Awesome Adaptations (18) - Marina in a Green Dress

Awesome Adaptations is a weekly bookish meme, hosted at Alisa Selene’s books blog, Picturemereading.  Anyone can play along! Each week there is a new category of adaptation to blog about. Any format (television series, film, web series, etc.) is acceptable as long as it is based in some form on a book. If you’re playing along on your own blog, just mention Picturemereading in your post and include the banner above. Let them know which film you’d pick and why it is an awesome adaptation worth watching. Oh, and don’t forget to share the link to your own post in the comments for that week’s challenge so that everyone can read your thoughts!

An awesome book that needs to be adapted
(and the cast you'd like to see perform it!)

Title: Marina in a Green Dress by Alan Davidson

This is a book I read and reviewed this year that I really loved.  Probably because I identified with it a whole lot, and adored the concept and the suspenseful way the story played out.  I can imagine it as a very stylish, play within a story, suspense thriller film, TV movie, or stage show - whatever! I would just love to see it reimagined for the visual medium. It also helps that the story is pretty straightforward and not very long, so I probably won't be disappointed by a screenplay that gets rid of a large chunk of story.  There are three main characters that I'll dream cast for this post - but it is really a dream because most of the characters in the story are young - eighteen, nineteen, early twenties, and my choices are not exactly age appropriate anymore.  Oh well.




For impressionable, ordinary fangirl, Jessica Tye who figures out her life and becomes a strong woman, Jennifer Lawrence!  She does down-to-earth yet gorgeous so well, and after seeing her in two movies (only? I know I should check out more) I love her acting.

For the up and coming actor/singer Kennedy Orr who Jessica adores and who won a TV competition to be the lead on the new musical "Marina", I would love to see Gavin Creel, one of my favorite Broadway actors/singers.  He's ridiculously talented and has a fantastic voice, so that fits Kennedy pretty well.

And for Jessica's poor boyfriend, Steve, who is nice, but not very encouraging, or exciting and takes her for granted, I can see Arthur Darvill - Rory from Doctor Who.  Mostly because Rory is such a nice guy and ordinary and Arthur portrays him so well.  But of course in Doctor Who he gets the girl, so he is going to have to downplay his charm for this!

Review: The Bewitching of Alison Allbright

The Bewitching of Alison Allbright
by Alan Davidson

Plot Summary:

Alison's dreams of living a life of elegance and luxury start coming true when affluent, sophisticated Mrs. Considine takes her under her wing, but only too late does Alison realize the power of Mrs. Considine's spell.

Expectations:

Having loved Marina in a Green Dress by Alan Davidson, I decided to read some more of his work, and this one seemed the most well known.  I felt like there are similar themes between both works, as both Alison and Jessica from Marina in a Green Dress become "bewitched" by someone and are looking for something more in their lives.

Review:

The author's characterization of Alison is beautifully done.  Her unhappiness and dissatisfaction with her family and her school-life - only vaguely hinted that it might be all due to a skewed sense of values, and her selfishness - sets the scene very well for a young girl open to a new life no matter the consequences.  And as the author gradually reveals the sinister aspect of her relationship with Mrs. Considine, I always hoped it would work out well for Alison as the changes it was bringing about in her confidence and outlook on life were so positive.  

The suspense is what keeps you riveted, and as always Alan Davidson incrementally increases the tension masterfully.  Alison's transformation from there and back serves as an interesting moral tale about the importance of family and friendship and confidence in one self.  The only slight qualm I had with the story was the way it ended, as I felt it was a little too easy and left Mrs. Considine's true nature somewhat ambiguous.  But for all that, it's an intensely satisfying little story, with a great character-driven plot.

Free book alert!

 

One of my favorite reads from this year is on sale this weekend on Amazon for the price of FREE and I hope some of you will check it out!

My review

Links:
Amazon U.S.
Amazon U.K.





And a reminder that I have a giveaway still ongoing for one copy of Death of a Schoolgirl (The Jane Eyre Chronicles) by Joanna Campbell Slan!  Enter the giveaway by clicking the link here.

Q&A with Alan Davidson, author of "Marina in a Green Dress"

I am so pleased to be able to present this short, spoiler-free Question and Answer from Alan Davidson about his new YA suspense novel Marina in a Green Dress.  I adored this book so much (my review is here), and was thrilled to be able to ask the author some questions.  In addition to this work, Alan Davidson is the author of The Bewitching of Alison Allbright, A Friend Like Annabel, and his more recent novel Light.

-- Q&A --

1. As a fangirl, I really appreciated your positive and accurate portrayal of an ardent fan in Jessica.  What inspired your exploration of fan adoration and how did you come to understand it so well?

Thank you for that!  I think the story came first and from there I had to develop Jessica into a fully-fleshed out character with a back story that was going to drive the narrative forward in the direction that I wanted it to go. Somewhere along the line I must have managed  to get right inside her head!

2. Marina seems like the typical popular, lush musical productions of recent times.  Was there a particular musical that inspired your approach to the style or story of Marina?  Are you a fan of musicals?  If so, which are your favorites?

No particular musical but, as you suggest, resonant of popular shows of recent times. I like musicals in moderation, preferably with a great storyline....Les Miserables, West Side Story, Evita...[and I'm a huge Gene Kelly fan!]....but otherwise, opera.

3. In a similar vein, was there a real life actor you thought of as you wrote the character of Kennedy Orr?

No; Kennedy Orr is not based on a real person. However the idea of the boy who comes from the boondocks and makes it overnight as a musical star, via the public voting for him in a TV talent competition, is inspired by real life---this is the way Andrew Lloyd-Webber has been discovering "unknowns" for his musical productions in recent years, here in England. That the fictitious Kennedy might then have difficulties dealing with reality seemed entirely plausible and helped give the story its narrative drive.

4. The idea of fantasy role-playing plays a major part in this novel as reflected in Jessica and Kennedy's relationship and in Mike's obsession with the game Runequest.  Do you feel there is merit in fantasy role-playing for adults?

That's a huge question!  All one can say is that, in one form or another, it seems to be here to stay and as a theme to explore for this particular novel, at this particular time, it appealed to me a lot.

-----

Many thanks to Alan and his marvelous editor at Straw Hat, Patricia, for their time and willingness to share this wonderful book with my blog!  I hope everyone will check out this story and love it as much as I did.  The book is available on Amazon.

Lastly, I just wanted to share one of my favorite moments from this book - where Jessica and Kennedy are out walking on the day they first met, and Jessica is so in awe of what is happening to her that she just can't believe she is really with the Kennedy Orr and maybe he is some crazy imposter.  And Kennedy can read this distrust in her face and while sitting in a tree (as you will) he starts to sing to her.  Sighhh!  How about that for a fangirl dream come true! :)

Review: Marina in a Green Dress

Marina in a Green Dress
by Alan Davidson

Plot Summary:

New to London, Jessica Tye is alarmingly obsessed with MARINA, a lush West End stage musical. With its storyline, its music -- and its sensational boy lead singer, Kennedy Orr, who won a TV talent show to land the role. She's often composed letters to him, in her head. When she finally puts pen to paper, it's for an emotional outpouring only, not for posting......until, surprisingly, her dull boy friend decides to teach her a lesson and mails it.

He's not to know that Jessica's letter will spark off amazing and unsettling events.....because Kennedy Orr has some obsessions of his own.

Expectations: Well, I love musicals, and I can get little celebrity crushes from time to time (basically all the time) so I was very much looking forward to reading this book, as I would probably identify a lot with the main character.  It's a very intriguing premise and one that definitely captured my attention.

Review:

Oh this book!  It was impossible to put down; I just had to know what happens next! The tone of this book switched constantly – from the unusual to the romantic, to the ordinary, to the menacing – it was a mesmerizing control of narrative because it was impossible to predict anything. At times I might liken the story to Cinderella or Bluebeard, or even Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo.  But it is its own tale, complete with solid three-dimensional characters and a plot balanced between the ordinary and the sublime.  The premise is simple, but the way the author handles the story and the characters is complex and layered, creating an intense atmosphere that kept me completely invested in the surreal turn of events Jessica’s life takes. 

Jessica is a realistic, truly ordinary young girl who gains more self-assurance and focus through her interactions with her celebrity crush Kennedy Orr, who has quite a few troubling secrets.  He’s enigmatic, and charming but ultimately flawed leading to a resolution that was really the only way it could have ended.  I found the idea that instead of dismissing a wish-fulfillment fantasy as silly, you should pursue it and see where it takes you as very uplifting and even if it didn’t work out exactly as Jessica might have planned, she ended up a stronger person.  This story is unique, and simple yet clever and beautifully woven, and I cannot highly recommend it enough!  It’s definitely been one of my favorite reads this year!

review copy kindly provided by the publisher - Straw Hat

Amazon (U.S.) ◊ Amazon (U.K.) ◊ Goodreads ◊ Author's Work

Check back tomorrow for a Q&A with the author, Alan Davidson!