By Caitlin Taylor So
From the early 2000s to mid-2010s, young adult films of all genres dominated theaters. YA movie trailers were inescapable during commercial breaks. Up-and-coming actors became household names overnight. While the YA movie craze has since calmed down in 2023, it certainly isn’t a thing of the past. Instead of featuring in theaters nationwide, many YA adaptations are heading right to streaming, where they’re still finding excited audiences of all ages.
Are you a YA book-to-screen lover? Look out for these five 2023 adaptations in either a theater or television near you!
- Love in Taipei – August 10, 2023, Paramount+
Love in Taipei, based on Abigail Hing Wen’s bestselling novel, Loveboat, Taipei, follows Ever Wong, a Chinese-American high school senior who spends her summer in Taipei, Taiwan, at the behest of her parents. While her parents sent her to the exchange program to study Mandarin, Ever finds herself partying and breaking every rule she possibly can. There, she meets two potential love interests: Rick, a national prodigy, and Xavier, a “bad boy” who is also an artist. As Ever navigates this turbulent chapter in her life, she discovers more about herself than ever before.
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe – September 8, 2023
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, based on Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s award-winning novel, starts at a swimming pool in El Paso, Texas, where the titular characters meet. The two quickly become friends and spend the whole summer learning from each other—literature, swimming, and vulnerability. Ari and Dante connect as they struggle to reconcile with aspects of their identities, family secrets, and a world dead set on punishing them for who they are.
- The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – November 17, 2023
Are you coming to the tree? The prequel to the worldwide popular dystopian franchise The Hunger Games is coming to theaters this November. In Suzanne Collins’ novel and Francis Lawrence’s adaptation, audiences will return to Panem, 64 years before the 74th Hunger Games, and meet Lucy Gray Baird, the female tribute from District 12. Her mentor is none other than a then-18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, hoping to salvage his family’s social standing. As the 10th annual Hunger Games unfold, Snow’s entitlement and propensity to manipulate fester, ultimately culminating in irreversible betrayals that will set a precedent for the kind of leadership he enacts as a future president.
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians – December 20, 2023, Disney+
Let’s go, demigods! The widely anticipated Percy Jackson television series is finally coming to Disney+ this winter. Percy Jackson will be reintroduced to audiences as a 12-year-old son of Poseidon who embarks on a quest with Annabeth, daughter of Athena, and Grover, a satyr, to recover Zeus’ missing lightning bolt. Along the way, they face off against mythical creatures and deceitful gods, outsmarting them at every turn and coming out mostly unscathed.
- A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder – Release Date TBA
Holly Jackson’s debut, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, will be made into an upcoming television series on BBC Three. Same as the book, the series will follow Pippa Fitz-Amobi as she uncovers the shocking and disturbing truths behind the murder-suicide that devastated her hometown. The more Pip investigates, the more an anonymous stalker intimidates her to stop searching for answers. No matter what they throw at her, however, Pippa is determined to seek justice for the victims—even if it shatters her trust in the people she loves most.
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Born and raised in Queens, Caitlin Taylor So is a Chinese-Vietnamese writer who is passionate about prioritizing and amplifying marginalized voices. She graduated from Emerson College with a degree in publishing and marketing. Her writing can be found on Business Insider, PopSugar, WebMD, and Her Campus Media.