READER'S ROCK LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE VOL 2 ISSUE 4 NOVEMBER 2014 Vol. 1 Issue 3 September 2013 | Page 30

Watch it or Wreck it!
When books translate to the Big (or small) Screen & When they don’t....
By VIOLET PATTERSON
This month I’m bringing forth some discussion on sequels thanks to a few of Reader’s Rock’s wonderful readers. I have to confess that I had not considered a discussion on YA/Tween sequels – or the absence of a sequel as it happens in some cases (i.e. Eragon did so poorly in the box office that subsequent books were not translated). First up, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Admittedly, HP2 was my least favorite book of the series but it did seem to translate well to the big screen. The casting of Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart was brilliant and the screenplay stayed rather close to the book which is always a win in my opinion. I felt that the young stars came into their own in the Chamber of Secrets and the veteran stars (Dame Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, etc) sold their characters more easily as a result. The whole series is a must watch AND read because some things simply cannot fit on the screen but add so much to the story and the characters. Harry Potter is fun for everyone! Second, because we the kids and I just went to see it, Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters (sequel to Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief). I have to say that it was surprisingly wonderful! PJ and the SoM stays quite close to the plotline of the book and boasts delightfully realistic, and at times truly stunning special effects. Additionally, two familiar faces joined the cast Anthony Stewart Head (remember him from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Merlin? Yes, he