Our teen book spotlight this week is on books that have been made into movies!! Let’s be real for a second--there are a ton of books that have been made into movies and the majority of them are not nearly as good as the source material. The titles we are featuring this week are examples (at least in my opinion) of books that are better than the movie and I encourage you to read them and prove me otherwise! These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #youthbooktomovie as well as on Libby and Hoopla. Check back next week for a new teen book spotlight and if you have any book suggestions, please let us know!!
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton--In Ponyboy's world there are two types of people. There are the Socs, the rich society kids who get away with anything. Then there are the greasers, like Ponyboy, who aren't so lucky. Ponyboy has a few things he can count on: his older brothers, his friends, and trouble with the Socs, whose idea of a good time is beating up greasers. At least he knows what to expect-until the night things go too far.
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann--In 1920s Oklahoma, sixty murders of Osage Native Americans occurred over a period spanning thirteen years. It is believed that most of the murders occurred as the result of trying to secure the oil rights on land owned by Osage members. This nonfiction, young adult account chronicles why it took so long for officials to take notice and respond, how the Bureau of Investigation got involved, and the tangled web of greed and corruption that marred the case from the beginning. Though some individuals were prosecuted, it's believed that many more were involved and were never brought to justice.
Monster by Walter Dean Myers--While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken.
Looking for Alaska by John Green--Sixteen-year-old Miles Halter's adolescence has been one long nonevent - no challenge, no girls, no mischief, and no real friends. Seeking something new, Miles leaves Florida for a boarding school in Birmingham, Alabama. His roommate, Chip, and Chip's best friend, Alaska Young, teach Miles to drink, smoke, and plot elaborate pranks.
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven--High school senior Theodore Finch thinks about death every day, dreaming up ways he could commit suicide—and each time some small good thing stops him. Senior Violet Markey does not want to kill herself, but after her sister is killed in a car accident, her grief makes her wonder what it would be like to jump off the school's bell tower—which is where Violet and Finch meet. Somehow they save each other from jumping, and Finch makes it his unstated goal to make Violet happy again. They pair up for a school project that takes them to important landmarks in Indiana, and the two slowly begin to fall in love—but not without cost.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak--In 1939, on her way to a foster home in Molching, Germany, 9-year-old Liesel steals the first book she's ever known -- from a graveyard. From that moment on, through 1943, her life revolves around books stolen, books given, and books written. Death is the narrator and tells the story of this young orphan girl as "an attempt--flying jump of an attempt--to prove to me that you, and your human existence, are worth it."