It's the time of year again where I go through my most-anticipated book to screen adaptations! This list is certainly expansive genre-wise... mystery, YA, fantasy, historical fiction, romance, and horror. So I hope at least one excites you! Tell me what books you're looking forward to seeing on the big screen in the comments below!
A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, by Laura Taylor Namey
Staring Heartstopper's Kit Connor and Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin's Maia Reficco, this Amazon Prime movie is bound to do justice for its print counterpart. It follows a Cuban girl from Miami named Lila whose family sends her away to England for a bit of rehab after a series of unfortunate events leaves her life in the U.S. in shambles. What begins as a tumultuous relationship with the colder, wetter and altogether foreign part of the world turns into a beautiful journey of found family and found home.
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The Idea of You, by Robinne Lee
This adaptation is brought to you by: Harry Styles fanfiction. The story follows Sophie, a middle-aged divorcee with a teenage daughter, played by Anne Hathaway. Yes, you read that right... THE Anne Hathaway will star in a romance movie based off Harry Styles fanfic. Sophie's main love interest will be played by Nicholas Galitzine (Cinderella (2021)). Sophie attends a music festival with her adolescent daughter, where she meets 20-year-old Hayes, the lead singer of the boyband "August Moon." They begin a passionate love affair where Sophie explores her sexuality as a maturing woman.
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Salem's Lot, by Stephen King
If you are tired of glamorized vampires *cough Twilight cough* and are ready for old-fashioned, scary blood-suckers... Salem's Lot is for you! This adaptation will be produced by Warner Brothers and will be screen written by Gary Dauberman (It (2017) and Annabelle). King's book follows Ben Mears, a young author with writer's block played by Lewis Pullman (Top Gun: Maverick), and his move back to his childhood town of Jerusalem's Lot. Ben hopes to re-spark some terrifying memories from his past to use in his new book. In the process, he realizes the town hasn't gotten any less terrifying and has only gotten more mysterious when residents start dying and supposedly returning as blood-thirsty, undead monsters.
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Nightbitch, by Rachel Yoder
Amy Adams is leading the screen adaptation of this weird, feminist powerhouse of a novel. This story will certainly not be everyone's cup of tea... Its premise is roughly as follows: a stay-at-home mom believes she is slowly transforming into a dog. In the book, the female protagonist is never named and is singularly referred to as "The Mother." It showcases the plights of women including motherhood, loss of autonomy and loss of purpose - among the million other struggles relevant to the ever-changing definition of femininity in today's society.
A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas
A favorite of Booktok and a favorite of mine! ACOTAR is a fantasy series set in world of faeries, high fae, monsters and brutal rulers fighting for control over the magical realms and the human realm. It follows human huntress Feyre, who is thrust into the magical realms against her wishes and is forced to adapt to her new world. The series has powerful, feminist undertones, a theme of shifting loyalties and beautifully brutal characters who fight for love, family and equality. The cast has not yet been released, but it is said to be in pre-production as a Hulu series.
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The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah
The Fanning sisters, unite! Dakota and Elle will star in Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale as on-screen sisters for the first time in 10 years. This piece of historical fiction centers around the two women and the different paths they take during the German occupation of France in World War II. Both women play a role in resisting the occupation. One sister, Vianne takes a more motherly role, as she assists in hiding Jewish children from Nazi soldiers while raising her two sons. Vianne's sister Isabelle is an active member of the resistance and is ruthlessly hunted by the Nazi party, which earns her the codename "The Nightingale," to which the book's title refers.
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Fellow Travelers, by Thomas Mallon
Jonathon Bailey (Bridgerton) and Matt Bomber (American Horror Story) will play star-crossed lovers in this historical fiction adaptation. It takes place in D.C. in the mid to late 20th century, where these two men engage in a passionate and dangerous love affair during the crusade against homosexuality in America's political landscape. It spans across multiple historical moments in American history such as the Vietnam War, the Red Scare and the AIDS epidemic. It will be an 8-episode TV special on Showtime.
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Eileen, by Ottessa Moshfegh
Moshfegh has gained popularity on Booktok in the last year or so with her novels My Year of Rest and Relaxation and Eileen. Moshfegh specializes in narrating the minds of unhinged characters - women in particular. Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie (Last Night in Soho) will star as the two leads in this film in which McKenzie's character Eileen embarks on a strange, obsessive journey with Hathaway's character Rebecca. The book is told in flashbacks from Eileen herself, in a strange fever dream-like clarity. I found Eileen a generally unlikable and confusing character, but I think this is the point when showcasing struggles of the mind including obsession, depression and trauma responses. It will be fascinating to see how this story translates onscreen.
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Hallowe'en Party, by Agatha Christie
This will be the third Agatha Christie novel in the Hercule Poirot series to be adapted onscreen by Kenneth Branagh in Fall 2023 - behind Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. The movie is entitled A Haunting in Venice and is based on the plot of Christie's novel Halowe'en Party. In this whodunnit classic, Hercule Poirot is back to traveling the world and solving mysteries. The film has a star-studded cast including Tina Fey, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades of Grey and Belfast) and Jude Hill (Belfast) with Branagh returning as the illustrious detective. This story veers from the original plot in that it loops together both paranormal aspects and plain, old human atrocities, as the murder takes place at a seance. I am excited to see how this story will be modernized, as Branagh has done with his past adaptations... Read my blog on this here!
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Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence
This is the most current adaptation on this list, as it will be released on Netflix on November 25th. This story follows upper-class woman, Constance (Lady Chatterley) engaging in an affair with one of her house workers, Oliver. Her husband has been paralyzed from the waist-down due to a war injury, which has strained their sexual relationship. This book has a rich and controversial history. It was written in the late 1920s, went through an obscenity trial in the 60s and was later banned in the U.S. due to its controversial content. Lady Chatterley will be played by Emma Corrin (The Crown and My Policeman) and Jack O'Connell (Skins).
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Can’t wait to get started on these new recommendations! Amazon is going to take my money once again!