Recently, I was sitting in the theater watching the trailer for what looked to be a silly, but potentially fun, children’s movie starring Cate Blanchett and Jack Black (wherein Jack Black basically plays himself, it seems). As the trailer went on, a little niggling idea started to press against my mind – I thought I recognized the storyline. Could this movie possibly be what I thought it was? As realization hit, I excitedly turned to my seat companion and whispered the name of the film just as the screen itself announced it: The House With a Clock in Its Walls.

First published in 1973, The House With a Clock in Its Walls is a gothic horror novel by John Bellairs for children. It features Lewis Barnavelt, a ten year old boy whose parents tragically die in a car accident, forcing him to move in with his eccentric uncle. His uncle turns out to be a wizard, and their neighbor is a witch, and Lewis is caught up in a supernatural mystery that was complete catnip for tween me. And here in 2018, it’s been made into a movie.

I first discovered the book in the 90s, and after falling in love with it, I went on to learn that there were many more where it came from. Bellairs wrote two sequels, and after he died in 1991, Brad Strickland took over, writing nine more books about Lewis Barnavelt based on Bellairs’ outlines and, eventually, his own ideas. And then there were the Johnny Dixon books, which Bellairs first started publishing in the 80s and which Strickland also took over once he died. They, too, were deliciously scary – but not too scary – and featured a bit of the supernatural combined with a mystery perfectly suited to middle graders. My memory is that I read every single book John Bellairs or Brad Strickland wrote within a matter of months.

Even in the 90s, most of these books were already “old” (though many sequels were newly published that decade). Still, I never perceived the Lewis Barnavelt books as dated when I first read them, though it’s certainly possible my adult sensibilities would pick up on what my child ones couldn’t. I think kids today would enjoy them a lot, too, provided we get nice updated covers (and I’m not counting the movie tie-in edition). It doesn’t look like any of the sequels are currently in print. The Johnny Dixon books were reprinted in 2014 and look fairly modern, though not terribly exciting.

I hadn’t thought about these books in years, but when I saw the trailer, all my happy memories of them rushed back, and I remembered just how much I enjoyed them. It got me thinking: What other books that previous generations read as kids or teens are only now being adapted for the big screen? I went on a quest and found several that I hadn’t known about. All of the movies on the list have premiered or are currently scheduled to premiere in 2018 and are based on books at least ten years old.

Middle Grade

The House With a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs (1973)

Book: “Orphaned Lewis Barnavelt comes to live with his Uncle Jonathan and quickly learns that both his uncle and his next-door neighbor are witches on a quest to discover the terrifying clock ticking within the walls of Jonathan’s house. Can the three of them save the world from certain destruction?” (Goodreads)

Movie: “A young orphan named Lewis Barnavelt aids his magical uncle in locating a clock with the power to bring about the end of the world” (IMDb). Stars Jack Black as Jonathan Barnavelt, Cate Blanchett as Mrs. Zimmerman, and Owen Vaccaro as Lewis Barnavelt. Also stars Renee Elise Goldsberry and Kyle MacLachlan.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (1962)

Book: “It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger. ‘Wild nights are my glory,’ the unearthly stranger told them. ‘I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract.’ Meg’s father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?” (Goodreads)

Movie: “Following the discovery of a new form of space travel as well as Meg’s father’s disappearance, she, her brother, and her friend must join three magical beings – Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which – to travel across the universe to rescue him from a terrible evil” (IMDb). Stars Storm Reid as Meg, and Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling as Mrs. Which, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Who.

The War With Grandpa by Robert Kimmel Smith (1984)

Book: “Peter is thrilled that Grandpa is coming to live with his family. That is, until Grandpa moves right into Peter’s room, forcing him upstairs. Peter loves his grandpa but wants his room back. He has no choice but to declare war! With the help of his friends, Peter devises outrageous plans to make Grandpa surrender the room. But Grandpa is tougher than he looks. Rather than give in, Grandpa plans to get even. They used to be such great pals. Has their war gone too far?” (Goodreads)

Movie: “Upset that he has to share the room he loves with his grandfather, Peter decides to declare war in an attempt to get it back” (IMDb). Stars Oakes Fegley as Peter and Robert De Niro as Grandpa. This movie has had a pretty tumultuous history within the past year. It was initially scheduled for release in April 2017, then pushed back to October, then again pushed back to February 2018. According to the Wrap, the producers bought it back from the Weinstein Company, which was going to distribute it, and there’s no news I can find about a new release date.

The Anubis Tapestry: Between Twilights by Bruce Zick (2006)

Book: “When a mummy’s curse condemns Dr. George Henry’s spirit to the Egyptian Underworld, his son Chance must try to free him. But Chance risks becoming a mummy himself when he binds himself in the wrappings of the mysterious Anubis Tapestry. Led by a comical creature named Blixx, Chance plumbs the depths of the Underworld and encounters a variety of horrible monsters. If Chance can’t return by twilight, he and Blixx will be trapped forever in the dead’s domain!” (Goodreads)

Movie: This is another book-to-film adaptation that has seen release problems. According to the Hollywood Reporter, it was originally scheduled for release in March of this year but was removed from the calendar by 20th Century Fox in 2017. It seems likely this animated movie won’t actually see the light of day (at least not this year), since I haven’t been able to find any other news about it. The link to its IMDb page is basically empty, unless you have access to IMDbPro. I hadn’t heard of the book it’s based on, which is out of print from its original publisher, Actionopolis/Komikwerks, and is only currently available from Createspace. (I’m kind of fascinated by how books become movies and why certain ones are selected and then how this kind of thing happens – but that’s a topic for another post.)

 

Young Adult

Ophelia by Lisa Klein (2006)

Book: “In this reimagining of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, it is Ophelia who takes center stage. A rowdy, motherless girl, she grows up at Elsinore Castle to become the queen’s most trusted lady-in-waiting. Ambitious for knowledge and witty as well as beautiful, Ophelia learns the ways of power in a court where nothing is as it seems. When she catches the attention of the captivating, dark-haired Prince Hamlet, their love blossoms in secret. But bloody deeds soon turn Denmark into a place of madness, and Ophelia’s happiness is shattered. Ultimately, she must choose between her love for Hamlet and her own life. In desperation, Ophelia devises a treacherous plan to escape from Elsinore forever . . . with one very dangerous secret” (Goodreads).

Movie: “A re-imagining of Hamlet, told from Ophelia’s perspective” (IMDb). Stars Daisy Ridley as Ophelia, Naomi Watts as Gertrude/Mechthild, and George MacKay as Hamlet, with Clive Owen and Tom Felton in supporting roles. The film premiered at Sundance in January but hasn’t yet had a wide release (if it will get one).

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (2008)

Book: “Prentisstown isn’t like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee — whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not — stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden — a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives. But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?” (Goodreads)

Movie: “A dystopian world where there are no women and all living creatures can hear each others’ thoughts in a stream of images, words, and sounds called Noise” (IMDb). The movie adaptation is called Chaos Walking, which is the name for the entire series of books, and will be released in 2019. It stars Tom Holland as Todd and Daisy Ridley as Viola, with Mads Mikkelsen as Mayor Prentiss (and he should do a very good job in the role). This is one of my favorite books/series, so I’m pretty excited about the adaptation.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers (1999)

Book: Sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon is on trial for murder. A Harlem drugstore owner was shot and killed in his store, and the word is that Steve served as the lookout. Guilty or innocent, Steve becomes a pawn in the hands of “the system,” cluttered with cynical authority figures and unscrupulous inmates, who will turn in anyone to shorten their own sentences. For the first time, Steve is forced to think about who he is as he faces prison, where he may spend all the tomorrows of his life. As a way of coping with the horrific events that entangle him, Steve, an amateur filmmaker, decides to transcribe his trial into a script, just like in the movies. He writes it all down, scene by scene, the story of how his whole life was turned around in an instant. But despite his efforts, reality is blurred and his vision obscured until he can no longer tell who he is or what is the truth. This compelling novel is Walter Dean Myers’s writing at its best.

Movie:”‘Monster’ is what the prosecutor calls 17 year old honors student Steve Harmon. He is being charged with felony murder. But is Steve really a monster? Adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name by Walter Dean Myers” (IMDb). Stars Kelvin Harrison, Jr. as Steve with Jeffrey Wright, Jennifer Ehle, and Jennifer Hudson. The film was released in January at Sundance.

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve (2001)

Book: “The great traction city London has been skulking in the hills to avoid the bigger, faster, hungrier cities loose in the Great Hunting Ground. But now, the sinister plans of Lord Mayor Mangus Crome can finally unfold. Thaddeus Valentine, London’s Head Historian and adored famous archaeologist, and his lovely daughter, Katherine, are down in The Gut when the young assassin with the black scarf strikes toward his heart, saved by the quick intervention of Tom, a lowly third-class apprentice. Racing after the fleeing girl, Tom suddenly glimpses her hideous face: scarred from forehead to jaw, nose a smashed stump, a single eye glaring back at him. “Look at what your Valentine did to me!” she screams. “Ask him! Ask him what he did to Hester Shaw!” And with that she jumps down the waste chute to her death. Minutes later Tom finds himself tumbling down the same chute and stranded in the Out-Country, a sea of mud scored by the huge caterpillar tracks of cities like the one now steaming off over the horizon. In a stunning literary debut, Philip Reeve has created a painful dangerous unforgettable adventure story of surprises, set in a dark and utterly original world fueled by Municipal Darwinism — and betrayal” (Goodreads).

Movie: “Many years after the ‘Sixty Minute War,’ cities survive a now desolate Earth by moving around on giant wheels attacking and devouring smaller towns to replenish their resources” (IMDb). Stars Steven Lang, Hugo Weaving, and Frankie Adams. The film will be released in December 2018.

Tweak by Nic Sheff (2008)

Book: “Nic Sheff was drunk for the first time at age eleven. In the years that followed, he would regularly smoke pot, do cocaine and Ecstasy, and develop addictions to crystal meth and heroin. Even so, he felt like he would always be able to quit and put his life together whenever he needed to. It took a violent relapse one summer in California to convince him otherwise. In a voice that is raw and honest, Nic spares no detail in telling us the compelling, heartbreaking, and true story of his relapse and the road to recovery. As we watch Nic plunge into the mental and physical depths of drug addiction, he paints a picture for us of a person at odds with his past, with his family, with his substances, and with himself. It’s a harrowing portrait—but not one without hope” (Goodreads).

Movie: “Based on the best-selling pair of memoirs from father and son David and Nic Sheff, Beautiful Boy chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse, and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years” (IMDb). Nic’s father David wrote a memoir for adults about his son Nic’s addiction called Beautiful Boy, and the film combines both memoirs and takes its title from David’s work. It stars Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet as father and son and will be released in October.