Many of the best movies are derived from books and most of the time, no matter how wonderful the movie is, the book is even more spectacular. You’ll want to get your hands on these best-selling books before you watch the characters come to life on the big screen.
Me Before You
Jojo Moyes
In this New York Times best-seller, Louisa Clark is 26 years old and content with life in her small town. She takes a job caring for a recently paralyzed man named Will Traynor. After living a life filled with thrill seeking experiences, like extreme sports and world travel, Will now feels trapped as he is confined to a wheelchair and no longer believes that life is worth living. Louisa sets out to help Will find happiness again. Warning: Have a box of tissues handy when reading this beautiful love story. The movie will star “Game of Thrones” actress Emilia Clarke and “The Hunger Games” actor Sam Claflin.
Beautiful Ruins
Jess Walter
This best-selling 2012 book will become a movie directed by Todd Field (“Little Children”), starring British actress Imogen Poots. In 1962, young ingénue Dee Moray escapes to the Italian coast when she’s told that she is dying. The reader is then brought to present day when an elderly Italian man arrives at a Hollywood movie lot, searching for Moray from decades prior. If you love hearing about the inner workings of Hollywood, you’ll want to pick up this humorous novel, which has been revered by critics at both Newsday and The New York Times.
The Price of Salt (Carol)
Patricia Highsmith
It’s 1952 and Therese is a lonely young woman working at a New York department store. Carol is a captivating older woman, who’s in the middle of a divorce. When the two women meet and fall in love, their worlds are turned upside down. What was a groundbreaking novel in the 1950s is still relevant today. The movie version is titled “Carol” and will star Oscar winner Cate Blanchett as Carol and talented Rooney Mara as Therese.
Paper Towns
John Green
“Paper Towns” is an award-winning, New York Times best-seller by John Greene, author of “The Fault in Our Stars.” While “Paper Towns” is a coming of age, young adult novel, this book isn’t just for young adults. Greene tells the story of teenager, Q, and his long-time adoration for Margo. When Margo vanishes, Q and his four friends set out on a road trip to search for Margo. The dimensional and thoroughly developed characters seem so realistic, you’ll wish you could hear more of their story once the book is over. One moment you’ll be laughing and the next crying. Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne will star in the movie, coming out in June.
Dark Places
Gillian Flynn
Before there was “Gone Girl,” there was “Dark Places.” Author of both books, Gillian Flynn, wrote “Dark Places” in 2009. Like “Gone Girl,” “Dark Places” is a thriller with plenty of twists.
As a child, Libby Day witnessed her mother and sisters’ murders and testified in court that her brother was guilty of the crime. Now grown, Libby must revisit her trauma when a secret society of amateur investigators contacts Libby because they believe her brother is innocent. Charlize Theron stars as Libby, while Chloe Grace Moretz, Christina Hendricks, Nicholas Hoult and Corey Stoll round out the rest of the cast.
The Ninth Life of Louis Drax
Liz Jensen
If you liked the book “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” you’re sure to enjoy “The Ninth Life of Louis Drax,” an edge-of-your-seat, supernatural thriller by British author Liz Jensen. Louis is 9 years old and has survived an accident each year of his life. On his ninth birthday, Louis falls off a cliff yet lives and remains in a coma. Louis stays under the care of Dr. Pascal Dannachet and so begins a story that dances between both Louis’s and Dr. Dannachet’s perspectives. Publishers Weekly raved, “The idiosyncrasies of her (Jensen’s) peculiar characters only make them more engaging, and at the end of Jensen’s gripping tale, the reader is left eager for more.” Aaron Paul and Jamie Dornan will star in the movie.
The Zookeeper’s Wife
Diane Ackerman
This is the true story of husband and wife Jan and Antonina Zabinska, the Christian owners of the Warsaw Zoo who saved 300 Jews from the Nazis by hiding the refugees in empty animal cages. The fascinating story also reveals how the Żabińskas saved many animals that the Germans tried to wipe out or claim as their own. Know that this book is written by a naturalist and poet, not a historian, so the prose, which reads like a diary, may be something you’re unaccustomed to with nonfiction. Nevertheless, this gripping story is worth the read. The movie version will star Jessica Chastain as Antonina.
