L8r, g8r

Richard Peck Question: 6. Why or why wouldn’t this story make a good TV series?

Even though this book by Lauren Myracle is completely written using instant messages, it would make a great television series for teenagers. It is the third book about Angela, Zoe, and Maddie but even without the previous books, it would be an interesting translation to the screen. Without the previous books it might have to be a miniseries.

There are two types of IM conversations between the three girls, the recapping of events and the discussing of current problems. If I were to create a TV series out of this book, I would intersperse these IM conversations with action scenes for the events the girls are telling each other about. For example, right at the beginning of the story, Maddie and Zoe are IMing about college and their senior year when Zoe tells Maddie about an incident at school with a girl named Terri. This incident is described in detail over the next few pages and this could easily be an action scene between Terri, Zoe, and a girl named Jana who was also involved. The interjections and interruptions Maddie makes could be typed across the top or bottom of the screen and also voiced over. In the book, each girl IMs in a different font and those could be used on screen as well.

L8r, g8r begins on February 7 and ends on April 28. Over those three months there are enough “big” events that each could be its own episode. Things such as the return of Zoe’s boyfriend from overseas and her subsequent decision to begin using birth control, a series of nasty pranks between the girls and their nemesis Jana, Angela receiving a jeep from the boyfriend she is thinking about dumping, and prom are just a few possibilities for episodes.

It may be a little tricky to make the discussion scenes work. Many of them are really funny and seem so typical of high school girls but watching two girls type back and forth might not hold viewers attention for too long. However, things are also happening to the girls while they are having their conversations. Things like spilling soda all over their keyboards and watching baby chicks jump on a bed are mentioned in passing during the IM conversations and those types of things could spice up the discussion scenes. Without expanding the material in the book or going back to previous books, this book may not make a long TV series, but it could be a good one.