Take 5: Lights, Camera, Action: YA Fiction about Filmmaking
Today we are all about teen filmmakers, so here is a list of 5 ya titles that feature teens who are stepping behind the camera (and sometimes in front of it) and trying to be their own Andrew Jenks. Check out these 5 titles about Reel Teens.
Me, and Earl, and the Dying Girl
by Jesse Andrews
Greg, an aspiring filmmaker, and Earl, the best friend, find themselves suddenly friends with the dying girl, Rachel. They put together Rachel the Film to try and capture her life.
Read our earlier review here.
Read our earlier review here.
“And the point of Rachel the Film should really have been to express how awful and shitty that loss was, that she would have become a person with a long awesome life if she had been allowed to continue living, and that this was just a stupid meaningless loss, a motherfucking loss, a loss loss loss fucking loss, there was no fucking meaning to it, there was nothing that could come out of it…”
― Jesse Andrews, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
― Jesse Andrews, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Pirate Cinema
by Cory Doctorow
Trent McCauley is sixteen, brilliant, and obsessed with one thing: making movies on his computer by reassembling footage from popular films he downloads from the net. In near-future Britain, this is more illegal than ever. (from Goodreads)
Read our earlier review here.
Read our earlier review here.
Carter Finally Gets It (#1) and Carter’s Big Break (#2)
by Brent Crawford
After his freshman year, chronicled in Carter Finally Gets It, Carter is cast in an independent film. Will Carter go Hollywood?
“My life would be a lot easier if I enjoyed it more.”
― Brent Crawford, Carter’s Big Break
― Brent Crawford, Carter’s Big Break
Viola in Reel Life
by Adriana Trigiani
Forced to live life in a boarding school, Viola tries to hide behind the lens of a camera.
“Romy had never done a budget, Marisol had never designed costumes and sets, and Suzanne had never acted, but when I asked them to help, they didn’t hesitate”
― Adriana Trigiani, Viola in Reel Life
― Adriana Trigiani, Viola in Reel Life
Project 17
by Laurie Faria Stolarz
The night before an abandoned mental institution, rumored to be haunted, is torn down, 6 teens break in and film themselves spending the night. But will they make it out alive?
A great read for your Paranormal Activity fans.
Have any recommendations for us? Please leave them in the comments.
Filed under: Booklists, Collection Development, Movies, Take 5, Teen Filmmakers
About Karen Jensen, MLS
Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).
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What a fun booklist!
Geek Charming is a cute book about a kid making a documentary about the most popular girl in school. It was made into a Disney Channel movie (which of course is not as good as the book!)
“Son of the Mob: Hollywood Hustle” by Gordon Korman (sequel) and “Kate Walden Directs: Night of the Zombie Chickens” by Julie Mata.