Books to Film - 3 novels to read before the big screen release

These three books are slated to be released as films in Fall 2013.
Read now, watch later.

Reconstructing Amelia (M)
by Kimberly McCreight
~starring Nicole Kidman

"Kate believes her daughter, 15-year-old Amelia, has committed suicide, jumping from the roof of her private school until she receives an anonymous text saying simply, Amelia didn't jump. Could she have been murdered? Kate, a successful attorney, is determined to find out even as she is haunted by the fear she has failed her daughter, too often putting her career ahead of her responsibilities as a mother. McCreight has written an elaborately plotted mystery that not only tells Kate's story but also includes Amelia's own first-person narrative along with her e-mails, texts, and Facebook posts, all of which tell a harrowing story while keeping the reader one step ahead of Kate and the police. This first novel occasionally requires a willing suspension of disbelief and comes dangerously close to melodrama near the end, but McCreight does a fine job of building suspense and creating characters, notably Kate and Amelia, whom the target audience both adults and older teens will care about and empathize with." - Booklist

If I Stay (M)
by Gayle Forman
~starring Chloe Grace Moretz

YA Novel. "Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones. Move to New York City to pursue her true love -- music -- or stay with her boyfriend, family and friends. Then one February morning everything changes. Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. In a blink she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck... And suddenly all of her choices are gone. Except for the one choice that truly matters. 'If I stay' is heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make."

The Monuments Men: Allied heroes, Nazi thieves, and the greatest treasure hunt in history (M)
by Robert M. Edsel~starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Cate Blanchett

"This is a chronicle of an unusual and largely unknown aspect of World War II. The heroes here aren't flamboyant generals or grizzled GIs in combat. In civilian life these men and women had been architects, museum directors, sculptors, and patrons of the arts. They were drawn from thirteen nations, although most were American or British citizens. Beginning in 1943, they were recruited into a special unit formed to protect and recover cultural treasure that had been looted by top Nazis, especially Hitler and Goring. As Allied armies liberated areas of northern Europe after D-Day, these monuments men moved into the front lines. Since they had little advance knowledge of the location of the looted art, their efforts often resembled treasure hunts. In addition to recovering stolen art, they worked tirelessly, often at personal risk, to protect and restore art damaged by the ravages of war. Edsel describes the exploits of these men and women in a fast-moving narrative that effectively captures the excitement and dangers of their mission." - Booklist