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Hollywood is no stranger to the book adaptation. In fact, many of what we consider the greatest films of all time started off as books first (Gone With the Wind anyone?) So, what’s in store for book and movie lovers alike this year? From long-awaited adaptations to remakes of beloved novels, there are a bunch of movies based on books heading to a theater near you soon — even with three months of the year already behind us.
Best Books Being Turned Into Movies in 2019
Ready to start reading? From A.J Finn’s best-selling thriller The Woman in the Window to the much-anticipated adaptation of Maria Semple’s Where’d You Go, Bernadette, we rounded up 11 books you’re going to want to make sure you read this year before checking out the film. Keep scrolling for our picks for the best books being made into movies in 2019.
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If you were a fan of 2017's A Dog's Purpose, then you'll love its sequel, A Dog's Journey. This book picks up with our favorite canine Bailey, his owner Ethan, and Ethan's wife Hannah with addition of one very important character — their granddaughter CJ. Bailey quickly becomes attached to little CJ, but when she and her mom move away, Bailey's old heart can't take it. As Bailey's prepares to leave his current life for a new one, he vows to find CJ, wherever she is, and protect her. Bailey soon reunites with CJ and over the course of a couple lives, continues to do so. If you love a good heartwarming read, you'll love following CJ navigate life with her trusted companion by her side.
A poignant, moving read, if you haven't already read The Sun Is Also A Star, chances are your son or daughter has. The best-selling YA novel follows Natasha and Daniel on the fateful day they fall in love on the streets of New York City. As they swap stories about their lives, dreams for the future, and immigrant upbringings, Daniel learns of Natasha and her families imminent deportation. A wistful modern love story those young and old will fall for, its ending is bittersweet, yet still full of hope — something we could all use a little bit more of in our day to day.
It's hard to think of another book adaptation more highly-anticipated than Maria Semple's smash hit Where'd You Go Bernadette? Told from the point of view of 15-year old Bee, this book follows the teenager on her quest to find her enigmatic mother, Bernadette Fox, after she goes missing before a family trip. Along the way, Bee learns more more about her mother than she ever could've hoped to, resulting in a funny, touching mystery that delves deep into the bond of a mother and daughter and ultimately, what happens when creativity goes unfulfilled. As for the movie adaptation, Cate Blanchett is taking the lead on this one, making it a movie we wouldn't dare not see.
Winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, there's a good chance Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch already has a devoted space on your bookshelf. After Theo Decker's mother is killed in a bombing, the teenager is sent to live with a wealthy, Upper East Side family — a move that'll change his life forever. All that he has left to remember his mother by is a small, yet enthralling painting of a goldfinch. As an adult his love for art deepens, so much so that he finds himself wrapped up in the criminal underworld of New York. Navigating the complexities of life, loss, and art, this is a book that is well worth the hype.
If you're a fan of thrillers, mysteries, and Hitchcock films, this is the book from you. Filled with scores of Old Hollywood references and a plot fans of Rear Window will recognize, this book follows Anna, an agoraphobic New York psychiatrist, and the events of one night that change her life forever. To pass the time, Anna enjoys cracking open a bottle of wine, popping in a classic film, and spying on her neighbors. She quickly becomes enamored with one family in particular, the Russells. One night, after one too many glasses of wine and a film noir marathon, she sees something she shouldn't have — or does she? What follows is a twisty mystery that'll leave you on the edge of your seat right until the very end.
Nicholas Searle's The Good Liar is the story of what happens when a con man falls for his mark — a mark who's not what she seems. After Roy and Betty, a deceptive con-man and a well-off widow, begin an online correspondence, things move fast. They soon move in together with Betty seemingly oblivious to the web of lies Roy has so delicately laid out for her. But as Roy begins to let his guard down and certain secrets come to light, this book becomes a fascinating look at relationships and honesty, with an end that practically defines what it means to get ones "just desserts." And with Helen Mirren and Ian McKellan set to play Betty and Roy, we know we're in for a twisty good time.
When Stephanie Patrick's family is killed in a plane crash, her world is turned upside down. Devastated and despondent, things take a turn when she learns that the crash was, in fact, anything but an accident. Determined to avenge the death of her family, Stephanie joins a covert intelligence operation on the hunt for the truth behind the crashing of flight NE027. However, the deeper she gets into the world of international espionage, the more numb she becomes to violence and the more she begins to question whether revenge is really worth it. With a cast led by Blake Lively, Jude Law, and This Is Us' Sterling K. Brown, this thriller is bound to get people buzzing.
8. Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats — T.S. Elliot
While this might not be a book per se, it is the collection of T.S. Elliot poems that served as the inspiration for Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, Cats, which is finally getting it's big-budget Hollywood adaptation this fall. A fun read for adults and kids alike, let this book serve as the ultimate refresher on those wild Jellicle cats and their many feline antics before you see Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, James Corden, and Idris Elba bring them to the big screen this December.
Louisa May Alcott's classic story about the March sisters — Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy — and their journey to womanhood in Civil War-era Massachusetts is making its way back to to theaters this Christmas, with famous faces like Meryl Streep, Emma Watson, and Laura Dern taking part. A classic that everyone should read at least once in their lifetime, this novel is an especially important read for girls, providing firsthand examples of how a life filled with family, hard work, and love is at the root of happiness.
While you may have not thought about The Call of the Wild since you read it in grade school, Jack London's classic novel is a read (or reread) you won't regret. After being ripped away from a domesticated life in California, Buck is thrown headfirst into life as a sled-dog on the wild Alaskan frontier during the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s. You'll be enthralled by this dog's harrowing story that forces him to rely on only his cunning instincts for survival in a world filled with as much strife as joy.
Novels set around World War II are nothing new, but few chronicle the complex lives of women at the time as beautifully as Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale. Set in France in 1939, The Nightingale follows sisters Vianne and Isabelle as they navigate life during the war. As Vianne struggles to keep her family safe in her now German-occupied town of Carriveau, Isabelle heads to Paris where she falls in love with a handsome rebel and later joins the Resistance. Heartbreaking and moving, the tale of each sister's journey down the path of survival, freedom, and love is a story for the ages. While the adaptation may not have an official release date, (after having its 2018 release pushed back) this just means you more time to get the lost in what is bound to become one of your new favorite books.
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