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One of fiction’s most beloved teen novels is set to head to a cinema near you.
Judy Blume has written some incredible novels over the years, but arguably, one of her most talked about books is the coming-of-age classic, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
The book was and is as loved as it was divisive and controversial since it delved into frank discussions about religion, sex, boys and periods – something many conservative parents didn’t want to see talked about at school or at libraries.
And yet, if we had to read it today, we reckon that this would book would be as relevant as ever.
According to Refinery29, the movie rights for the book have finally been sold. The rights have been picked up by the same team responsible for the production of another teen movie called The Edge of Seventeen and will be led by director Kelly Fremon Craig (whoop, yay for another woman director and writer).
READ MORE: When is the fat princess going to get her happily ever after?
This year we’ve seen a slew of incredible movies that are based on books – the current one being The Hate U Give (we loved the book and sure the #BlackLivesMatter movie will do it justice).
We highlight some books adapted into screenplays and books we’d love to see on film that tackle topics that young girls and women alike will be able to relate to:
Dumplin'
We’re super excited for this one! Julie Murphy’s YA fat-positivity novel is in the works and will be coming to Netflix. The movie will star Jennifer Aniston, Dove Cameron and Odeya Rush to mention but a few.
The story focuses on a confident fat young girl named Willowdean, dubbed Dumplin’ by her former beauty queen mom, who has never had any issues with being comfortable in her own skin until she takes a job at a fast food store and meets a jock who seems to like her as much as she likes him.
Of course, instead of taking confidence in that, she begins to doubt everything about herself and in an effort to dispel her insecurities, she does something that she never would have previously done: she enters a beauty pageant in order to show the world that she belongs there as much as any other skinny girl does.
A fat-positivity novel that is charming, fun and filled with a great message about what it means to love yourself as you are.
Children of Blood and Bone
Tomi Adeyemi's book has been labelled as the Black Panther of fiction novels and has already been optioned for film. My colleagues are pretty sick of me hyping this book up but given that this book is all about #blackgirlmagic, well, I’m never going to shut up.
What we love about Zelie’s story is that while it tackles topics of racism, colourism and tells the story of black pain, her story isn’t reduced to one that’s solely about struggle.
The magic system and world-building adds to the complexity of the novel, making it an adventurous fantasy novel with strong elements of realism and depth that goes beyond showing Africa (even fictionalised) as a continent that’s only steeped in death and poverty.
READ MORE: We speak to the woman whose fantasy novel is already the Black Panther of books
Deadlands
I’ve written about this book before and about how I’ve been disappointed that it hasn’t gained much traction here since it’s local and it’s such a clever read.
The book features a diverse cast of characters (the lead a feisty and jaded teen named Lele) who struggle to survive in a dystopian South African world.
The underlying commentary is filled with witty and satirical commentary about our political climate (as relevant as ever) and I feel that given that the cast features young adults who are fighting to carve a future for them in a world that’s hellbent on destroying them, the timing for this kind of movie couldn’t be more perfect.
All the Truth that’s in Me
I feel like this is one of the most underrated books in teen fiction, but one that’s so important because it deals with assault, secrets, and the damaging effects of lynch mob culture.
The book is written in second person, which actually works quite well for this book and tells the story of a mute girl (she was kidnapped but returned mutilated and unable to speak – and the reason for this is shocking and twisted), who harbours a dark secret about her kidnapped friend and may or may not have been silenced for it.
Given the spate of kidnappings we’ve seen in the news over the last years, this one feels incredibly relevant – and the fact that this shifts between past and present only cements the fact that sometimes it really takes years for ugly truths to come forward.
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