Hello Friends!
So, we have been in this quarantine status for a little while, which means, at least for me, rewatching some of my favorite movies. It’s no surprise to my friends that some of my favorites are adapted from books. Here is a brief list of my top paper to film choices!
1. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Of course I had to start with this book series. I will confess that when I was younger and the movies were being made, I chose to just watch the movies as they came out instead of reading the books. I know, this seems like betrayal, but I had a good reason. My older brother was reading the series and I didn’t want to be a copycat. However some odd years later, like 10 years, I picked up Sorcerer's Stone and finished the series in a little over 3 months. I will say that I didn’t feel the movies quite lived up to the challenge of interpreting those small yet beloved details like S.P.E.W. and the slow yet evident budding romance of Ginny and Harry. Nevertheless, those movies depicted an entire world that displayed acts of love, sacrifice, pursuit of good in the midst of darkness, friendship, family, and many other realities of our non-fiction life.
2. The Martian by Andy Weir
This has been one of my absolute favorite fiction reads ever! This is the book I recommend to my reluctant reader students. It is entertaining, while allowing for deeper thinking and learning of new areas like engineering and botany. Plus I laughed many times reading this book. The film adaptation hit the mark. Seriously, I think Matt Damon, who plays Mark Watney, did a truly great job depicting the personality and nuances of Watney. I could see the book clearly when watching the movie. You can’t ask for much more from a movie adaptation of a book!
3. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Okay, so I am bending the rules a little bit with my choice of BBC’s Television Show adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. It’s worth the bending because this is my absolute number one favorite book to screen adaptation. In high school I went through a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle phase - doesn’t every teenage girl? I remember watching the first episode of BBC’s Sherlock Holmes, titled “A Study in Pink” (A Study in Scarlet titled in Sir Doyle’s story), and found myself full on grinning at this adaptation. I was elated that the screenwriter, Steven Moffat, had kept so closely to Sir Doyle’s Holmes. The friendship of Watson and Holmes with their shenanigans in solving crimes is perfectly displayed on the screen in the T.V. show adaptation. Of course, there are modern changes, but it only adds to the depth of the story.
4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
I have another confession to make: I haven’t actually read Pride and Prejudice; it is on my never-ending reading list! However, I have watched the movie many many times. I asked Council Road student and friend, Kindle Chamberlain, to give her opinion of this world renowned novel:
“Pride and Prejudice is so much more than a sappy romance. Jane Austen used this book to open her audience’s eyes to the social injustice of class structure and to the outdated ideals of women’s roles. The characterization that Austen provided established depth and reality in this novel. She’s able to grasp attention throughout the entirety of the book, providing internal and external conflicts for these characters. There is also no shortage of witty humor among the elegance of British literature.”
I can attest that Kindle’s review matches the movie adaptation. It is a go to movie for yes, a love story, but also motivation to fight for what is true to yourself.
Honorable mentions are: Little Women, Hunger Games, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Crucible, The Maze Runner, Perks of a Wallflower, and The Great Gatsby.
Hot Take: The movie adaptation of Bridge of Terabithia is better than the book. Sorry to say this Katherine Paterson, but it needs to be said. I will be glad to defend this stance, just contact me!
Happy reading and watching!
Meet the Author!
Hailee Alcaida is the English III at Putnam City High School. Being an English teacher combines two of Hailee’s passions: literature and building relationships. Hailee and her students love to laugh at the current memes, dab, and learn about the world through reading and writing. Living with an enneagram 7 helps her to put a book down, get out of their house, and explore OKC with friends and all its fun that it has to offer. By the way, Hailee is an enneagram 4w3. Continue the conversation with Hailee – email halcaida2212@gmail.com.