Teenage Dreams: 17 of the Most Popular YA Properties Adapted for TV and Film

"Beautiful Creatures"

Published in 2009, Beautiful Creatures is the first in a four-book young adult series by co-authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl that was narrated by 16-year-old Ethan who meets a Caster girl who appears in his dreams before moving to South Carolina. The fourth novel, Beautiful Redemption, was published October 2012 and the third novel, Beautiful Darkness, debuted at No. 3 on the New York Times best-seller children's list.

A big-screen version of Beautiful Creatures, directed by Richard LaGravanese and starring Alice Englert and Alden Ehrenreich, will hit theaters on Valentine's Day.

"The Carrie Diaries"

Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City novel spawned the HBO series of the same name that starred Sarah Jessica Parker, running for six seasons, nearly 100 episodes and winning a slew of Emmys and Golden Globes. (Two feature films also hit theaters in 2008 and 2010.) Years after Sex and the City ended, Bushnell published the prequel novel The Carrie Diaries, which then made its way to The CW in the form of a TV series, centered on Carrie Bradshaw (played this time by AnnaSophia Robb) as a high school junior, that debuted to 1.6 million viewers in January.

"Harry Potter" series

Following the adventures of a boy wizard and his assortment of friends and enemies, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has utterly demolished worldwide sales records with over 450 million copies sold as of 2011.  Rowling’s seven books -- the first released in 1997 -- were quickly adapted for the screen, with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone receiving a 2001 release. The film’s breakout stars, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, reprised their roles in seven subsequent installments. 

"The Hunger Games" trilogy

Suzanne Collins trilogy follows Katniss Everdeen into a cruel tournament pitting youths against each other in a battle to the death. Along the way, she is confronted by her romantic feelings for two boys, Gale and Peeta. In 2012, The Hunger Games was adapted into a film starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth. A sequel, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, is slated for a November 22 release, while the third book, Mockingjay, will be divided into two films.

"The Never-Ending Story"

German fantasy author Michael Ende’s 1979 book tells the story of two boys. One lives in the real world and spends his afternoon’s reading a book called The Neverending Story, while the other boy is the adventurous lead character in the book the first boy reads. In 1984, a film adaptation took audiences to Fantasia, where Atreyu (Noah Hathaway) fights to preserve the realm from the nothing. The film was a big hit and spawned two sequels (and plenty of Falcor memes).

"Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan’s 2006 novel focuses on two teens spending a crazy night on the town in New York—and finding love along the way.      

Michael Cera and Kat Dennings starred as Nick and Nora in the 2008 music-centered film. Directed by Peter Sollett, the film was liked by critics and grossed $33 million at the box office.

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

Serving as an anthem for feeling blue for an entire generation of teenagers, Stephen Chbosky’s modern-day classic hit stores in 1999 and swiftly drew a cult following. He wrote directed its film adaptation in 2012 starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller.

"Pretty Little Liars"

Murder, mystery and drama abound in Sara Shepard’s series of novels, which tell the story of a clique of girls whose leader disappears and whose body is found years later. Soon afterwards, the girls begin receiving messages from an anonymous sender, “A,” who claims to be seeking revenge for their leader’s misdeeds. ABC Family launched a TV series of the same name in 2010, starring Lucy Hale, Ashley Benson, Troian Bellisario and Shay Mitchell.

"Rumble Fish"

Rusty-James idolizes his bad boy older brother, referred to only as the Motorcycle Boy, in S. E. Hinton’s 1975 novel which deals with themes such as drug use and idol worship.

Francis Ford Coppola adapted the book into a 1983 film starring Mickey Rourke and Matt Dillon. It was shot directly after Coppola translated another of Hinton's works, The Outsiders, to film.

"The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" series

The laws of tailoring are defied when four best friends find a pair of pants that fit them all—despite their different body types. Ann Brashares’ coming-of-age series sends the message that one's differences can be a source of strength.

The books spawned two films, released in 2005 and 2008, which starred America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel and Blake Lively.

"The Chronicles of Narnia" trilogy

C.S. Lewis' series of children’s books are enduring classics, with three of them having made it to the big screen: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008) and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010). And with seven books making up the series, there could be more film adaptations down the line.

"The Golden Compass"

The first of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, The Golden Compass is set in a parallel universe in which people’s souls live outside of their bodies. The book’s anti-Catholic themes plagued the release of the film adaptation, which became controversial despite its toned down criticisms of the Church.

Starring Nicole Kidman, Sam Elliott, Eva Green and Daniel Craig, the 2007 film from director Chris Weitz failed to perform at the box office, which squashed hopes for launching a franchise.

"The Outsiders"

The definitive 1960s coming-of-age novel, The Outsiders tackles the decade's social tensions as two gangs, the greasers and the socks, square off in a turf war. S.E. Hinton was just a teenager herself when she penned the 1967 book.

Francis Ford Coppola directed the 1983 film adaptation, which featured young stars in training including Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze and Tom Cruise.

"Twilight" saga

It doesn't get any bigger than Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga, or the five hit films they inspired. The series elevated Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart to superstar status and raked in $3.3 billion at the box office.

"The Vampire Diaries"

Author L.J. Smith's New York Times best-selling The Vampire Diaries book series has a simple premise: high schooler Elena Gilbert finds herself torn between vampire brothers, Stefan and Damon Salvatore. Though the original book series included three books published in the early 1990s, Smith brought back the series with a slew of spinoff novels, The Vampire Diaries: The Return.

In 2009, The CW brought the tale to the small screen, debuting the series of the same name that September to an impressive 4.9 million total viewers. Vampire Diaries is currently in its fourth season and is one of the network's top-rated scripted dramas.

"Warm Bodies"

Isaac Marion's debut novel Warm Bodies, described as a zombie romance with traces of the classic Shakespearean tale of Romeo and Juliet, has been well-received since its 2010 release. (It was originally written as a short story that attracted attention, prompting Atria Books to acquire the rights for a full novel.)

Twilight author Stephenie Meyer was among the high-profile writers praising the book, about a zombie named, R, who falls in love with a human girl, Julie.

Summit is released the big-screen adaptation Feb. 1, which was directed by 50/50's Jonathan Levine and starring Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer.