Books to read before the movies come out.

Some very good teen books are about to emerge in the theaters this year. Here are a few to read before seeing the movie:

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
This one's a science fiction story that takes place after Earth has been invaded by aliens, known as the Others.  Cassie is one of the few people left on Earth, where there is virtually nothing left of the world she once knew. The aliens remain mysterious in this story, we never really know why they want all of the people of Earth gone. It's a terrifying story of survival in a desolate and deadly new world. This is the first in a trilogy. See the movie trailer here: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmxLybfGNC4



Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith (and Jane Austen, of course)
Remember Abraham Lincoln Zombie Hunter?  Have more fun with this mash-up of Jane Austen's classic and beloved novel Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth Bennett is still the heroine as a mysterious plague seems to be wiping out the countryside and turning people into walking dead. Mr. Darcy makes his appearance, of course, and a somewhat gruesome comedy of errors and manners ensues.  A quote from the book:"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." 
See the movie trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foGraEVNI0s 

Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Third story in the Divergent trilogy, this one will be split into two movies, as seems to be the pattern lately. The second part has been renamed to Ascendant, better, I suppose, than Allegiant Part Two. Anyway, Tris and Tobias continue their futuristic adventures in this action filled conclusion to the trilogy that has kept fans in awe since the publication of Divergent in 2011. 
See the movie trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE8LEPSTK6A
You can get some information on the final film, Ascendant her, but it isn't coming out until June of 2017:  http://www.movieinsider.com/m12598/allegiant---part-2/ 

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
The author is Patrick Ness, but the idea came from the late teen author Siobhan Dowd, who died at age 47 of cancer.  This story can be read on multiple levels; as a horror story, as a coming of age story, a story about loss and grief and a story about different kinds of monsters, both imagined and real. It is a very unusual and creative book that came from the minds of two award winning authors.  
View the movie trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r1Kniofm5Y


Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander(with a forward by Albus Dumbledore)
A textbook no budding wizard should ever be without, it's a book about every magical creature that Harry and the gang could ever possibly encounter.  A fun book to read that transports you right into the world of Harry Potter!  
And yes a movie has been made of this one too!  See the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Qf_Bt2PE0
 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
This is the one I'm waiting for!  Tim Burton is doing the movie (remember Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, among other?) Jacob adored his recently dead grandfather and is reeling with grief. Then he receives a mysterious letter with very odd photographs that leads him to a remote Welsh island where his grandfather grew up and to the crumbling Home for Peculiars run by Miss Peregrine.  Creepy photographs lend great atmosphere to this unusual and haunting book.  See the trailer here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dYRewLVNhQ

A couple of other new films coming soon that you might find interesting are The Choice based on the Nicholas Sparks book, a new adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, and, of course, Johnny Depp in Lewis Carroll's  Through the Looking Glass. 

Happy reading and viewing!!