completely flopping. Fantastic casts and production were no match for their inelegant screenplay adaptations, straying far and messily from their print counterparts. Many fans of each series were heartbroken by the poor film versions of their favorite books. At least for fans of "Unfortunate Events", a second chance is guaranteed by the forthcoming television adaptation.
Hollywood has been known to put out a lot of the same movies at a time, like all of the sequel movies we can be expecting in the next few years. When it comes to adapting YA novels to film, the current trend is action-packed dystopias and supernatural love triangles. And while, yes, some of these book-to-movie recommendations include elements like these, they provide a wider variety of themes and characters for young people to be exposed to and learn from.