Whatever the reason, films have been based on novels from many genres for many years. This column spotlights a mere three novels in the Library’s collection that were made into films.

It seems every high school has a resident beauty, jock, brain, nerd, rebel, loser and overachiever. In Election by Tom Perotta, Tracy Flick is the overachiever in a New Jersey high school. Wise beyond her years, yet still vulnerable and childlike, she has worked hard for the chance to become student body president. Irked by Tracy's overconfidence, beloved history teacher Mr. McAllister enlists Paul, the resident jock (injured and unable to play football) to run against her. When Paul's little sister Tammy decides to run, it becomes a potentially tight race. As Tracy's campaign gains momentum, Mr. McAllister's dislike for her escalates, and he eventually makes a decision that will change his life. The movie stars Reese Witherspoon as Tracy and Matthew Broderick as Mr. McAllister. Election is shelved on the first floor of the Library in the fiction section of the Recreational Reading Collection.

Imagine being a child stranded on an island with several schoolmates and no adults around to keep order. This is exactly what happens in the classic novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding. All the adults aboard a plane taking a group of schoolboys to safety from a war zone die. The boys are left to fend for themselves on a deserted island in the Pacific. They initially cooperate and coexist under the leadership of a boy named Ralph, but order disappears as more and more boys join Jack, a brutish boy who is obsessed with hunting. On the island war, savagery, death and the battle between good and evil become part of the boys’ lives just as they are part of adults’ lives. The 1963 film adaptation filmed in black and white and starring James Aubrey is widely preferred over the 1990 color version starring Balthazar Getty. Lord of the Flies is shelved on the second floor of the Library at call number PR6013 .O35 L6 1962.

Parent/teen conflicts and teen suicide are problems that affect many families. Ordinary People by Judith Guest introduces readers to the Jarretts, a family in tatters due to the drowning of its eldest son, Bucky, and the attempted suicide of its younger son, Conrad. Father Calvin is more than a little concerned about high schooler Conrad and wants to make sure he's OK and gets the psychiatric help he needs. However, mother Beth barely speaks to Conrad and seems more concerned about whether or not she and Calvin will go on vacation that year. The tension between Beth and Conrad is excruciating and incredibly realistic, and readers will feel for Calvin, who is just trying to keep his disintegrating family together. Robert Redford directed the 1980 adaptation starring Mary Tyler Moore as Beth, Donald Sutherland as Calvin and Timothy Hutton as Conrad. The film won several Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Hutton). Ordinary People is shelved on the first floor of the Library in the fiction section of the Recreational Reading Collection.