Take 5: Lights, Camera, Action: YA Fiction about Filmmaking

Today we are all about teen filmmakers, so here is a list of 5 ya titles that feature teens who are stepping behind the camera (and sometimes in front of it) and trying to be their own Andrew Jenks.  Check out these 5 titles about Reel Teens.

Me, and Earl, and the Dying Girl

by Jesse Andrews

Greg, an aspiring filmmaker, and Earl, the best friend, find themselves suddenly friends with the dying girl, Rachel.  They put together Rachel the Film to try and capture her life.
Read our earlier review here.
 

“And the point of Rachel the Film should really have been to express how awful and shitty that loss was, that she would have become a person with a long awesome life if she had been allowed to continue living, and that this was just a stupid meaningless loss, a motherfucking loss, a loss loss loss fucking loss, there was no fucking meaning to it, there was nothing that could come out of it...”
― Jesse Andrews, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl    

Pirate Cinema

by Cory Doctorow

Trent McCauley is sixteen, brilliant, and obsessed with one thing: making movies on his computer by reassembling footage from popular films he downloads from the net. In near-future Britain, this is more illegal than ever. (from Goodreads)
Read our earlier review here.

 Carter Finally Gets It (#1) and Carter's Big Break (#2)

by Brent Crawford

After his freshman year, chronicled in Carter Finally Gets It, Carter is cast in an independent film.  Will Carter go Hollywood?
 

“My life would be a lot easier if I enjoyed it more.”
― Brent Crawford, Carter's Big Break 

Viola in Reel Life

by Adriana Trigiani

Forced to live life in a boarding school, Viola tries to hide behind the lens of a camera.
 

“Romy had never done a budget, Marisol had never designed costumes and sets, and Suzanne had never acted, but when I asked them to help, they didn't hesitate”
― Adriana Trigiani, Viola in Reel Life 

Project 17

by Laurie Faria Stolarz

The night before an abandoned mental institution, rumored to be haunted, is torn down, 6 teens break in and film themselves spending the night.  But will they make it out alive?

A great read for your Paranormal Activity fans.

Have any recommendations for us? Please leave them in the comments.