A crop of new YA movie adaptations is coming to theaters this summer.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
The film adaptation of Jesse Andrews’s debut novel, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Abrams), opens in theaters on June 12. The story centers on high school senior Greg Gaines, whose social life is primarily limited to making bad movies with his friend, Earl. But when his mother forces him to befriend a girl with cancer, life takes an unexpected turn. The movie stars Thomas Mann, Olivia Cooke, and RJ Cyler, and is directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. Andrews also wrote the screenplay for the film, which won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize (for a dramatic feature) and the Audience Award for U.S. Drama at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.
Paper Towns
Paper Towns (Dutton) marks the second of John Green’s novels, following The Fault in Our Stars, to be adapted to the big screen; TFIOS was a big hit for Fox 2000 last summer, grossing $124 million domestically and $307 million worldwide. The coming-of-age dramedy, which releases on July 24, focuses on Quentin “Q” Jacobsen, who has been fixated on his complicated and alluring neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman, since they were children. After she ropes Quentin along for a thrilling night of revenge-seeking against classmates, Margo abruptly disappears; Quentin and three close friends set out on a road trip to locate her. While Quentin’s idolization of Margo is central to the plot, Green’s novel is less of a love story than TFIOS, focusing strongly on themes of disillusionment and misconceptions of others.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
The Diary of a Teenage Girl, based on the Phoebe Gloeckner’s 2002 graphic novel The Diary of a Teenage Girl: An Account in Words and Pictures (Frog Books), releases on August 7. The story, which is infused with dark humor, introduces Minnie Goetze, played by Bel Powley, a teenager who is having a sexual relationship with her mother’s boyfriend in 1970s San Francisco. The film also stars Kristen Wiig and Alexander Skarsgard and is directed by Marielle Heller, who developed an interest in adapting the story after receiving the book as a Christmas gift.
The Scorch Trials
Releasing September 18 is the second film installment of James Dashner’s dystopian Maze Runner series, The Scorch Trials (Delacorte); the first film, The Maze Runner, has grossed more than $102 million domestically and $340 million worldwide since its September 2014 release. In the sequel, the Gladers have escaped the maze into a dangerous, post-apocalyptic landscape, where they seek answers about the organization WCKD. Dylan O’Brien reprises his role as Thomas, and Nathalie Emmanuel as Harriet; and Aidan Gillen joins the cast as Janson. Wes Ball returns as director.
