Book Two Project--Dear John

Blog Post 4: Adapting the Book

Some of the challenges that a filmmaker would have in adapting Dear John onto the big screen would be some of the war scenes. While we never actually see John fighting, he is stationed overseas in both Germany before 9/11 and Iraq after 9/11. I think this would be challenging because it’s a war scene, it would require many actors and extras, hours of learning actual fighting styles, and having the main actors go into the mindset of “I’m about to fight for my country,” which might be a difficult place for many actors to get to.

One scene that needs to be kept in the movie is when Savannah tells John that she thinks his father might have Asperger’s. It’s when john and Savannah have their first big fight, and that’s a pivotal moment for John because he starts  to realize why his father is silent and is follows the same schedule every day, the same schedule he’s had since John was born. At one point in the movie, Savannah, John, and his father take a trip to see Savannah’s parents. Mr. Tyree is somewhat uncomfortable with the change in his schedule, but agrees to go along. Once they are close to her family’s ranch, he panics and asks to be taken back home.

While this isn’t a scene, there is a specific detail that needs to be kept the same. John meets Savannah for the first time before 9/11. When September of 2001 comes along, John is about to be discharged in December of 2001. However, after the events of 9/11 take place, John re-ups for another two years of service. The filmmakers need to keep that the same because after 9/11, John and Savannah’s relationship takes a beating because he’s still in the army for another two years instead of getting out in three months.

Another scene that needs to be kept the same is when John and Savannah talk about meeting for the first time. She asks him why he jumped in to get her purse and if it was two years in the past, would he have gotten the bag for her. After thinking about it, John says he would have stood there and laughed, which shows how much he’s matured since entering the army.

One part that I would exclude is the months that pass after John and Savannah break up, because all it talks about is how he stayed in the military. For me, a flash forward with a voice over briefly explaining what happened since the breakup would suffice.

Another part I would exclude was when John sold his father’s coin collection after he died. While he did it for a noble cause (helping out Tim), the coins were a big part of his father’s life, and through Savannah, the coins started to bring John and his father back together. Since John sold them, it’s like he’s neglecting one of the only things that brought his father happiness.

Book Project One: The Crooked Shelf

Come Visit The Crooked Shelf!

       Imagine that a pivotal setting from your favorite book. What was it? How would you set it up? For fans of the book Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, one of the pivotal places the book takes place in is the bookstore, The Crooked Shelf.

The Crooked Shelf is the bookstore where Sam sees Grace for the first time as both of them are the same species (finally!). So, for the avid teen paranormal romance reader, why not re-create the book store where Sam watches Grace in Shiver?

At the beginning of the book, Grace and her two friends go to the bookstore during the summer. Grace doesn’t realize it, but the werewolf that saved her life is human again, and is working at the same bookstore that she just entered. “I had planned a thousand different versions of this scene in my head, but now that the moment had come, I didn’t know what to do . . . her gaze headed in my direction, and I looked away hurriedly, down at my book. She wouldn’t recognize my face but would recognize my eyes. I had to believe she would recognize my eyes.” (page 9).

Also taking place at The Crooked Shelf, near the middle of the book, is where we learn that Grace and Sam both have an affinity for the books they sell there. “I let him walk me down the stark concrete block to The Crooked Shelf, a little independent bookstore; I hadn’t been there for a year. It seemed stupid that I hadn’t, given how many books I read, but I was just a poor high schooler with a very limited allowance.” (page 198).

Inside of the bookstore would be the candy shop that Sam took Grace to when she was fed up with her parents. “It was incredibly cute that he’d driven us an hour just to go to a candy shop. Incredibly stupid, given the weather report, but incredibly cute nonetheless.” (page 278). As a reader of the book, I want to experience what Sam calls the best hot chocolate and caramel apples ever made. Plus, it makes book buying much more fun if there’s some form of treats involved.

This idea would work because there are some people who still like to go to the bookstore to get a book instead of ordering online and waiting for the book to arrive at some point, or who don’t have the patience to deal with an eReader. And for teenaged girls looking to meet the love of their life, finding the perfect guy could be in the independent bookstore in town, just like how Sam and Grace eventually met as they were both humans. For people have already read Shiver, the bookstore will also stock other Maggie Stiefvater books, whether part of The Wolves of Mercy Falls series to any of her other books. Also, when the movie version of Shiver is released on DVD, The Crooked Shelf will have copies of the movie that you can buy.

The bookstore was a big part of Sam and Grace’s relationship, so it makes sense that it be made into a real bookstore. It’s where Sam saw Grace for the first time when they were humans, it’s where their first escape from life they take as a couple, and later in the series, Grace gives Sam what he calls “the best birthday present of all (it was an invoice for five hours of studio time to record a demo).”

For those who want to know more about The Crooked Shelf, you can get updates by following them on Twitter (@thecrookedshelf), on Facebook (www.facebook.com/TheCrookedShelf), or check out the website (www.thecrookedshelf.livejournal.com).

In order to stay up-to-date with author Maggie Stiefvater, you can visit her website at www.maggiestiefvater.com to get more information on The Wolves of Mercy Falls and any of her other books.

The Crooked Shelf: The Place to Fill Your Maggie Stiefvater Obsession