By Simran P. Gupta
Staff Writer
Bookworms, dust off your archived books; film buffs, pull out those pop culture releases from a couple of years ago. Lauren Oliver’s 2010 bestselling YA novel “Before I Fall” has chosen its star: up-and-coming Zoey Deutch, who will portray the protagonist, Sam Kingston.
MTV has declared it “your next YA obsession,” and Oliver seems to share the enthusiasm, pronouncing Zoey to be “perfect for Sam” in a tweet earlier this week.
Oliver’s plot tells the story of Sam Kingston, who is forced to mature when she has to relive her death day seven times over until some good has come of it. A household name in the YA niche, the author has several other bestsellers on the shelves, including recently released “Panic” and “Vanishing Girls.” It is no surprise, then, that a rising star would find her big break in the film adaption of such a widely loved novel.
Zoey Deutch was first introduced to acting through her guest role as Maya on “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.” Although she has held strong supporting roles in popular releases such as “Vampire Academy” and “Beautiful Creatures,” this lead role will be her first and has been hypothesized by Hollywood Deadline and MTV to be her big break.
Between the ingénue and the seasoned author, the YA audience will be at the edge of their seats until the film’s release date.