Missing the Movies? Read One of These Teen Books Made Into a Movie

If you're anything like me, you've missed going to the movies these past months.  To help fill the void, read one of these teen books made into a movie (and check out the movie while you're at it).  Here are a few of my favorites . . . .

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

In the quiet English hamlet of Wall, Tristran Thorn embarks on a remarkable journey through the world of Faerie to recover a fallen star for his lover, the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester.

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Fourteen-year-old Mia, who is trying to lead a normal life as a teenage girl in New York City, is shocked to learn that her father is the Prince of Genovia, a small European principality, and that she is a princess and the heir to the throne.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Sixteen-year-old, not-so-openly-gay Simon Spier is blackmailed into playing wingman for his classmate or else his sexual identity--and that of his pen pal--will be revealed.

Movie Title -- Love, Simon

Spontaneous by Aaron Starmer

When a number of Mara Carlyle's fellow high school students spontaneously combust, the FBI and a swarm of journalists descend upon her suburban New Jersey town in the search for answers.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

While in a coma following an automobile accident that killed her parents and younger brother, seventeen-year-old Mia, a gifted cellist, weights whether to live with her grief or join her family in death.

More Books Turned Into Movies --

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

The Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
Paper Towns by John Green

The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through December 4, 2020.

Summer Reading List for Teens

This week, I'm sharing some of my recommended teen books to read this summer . . .

The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares
On alternating weeks, Sasha and Ray vacation in the beach house their parents refused to give up after their divorce, but they never meet until one summer when their lives and those of their siblings intersect in ways none of them could have imagined.

Spontaneous by Aaron Starmer
When a number of Mara Carlyle's fellow high school students spontaneously combust, the FBI and a swarm of journalists descend upon her suburban New Jersey town in the search for answers.

The Button War by Avi
When World War I descends upon a tiny Polish village, seven boys launch their own deadly battle for the right to be crowned king of the land.

Away We Go by Emil Ostovski
Youths infected with the fatal Peter Pan Virus are sent to Westing Academy where Noah Falls pins his affections on a boy who does not reciprocate, and soon tarnishes his other relationships and increases his feelings of self-loathing.

Ship It by Britta Lundin
Told from two viewpoints, Forest, a television actor who needs more fans, and Claire, a teen fan fiction blogger, are teamed to raise his profile despite their disagreement over whether his character is gay.


More Books --
Bound by Blood and Sand by Becky Allen
Brightwood by Tania Unsworth
Bull by David Elliott
Down and Across: A Novel by Arvin Ahmadi
Hotel for the Lost by Suzanne Young
If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say by Leila Sales
Julia Vanishes by Catherine Egan
Mapping the Bones by Jane Yolen
The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude
The Names They Give Us by Emery Lord
Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe by Preston Norton
Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto
Rocks Fall Everyone Dies by Lindsay Ribar
A Season of Greatly Daring by Ellen Emerson White
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
The Unlikelies by Carrie Firestone
Velocity by Chris Wooding
What Goes Up by Katie Kennedy
White Road of the Moon by Rachel Neumeier
Who Killed Christopher Goodman? by Allan Wolf

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through August 10, 2018.

Spontaneous by Aaron Starmer

Mara is sitting in her senior calculus class when all of a sudden the student two desks in front of her explodes.

A week later in group therapy another senior explodes.

Then a third explodes during the football game.

It seems the seniors of Covington High are spontaneously combusting.
Now Mara must survive quarantine, shunning, and suddenly exploding classmates to make it to graduation.


The plot of this book is truly unique.  I have never seen another book tackle spontaneous combustion among high school students.  While the plot is outlandish, the book is both sad and funny.  It causes the reader to think about what they would do in that situation.