Upcoming Books to Movies

Lots of books read by teens and kids, both current and classic, are coming to a screen near you in the next few months. Many will appeal to teens, but both the books and the movies may or may not be appropriate for some younger readers/viewers, or may necessitate some guidance.

September

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower (PG-13) - Sept. 21 (Limited)
  Stars Emma Roberts, written and directed by the author, Stephen Chbosky. Based on his popular YA novel of the same name. Many younger teens will be interested in the book and the movie, but it does contain some fairly mature themes. See the Common Sense Media review of the book.

November

• Anna Karenina (R) - Nov. 16
  Tom Stoppard wrote the screenplay, and the movie stars Keira Knightly and Jude Law. Will be dramatic and compelling, and already rated R.
  
• Twilight: Breaking Dawn 2 (no rating yet - probably PG-13) - Nov. 16
  The final movie in the Twilight series.
  
• Rise of the Guardians - Nov. 21
  Animated, based on picture books and early chapter books by William Joyce, The Guardians of Childhood
  
• Life of Pi (no rating yet) - Nov. 21
  This book was not written specifically for a YA audience, but has found a home on many high school reading lists. Some scenes in the book may be tough for younger readings. See the Common Sense Media review of the book.

December

• The Hobbit (no rating yet, but likely to be PG or PG-13) - Dec. 14 - the big budget release of the year!
  
• Les Miserables (no rating yet) - Dec. 14 - with Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, and Russell Crowe, this perennial tale will should have broad appeal, but the rating has not been released.

2013 - production and release status as of August 2012

• Beautiful Creatures - in post production - Feb. 13, 2013 release
• Oz, The Great and Powerful (prequel) - March 8
• World War Z - June 21
• Ender’s Game - in post-production - out November 2013
• How I Live Now - filming for 2013 release
• The Great Gatsby - in post-production - release moved from Dec 2012 to Summer 2013

Some others that may be out a little farther down the road:

• Forest of Hands & Teeth - in preproduction
• Uglies - in development
• Maze Runner - in development
• If I Stay - in development
• Wicked Lovely - in development
• Shiver - production status unknown
• Maximum Ride - “announced” but not yet in production
• 13 Reasons Why - in development - with Selena Gomez
• Before I Fall - in development
• The Giver - in development