The new Apple+ film The Sky is Everywhere is based on Jandy Nelson’s best-selling novel. The film may not be a blockbuster like Twilight, The Fault in Our Stars, or The Hunger Games, nor will it have a cult following like Love, Simon, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, or The Hate U Give, but it is a good adaptation of a fantastic book. There are a few adaptations of wonderful books that have slipped under the radar, but are nonetheless good films to watch if you’re looking for some YA fiction.
1. How I Live Now (2013)
Director- Kevin Macdonald
American girl Daisy is taken by her estranged father away from New York City to the countryside of England to dwell with her Aunt Penn. Isaac, her distant cousin, picks her up from the airport and drives her home. She is introduced to her cousins, seventeen-year-old Eddie and young Piper and to their friend Joe. Daisy, on the other hand, is a resentful, love-hungry, and aloof young lady who believes she is cursed. Also, bad things happen to her wherever she goes because her mother died giving birth to her. Aunt Penn is a busy woman who is researching the war situation in England. It is on high alert due to a terrorist incident, and needs to fly to Geneva.
The next morning, however, a nuclear bomb blasts in London, prompting the British government to proclaim a state of siege. Meanwhile, Daisy and Eddie fall in love, but the military separates them, sending the females to one camp and the men to another. Daisy and Eddie say they’ll meet up again. Daisy and Piper abandon their lodging in a war-torn country. They travel through England under martial law in search of Eddie and Isaac.
2. The Spectacular Now (2013)
Director- James Ponsoldt
Sutter Keely is a person who lives in the present. It’s an excellent location for him. He’s a charming and self-assured high school senior who is the life of the party, enjoys his job at a men’s apparel store, and has no plans for the future. He’s a growing alcoholic who can’t seem to get enough of his supersized, whiskey-laced thirst-quencher cup. Sutter, however, becomes inebriated after being abandoned by his fiancée and wakes up on a lawn with Aimee Finecky hanging over him. She’s the “good girl” who doesn’t have a boyfriend and likes science fiction. Sutter lives in the magnificent delusion of a fantastic now, while Aimee dreams of a future, yet they’re brought together in some way.
3. Looking For Alaska (TV Mini Series, 2019)
Creator- Josh Schwartz
Miles (Charlie Heller) enrols in a private school and meets his new roommate Chip, dubbed “the Colonel” by his classmates (Denny Love). Miles falls head over heels in love with Alaska (Kristine Froseth), who turns his life upside down almost instantly. Without giving anything away, Miles must learn to handle his first encounters with love, friendship, and tragedy while far from home.
4. The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)
Director- Desiree Akhavan
1993, Pennsylvania. Cameron Post is brought to a conversion therapy institution operated by the austere Dr. Lydia Marsh and her brother, Reverend Rick, when he is caught with another female. The treatment consists of repenting for feeling “same sex attraction.” Cameron makes friends with fellow sinners Jane and Adam, forming a new family to deal with the hostility that surrounds them.
5. Everything, Everything (2017)
Director- Stella Meghie
Madeline Whittier, 17, suffers from SCID, an immunological condition that prevents her from leaving the house or engaging with others. Pauline, her mother, looks after her with the support of Carla, her nurse of 15 years. Only Pauline, Carla, and Carla’s daughter Rosa are permitted in the Whittier home and around Maddy, who longs to see the world, particularly the ocean. A new family moves in next door, and their kid, who is Maddy’s age, catches her eye; they exchange a glance as Maddy peers out the window. The boy and his sister appear on their doorway with a Bundt cake later that night while Maddy and Pauline are watching a movie.
6. If I Stay (2014)
Director- R.J. Cutler
Mia Hall believed the most difficult decision she would ever have to make was whether to pursue her musical goals at Juilliard or take a different road to be with Adam, her true love. But what should have been a nice family day turns into a nightmare in a moment, and her own life is now in jeopardy. Mia is caught between life and death for one fateful day, and she only has one choice to make that will determine not just her future but also her final fate.
7. Me And Earl And The Dying Girl (2015)
Director- Alfonso Gomez- Rejon
In Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Thomas Mann plays Greg, a high-school senior who spends most of his time with his friend Earl making low-budget remakes of famous films. Greg lives an antisocial lifestyle on purpose; his mother, concerned about his conduct, encourages him to make friends with a classmate called Rachel, who is facing leukaemia. Surprisingly, the two become a close bond, and she assists Greg and Earl in their creative activities. However, when Rachel’s situation worsens, Greg is forced to cope with the realities of life.
