These are the 20 best movies based on young adult literature

By the time the first "The Hunger Games" movie came out in 2012, the Suzanne Collins book series had already sold millions of copies. But the film franchise took the dystopian world of Katniss Everdeen to a whole new level – it currently stands as the 18th highest-grossing film franchise of all time. 

Like the previous entrant, J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" book series was already a cultural phenomenon – thanks, librarians! – before the first scene was even shot. Since then, the Harry Potter includes one of the most successful film franchises of all time (it's made over $7.7 billion worldwide), two Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme areas (in Los Angeles and Orlando), and all types of merchandising.

In 1983, legendary director Francis Ford Coppola turned S.E. Hinton's classic novel about a gang of greaser kids trying to survive class warfare into one of the best coming of age teen movies ever made. Not only that, but he did it with a cast that would come to dominate Hollywood – Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, Diane Lane, and even The Karate Kid, Ralph Macchio. 

2005's adaptation of the Ann Brashares novel about four friends whose stay connected with one another during their first summer apart thanks to a magical pair of jeans is the only movie on this list that passes the Bechdel test with flying colors. Also, is there a more lovable quartet than Alexis Biedel, America Ferrera, Blake Lively and Amber Tamblyn? 

The 2012 film adaptation of "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" was actually directed by the book's author, Stephen Chbosky, and it shows. Chbosky did a wonderful job translating his coming-of-age novel about weirdo high school kids in Pittsburgh finding each other and forming a tight-knit family. He also did a wonderful job at introducing a whole new generation to the transformative power of David Bowie's "Heroes."

Long before Anne Hathaway was an Oscar winner (she won in 2013 for "Les Miserables"), before all the success and fame, she was Mia Thermopolis, an awkward teen who discovers she's the future ruler of the Kingdom of Genovia. 2001's "The Princess Diaries," based on the Meg Cabot novel of the same name, was Hathaway's film debut and was directed by none other than T.V. pioneer Garry Marshall.

The process of turning John Green's 2012 novel about two teenagers with cancer meeting and falling in love began as soon as "The Fault in Our Eyes" was first published – 20th Century Fox bought the rights immediately. And much like the book, Josh Boone's 2014 adaptation was a huge success, grossing more than $307 million worldwide.

Not all movie adaptations of popular YA lit series are able to capitalize on their popularity. Case in point: "Beautiful Creatures," the 2013 movie based on the Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl novel about a boy who befriends and falls in love with a caster – literally, someone who casts spells – caught between the forces of good and evil. It's a shame. "Beautiful Creatures" isn't "Twilight," but Richard LaGravenese's movie is a lot better than what the critics said.

Nothing matters to teenagers except music and maybe finding true love. 2008's "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist," based on the novel of the same name by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, perfectly marries these two pillars of youth into a story about two star-crossed lovers in chase of a once in a lifetime rock show.

The film adaptation of the Orson Scott Card sci-fi young adult novel didn't reach the financial success that its makers were hoping, but it was still faithful enough that it's actually kind of underrated. Also, kudos to director Gavin Hood for giving us a Battle Room that was as good as the one every reader imagined.

When "The Lovely Bones" came out in 2009, critics didn't know what to make of it. The film, based on the 2002 novel by Alice Sebold about a young girl stuck in purgatory until justice is served for the serial killer that murdered her, was unjustly panned. Since its release, however, "The Lovely Bones" has only gotten better with age. The movie also gave us an early glimpse into how good of an actress Saoirse Ronan is. 

Like "The Stars In Your Eyes," "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" deals with teenagers coping with a life-threatening illness. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon second directorial effort, an adaptation of the Jesse Andrews novel (they co-wrote the script), is a touching and adorable movie that will be a teen staple for years to come.

Yes, graphic novels count as young adult literature, and there's nothing more YA than Bryan Lee O'Malley's "Scott Pilgrim" series. And there couldn't have been a better director than Edgar Wright to turn this inherently visual text into a movie feels like you're simultaneously inside a video game and a comic book.

The 2015 adaptation of the John Green novel earned its place on this list because it teaches its young audience a lesson Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones know all too well: you can't always get what you want. "Paper Towns" does a fantastic job at highlighting unrequited love without delving into cynicism.

2009's "The Maze Runner," written by James Dashner, is so well-written, the character's claustrophobia and confusion becomes your own. That's why it was refreshing to see the 2014 movie stick to the book for the most part. Like the book, the film adaptation is equal parts horror and action-adventure.

Like "The Hunger Games" and other dystopian franchises on this list, The "Divergent" film franchise – based on the trilogy by Veronica Roth – resonates with its intended audience because it challenges the notion that adults do better while also highlighting that those who pay the price of the mistakes of previous generations are the ones most likely to exact change.

Who knew that the 1997 slasher film about a group of friends – Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze, Jr., all of them in their prime – dealing with the consequences of accidentally killing someone was actually based on a novel? It's true, this horror staple of the 1990s was adapted by the 1973 novel of the same name written by Lois Duncan. 

For a lot of older millennials – and younger ones, for that matter – "The Princess Bride" was their favorite movie growing up. Who can blame them? Rob Reiner's 1987 adaptation captures a lot of what made the the William Goldman novel a classic – the humor, the subversion of fairy tale tropes – while also giving us one of the most quotable movie ever made. How inconceivable!

It's unclear why "I Am Number Four" got panned so widely. Yes, the movie adaptation of the first of the Lorien Legacies series (written by Pittacus Lore) was probably a naked cash grab trying to capitalize on the popularity of YA lit, but it's actually a solid movie, one that touches on a lot of feelings common to teens – alienation, the sense of persecution, and the desire to just be left alone. Also, Michael Bay produced it, so you better believe the visual effects are out of this world (you know, because the kids in the movie are aliens). 

To this day, the "Twilight" franchise, a faithful adaptation of the Stephanie Meyer books, is the gold standard for supernatural romance films. The "Twilight" saga gave new blood to the vampire genre, raking in more than $3.3 billion in the process, while also launching the careers of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.