BOOKS

What's even better than seeing your fave book come to life on screen? Definitely the satisfaction of being able to say "I read the book first" when a book's film or series adaptation blows up.

These five YA reads have upcoming film and series adaptations with some big names and production studios behind them. All the adaptations are currently in development, so you have plenty of time to read these. You won't want to miss out on any of them.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

@colbywilkens

In this futuristic society imagined by author Scott Westerfeld, everyone—and we mean *everyone* over the age of 16—is gorgeous. Once Tally turns 16, she, like others her age, will get an operation that turns her from an ugly to a pretty... but she soon finds out the glamorous lives of the pretties aren't very pretty at all. 

The movie adaptation of Uglies doesn't have a release date yet, but we know that it will be a movie on Netflix. Joey King will star as Tally *and* be an executive producer for the film (you go girl!).

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

@tatis.bookshelf

If you loved the magical world of Netflix's Shadow and Bone, Children of Blood and Bone is the perf read for you. The cruel king of Orïsha has recently rid the land of magic and killed countless maji, a group of magic practitioners. This has left Zélie without a mother or her magical powers, but she has one chance to bring magic back by working with the princess and outwitting the prince—who she just might fall in love with.

Disney's Lucasfilm production company is currently developing a film adaptation of Children of Blood and Bone. Lucasfilm has produced the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films, so the Children of Blood and Bone movie will likely be a major production.

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

@love.of.fiction

This book by Jenny Han (aka author of To All the Boys I've Loved Before) is *the* definitive summer romance. The main character, Isabel, usually spends her summers at Cousins Beach with some family friends, including the two Fisher boys. She's besties with one Fisher brother and has an unrequited love for the other one. But one summer, the summer she turns pretty, everything changes. This book takes you through beach parties, love triangles, midnight swims and the growing pains of growing up.

The Summer I Turned Pretty will be an eight-episode series on Amazon starring Lola Tung as Isabel and Christopher Brinley as Conrad Fisher, Cousins Beach's resident bad boy. 

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

@amortentiareads

This read, like all Jandy Nelson books, will take you through a whole rollercoaster of emotions. High school student Lennie is feeling lost after her sister dies. She feels guilty for bonding with her sister's boyfriend over their grief, and she starts to fall for the smiley new boy at school. This coming-of-age book meshes the classic brooding boy versus golden boy love triangle with a story of loss that is sure to make you both laugh and cry.

Apple and A24 are working on the movie adaptation of The Sky is Everywhere. Jandy Nelson wrote the script, and the film stars Grace Kaufman as Lennie Walker.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

@victoriaaveyard

If you're on booktok, you might have seen Victoria Aveyard on the app. She's one of the most helpful TikTok authors when it comes to writing advice. The first book in her best-selling series takes place in a society split by the Silver elite and the Red commoners. Mare, a Red girl, discovers that she is a long-lost Silver princess with special abilities strong enough to disrupt the balance of power. She can bring down the Silvers—and she will.

Elizabeth Banks (director of Pitch Perfect) will direct, produce and co-star in the series adaptation of Red Queen. The series is currently in development at Peacock, with Beth Schwartz (writer and showrunner for Arrow) and Aveyard working on the script. Since Aveyard is closely tied to this project, you know Red Queen will get a true-to-story adaptation that won't disappoint.

What's your fave book-to-movie adaptation? Let us know on Twitter @girlslifemag!

All GIFs via Giphy.

by Erin Jeon | 7/3/2021