Books to Read Before the Summer Blockbuster Movies Come Out

This is the book written long ago, when dystopian teen novels were a rarity. In a society where the populous is lulled into a false sense of security—pain and suffering have been eliminated in favor of a seemingly utopian state of Sameness—it's up to the chosen one, Jonas, to shoulder the memories of the past. In the film, Jonas is no longer 12, but 16, and while this makes for a more action-packed movie, what resonates so deeply in the novel, is Jonas' precarious position between childhood and adulthood. Another bonus for the book? The world Lois Lowry creates is black and white (to illustrate the struggle for individualism in a world that values conformity). Read it first before switching to Technicolor.