Guest Post: Movie Villains Who Deserve YA Novels by Lindsay Scott!!

Today's guest post is very special to me, folks. My dear friend and critique partner, Lindsay Scott, is here!! You can follow her blog and on Twitter, as well as on Operation Awesome. 

Lindsay's going to discuss one of my favorite topics in the universe: villains. Particularly, which movie villains she'd love to see narrate their own YA novels. 

*dances*

Okay. Let's get to it.

Take it away, Lindsay!

Villains.

We love to love them. Love to hate them. But out of all the teen movie villains out there, who would be a good choice for spending 300+ pages with? Ladies and gentlemen, I present my choices for your consideration.

Kathryn Merteuil in Cruel Intentions (1999):

Sure, Cruel Intentions was based on the novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, but Kathryn would be an interesting character in her own novel. She's manipulative, self-serving, devious and intelligent. All qualities of an excellent villain.

But it's her hidden side, the small tear of (perhaps) regret, that emerges at the end of the movie that makes me want to delve further into her character. 

Jason Dean (J.D.) in Heathers (1989):

I guess he can be called a lot of things other than a villain: the self-styled bad boy, mysterious stranger, anti-hero. Even psychopath. J. D. is many things, but he's never boring.

The thing that's interesting about J.D. is that he isn't set up as a villain from the beginning--the "Heathers" are seen as the antagonists:

It's only as the movie continues that we discover his true nature. Like Kathryn, J.D. is cunning, manipulative and a little (okay, okay very) twisted. But his ability to justify his actions, along with his backstory, make him a interesting character.

Regina George in Mean Girls (2004):

The movie was based on a self-help book (Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman), but Regina George... how do I begin to describe Regina George?

Enough said.

Which movie villain would you like to see in a YA book?

Guest Post: Shaun David Hutchinson + DONNIE DARKO = Awesome YA Novel

I'm pleased to welcome Shaun David Hutchinson to the blog today! Shaun's the author of The Deathday Letter, a hilarious yet touching YA novel that should be on everyone's to-read pile. And since I loved this book so much, I figured I'd ask him to stop by and share his awesomeness with you. 

Take it away, Shaun!

What character from a teen movie deserves his own YA book?

I love movies almost as much as I love books.  Having an older brother, I grew up with the great teen movies of John Hughes and others from that era.  The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, One Crazy Summer, Better Off Dead, Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  In fact, I sometimes pitched THE DEATHDAY LETTER as a Ferris Bueller's Day Off type adventure...the big difference being that my character dies in the end.

There are so many to choose from.  I think the geek from Sixteen Candle could definitely have his own YA series (and I think Jake Wizner could totally write it).  One of my favorite teen movies, Stand By Me, was already a novella by Steven King.  I'd love to see more of Brendan Frye from BRICK, and I bet Steve Brezenoff would own writing a book like that.  But for me, if I were writing it, I'd want to write a YA series about the character Donnie Darko from the movie of the same name. 

Clearly, that's not possible (and if you've seen the movie, you'll understand what I mean--if you haven't, quit reading this and go watch it).  But what draws me to Donnie is the oddness of him.  I'm drawn to reading and writing characters who don't fit in.  Characters who are average and normal and on the outside.  I'm drawn to misfits who are forced into unique situations.  A random, horny teen having to decide how to die.  A scared guy living in a hospital.  An orphan searching for his parents' murderer.

The character of Donnie is this guy who talks to a giant talking rabbit.  He hallucinates.  He narrowly avoids being crushed under the weight of a jet engine.  But he's not special.  He's normal.  Maybe a little mentally unstable.  But he still worries about dying, and girls, and kissing.  And despite the fact that he might possibly be living in a parallel timeline created by a paradox, life goes on.  Because we're all normal, a little screwed up, and living in this surreal world.

Those are the people who are interesting to me.  Donnie Darko...and Frank the rabbit. 

And if I had a second choice, it'd be Brian Johnson, the geek from the Breakfast Club.  Because I'm betting at some point, he loses it.  And I think that'd be interesting to see.

The clock is ticking?

Ollie can't be bothered to care about anything but girls until he gets his Deathday Letter and learns he's going to die in twenty-four hours. Bummer.

Ollie does what he does best: nothing. Then his best friend convinces him to live a little, and go after Ronnie, the girl who recently trampled his about-to-expire heart. Ollie turns to carloads of pudding and over-the-top declarations, but even playing the death card doesn't work. All he wants is to set things right with the girl of his dreams. It's now or never?

Huge thanks to Shaun for sharing his pick!! And if you haven't done so yet, go check out The Deathday Letter, which is in stores now!

Have you seen Donnie Darko? If so, what's your favorite thing about it? Any other dark movie characters you think should get their own YA novels?

Movie Review: 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU

Official logline:

A film inspired by the classic Shakespeare play, "The Taming of the Shrew", set in a modern day high school. 

My review:

10 Things I Hate About You hit theaters in 1999. By then, 90% of the actors in the film were total unknowns. In particular, these two:

Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger as Kat Stratford and Patrick Verona

I'm not sure if there's a more iconic couple in teen films from the 90s. To me, Julia and Heath made this movie. Not only are their characters compelling on their own, but the. Chemistry. Between them. We all know the formula, don't we? Bad Boy woos Tough Girl. Against her better judgment, Tough Girl falls for Bad Boy. Bad Boy breaks Tough Girl's heart. He apologizes, she forgives him, and they live happily ever after. 

Then we have these two:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Larissa Oleynik as Cameron James and Bianca Stratford

Again, familiar formula. Nice Guy is fascinated by Popular Girl. But Popular Girl doesn't know he exists. Then Nice Guy pushes his way into Popular Girl's life. He saves her when she needs to be saved. Even so, Popular Girl likes Popular Douche. Nice Guy pines for her anyway, and eventually changes her mind with his niceness. Happily ever after again. 

To me, these formulas don't do much for the movie. I don't particularly find films as engaging when they don't surprise me. But... wait for it... the. Chemistry. It's hard not to love these relationships. How they interact with each other. How they don't say what they mean, and don't mean what they say. And the ANGST. Oh, the angst... 

10 Things I Hate About You changed many things. Among them, the actors' careers, and teens' lives. The former was due to the unexpected success at the box office. The latter? Too broad of a scope for me to pinpoint just one reason behind it. But my guess? The realness of the chemistry has something to do with it. If you haven't seen this movie, I recommend checking it out primarily for that. 

Also, you will laugh your face off. Guaranteed.

Have you seen 10 Things I Hate About You? If so, what do you like most about it?