Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where book bloggers are invited to share their top ten lists centered on a certain theme.

This week’s theme was bingeworthy movies & TV shows, but since I don’t spend much time watching TV (since I’m usually either working or reading!), I decided to talk about my top ten books I want movie adaptations of.

HERE’S MY PICKS:

 

1. At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson

Shaun David Hutchinson is amazing at blending sci-fi with drama, and this one has so much thematic tension that you honestly can’t help but imagine it on the big screen.

Goodreads summary: “Tommy and Ozzie have been best friends since second grade, and boyfriends since eighth. They spent countless days dreaming of escaping their small town—and then Tommy vanished.

More accurately, he ceased to exist, erased from the minds and memories of everyone who knew him. Everyone except Ozzie.

Ozzie doesn’t know how to navigate life without Tommy, and soon suspects that something else is going on: that the universe is shrinking.

When Ozzie is paired up with new student Calvin on a physics project, he begins to wonder if Calvin could somehow be involved. But the more time they spend together, the harder it is for him to deny the feelings developing between them, even if he still loves Tommy.

But Ozzie knows there isn’t much time left to find Tommy–that once the door closes, it can’t be opened again. And he’s determined to keep it open as long as possible.”

 

2. One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

This is a book on my TBR that I haven’t gotten to yet, but I can tell from the summary that I’m going to be wishing it was a movie the whole time I’m reading it. It’s basically The Breakfast Club with MURDER and I don’t know what else I could ask for in a movie.

Goodreads summary: “Pay close attention and you might solve this.

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?
Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.”

 

3. When Life Gives You Demons by Jennifer Honeybourn

I just finished this book last week and loved it. I sooo want a teen exorcist movie with snarky humor!

Goodreads summary: “Sixteen-year-old Shelby Black has spent the past year training to be an exorcist. Her great-uncle Roy—a Catholic priest and Shelby’s guardian—believes she has a gift for expelling demons, and he’s put her through exorcist boot camp hell, but he still doesn’t trust her to do an exorcism on her own.

High school is hard enough without having to explain that you fight demons for a living, so Shelby keeps her extracurricular activity quiet, especially from Spencer, her cute math tutor. Secrets run in Shelby’s family, though: her mother has been missing ever since an exorcism went horribly wrong, and Uncle Roy is tight-lipped about it. But Shelby’s hell-bent on finding her mom, no matter what—even if what it ends up costing her her soul AND a date with Spencer.”

 

4. Warcross (& its upcoming sequel, Wildcard) by Marie Lu

Warcross is like an epic cross between The Hunger Games and Ready Player One, with a diverse lead and a tough female lead who’s a gaming bounty hunter. All of Marie Lu’s books would make amazing movies, but this is by far the one I’d most want to watch.

Goodreads summary: “For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.”

 

5. The Rig by Joe Ducie

The Rig is a fun, fast-paced action YA novel that quickly becomes a sci-fi thriller. It would make such an epic movie that would be perfect for fans of The Maze Runner or The Darkest Minds. 

Goodreads summary: “Fifteen-year-old Will Drake has made a career of breaking out from high-security prisons. His talents have landed him at The Rig, a specialist juvenile holding facility in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. No one can escape from The Rig. No one except for Drake…

After making some escape plans and meeting the first real friends of his life, Drake quickly realises that all is not as it seems on The Rig. The Warden is obsessed with the mysterious Crystal-X – a blue, glowing substance that appears to give superpowers to the teens exposed to it. Drake, Tristan and Irene are banking on a bid for freedom – but can they survive long enough to make it?”

 

6. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

I normally don’t like fall-in-love-in-a-day movies, but I would totally see a movie adaptation of They Both Die at the End. Adam Silvera makes the trope feel totally new and different, and I know it’d be the most beautiful love movie ever.

Goodreads summary: “On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today.

Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day.”

 

7. The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James

Space movies like The Martian or Gravity are so popular, but there aren’t really any teen ones (except Zenon, for us 90s kids). I just binge-read this amazing YA sci-fi thriller this past weekend and I absolutely NEED it to be a movie.

Goodreads summary: “Romy Silvers is the only surviving crew-member of a spaceship travelling to a new planet, on a mission to establish a second home for humanity amongst the stars. Alone in space, she is the loneliest girl in the universe until she hears about a new ship which has launched from Earth – with a single passenger on board. A boy called J.

Their only communication with each other is via email – and due to the distance between them, their messages take months to transmit across space. And yet Romy finds herself falling in love.

But what does Romy really know about J? And what do the mysterious messages which have started arriving from Earth really mean?

Sometimes, there’s something worse than being alone . . . ”

 

8. The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

Can we bring back teen murder thriller movies? I miss movies like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. This book totally reminded me of those 90s teen horror films, and made me wish for a movie.

Goodreads summary: “There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook.

First there was the car accident—two girls gone after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know why he did it. Monica’s sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they lost.

That was five years ago. Now the faculty and students at Sunnybrook High want to remember the lost cheerleaders. But for Monica, it’s not that easy. She just wants to forget. Only, Monica’s world is starting to unravel. There are the letters in her stepdad’s desk, an unearthed, years-old cell phone, a strange new friend at school. . . . Whatever happened five years ago isn’t over. Some people in town know more than they’re saying. And somehow Monica is at the center of it all.

There are no more cheerleaders in Sunnybrook, but that doesn’t mean anyone else is safe.”

 

9. You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins

Mitali Perkins crafts such a gorgeous multi-generational story that is such a vibrant look at identity and culture. I would love to see this novel come to life as a film comprised of vignettes about each generation of girls. Each girl has such an important story that I would love to see unfold on screen.

Goodreads summary: “Five girls. Three generations. One great American love story.

Ranee, worried that her children are losing their Indian culture; Sonia, wrapped up in a forbidden biracial love affair; Tara, seeking the limelight to hide her true self; Shanti, desperately trying to make peace in the family; Anna, fighting to preserve her Bengali identity.”

 

10.  Far From the Tree by Robin Benway

Far From the Tree is such a lovely story about the many forms that family takes. It would be such a tear-jerking movie that would uplift you while it breaks your heart. Plus, we need more movies that feature adopted children and foster care.

Goodreads summary: “Being the middle child has its ups and downs.

But for Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, discovering that she is a middle child is a different ride altogether. After putting her own baby up for adoption, she goes looking for her biological family, including—

Maya, her loudmouthed younger bio sister, who has a lot to say about their newfound family ties. Having grown up the snarky brunette in a house full of chipper redheads, she’s quick to search for traces of herself among these not-quite-strangers. And when her adopted family’s long-buried problems begin to explode to the surface, Maya can’t help but wonder where exactly it is that she belongs.

And Joaquin, their stoic older bio brother, who has no interest in bonding over their shared biological mother. After seventeen years in the foster care system, he’s learned that there are no heroes, and secrets and fears are best kept close to the vest, where they can’t hurt anyone but him.”

 

Which books do you think need a movie adaptation?