Top 7 Book to Movie Adaptations: A List

Our theaters are full of book to movie adaptations these days, and while some of them are laughable at best, there are plenty that make me giddy whenever I think about switching them on! I decided to compile a list of my seven favorite adaptations, with a few honorable mentions (because I haven't actually read the books) to round out the list.



7) Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Release Year: 2010

This is probably an unpopular opinion, since the film didn't exactly follow the book very well, but I can't help it. I love this movie. I choose to live in a world where the Percy Jackson book series and the Percy Jackson movie are two completely separate things. I don't know if it's because I absolutely adore Logan Lerman, or maybe all of the awesome special effects, but I just can't tamp down my love of this film.



6) A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Release Year: 2002

Once upon a time I read every Nicholas Sparks novel I could get my hands on. And quite some time ago, well before the movie existed, I read A Walk to Remember. And I loved it. So, naturally, when the movie came out I had to go see it. I loved it, too. In fact, to this day, it is still my favorite Nicholas Sparks adaptation. I know most people would say The Notebook is the best, but I am strictly in the A Walk to Remember camp.



5) The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Release Year: 2013

I read The Host almost immediately after I finished reading the Twilight series. I loved the book, maybe even more than I did Twilight. So all those years later when the movie was being released, I was very excited. I didn't actually get to see this one in the theaters, but once I was able to rent it I did. I loved it so much I bought it, and I can't tell you how many times I've watched it since. I know this one isn't perfect as far as book to movies go, but something about it keeps me watching it. I always wished there were more books for this particular world and I would absolutely watch more movies, as well.



4) The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Release Year: 2014


This book in turns made me laugh my butt off and cry like a damn baby. This movie in turns made me laugh my butt off and cry like a damn baby. I love them both. Augustus Waters is perfection, on the page and in person. I don't know if I will ever read another John Green book, because I'm certain they will not live up to this one for me. I have watched another John Green adaptation movie and it did not to live up to this one, so there you have it.


3) Divergent by Veronica Roth

Release Year: 2014

So here's the thing about this adaptation. I read the book around the time it came out and I didn't like it, at all. In fact, I wasn't ever planning on watching the movie, since I didn't like the book. I don't remember the exact circumstances that lead to me watching this movie, but you better believe I am glad that I did. This is one of my absolute favorite films of 2014 and while I've never read the rest of the books in the series, I really enjoyed Insurgent and look forward to finally being able to watch Allegiant.


2) Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

Release Year: 2015

Not only is this one of my favorite movie adaptations, it's one of my all time favorite movies. It's so charming and witty, and I just can't get enough of it. Interestingly enough, I didn't like this book either. The book, which I think was orginally titled Where Rainbows End, is written in a format that I loathe and therefore I just couldn't get myself to enjoy it. The movie, however, is delightful and such a great romantic movie. And I mean, Sam Claflin, is there really anything else to say?


1) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Release Years: 2012-2015

I blew through this book series, reading all three of them in less than a week. I adored them and went about convincing everyone I could, who hadn't already, to read them. And for me, these movies definitely did not disappoint. This movie series is my most watched by far and I own multiple copies of each, so I could get the special editions, because I'm nerdy like that. I'd say Catching Fire is my favorite, but they all hold special places in my heart.


Honorable Mentions (I haven't read any of these books, but still adore the movies):
   

                       

  


Highly Anticipated Adaptations for 2016:
 

                          

 

Review: Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper by J.L. Bryan

Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper by J.L. Bryan

Published August 27th, 2014

Ellie Jordan’s job is to catch and remove unwanted ghosts. Part detective, part paranormal exterminator, Ellie operates out of Savannah, Georgia, one of the oldest and most haunted cities in North America.

When a family contacts her to deal with a disturbing presence in the old mansion they’ve recently purchased, Ellie first believes it to be a typical, by-the-book specter, a residual haunting by a restless spirit. Instead, she finds herself confronting an evil older and more powerful than she’d ever expected, rooted in the house’s long and sordid history of luxury, sin, and murder. The dangerous entity seems particularly interested in her clients’ ten-year-old daughter.

Soon her own life is in danger, and Ellie must find a way to exorcise the darkness of the house before it can kill her, her clients, or their frightened young child.

This was a completely random read. I had never heard of this series and honestly don't know if I ever would have, but someone has posted about the most recent book on Instagram and it caught my eye. I looked up book one and decided it sounded like something I might enjoy, so I gave it a go.

This was an incredibly fast read. You meet Ellie and pretty quickly get whisked into her world of ghost trapping. This revolves around one particular haunting and the mysteries behind it. I don't know if each book in this series focuses on just one case, but it definitely worked for this story. We don't get too in depth into Ellie's life, since most of the story revolves around the case at hand, but what we do get to know about her I liked. I was interested in knowing what she knows about the supernatural and I really enjoyed watching the dynamic between her and the new people she suddenly finds on her team. 

The ghost story in this was super creepy and definitely held my attention. I actually read this book in one evening. It moved along at such a fast pace it wasn't hard to sail right through, and I was so darn curious about what was really happening their clients house that I had to keep turning pages. The mystery behind the haunting was actually pretty complex and I feel like it definitely paid off by the end. I've never personally seen a ghost, but I have had a couple of eerie encounters where I have heard voices talking to me when no one was there, so I have at least a little faith in some of this stuff being real. I don't know if there are really ghost hunters out there who do things at the scale in which Ellie and her crew do, but I think it would be really interesting to spend time with the gadgets that they use in the book. Of course, I was totally creeped out just reading about it, so maybe coming face to face wouldn't be such a great plan. 

I'm definitely curious to know more about Ellie and Stacey, and I look forward to going on more ghost hunting adventures with them. This book felt like watching an episode of Supernatural, but creepier because it was all from my own imagination. I'll be interesting to see what types of hauntings come up next and I'll definitely be keeping my lights on while reading!

*Book cover and description provided by Goodreads