In this two-in-one episode, Dorin and Kendyl discuss the novel If I Stay by Gayle Forman and it’s film adaptation. After falling in love with all the characters in the novel, the duo is rather harsh on the movie’s characterization, but give it credit for resisting the urge to be overly sappy.
Welcome to our first monthly recommendations blog where the Adaptation staff tells you lovely readers what we’ve been loving in the month of August!
I just finished reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. It’s about an incredibly nerdy girl, Cath, in her first year at college (a girl after my own heart, actually). She suffers from severe social anxiety and agreed to go to college with her more sociable twin sister, Wren, only to have her twin disappear into a new social life, leaving her feeling alone and lost. Meanwhile, Cath retreats into her dorm room and a fictional world, writing fanfiction for her favorite Harry Potterish-book series until she slowly starts to emerge from her shell with the help of her aggressive, gruffly lovable roommate, Reagan, Reagan’s ex-boyfriend and Cath’s eventual love-interest, Levi (who’s also probably the friendliest and most sociable person I’ve ever read about), and her fiction-writing professor. It’s a fascinating read, and I felt like I could really relate to Cath throughout a lot of the book.
-Jess
This TV series brings back that familiar love of cowboys and the wild-wild west, while expressing new ideas of the reality for those who built the first continental railroad and those who tried to stop them. A battle of races, cowboys vs. Native Americans and blacks vs. whites, as well as a battle of government persuasions that take place in the first frontier towns, complete with respectable whore houses and saloons for the tireless railroad workers. In a time when the new citizens of America are still recovering from the Civil War, old neighbors have to learn to put aside their old alliances of North VS South to unite and reestablish this developing country. Let’s just say there is nothing simple about this series and the sub-plots engage just as much as the plot of racing railroads. If you can handle gore and a series full of handsome cowboys and Native Americans, what are you waiting for?
-Kristin
I’ve been listening to the How to Train Your Dragon audiobooks, which is read by David Tennant, and I just finished book 6, A Hero’s Guide to Deadly Dragons. This series tells the ‘memoirs’ of the renowned Viking hero Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III from when he was just a teenager–and not at all what you’d expect a Viking hero to be like. Helping him along the way is his best friend, Fishlegs, and his hunting dragon, Toothless–who is the smallest, laziest, whiniest dragon, making him ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE. I would definitely recommend actually listening to the audiobooks for this one, rather than reading them. David Tennant is a wonderful narrator, and he really endears you to the characters.
-Jenn
I just finished a complete rewatch of all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls and even though it was probably the fifth or sixth time around for some episodes, it was just as enjoyable as ever. The show focuses on Lorelei Gilmore who left her upper-crust, blue blood Connecticut family when she had a baby at 16 and refused to follow the path her parents set out for her. Now she lives in a quirky small town with her 16 year-old daughter, Rory, who has inherited her mother’s coffee addiction as well as her ability to talk a mile a minute throw out even the most niche of pop culture references. In addition to these two admirable characters, Stars Hollow is populated with a host of other lovable, occasionally insane characters from gruff diner-owners and power-mad town leaders to sarcastic Frenchmen and former Broadway dancers. Gilmore Girls is funny, charming and inconspicuously heart-felt.
-Kendyl
Dorin and Kendyl sit down to talk about the film that has dominated this summer! It’s been a while since Marvel has introduced new misfits into it’s film universe and Guardians of the Galaxy has certainly held up to the hype. The only question is where are we going from here?
For a similar discussions, check out our episodes on Game of Thrones season 4, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier.
Got a lovely shout out from Kristin over on the River Ram Press blog. Have a look!
HIYA!
Okay Readers, I know you’re waiting for some RRP content in a chapter-book format. Guess what, it’s coming! We have two titles that are currently being developed with us and there is more information to come in the near future SPECIFICALLY on the VERY FIRST New Adult book series that will be published through River Ram Press. I’ll give you a hint on the story line – there are fancy, fantasy beings included!
You can join us with a squeal of excitement now!!!
So many exclamation points.
However, until then, I know the perfect little place online for you to stay up-to-date on all the literature you love and it’s transition into film. As you 
can imagine, this will include a lot of those YA / NA titles that you’ve joined fandoms for / on / about… anyway:
The Adaptation Podcast began just as it sounds, a podcast where several individuals from…
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In this commentary episode, the girls try very hard not to sing along with The Lion King… and mostly succeed while discussing Disney’s musical adaptation of Hamlet with lions.
Forever… by Judy Blume
A book review by Kendyl Bryant
I’m 26 years old, female, and have just finished my first-ever Judy Blume book. It’s probably a miracle that I’d made it through adolescence considering her reputation for pivotal coming-of-age stories. But, for some reason, I just never picked one up. Thus, my reaction to Forever comes from a slightly different perspective than its intended audience and yet, I thoroughly enjoyed it all the same.
Forever follows Katherine, a senior in high school, from the night she meets Michael and through the couple’s experience with first love. The two share a hopeful, fun outlook and are determined to stay together when they head off to college the following year. But when they have to separate the summer before-hand for jobs in different states, their relationship is tested by distance and new friends.
Blume’s portrayal of first love is beautifully realistic…
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Those listeners that have been around a while might remember this guy!
This past April, I was fortunate to be featured as the Ram Boutique Highlighted Author of the month. Of course, with such an honor comes the responsibility of selecting something worthy to submit. In my case, this meant filtering through a long list of short stories written in a genre blending that is not so commonly seen today. The process was challenging, and as a result also quite rewarding.
I’ve had an interest in utopian and dystopian literature since before my first year at university, and more recently have developed a fascination with blending these two distinct styles with elements of direct socio-political philosophy. This offers me a truly broad range of inspirational works, including George Orwell’s 1984, Sun Tzu’s The Art Of War, John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government, and Machiavelli’s The Prince, to name a few.
With such a wonderfully rich body of source material to work from…
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The Giver by Lois Lowry was many of our hosts first experience with YA distopias and is truly unique to what the genre has to offer these days. We discuss the society in which Jonas lives and the revelations that he must go through when given memories of the past. Speculating on the upcoming film, however, has us all feeling a bit apprehensive.
EDIT: Our episode on the Giver film can be found here.
Rowell’s Attachments delivers excellent characters in a cliché romcom. It might be a great waste of good characters and witty banter, but it’s definitely worth the read.
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, a book review by Kendyl Bryant
Something that might be important to know about me is that I tend towards Sense rather than Sensibility. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good romance and I can ‘ship’ with the best of them, but I wouldn’t call myself a romantic. Rainbow Rowell’s Attachments is for the romantics.
The novel follows Lincoln who has the mildly disconcerting job of monitoring the company email to make sure no one is using it for non-work-related purposes. When Beth and Jennifer start sending long, decidedly personal emails back and forth, it’s Lincoln’s job to read through them and send them a warning. But the correspondences are so quick-witted and charming that he just can’t…
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In their first ever commentary episode, the Adaptation Team sits down and watches The Princess Bride together and discusses all the reasons that this film became a classic!
Regicide, patricide and uxoricide: Game of Thrones season 4 was full of artful deaths and shocking moments, but was lacking in lingering questions. While this season felt more like setting up a chess board than a murder mystery, the hosts are still excited to see where everyone ends up and what their roles will be next season!
After covering The Fault in Our Stars novel by John Green in a previous episode, the hosts return to talk about the new film adaptation of this teenage life story. They agree that the film was extremely accurate, but still missed a few of their favorite moments and worry that some themes were lost.
What did you think? Let us know in the comments!
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