Books on the Big Screen: What's The Next Big Thing?

Now that The Hunger Games has hit theaters nationwide, everyone's already talking about what the next big YA Movie might be. Here are our top picks for most intriguing projects in development:

Matched by Ally Condie

All her life, Cassia has never had a choice. The Society dictates everything: when and how to play, where to work, where to live, what to eat and wear, when to die, and most importantly to Cassia as she turns 17, who to marry. When she is Matched with her best friend Xander, things couldn't be more perfect. But why did her neighbor Ky's face show up on her match disk as well?

NOISE says: Dystopian thriller with a juicy love triangle? Sounds familiar! We'd love to see what the seemingly perfect yet sinister Society looks like on the big screen.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community in which he finds himself if he is to escape.

NOISE says: With its action sequences, sci-fi monsters, and big plot twists, The Maze Runner has the potential wide appeal of the Harry Potter series. But with its huge ensemble of characters, we think its success will defintely depend on the casting.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

To free herself from an upcoming arranged marriage, Claudia, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, a futuristic prison with a mind of its own, decides to help a young prisoner escape.

NOISE says: Dark, urban fantasy at its finest! Incarceron will need hardcore visual effects and CGI to live up to any reader's portrayal of the book's setting.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged stranger who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grows dangerously low... and in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

NOISE says: Dark and twisty! We are hoping that chimerae and demons will be the new werewolves and vampires.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia

In a small South Carolina town, where it seems little has changed since the Civil War, sixteen-year-old Ethan is powerfully drawn to Lena, a new classmate with whom he shares a psychic connection and whose family hides a dark secret that may be revealed on her sixteenth birthday.

NOISE says: The southern backdrop will set Beautiful Creatures apart from its otherwise fantasy- or future-based competition -- but is paranormal romance so over, or here to stay?


Did you see The Hunger Games this weekend? Do you think any of the above movies have what it takes to be the Next Big Thing?