Thursday, August 18, 2011

What YA inspires: the cool stuff that exists because of YA literature


It’s been a while since I wrote any lists up here. And my mind is still wrapped around an abcfamily tv show finale that’s based off of YA books. Can you guess which one? And this got me to thinking about all the movies, tv shows, and other things that would not exist if not for certain Young Adult books.
At the top of my list (in the number 1 spot) would be all things Harry Potter.

If J.K. never wrote her books, there would be no movies (to spend marathon watching parties critiquing), there would be no Wizard Rock, there would be no A Very Potter Musical, there would be no Potter fan fiction (which I admit to reading a little of), there would be no Mugglenet or Mugglecast, and there certainly would be no Pottermore. In fact, there would be no theme park called the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and no college quidditch games. Think of all the things a book has inspired here. And I’m sure I’m missing a lot more; this is just what I can think of at this moment.
Number two: If not great, then at least very entertaining television

Here’s a list of all the YA books turned into tv shows that I can think of at the top of my head right now: Roswell, The Nine Lives of Chloe King, The Lying Game, Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, Legend of the Seeker, Little House on the Prairie, Missing, Goosebumps, and Animorphs.
Number three: the movies

YA books turned movies: The Harry Potter movies, Avalon High (on Disney), Bend it like Beckham, Blood and Chocolate, Bridge to Terribithea, Chocolate War, The Chronicles of Narnia, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Coraline, Drives me Crazy, Ella Enchanted, Eragon, Freedom Writers, Ghost World, The Golden Compass, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, How to Deal, I Capture the Castle, I know what you did last summer, Lord of the Rings, Outsiders, Princess Bride, Princess Diaries, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Speak, Stardust, Thief Lord, Tuck Everlasting, Twilight, City of Ember, Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist, Beastly, Howl’s Moving Castle, Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging, Freaky Friday, Holes, Flipped, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Hoot, Inkheart, It’s kind of a funny story, Scott Pilgrim, The Yearling, Red Riding Hood, I am Number Four, Whip it, The Vampire’s Assistant, Percy Jackson, and I love you, Beth Cooper. And there has to be more (even in just my own collection).
Number four: future movies to pine for (that are in the making/or at least rumored to be in the making –please note that some of these movies I’m listing are very much based on rumor).

Hugo, Unwind, The Hunger Games, Ender’s Game, The Giver, Incarceron, If I Stay, Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, City of Bones (Mortal Instruments), Beautiful Creatures, Fallen, Shiver, The Host, Wings, and The Heist Society.
Number Five: Teen/YALSA inspired library events:

Teen Read Week, Teen Tech Week, YALSA’s Best Books for Young Adults, National Gaming Day, teen book clubs, teen advisory board, teen movie nights, and YA book trailers.
Number Six: Midnight Release Parties!

There have been midnight release parties at bookstores for these YA books: Harry Potter, Breaking Dawn, Brisingr, Mockingjay, and I think the last Percy Jackson book.  I know there has to have been more; these are pretty much all I know for sure (or that I have been to…)
Through frankly, I think these upcoming titles would do well to have a midnight release party too: Inheritance, Clockwork Prince, The Death Cure, Mastiff, and Goliath.
While I can discuss the merits of YA literature in general and what these books do for the teens/kids/adults who read them probably for a 100 pages, I thought these lists represented some concrete awesome stuff to be inspired by YA books.  Do you know any more cool things I didn’t think to mention?

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