Will 'Eleanor & Park' Help YA Movies Change Their Tone?

With The Fault in Our Stars movie aiming to capture some of the attention of teenage audiences that have made movies like The Hunger Games and Twilight big hits, Hollywood is continuing to move in a more realistic direction when it comes to YA adaptations.

With The Fault in Our Stars movie aiming to capture some of the attention of teenage audiences that have made movies like The Hunger Games and Twilight big hits, Hollywood is continuing to move in a more realistic direction when it comes to YA adaptations.

Anthony Breznican of Entertainment Weekly reported today that DreamWorks has acquired the film rights to Eleanor & Park, a novel by Rainbow Rowell. The book is a love story between the two titular 16-year-olds—she's a heavyset girl from an abusive household; he's a half-Korean lover of music and comic books—in 1986 Omaha. In his New York Times review of Rowell's book, Fault in Our Stars author John Green wrote that "its observational precision and richness make for very special reading." Last month Vanity Fair's Joanna Robinson put the book on a list of 10 that could "fuel the teen movie comeback," calling it "Pretty in Pink turned up to 11." 

The movie will likely start shooting in 2015, long after Fault has already hit theaters and succeeded or failed. Still, it's great news that the movie business definitely seems to be getting interested in more stories about teens who don't have any superpowers.