Lion Forge Entertainment has acquired the rights to Sarah Mlynowski’s bestselling middle-grade book series Best Wishes and enlisted The Slumber Party writer Eydie Faye to adapt the first installment in a planned multipicture, live-action film series, Deadline reports.
The book series launched with the 2022 debut title of the same name, written by Mlynowski, illustrated by Maxine Vee, and published by Scholastic. Each book follows a different girl in a different U.S. city, who, at a challenging moment in her life, receives a box in the mail that contains a magical bracelet that will grant her a single wish. The young protagonists are dealing with an issues having to do with friends and family, which their wishes helps them understand and resolve before passing the bracelet on to the next girl.
The series’ first book, which Faye has been tasked with adapting, follows Becca Singer, a middle-school girl in New York City who yearns for popularity and then grapples with the consequences, ultimately learning the meaning of true friendship. A Kirkus reviewer called the book “a coming-of-age tale told with humor, compassion, and more than a touch of magic.”
The Sister Switch, co-written with Debbie Rigaud, and Time After Time, co-written with Christina Soontornvat, are the second and third volumes in the series. The fourth book, Like a Boss, co-written by Hena Khan, is due out in November.
“We immediately knew we wanted to make these movies because of Sarah’s unique and incredible ability to speak authentically to the tween audience and also because of the diversity of the characters and stories in each book,” said Lion Forge CEO David Steward II and Chief Creative Officer Stephanie Sperber. “We love the idea of a series of movies that are aspirational, fun, and linked together by a mythology to create a world and a franchise that deal with today’s challenges and themes that are important to families.”
Mlynowski, who has written or co-written more than 50 books for kids, teens, and adults, said she is “thrilled” to be working with Lion Forge and Faye and “beyond excited for the readers of Best Wishes to see these four strong heroines come to life.”
Amy Reiter is a writer in Brooklyn.
