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Modern books turned into musicals
19
items Wicked, Hamilton, The Notebook, The Outsiders and more: the recent bestsellers that made it to Broadway and the West End.
Sections
2
Top 5
Main List
Top 5
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 16+
The untold story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, long before Dorothy ever landed in Oz.
A genuinely clever reframing of a story everyone thinks they know.
It became the hit Broadway musical Wicked.
The untold story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, long before Dorothy ever landed in Oz.
A genuinely clever reframing of a story everyone thinks they know.
It became the hit Broadway musical Wicked.
Wicked - by Gregory Maguire
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 16+
A bullied teenager with telekinetic powers is pushed too far at her high-school prom.
His first novel and still a quick, nasty, unforgettable read.
It became a cult musical, first staged in 1988 and revived in 2012.
A bullied teenager with telekinetic powers is pushed too far at her high-school prom.
His first novel and still a quick, nasty, unforgettable read.
It became a cult musical, first staged in 1988 and revived in 2012.
Carrie - by Stephen King
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 14+
The life of the immigrant orphan who became a founding father, from the Caribbean to the Treasury and the duel with Aaron Burr.
Biography that reads like a novel.
It inspired the musical Hamilton.
The life of the immigrant orphan who became a founding father, from the Caribbean to the Treasury and the duel with Aaron Burr.
Biography that reads like a novel.
It inspired the musical Hamilton.
Alexander Hamilton - by Ron Chernow
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 14+
A retired man sets out to post a letter and keeps walking, all the way across England.
Gentle, moving and quietly funny.
It has been adapted as a musical.
A retired man sets out to post a letter and keeps walking, all the way across England.
Gentle, moving and quietly funny.
It has been adapted as a musical.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Joyce
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 12+
A hobbit and his friends set out to destroy a ring of power before it falls into the wrong hands.
The epic that defined fantasy.
It has been staged as a stage musical.
A hobbit and his friends set out to destroy a ring of power before it falls into the wrong hands.
The epic that defined fantasy.
It has been staged as a stage musical.
The Lord of the Rings - by J. R. R. Tolkien
Main List
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 17+
A brief, intense four-day connection between a photographer and a farmer’s wife in 1960s Iowa changes both their lives, even though they part.
Devastating in its restraint — more heartbreak than romance, and one of the most talked-about love stories of its era.
It became a Broadway musical in 2014 that won Tonys for its score.
A brief, intense four-day connection between a photographer and a farmer’s wife in 1960s Iowa changes both their lives, even though they part.
Devastating in its restraint — more heartbreak than romance, and one of the most talked-about love stories of its era.
It became a Broadway musical in 2014 that won Tonys for its score.
The Bridges of Madison County by Robert Waller
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 15+
A man reads the story of a young couple's love to a woman with memory loss in a nursing home, hoping she'll remember it's their own.
Sentimental and unapologetically devastating by the final pages.
It became a Broadway musical in 2024.
A man reads the story of a young couple's love to a woman with memory loss in a nursing home, hoping she'll remember it's their own.
Sentimental and unapologetically devastating by the final pages.
It became a Broadway musical in 2024.
The Notebook - by Nicholas Sparks
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 17+
An old man remembers his time as a young vet in a Depression-era travelling circus and the love and cruelty he found there.
Atmospheric and moving.
It became a Broadway musical in 2024.
An old man remembers his time as a young vet in a Depression-era travelling circus and the love and cruelty he found there.
Atmospheric and moving.
It became a Broadway musical in 2024.
Water for Elephants - by Sara Gruen
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 14+
Greasers and Socs, a fight, and a summer that changes one boy’s life.
A classic young-adult novel that became a Tony-winning Broadway musical in 2024.
Greasers and Socs, a fight, and a summer that changes one boy’s life.
A classic young-adult novel that became a Tony-winning Broadway musical in 2024.
The Outsiders - by S. E. Hinton
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 18+
A wealthy Wall Street banker narrates his double life with a chilling, detached voice.
Notorious for a reason — extremely graphic and disturbing throughout.
It became a stage musical with a score by Duncan Sheik.
A wealthy Wall Street banker narrates his double life with a chilling, detached voice.
Notorious for a reason — extremely graphic and disturbing throughout.
It became a stage musical with a score by Duncan Sheik.
American Psycho - by Bret Easton Ellis
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 14+
A son tries to separate the truth from his dying father’s tall tales.
Warm, funny and moving.
It became a Broadway musical.
A son tries to separate the truth from his dying father’s tall tales.
Warm, funny and moving.
It became a Broadway musical.
Big Fish - by Daniel Wallace
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 14+
A teenage outsider swallows a pill-sized supercomputer that tells him how to be cool.
Funny and a bit uncomfortable, and very teen.
It became a Broadway musical.
A teenage outsider swallows a pill-sized supercomputer that tells him how to be cool.
Funny and a bit uncomfortable, and very teen.
It became a Broadway musical.
Be More Chill - by Ned Vizzini
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 16+
Two women from very different backgrounds meet as girls and stay friends through decades of success, love and loss.
A tearjerker.
It became the 1988 film and a Broadway musical.
Two women from very different backgrounds meet as girls and stay friends through decades of success, love and loss.
A tearjerker.
It became the 1988 film and a Broadway musical.
Beaches - by Iris Rainer Dart
★★★½ (3.5/5) — Ages 17+
A New York street gang has to make its way home across the city after a rival gang boss is shot.
Raw and violent.
It became the 1979 film and has been adapted as a musical.
A New York street gang has to make its way home across the city after a rival gang boss is shot.
Raw and violent.
It became the 1979 film and has been adapted as a musical.
The Warriors - by Sol Yurick
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 12+
A boy in Malawi builds a windmill from scrap to bring power to his village during a famine.
True and inspiring.
It has been staged as a musical in the West End.
A boy in Malawi builds a windmill from scrap to bring power to his village during a famine.
True and inspiring.
It has been staged as a musical in the West End.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind - William Kamkwamba
★★★★ (4/5) — Ages 17+
A record-shop owner in London goes back over his top five heartbreaks to work out where it all went wrong.
Funny and honest, with a great soundtrack.
It became a Broadway musical.
A record-shop owner in London goes back over his top five heartbreaks to work out where it all went wrong.
Funny and honest, with a great soundtrack.
It became a Broadway musical.
High Fidelity - by Nick Hornby
★★★½ (3.5/5) — Ages 14+
A sorority girl follows her ex to Harvard Law School and proves everyone wrong.
Light and funny.
It became a hit musical on Broadway and the West End.
A sorority girl follows her ex to Harvard Law School and proves everyone wrong.
Light and funny.
It became a hit musical on Broadway and the West End.
Legally Blonde - by Amanda Brown
★★★½ (3.5/5) — Ages 16+
A young woman gets her dream job as assistant to the most powerful and terrifying editor in fashion. Fun and fast.
It became a West End musical with music by Elton John.
A young woman gets her dream job as assistant to the most powerful and terrifying editor in fashion. Fun and fast.
It became a West End musical with music by Elton John.
The Devil Wears Prada - by Lauren Weisberger
★★★½ (3.5/5) — Ages 16+
A guide to the cliques, rivalries and rules of girl social life in high school.
Real-life stories behind the film and musical Mean Girls.
A guide to the cliques, rivalries and rules of girl social life in high school.
Real-life stories behind the film and musical Mean Girls.
Queen Bees and Wannabes - by Rosalind Wiseman