15 Young Adult Fiction Properties That Could Be The Next 'Twilight' Or 'Hunger Games'

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by Oliver Lyttelton
March 23, 2012 11:56 AM
67 Comments

"The Seventh Son"
The Pitch: In a medieval England plagued with supernatural creatures, young Tom, the seventh son of a seventh son, is taken under the wing of the legendary Spook to learn how to battle fearsome witches.
The Pros: Joseph Delaney's Wardstone Chronicles have been in the works over at Warner Bros for a while, in the hope that it might be able to step in for the Harry Potter franchise. "Mongol" director Sergei Bodrov is helming, at the film has an impressive cast, with Ben Barnes in the lead role, Jeff Bridges as the Spook, Julianne Moore as the villain and Alicia Vikander, Olivia Williams and Kit Harrington also on board. The book series has stretched to eight novels so far, and the fanbase seems to be out there.
The Cons: Then again, they said that about "Eragon." A medieval, "Witchfinder General" kind of setting is appealing to us, but can it hit the teen demographic the same way as vampire high schools or futuristic death matches? While there's romance, it doesn't seem to be so prevalent, suggesting that this is one that'll appeal to genre fans more than to all four quadrants.
Status: Starts filming any day now, and hits theaters on February 15, 2013.

"Through To You"
The Pitch: Camden, a teen grieving the death of his girlfriend Viv meets a woman from a parallel world, in which Viv is still alive, and sets out to win her back.
The Pros: Emily Hainsworth's debut novel doesn't come out until this October, but Paramount and Montecito have had the rights since last March. And intriguingly, they've set Drake Doremus, Ben York Jones and Jonathan Schwartz, the director, co-writer and producer of acclaimed indie "Like Crazy," to make the film, suggesting that this could be something a little more nuanced than your average teen bait fantasy. Plus, the film could fall in the sweet spot between genre fare and weepies like "The Vow" and "The Notebook."
The Cons: With Doremus working on another semi-improvised project, word has been deathly quiet on this. The concept may be a tough nut to crack to make it widely appealing, and the film doesn't seem to hold the same franchise opportunity as some of its rivals.
Status: In development, we assume.

Any of your own favorites we've missed? "Gladiator" producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher snapped up the rights to the very "Hunger Games"-sounding "Divergent" for Summit, with "Snow White And The Huntsman" writer Evan Daughtery penning the script, and Jeff Bridges is working on one of his long-time favorites, "The Giver," which he'll also star in, while Taylor Lautner was set to star in futuristic prison tale "Incarceron" with Emma Watson, but the film seemed to stall after his vehicle "Abduction" tanked.

Features

More: Features, Twilight Saga, Hunger Games, The Seventh Son, Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones, How I Live Now, Through To You, Legend, Incarceron, Heist Society, Beautiful Creatures

67 Comments

| Reply
Pam | May 5, 2013 10:02 AMReply

You should have put MAXIMUM RIDE!
Cheyanne | November 23, 2012 12:21 PMReply

I would LOVE to see Beautiful Creatures as movies i finished the first one in 2 weeks the fastest ive ever finished a book that big and i would be reading the second one right now but my friend borrowed it and i own all three I LOVE THIS SERIES
Carissa | August 5, 2012 9:57 PMReply

Divergent should definitely be on this list.
Jacqui | July 22, 2012 1:29 PMReply

The Fallen series would make a great movie, as would the Hush, Hush series, and the Matched trilogy. Plus, I think the Divergent trilogy is already being made into a movie, right?
Jacqui | July 22, 2012 1:29 PMReply

The Fallen series would make a great movie, as would the Hush, Hush series, and the Matched trilogy. Plus, I think the Divergent trilogy is already being made into a movie, right?
Vanessa | July 17, 2012 1:19 PMReply

The Body Finder series is a great unique series with a bit of romance, suspense and serial killers thrown in together! I have just finished the third book and am eagerly awaiting the release of the fourth and final book in Kimberly Derting's series. These books would be amazing to see turned into movies and a big hit among young adults. I would also look forward to seeing delirium turn into a movie as it's such a interesting concept and well written series!
Sheri | May 29, 2012 9:06 PMReply

I think the new fantasy novel Parted Waters by Natasha Ashwe would be brilliant.
carbon | April 24, 2012 8:45 PMReply

I'd like to see good versions of the Madeline L'Engle time series, any of her Austin books actually.
Joan Enders | April 19, 2012 2:38 AMReply

Don't overlook the importance of the adventure/dystopia novels by James Dashner, beginning with The Maze Runner.
HLN | April 16, 2012 12:43 AMReply

I could see Divergent becoming the next big thing. I almost better than the Hunger Games. I'm in the middle of Delirium and it's also pretty good though.
HLN | April 16, 2012 12:46 AM

Sorry, I meant It's almost better than The Hunger Games*
Mint | April 13, 2012 11:26 AMReply

Great list! If you haven't read it, I highly recommend The Knife of Never Letting Go. Although it has teen protagonists, it definitely isn't just for young readers-- it's brilliant and complex and the sequels are even better than the first. The rising epicness is actually kinda like LOTR-- it starts simple and escalates into a gigantic war by the third book lol.
Gjertrud | April 3, 2012 6:05 PMReply

I'd like to mention the Paranormalcy series by Kiersten White.
Mimi | April 3, 2012 11:25 AMReply

They may be for a slightly younger crowd but the Leviathan series would be fun to see.
Gill Avila | April 2, 2012 9:28 PMReply

I understand that last year MTV optioned "Spellbinder" by Helen Stringer. What is the status of that property?
AnthonyL | April 1, 2012 8:37 AMReply

I think the books written by Lois Lowry start with "The Giver" should become the next series of books turn into movies after The Hunger Games. My nephew (14) started to read this book as class read, and got hook on to it. He is now reading the second book in this series call "Gathering Blue" and now his younger sister (13) is currently reading the first book. I read the books (actually I listen to them via audio books due I travel alot) these are really good novels . It is set in a society which is at first presented as a utopian society and gradually appears more and more dystopian. The novel follows a boy named Jonas through the twelfth year of his life. The society has eliminated pain and strife by converting to "Sameness," a plan that has also eradicated emotional depth from their lives. Jonas is selected to inherit the position of "Receiver of Memory," the person who stores all the past memories of the time before Sameness, in case they are ever needed to aid in decisions that others lack the experience to make. When Jonas meets the previous receiverâThe "Giver"âhe is confused in many ways. The Giver is also able to break some rules, such as turning off the speaker and lying to people of the community. As Jonas receives the memories from the Giver, he discovers the power of knowledge. The people in his community are happy because they don't know of a better life, but the knowledge of what they are missing out on could create major chaos. He faces a dilemma: Should he stay with the community, his family living a shallow life without love, color, choices, and knowledge, or should he run away to where he can live a full life? As I said before this is a series of three books "The Giver", "Gathering Blue", and "Messenger" , although a fourth one called "Son" will be release some time this year 2012.
Carbon | April 24, 2012 8:39 PM

I love the Giver trilogy. I read the Giver when it was released. I was an adult but read it anyway and made my children read it when they were 12ish. we have since read all of them. I look forward to a 4th.
tad swann | March 30, 2012 5:48 PMReply

I've never been comfortable with the labeling of Ender's Game as a young adult novel. It's a science fiction novel with young adults in it. There's a difference.
cass | March 31, 2012 7:51 AM

Actually Tad young adult novels are generally novels with teens as the main characters, being classified as a YA novel doesn't mean a book isn't as high quality as adult fiction, its just been written with a younger audience in mind. And there is nothing to say a sci fi book can't be a YA book...young adult is nor a genre! There are many different genres written for young adults eg twilight is a paranormal romance but this doesn't mean its not YA.
Ian Grey | March 30, 2012 2:42 PMReply

Isn't a film version of UGLIES still on?
keisya | April 24, 2012 12:54 PM

THIS^
TNR12 | March 29, 2012 9:16 PMReply

Personally, I'm pretty psyched for The Graveyard Book movie, should it happen: it was a brilliant, clever, emotionally-moving book. I'm very, very excited to get to see Bod, Silas, and the others on the big screen - though I can see what the author of this article is saying about the book not being very suitable to movie-ifying; it is true that it's a bit episodic in nature. Still, I can't wait! :)

Otherwise, though, there's not much here I'm super excited about. And there is one book here I'm kind of hoping fate somehow keeps from becoming a movie: Ender's Game. :/ I cannot in good conscience enjoy anything written by Orson Scott Card, knowing that he's a raging homophobe and one of the board members of NOM. When/if that comes out, I know what movie I won't be seeing/will be trying to keep my friends and family from seeing.
Scoff | April 1, 2013 1:59 AM

You sir are the intellectual equivalent of a dead house plant.
Lu | March 28, 2012 11:55 PMReply

I've been hearing a lot about Divergent and Delirium. Sad that the Golden Compass adaption tanked a while back and that Narnia seems to have stalled. I adored them when I was a kid.
Also, The Giver. Has there never been a movie based on the Lois Lowery book? To this day, it remains one of my favorite books. I must have read it 5 times over by the time I was 12. Perhaps not as action packed, and I don't recall much of a love interest for Jonas, so that may be what's holding it back, but honestly, that story...
lu | March 29, 2012 12:05 AM

also, ARTEMIS FOWL! How has the fairy foiling child mastermind not made his way the big screen yet?
Arch | March 28, 2012 3:00 PMReply

Here's a thought...and a radical one I know....could we, maybe, just enjoy the films that are out now and not worry so much about using them as a benchmark for films that might, someday, possibly, be made? Seriously, would we all be less well off if people didn't keep trying to add on to the chain of "Harry Potter is the next Lord of the Rings, Twilight is the next Harry Potter, The Hunger Games is the next Twilight, X is the next Hunger Games...."?
James J | March 28, 2012 2:02 AMReply

Ben Barnes for the Seventh Son? Stupid, stupid, stupid! They are taking something that COULD have been a Harry Potter follow-on, and are bastardizing the source material by turning it into something more Twilight than Harry Potter. The Spooks Apprentice is a BOY (like Harry) not some twenty-something teen-girl's heart throb. The casting shows clearly they don't know or respect the books -- and so not only will no one who isn't familiar with books go see the movie, neither will the fans of the original! Stupid Hollywood strikes again.
jakile | March 28, 2012 1:54 AMReply

Divergent by Veronica Ross is also a great book.
Linn Baker | March 27, 2012 10:52 AMReply

"Deep Creek" by Dana Hand, definitely. Named a Best Novel of 2010 by the Washington Post, and features five attractive young characters, aged 11-22--two Chinese boys, an Anglo girl, a young Chinese man, a young Native American--who help solve a terrible racial crime in frontier Idaho. (The story is based on a real-life incident.) http://www.dana-hand.com/
AVV | March 26, 2012 11:36 PMReply

Any chance that any of these novels/stories include more diversity (racially speaking) amongst its lead characters? Oh, wait. That's a stupid question. They probably wouldn't be all that popular if they did.
Jennifer | March 26, 2012 9:33 PMReply

I would love to see "Among the Hidden", by Margaret Peterson Haddix, made into a movie. It's another dystopian book about a future where only 2 children are allowed per family. Third children are kept hidden from the Population Police.
Gracie | July 21, 2012 8:36 PM

I have wanted the Shadow Children series to be made into movies since I first read them with my kids about 5 years ago. Many of Haddix's books would be great movies.
Vera | March 26, 2012 3:43 PMReply

Oh dear. Someone doesn't understand Bookscan. Nielsen Bookscan makes an estimate of total books sold based on a sample, which they claim to be a third of all book sales. So if Nielsen says two million copies, they mean that they think two million copies were sold, not that they counted two million and that translate into six million. And that's two million copies spread across four separate titles. Also, if you actually knew what you were talking about, you would know that appearing on a Bestseller list does not always translate into millions of books sold. There is quite a large drop-off between the top of the charts and the middle of the chart, and even the books at the top of the chart are probably not selling as much as you think they are.
Carrie | March 30, 2012 3:43 PM

Oh dear, Vera. Someone doesn't understand Bookscan, but it isn't me. Bookscan doesn't make an estimate of total books based on a sample. That may be the way Nielson ratings work for television, but it isn't how Bookscan works. They rely on point of sale data, as in actual. books. sold.

"Nielsen BookScan relies on point of sale data from a number of major book sellers. Nielsen BookScan's US Consumer Market Panel currently covers approximately 75% of retail sales and continues to grow. BookScan does not track sales from Wal-Mart/Sam's Club or BJ's; Hudson Group's airport and train and bus locations were added to their reporting panel effective week 1, 2009."

"So if Nielsen says two million copies, they mean that they think two million copies were sold, not that they counted two million and that translate into six million. And that's two million copies spread across four separate titles. "

Wrong, wrong, wrong. ASTOUNDINGLY wrong. Nielson numbers aren't estimates. They're exact. They're not complete, because they don't count school and library sales, sales to Sam's Club, certain indies, etcetera. That's why I was estimating their accuracy at about a third. If it says The Mortal Instruments has sold 2 million copies (a figure I arrived at by adding up the sales figures for each book) then it has probably sold about six million (the sales figure given by the publisher.) Yes, that's six million spread over four books. I'm not sure what your point is, given that all I said was that those were better sales than Divergent or Miss Peregrine, which remains true. According to Bookscan, Divergent has sold 76,000 copies in hardcover, total.

"Also, if you actually knew what you were talking about, you would know that appearing on a Bestseller list does not always translate into millions of books sold."

Vera, I am calling shenanigans on you working in the book trade. Appearing on a bestseller list, low down, does indeed not mean millions of copies sold. Winning THE NEWBERY AWARD does. (A tidbit from the New York Times: "The selection of Mr. Gaimanâs book, which has already sold 71,000 copies, according to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks about 70 percent of retail sales, would seem to reverse a trend of the past few years when critics accused the Newbery committee of selecting books that had a tough time finding an audience among children.") Spending a year on the NYT list does. The fact that Bookscan lists it as having sold a million copies does. I am not sure why you are so desperate to pretend that these books have lower sales than they do, or what your personal investment is, but given that you don't even understand what Bookscan is I'm going to assume that your involvement in the book trade is shelving books at Walmart. (Which, incidentally, doesn't report sales to Bookscan.)
Cheryl | March 26, 2012 1:58 PMReply

I liked the following books Halo by Alexandra Adornetto, Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter, and The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting. They might not have that big of a following to make as movies.
Ken | March 26, 2012 11:29 AMReply

Ender's Game sounds most promising as a movie but still think it'd be better as a tv series then movie, the same goes for the graveyard book i think it could be a good tv series but not that good of a movie. and hasn't the seventh son already been done as the seeker?
tegan | March 25, 2012 10:32 PMReply

Why isn't Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead on here?!?!
Riley | March 25, 2012 2:47 PMReply

Last year there was an announcement that Worldshaker by Richard Harland is being adapted for film. When I read it, it reminded me of a beautiful Shakespearing love story.
Kim | March 25, 2012 11:15 AMReply

I think "Pure," while incredibly imaginative and visually is crazy, it would be hard to do. Some of the images told in the book are very scary, they're not pretty, they're disturbing, the world is really hard (I can imagine that scene with Partridge and the Moms being something they cut out... The entire Moms scene all together would be that way). Hellmund though, he would be AMAZING to see on the big screen.
Phia | March 25, 2012 3:32 AMReply

Divergent, Shiver, Matched and The Maze Runner are all soon-to-be movies that should probably be included in this list.
Lauren | March 24, 2012 9:33 PMReply

What about Divergent by Veronica Roth and Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead?
Tina | March 24, 2012 12:16 PMReply

DIVERGENT?!?!? Why isnt it on this list?? Its soooo good, may e better than HG?
Connor | March 24, 2012 11:36 AMReply

Matched by Ally Condle is about a girl who lives in a society where people are matched to fall in love and get married. Its a trilogy and Walt Disney won the rights in a bidding war with Paramount Pictures. Adam Shankman (A Walk To Remember, Hairspray) and Jennifer Gibgot (17 Again, Hairspray) are attached to produce.
carrie | March 24, 2012 7:38 AMReply

Penny, Jamie Campbell Bower is still playing Jace. That was just one of many inaccuracies in this article, especially the Mortal Instruments section (Screen Gems didn't pull the plug, etc). Also since fans of the books were called on to comment, the Mortal Instruments are not Twilight meets Buffy (not that we've exactly had many of those) but unique pieces of urban fantasy with their own mythology.

As for "wow" -- sorry kid but while Miss Peregrine and Divergent were both bestsellers neither can touch the sales of Mortal Instruments or The Graveyard Book. They are too new and in the case of Divergent, just have not sold enough. The Graveyard Book has sold millions as has The Mortal Instruments. Divergent has sold maybe two hundred thousand, MP a bit more. And that's not even counting worldwide sales where Gaiman and Clare's sales outstrip the others by literally millions.
chris | March 24, 2012 3:41 PM

Carrie, you may want to rethink your policy of believing everything that Cassie says. She has been known to twist the truth. While it may (or may not) be true that Sony decided to hand TMI over from their Screen Gems division to their Columbia division, the fact remains that Sony dropped it like a hot potato. I don't know where the author of this article got the idea that Jamie is no longer attached, or whether it is true or not, I don't think that something Cassie tweeted several weeks ago can be taken as gospel, especially since Jamie's name has been conspicuously absent from all of Constintin's press releases.
p2 | March 24, 2012 12:54 AMReply

PLAYLIST, love it when you make these kinda lists.
Adera | March 30, 2012 3:08 PM

http://www.deadline.com/2012/03/sony-pictures-frontrunner-for-the-mortal-instruments/

Yeah Sony sure dropped it like a hot potato all right.
carrie | March 25, 2012 1:10 AM

I am not sure why you decided my information comes from the author's tweets. It doesn't. Lily and Jamie are both repped by CAA and they are both still attached. The movie was taken from Screen Gems and turned over to Columbia, as all calls about the film were rerouted through to the Columbia division as of last year. That Screen Gems chose to announce they had dropped a project they didnt control only a week or so before it got a new director etc. may bespeak to some conflict about who actually left who, since the actual rights to the project have been held by Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne in conjuction with Constantin since the inception. Either way, even if Sony did drop it, Paramount dropped Twilight and Summit picked it up so it doesn't mean much.

I don't get my information about book sales from authors either. It comes from Neilson Bookscan. Not sure what axe you are grinding against the author but most authors aren't told that much about what's going on with the films of their books.
Penny | March 23, 2012 11:23 PMReply

wait..... Jamie Campbell Bower isnt playing Jace any more?
Hugh | March 23, 2012 10:30 PMReply

My money: the ALONE trilogy by James Phelan. A YA take on 28 Days Later meets I Am Legend kind of territory, and the first book has the wow factor of the Sixth Sense, while the trilogy shows a realistic portrayal of what a post-apocalyptic city really seems like. Brilliant.
nick | March 23, 2012 4:42 PMReply

The Seventh Son is actually being made right now in Canada staring Jeff Bridges
wow | March 23, 2012 4:38 PMReply

Seriously, writer. Did you not do any research? How are Mrs. Peregrine's Children and Divergent not at the top of this list? Look at the current New York Times Bestseller list. Those two books have sold more copies and have larger followings than everything you have on this list COMBINED.

You should take this down and start from scratch, starting with those two books. This is an embarrassment to this website.
Carrie | March 24, 2012 6:32 PM

Sorry kid...you may like Divergent and Ms Peregrine but they dont have more sales than all these books combined. Not even close. Both were bestsellers but as first books in a series, the whole series are unproven. The Mortal Instruments has sold in the millions. The Graveyard Book has sold in the millions. Divergent and MP each have a couple hundred thousand sales. Maybe before you decide something is an embarrassment you should do some research of your own. (my sources: Bookscan and Publisher's Weekly.)

Jamie Campbell-Bower is by the way, still attached to Mortal Instruments.
Chelsea | March 23, 2012 3:23 PMReply

The next big hit will be the Tiger Curse Saga, The first movie comes out in 2015 and the world will forget about werewolves and go all weretigers :P
Carrie | March 25, 2012 2:01 AM

"I'm calling shenanigans on your "millions of copies sold" claim for both The Mortal Instruments and The Graveyard Book. I work in the book trade"

But apparently don't have access to Bookscan? Go find someone who does, and ask them to look the books up. The Mortal Instruments series is listed as having upward of two million sales: since Bookscan records about a third of actual sales, that works out to about six million total. (Which no, are not equivalent to Harry Potter or Twilight sales - - never said or implied they were.)

"The Graveyard Book has be critically acclaimed, but sales-wise it's mid-list at best."

A book that spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list is midlist?

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/10/its-been-one-year.html

You may be in the book trade, but that is not the book trade on Earth as we know it. Bookscan has it at a million copies, so it's probably sold three mil domestically, and again both Clare and Gaiman have enormous overseas sales. Other series like Vampire Academy, House of Night, and so forth also have millions of sales without being Harry Potter. In fact, I'm a little puzzled you'd even use Harry Potter as an example since the first rule of the book trade is "never use Harry Potter as an example."
Vera | March 25, 2012 12:24 AM

I'm calling shenanigans on your "millions of copies sold" claim for both The Mortal Instruments and The Graveyard Book. I work in the book trade, and even though the Mortal Instruments has been a popular series, it doesn't even approach the sales for Harry Potter, Twilight, or The Hunger Games. Perhaps if you combine the sales for the entire series you may be approaching the million mark. The Graveyard Book has be critically acclaimed, but sales-wise it's mid-list at best.
jonathan | March 23, 2012 2:32 PMReply

The Wildwood Chronicles by Colin Meloy from the band The Decemberists could be awesome as a live action movie, or it could end up looking something like The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe. I heard Laika bought the rights, so it'll end up being stop-motion movie (if it gets made) which should still be cool. Anyway, the first book is really good, like a Narnia/Stardust kinda feel, but still fresh.
Tim | March 23, 2012 2:19 PMReply

Missed "The Maze Runner"
Jess | March 23, 2012 2:07 PMReply

How about DIVERGENT?!!? How could this be left out.
Zack | March 23, 2012 1:41 PMReply

I'd love to see someone do Clive Barker's (still in-progress) "Abarat" series, but it's probably way too dark to pull off for a mass audience.
Kevin Klawitter | March 23, 2012 1:29 PMReply

My favorite young adult series growing up, the "Animorphs" books, are being rereleased. Maybe they could be turned into a movie, though a TV show would probably be more suitable (let us forget the abomination which Nickelodeon wrought upon us).

And if Jennifer Lawrence hadn't already been Katniss, I'd say she'd make a perfect Rachel.
TheoC | March 23, 2012 1:19 PMReply

Nice list, I think Pure is a good yarn, but the universe is slightly unconvincing. Maybe they'll try cash in after the Proposed Stephen King "Under the Dome" TV series. Who doesn't want to see a police man with a dog for a foot?

Not on the list, yet I could see working is "Across the universe" by Beth Revis, a cryo-stasis romance novel/ murder mystery.
Greasy Fried Chicken | April 8, 2012 3:49 PM

@Kevin Klawitter,
Nah, Stephenie Meyer (Twilight author) already "copied" it with her 700 page tome called The Host, which is either currently being filmed or in pre-production. The Host is part of an alleged series: the 2nd book will be The Seeker & the 3rd The Soul. So, no Animorphs.
mimi | April 3, 2012 11:23 AM

I agree with you about Across the Universe! I love the books and think they will translate well to movies.
Chelsea | March 23, 2012 1:02 PMReply

What about The Tiger Sage by Colleen Houck??? They're excellent and the perfect mix of action and romance to bring in the tween viewers. Plus there are five books, three of which are already out. :)
Sonny | March 23, 2012 12:05 PMReply

Eoin Colfer's 'The Supernaturalist' would be pretty good.
Vonna | March 27, 2012 10:51 AM

I'd love to see film adaptations of Suzanne Collins GREGOR THE OVERLANDER series and one of my favorites, Michelle Paver's series THE CHRONICLES OF DARKNESS.