Hey YA friends!
A few weeks ago I was watching TV with my partner when I saw a preview for the movie The Map of Tiny, Perfect Things and they said to me, “This looks like it was a YA book first!” I couldn’t agree more, and it really bugged me because the story sounded eerily familiar. Turns out, this new Amazon Prime movie is an adaptation of a YA short story of the same title by Lev Grossman, and it first appeared in the anthology Summer Days and Summer Nights edited by Stephanie Perkins, which I read a few years back. Mystery solved!
I of course had to watch the movie, especially because my (albeit spotty) memory of the short story was that it was really enjoyable! And the movie was great. It’s really fascinating to see how they took a short story and expanded it into a feat-length film, although I should point out that the story is a pretty high concept idea, so that likely made things easier. The short story follows Mark, a teenager who is happily stuck in a time loop. He’s been there for a long time, and he’s gotten the lay of the land. Although he’s supposed to be in summer school, he ditches every day and does something fun, or just reads his way through the library. Then one day he spots an anomaly in his day–Margaret. The only explanation is that she must be stuck there, too. Together they set out to find all of the tiny, perfect things that happen in a single day, which might hold the key to breaking out of their time loop.
The movie hits a lot of the same notes that the short story does, although Mark seems to be a bit more outgoing and playful than his counterpart in the story. He spends his time showing up at the perfect moment for serendipitous encounters, flirting with girls, and playing the same video game with his best friend each day. Margaret’s arrival in his universe is a welcome excitement, but she seems less than thrilled to meet him, and she carefully dodges his questions. Their quest for tiny, perfect moments is really fun, and along the way they take risks and try to learn how to be vulnerable and honest in a world where it’s easy to betray each other’s trust.
I highly recommend checking out the movie if you’re looking for something to stream! And if you want to read the short story first, you can find it in Summer Days and Summer Nights, an an ebook download for $2, or an audiobook from your retailer of choice for $5!
This book got me thinking about other time loop stories in YA, so here are a few more to check out!
This YA novel has been out for over a decade now, but it was the book to kick off Lauren Oliver’s career, and it was adapted into a 2017 movie starring Zoey Deutch! It’s the story of Samantha, a teen who dies in an accident one night after a party…but wakes up to repeat the same day, over and over, until she’s able to unlock the mystery into why she keeps reliving the day and what she’s supposed to do.
When Jack and Katie first meet, it’s an instant connection. They bond over the small and big things, and soon they’re falling fast for one another. Then Katie dies, and in a bizarre twist, Jack is sent back to the moment they met. Katie is alive once more, and Jack isn’t sure how, but he’ll happily take the chances to save Katie’s life. Except these actions have consequences that he could never have imagined.
Ellison has just had the worst Monday ever–between getting a ticket, bombing a class presentation, and many mishaps, her boyfriend also breaks up with her. She goes to bed longing for a do-over day, and is shocked when she gets it. Ellison’s number one priority is to save her relationship, but what if that’s not the reason why Ellison has been given another chance to re-live her worst Monday ever?
I hope that you’ll enjoy some of these books, and get a chance to stream The Map of Tiny, Perfect Things! Happy reading!
Tirzah
Thanks to The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon for making today’s newsletter possible!
