It’s probably not all that surprising, given that I’m a writer, that I almost always like a book better than its movie adaptation. I’ve been trying to think of one example where I’ve liked a movie more than the book it was based on, but I’ve come up empty-handed. In a few cases, I have liked a movie as much as the book – the Harry Potter series, for one, and the original Anne of Green Gables. In terms of more recent releases, I loved Love, Simon (based on Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli) and The Fault in Our Stars (based on the book by John Green).
Film is a different medium, obviously, and I know that not everything from a book can be included in a movie and that sometimes certain changes need to be made in order to make the film work. But nothing sucks worse than watching an adaption for a book you really love and being thrown off because they’ve changed or rearranged so many things about the story (looking at you, Ready Player One).
On the flip side, nothing beats those adaptations that manage to stay true to the original story because they can really bring the characters to life in a new and different way. 2018 seems like it’s the year for YA book adaptations – A Wrinkle in Time, Midnight Sun, The Darkest Minds, Dumplin, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before – so it seems like I’m going to be spending a lot of time in the movie theater. The book-to-movie adaption that I’m most looking forward to, however, is The Hate U Give, based on the novel by Angie Thomas. This was such an important book (if you haven’t read it, you should add it to your list) and it’s going to be an important movie. I have high hopes that I’ll be adding it to the list of movies I think are just as good as the book.
Some people have school spirit.
Shelby Black has real ones.
Shelby Black has spent the past six months training to be an exorcist. Her great-uncle Roy―a Catholic priest―has put her through exorcist boot camp hell, hoping to develop her talent, but ohmygod, he still doesn’t trust her to do an exorcism on her own.
High school is hard enough without having to explain that you fight demons for a living, so Shelby keeps her extracurricular activity to herself. The last thing she wants is for her crush, Spencer, to find out what she does in her off time.
But Shelby knows how to keep a secret―even a big one. Like the fact that her mom left under mysterious circumstances and it’s all her fault. Shelby is hellbent on finding her mom, no matter what it costs her―even if what it ends up costing her is her soul AND a relationship with Spencer.
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About the Author
Jennifer Honeybourn works in corporate communications in Vancouver, British Columbia. She’s a fan of British accents, Broadway musicals, and epic, happily-ever-after love stories. If she could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, she’d have high tea with Walt Disney, JK Rowling, and her nana. She lives with her husband, daughter and cat in a house filled with books. Wesley James Ruined My Life is her first novel.
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