Here are three excellent books that have been adapted to film. The first two were released in 2022 and the third comes out in 2023.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens: Kya Clark is six years old when her mother walks out of the shack they call home. The falling-down structure is hidden in the marshes of North Carolina, outside the fictional coastal town of Barkley Cove, a place where racial tension and small-town prejudices are firmly in place. The shack is the only place the Clark family knows, where her father’s abusive rages have terrified Kya, her mother and her siblings. Soon her older siblings run, leaving only Kya and her father, who provides her with nothing but fear. And then one day it’s just Kya, known in town and shunned as the wild Marsh Girl.
The story begins in 1952 and jumps to 1969, when a young man named Chase Andrews has died. In alternating chapters, readers learn Kya’s story of survival and how she becomes part of the investigation into Chase’s death.
The 2022 film, directed by Olivia Newman, stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith and Harris Dickinson. Screenplay by Lucy Alibar. It’s currently in theaters is available on Prime Video.
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque: This is the story of World War I trench warfare and of Paul Baumer, a nineteen-year-old German soldier who has enlisted in the army. He and his schoolmates joined up at the recommendation of their schoolmaster and in short time must face the reality of a ruthless war. The novel mostly takes place on the front, where Paul and his comrades are fired upon and shelled and do the same to their French enemies in what becomes one of the most famous stalemates in history. Paul narrates his experiences and the deep bonds he develops with the men in his platoon, including the already close friendships with his boyhood friends and Albert Kropp, their superior.
The 2022 Netflix film, directed by Edward Berger, stars Daniel Brühl, Albrecht Schuch and Sebastian Hülk. Screenplay by Ian Stokell.
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann: a true-crime account of a shameful period of American history in which members of the Osage tribe were murdered for the headrights to oil-rich land on their reservation in Oklahoma. David Grann tells this shocking story, including the investigation of the murders led by J. Edgar Hoover’s newly-formed Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The events in Killers of the Flower Moon depict a deep-seated racism against the Osage, in which the white business leaders and citizens of Gray Horse, Oklahoma pretended to befriend and help the Osage, only to kill them for their money. Killers of the Flower Moon is a thorough historical account of the Osage murders, but this is one story you won’t see in school history books.
This upcoming 2023 film, directed by Martin Scorsese, stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone. Screenplay by Eric Roth.
Have you watched Where the Crawdads Sing and/or All Quiet on the Western Front? Do you want to watch Killers of the Flower Moon? All three are on my list. Leave a comment and tell me what you think!
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Book Club Mom 
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