Are you one of those people, like me, that loves to read the book before you see the movie adaptation? There are some really popular books with movie adaptations set to release in 2017. If you are looking for a good book to read, check out this list of books becoming movies in 2017.
I have read a number of the books on this list already. There are several that I really enjoyed including, Same Kind of Different As Me and The Zookeeper’s Wife. I also love that they are remaking Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. That looks like it will be fantastic! As for kids movies I think Ferdinand will be a big hit next Christmas. As far as ones I haven’t read yet, I think I’m going to try Hidden Figures and Red Sparrow. Those look like they are right up my alley. Have you read either of them? I’d love to know what you thought.
Now…onto the big list: 17 Books Becoming Movies in 2017
#1 | Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
What It’s About: The brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world.
Read The Reviews: Hidden Figures (4.6/5 stars)
Release Date: January 6, 2017 (Watch the Trailer)
Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Kevin Costner
#2 | Live by Night by Dennis Lahane
What It’s About: An epic, unflinching tale of the making and unmaking of a gangster in the Prohibition Era of the Roaring Twenties
Read The Reviews: Live by Night (4.2/5 stars)
Release Date: January 13, 2017 (Watch the Trailer)
Starring: Ben Affleck, Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana
#3 | A Dog’s Purpose: A Novel for Humans by W. Bruce Cameron
What It’s About: The soulful and surprising story of one devoted dog (voiced by Josh Gad) who finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he teaches to laugh and love.
Read The Reviews: A Dog’s Purpose (4.8/5 stars)
Release Date: January 27, 2017 (Watch the Trailer)
Starring: Britt Robertson and Dennis Quaid
#4 | Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall
What It’s About: The story of an international art dealer Ron Hall who must befriend a dangerous homeless man in order to save his struggling marriage to his wife, a woman whose dreams will lead all three of them on the most remarkable journey of their lives.
Read The Reviews: Same Kind of Different As Me (4.7/5 stars)
Release Date: February 3, 2017 (Watch the Trailer)
Starring: Renée Zellweger, Greg Kinnear, Djimon Hounsou
#5 | Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
What It’s About: After Samantha dies, she’s forced to relive that day over and over, unraveling the mystery of her death.
Read The Reviews: Before I Fall (4.2/5 stars)
Release Date: March 3, 2017 (Watch the Trailer)
Starring: Zoey Deutch
#6 | The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman
What It’s About: After their zoo was bombed, Polish zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski managed to save over three hundred people from the Nazis by hiding refugees in the empty animal cages.
Read The Reviews: The Zookeeper’s Wife (3.8/5 stars)
Release Date: March 31, 2017 (Watch the Trailer)
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Johan Heldenbergh, Daniel Brühl
#7 | Wonder by R. J. Palacio
What It’s About: August Pullman is a 10-year-old boy who likes Star Wars and Xbox, ordinary except for his jarring facial anomalies. Homeschooled all his life, August heads to public school for fifth grade and he is not the only one changed by the experience.
Read The Reviews: Wonder (4.8/5 stars)
Release Date: April 7, 2017 (Watch the Trailer)
Starring: Jacob Tremblay, Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson
#8 | The Lost City of Z by David Grann
What It’s About: In 1925, the legendary British explorer Percy Fawcett ventured into the Amazon jungle, in search of a fabled civilization. He never returned. Over the years countless perished trying to find evidence of his party and the place he called “The Lost City of Z.”
Read The Reviews: The Lost City of Z (4.3/5 stars)
Release Date: April 21, 2017 (Watch the Trailer)
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller
#9 | The Circle by Dave Eggers
What It’s About: A young woman finds work in Silicon Valley with a tech company called The Circle and run by visionary leader Eamon Bailey.
Read The Reviews: The Circle (3.5/5 stars)
Release Date: April 28, 2017 (Watch the Trailer)
Starring: Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, Bill Paxton
#10 | The Dinner by Herman Koch
What It’s About: A dark tale about two families who are struggling to make a tough decision regarding their teenage sons — with the whole story unfolding over one dinner.
Read The Reviews: The Dinner (3.3/5 stars)
Release Date: May 5, 2017
Starring: Laura Linney, Richard Gere
#11 | Captain Underpants by Dave Pilkey
What It’s About: George and Harold have created the greatest superhero in the history of their elementary school–and now they’re going to bring him to life! Meet Captain Underpants! His true identity is so secret, even HE doesn’t know who he is!
Read The Reviews: Captain Underpants (4.7/5 stars)
Release Date: June 2, 2017 (Watch the Trailer)
Starring: Ed Helms (voice), Kevin Hart (voice)
#12 | The Dark Tower by Stephen King
What It’s About: Gunslinger Roland Deschain roams an Old West-like landscape in search of the dark tower, in the hopes that reaching it will preserve his dying world.
Read The Reviews: The Dark Tower (4.2/5 stars)
Release Date: July 28, 2017
Starring: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey
#13 | The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin
What It’s About: Follows two strangers who survive a plane crash in the Colorado woods and are forced to rely on one another for survival, eventually falling in love.
Read The Reviews: The Mountain Between Us (4.7/5 stars)
Release Date: October 20, 2017
Starring: Idris Elba, Kate Winslet
#14 | Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews
What It’s About: The first in a series about Dominika Egorova and Nathaniel Nash, Red Sparrow follows a Russian spy who develops a love affair with a CIA officer.
Read The Reviews: Red Sparrow (4.3/5 stars)
Release Date: November 10, 2017
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton
#15 | Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
What It’s About: Genius Belgian detective Hercule Poirot investigates the murder of an American tycoon aboard the Orient Express train.
Read The Reviews: Murder on the Orient Express (4.6/5 stars)
Release Date: November 22, 2017
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley
#16 | Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
What It’s About: Ferdinand is the world’s most peaceful–and–beloved little bull. While all of the other bulls snort, leap, and butt their heads, Ferdinand is content to just sit and smell the flowers under his favorite cork tree.
Read The Reviews: Ferdinand (4.7/5 stars)
Release Date: December 22, 2017
Starring: Russell Peters (voice), Donald Sutherland (voice)
#17 | Thank You For Your Service by David Finkel
What It’s About: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder makes it difficult for soldiers to return from the battlefield and reintegrate into society.
Read The Reviews: Thank You For Your Service (4.5/5 stars)
Release Date: TBD, Late 2017
Starring: Amy Schumer, Haley Bennett, Miles Teller
Here are a few other Books Becoming Movies in 2017. These are slated for release in 2017 but don’t actually have release dates or many details. Even if they don’t make it for 2017, you’ll have a head start on 2018!
- The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
- Let it Snow by John Green
- Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
- The House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni
- Lost in the Jungle by Yossi Ghinsberg
And if you love to read, don’t miss our previous lists:
What Books Becoming Movies in 2017 are you most excited?
Hi Shellie, thanks for this post! A few comments: Wonder – bring the tissues. We laughed and cried through the book and the audiobook. Can’t wait for this one. The Mountain Between Us – such a wonderful book. Loved all of the Charles R. Martin books (When Crickets Cry. Wow.) The Circle – probably won’t see it. The book made me anxious and kind of sad although I can’t say why. Best wishes for a great 2017!