Books You Should Read Before They Are Adapted For Film/TV!

When it comes to book adaptations, I am a firm believer that the book is always better. In most cases, that seems to be true. Though the books are always better, I can still enjoy and appreciate a book to film or TV adaptation. For today's post I am highlighting five books, all with upcoming film or television adaptations.

1) "One of Us Is Lying" by Karen McManus

Adapted by NBC, Streaming only on Peacock October 7, 2021

This was the first book that I reviewed on this blog. It was a five star read for me and helped me to rekindle my love of reading.

If you haven't read that review, you can check it out here! It's really good, I promise!

"One of Us Is Lying" follows five students at Bayview High School, all of whom have earned themselves an after school detention on what seems to be another boring Monday afternoon. Think- mysterious Breakfast Club.

Bronwyn is described to be the ultimate "goody two shoes". Bronwyn is Yale-Bound and is considered to be the "brain" of the group. She never breaks a rule and is often the voice of caution and reason among the five of them.

Addy, the beauty, was the homecoming princess who is obsessed with appearances. She's the girl that every guy wants to be with and every girl wants to be.

Nate is the resident bad boy of the group. He's already on probation and seems to have a knack for getting into trouble.

Cooper, the athlete, is the hometown hero. He is an all-star baseball pitcher and is the group's golden boy.

Simon is the outsider. He runs a gossip site on which he often exposes his classmates and airs their dirty laundry.

All five of them meet up in detention after school, but one of them doesn't make it out alive.

The story follows the group's investigation into the death of their classmate.

This book is perfect for a television series. I really think that the presence of an ensemble cast could totally make this one a success. I haven't checked it out yet, but I am hoping to do so soon! If you have watched any/all of this series, let me know what you think of it!

2) "It Ends With Us" by Colleen Hoover

Movie Adaptation, Currently in Production

You didn't think that I would make a list without including Colleen, did you? I am nothing if not predictable! It just so happens that one of Colleen's most well known and commercially successful books, "It Ends With Us", is currently being adapted into a movie!

Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most.

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up

— she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

This movie is being directed by actor/director, Justin Baldoni. Justin Baldoni is probably best known for his role as Rafael in the TV show, "Jane the Virgin". He also directed the movie adaptation of the book, "Five Feet Apart". "Five Feet Apart" starred Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson and it was one of the most accurate book to movie adaptations that I have ever seen. So much was included and was portrayed accurate. It thoroughly impressed me! I have faith in Justin Baldoni and trust him with this Colleen classic.

3) "Daisy Jones & The Six" by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Adapted by Amazon Prime, Currently in Production

I haven't read this book, but I do own it and will be reading it before this show premieres. I follow the author on Instagram and she just posted some pictures of this cast on set the other day which inspired me to write this post!

"Daisy Jones & The Six" tells the story of the whirlwind rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their beautiful lead singer, revealing the mystery behind their infamous break up.

Everyone knows Daisy Jones & The Six, but nobody knows the real reason why they split at the absolute height of their popularity…until now.

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go-Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Another band getting noticed is The Six, led by Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

There is not much information currently out about this adaptation since it is still in production, but the cast has already been released. Billy Dunne will be played by Sam Clafflin, who is no stranger to book to film/TV adaptations. Sam Clafflin has been in many of my favorites! He was Finnick Odair in "The Hunger Games" movies, Alex in "Love, Rosie", and Will Traynor in "Me Before You". All great movies, and all book adaptations! I think "Daisy Jones & The Six" will be another good one!

4) "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens

Movie Adaptation, Expected Release 2022

This book has been on my shelf for quite a while. I still haven't read it yet. Since finding out that the adaptation will be released next year, it has skyrocketed towards the top of my never ending to be read list!

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet fishing village. Kya Clark is barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when the popular Chase Andrews is found dead, locals immediately suspect her.

But Kya is not what they say. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life's lessons from the land, learning the real ways of the world from the dishonest signals of fireflies. But while she has the skills to live in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world—until the unthinkable happens.

"Where the Crawdads Sing" is being adapted by Hello Sunshine Productions, which is the production company owned by Reese Witherspoon. Reese also has her own book club, "Where the Crawdads Sing" was one of her picks in 2018. This novel went on to become a bestseller the following year. This book is widely loved and enjoyed, I have high hopes for its film adaptation.

5) "The Unhoneymooners" by Christina Lauren

Movie Adaptation, Currently in Production

I am a big Christina Lauren fan! I saw on Instagram a few months ago that BCDF Pictures bought the film rights to this book. There is not much currently known about the release date or a cast list, so you've got some time to make sure you've read this one before the movie comes out!

Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.

Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.

Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of... lucky.

This writing duo is known for their romantic comedies and I totally see this one translating well onscreen. I am so excited for it! I am looking forward to getting more information about this one---like a cast list.

There are so many good book adaptations that will be coming out in the next year or two! I really didn't realize how many until I was doing my research for this post! These are just a few of my personal standouts, for now.

Will you be reading any of these in anticipation for their adaptations? Let me know!

As always, thank you for reading!

XO,

Madison