Top Ten: Books I’d Like to See on the Big Screen

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. 

Today I am sharing with you the top ten books that I would like to see adapted for tv or film. When done well, adaptations can be AWESOME and catapult a book into the forefront of the public’s minds.  

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan: I could have picked any of his novels that I’ve read. I chose BMB as the secondary characters were as good as the main ones, and I would make this into a tv series if I had the choice. 

The CHERUB series by Robert Muchamore: Again, an awesome idea for a TV series. Each episode or set of episodes a different mission. Done properly, this would make my LIFE. 

      

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson: Such an emotional summer read, this would make an excellent movie. 

                The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud: The start of a new adventure packed series, I can already picture it on the big screen! 

                 

Geek Girl by Holly Smale: Funny yet brutally honest, I need more geeky films in my life! Especially when they involve Harriet and Toby. (And Harriet’s dad, of course). 

Dust Lands series by Moira Young: An amazing dystopian / postapocalyptic series. I love the unique style of this one, and am dying to read the third book! 

          

          

  Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer: This book is GORGEOUS and the illustrations really make it come to life (the irony, I know!). A film would be epic. 

The Timeriders series by Alex Scarrow: Similar to Muchamore’s CHERUB series, I can only imagine the endless adventures the Timeriders team could embark on. 

           

 

 

 

 

 

The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter: While I haven’t read all the books in this series, I have really enjoyed it so far and the boarding school feel would make for perfect movie material.      

Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel: MONKEYS. No other explanation is needed.  

Series are definitely my favourite choice! Can you think of anything I’m missing? Leave me some recommendations! Do you agree/disagree with my choices? Link me to your TTT below!   

Letterbox Love #20

Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey of Narratively Speaking whereby book lovers can exhibit the books they received this week.

This is actualy a 4 week post. I didn’t have time before my holiday to post the haul, and I’ve been away for two weeks! Luckily I haven’t bought a lot of books. I did, however, have masses of books to pick up from my library. For such a small authority (only 16 libraries) they get really great teen books, and I am excited about lots of these. 

First up is You Don’t Know Me by Sophia Bennett. This sounds like a really fun book AND it has blue edges. Win! Kite Spirit by Sita Brahmachari also looks like a good summer read.

There are lots of YA action/thrillers this week, which is something I’m really pleased about. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga is about the son of a serial killer, and Bodyguard: Hostage by Chris Bradford features a 14-year-old professional bodyguard. 

Two books that sound quite sad are Heroic by Phil Earle and Black Heart Blue by Louisa Reid. Both these books have gotten good reviews from fellow bloggers, so I’m very excited to read these. 

Shadow Runners by Daniel Blythe looks very similar to Alex Scarrow’s Timeriders series, so it intrigued me as this is a series I love. A book that I’ve had on my ebook shelf for a while is Hysteria by Megan Miranda. I ordered the paperback from my library to push myself to read it! 

Lastly, two adult chick fic books, to lighten the mood from all that hard hitting YA. Both authors I have read before, Country Loving by Cathy Woodman and Happy Families by Janey Fraser are books I will save for when I need a laugh. 

  I also got some books of my own. Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby was a book I ordered way back in Jan/Feb when Bloomsbury had a sale. Unfortunately the publication got delayed and I’ve only just received it! I couldn’t resist a trip to The Works where I snapped up Blood Red Road by Moira Young. I love this series and can’t wait till the third book comes out, which isn’t till 2014, so I will probably need to reread this nearer the release date. Even though I haven’t read Veronica Rossi’s first book yet, I decided to buy the second one, Through the Ever Night, as it is so cheap I didn’t want to miss out and I can always give it away if I don’t enjoy the first. I also picked up The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda as it sounded really cool. Having just looked on Goodreads, I think I may actually already have a copy of it but with a different cover. Damn those cover changes! 

I was lucky enough to win a giveaway for two signed Sarah Dessen books, What Happened to Goodbye and The Truth About Forever. I don’t think I have actually read any of her books, so this will be perfect in getting me started on her collection. Extra special thanks to Winterhaven Books for the giveaway, for signed books and for shipping it all this way for me! Thank you so much. 

 Now for those Ebooks:

I got an invitation to review Nowhere by Jon Robinson from Netgalley and Penguin. Described as a ‘fast-paced conspiracy thriller’ featuring teenagers locked inside a cube, I had to have it. Although the cover looks quite simple, I love the hands in the title! Its like the story is just seeping out the pages. Many thanks for the opportunity to read this 🙂

I love boarding school books, so The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani was a cert for me. Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for this.

A book that I have been waiting to come out for ages is Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris. I loved Unravelling (review here), so will try and fit this in soon! And I love the UK cover much more than the US 🙂 Thanks Netgalley and Harper Collins once more.

I couldn’t resist requesting a couple when I got back from holiday (I have no willpower, sue me). I adore the cover of Acid by Emma Pass, and I love action YA so I am really looking forward to this. Thanks for the speedy approval Random House!

It seemed like the whole world was getting proofs of Malorie Blackman’s Noble Conflict and I was itching to see what it was like. So when it popped up on Netgalley there was no hesitation before requesting! Many thanks Random House.

Happy Birthday To Me by Brian Rowe sounds like a funny and intriguing book about a boy who ages a year every day. Thanks to Brian for the Netgalley approval!

What did you receive this week? Have you read any of my books and do you think it should be at the top or the bottom of my to read pile?  I’d love to hear from you! 

Book Review: Rebel Heart

‘Rebel Heart‘ by Moira Young is the second book in the Dustlands series. I recently read book one, ‘Blood Red Road’ (check out my review here) and I had to read the second one straight away. I needed more Saba and Jack!

This book starts with following Jack, who left the others behind to find Molly, and tell her about Ike. During which he runs into the fearful Tonton. Cut to Saba and crew, now reunited with Lugh. When Saba receives a message from Maev about Jack’s new friendship, she knows she has to find him. 

Thus the book follows the same road-trip-esqe feel of the previous novel, but this time with much more emotion. Tension between Saba and Lugh  (and the other team members) is high, with Saba willing to put everything on the line for Jack.

The writing style follows much the same as the first book, with the grammar and spelling similar to slang speak than English. I thought it was less prevalent than the first book, but maybe I just got used to it!

The characters in this series are just amazing. I love a strong female character, but one that has vulnerabilities too. The only disappointment I really had was Lugh, as I found him quite frustrating. I’m hoping that Moira will develop his character more in the third book. Also, there is a moment in the book where Emmi shines, but I really do think she is overlooked more than she should be. And the storyline at the beginning with the starreader/psychic lady was never really tied up.

This book has everything I look for in a YA novel; dystopia, a strong female, romance, emotion, character empathy and action. Needless to say, I utterly devoured this book. The only negative I have is that the third book isn’t out yet. If you haven’t yet read this, I implore you to get your hands on a copy! The series is one of my top reads of this year, and one I will definitely re-read before the next novel. Do you agree? 

Book Review: Blood Red Road

I know this book has been about for a while, and I do remember seeing it, but not picking it up. Well a librarian friend of mine recommended it, so I had to read it. For anyone who hasn’t read or heard of ‘Blood Red Road‘ by Moira Young, be aware that the grammar and spelling isn’t good, as it’s written in the style of a teenager who cannot read or write (as far as I’m aware). So it does take some getting used to, and might put people of entirely. After about 50 pages of so, I kind of didn’t really notice it, which shows just how good the writing is.

When Saba’s brother Lugh is captured by the Tonton (baddies), it’s up to her to find him and bring him back. So along with her younger sister Emmi, she goes on a journey to find him, discovering more about herself in the process.

I love this book! To be honest I hadn’t really heard much about this book on the blogosphere, but I thought I’d give it a try. As a forewarning, it is very addictive! The book is split up into geographical areas. I think the character development is exceptional, as we go from seeing Seba as a lost girl, with only one girl; to get Lugh back home. She is forced into a world that she didn’t know existed, and experiences its’ cruelties. She has to grow up quickly; learning that not everyone can be trusted, but equally, that she can rely on others. We see friendships formed, arguments and loss.

There is quite a lot of action in this book, but it is also quite emotional. I would definately recommend it! So much that I have started the sequel straight away 🙂

 Have you read it? What did you think? Can you recommend anything similar? Or just want to share your excitement for the 3rd book? Let me know!