I wanted to love it but found the characters to be immature and annoying. I try to look past that but I have a hard time with it. The premise was sweet but it didn’t do anything for me.

I swapped my kindle back in 2018 and am unable to recover this title. I appreciate the opportunity that was given for review but sadly can't complete it for this title. However, based on the other works I know by this author I am awarding 3Stars.
Many thanks.

Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to read this ARC prior to the book's publication, but we did end up buying it for our library collection.

I cannot speak to how much Now A Major Motion Picture is the book for everyone. It has love, action, fantasy, travel, etc.

Slight and inoffensive, recommendable to the right teen if they're looking for something in the vein of Fangirl or a romance with a little something more to it.

This cute contemporary story is an ode to fantasy lovers, or to the people who love the people who love fantasy. Iris is a character who took me a while to warm up to, and while I am a lifelong fantasy nerd who has no problem suspending reality with speculative fiction stories, I can be more critical when realistic fiction bends the rules too far, which was occasionally the case here. However as the story went on, I was more willing to let that slide. A few YA tropes such as absent-parent-syndrome were present as well. The Irish setting brought back fond memories of my own travels there. All in all, very cute and I’d probably recommend this to those looking for the novel equivalent of Fangirl’s little sister.

This book will bring out the fandom geek in just about anybody. I loved the fact that Iris couldn't care less about her grandmother's famous series, even while the world was busy adoring it. She'd spent her life avoiding her grandmother's fans, especially after an incident with an overeager and disturbed one nearly ended in tragedy. I will say that Iris's negativity was a little hard to handle at first---it took me a while to warm up to her, even though I understood why she had a bit of a chip on her shoulder. As Iris was won over by the movie (and, especially, by the people involved), though, she started to win me over as well. I loved the relationships she formed, especially the director of the movie, who ended up being a real role model. And then, of course, there's Eamon, who has to be one of the sweetest love interests on the planet. By about the middle of the book, I was completely invested, and I was rooting for Iris all the way. The book explores family dynamics, friendships, and themes of finding yourself when the world wants to define you, all very worthy themes. I had a few little quibbles with details (why would fans be so obsessed with the author's grandkids? Is this a thing?). But it definitely won me over in the end. Overall, I give the book 3.5/5 stars.

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

There's just something about this book. There have been a slew of contemps that center around a fantasy story, and sometimes it ends in abject failure, but sometimes, it succeeds in spades like this book. I absolutely loved it.
Iris, our main character, is a flawed protagonist. She's angry at the her father, her brother, the world at large. Her grandmother wrote a fantasy epic trilogy that everyone has read except her, and her brother's one wish is to see the filming of it in Ireland. Thus, starts an adventure that changes her mind about well... everything.
The characters are terrific, the love interest is swoony, the interactions and relationships are amazing, and I was totally tearing up at the end. I love this book so much!
Overall, a terrific contemporary that has a heart warming story with great cast to bring it to life.

Oh dang. I got about a third of the way through this book and I thought to myself, I don't know if this is really grabbing me, and then I thought it was about to end, realised it wasn't and then BAM. It got good. It got soooooo good. I was completely and utterly hooked! I loved LOVED basically all the characters. Iris - feisty, stubborn, musical, a dreamer fighting with her own dreams. Her arc was special, and I adored her and her brother. Shoshanna was an absolute rocket, a powerhouse, and she was feisty-cool and I just wanted more! Eamon is literally my dream book boyfriend - shy, nerdy, into fantasy books, wears elf ears for a job...I don't know what else there is to want! But my highlight, the absolute pinnacle of my dreams, was Cate. I felt so emotionally connected to her journey, and her struggles in the male-dominated film-making industry, of which I have had some experience. I loved her character, so thank you Cori for bringing her into my world.

If there was one thing that didn't entirely grab me, it was the little snippets of the Elementia story itself. I loved the idea of it, it had traces of Lord of the Rings, Earthsea etc, but I just don't think adding bits of the "novel" added anything to the story. Necessarily. Except towards the end where obviously the parallels were quite clear. But that is one of two very nitpicky points that didn't deter me too much from becoming really invested in this story. The other point was that I wasn't overly fond of how one dimensionally "bad" and neglecting Iris' mother and father were made to be. I know towards the end you can kind of see and understand what led the father to become how he was, but it still felt a bit...lacking.

But! Fear not, for this book is utterly addictive and wonderful, and I really want to see an Elementia film for real. So, can Cori make this happen? Please and thank you!

Now a major motion picture is a great romance that everyone will love. I just fell in love with the characters and couldn't put this book down.

A quality contemporary young adult novel successfully combines a number of converging issues, as well an engaging set of characters and a plot that burbles along evenly. Now a Major Motion Picture starts off as one type of book, then evolves into another and along the way, readers are persuaded to think about several timely matters. McCarthy also manages to infuse the story with meta references, which blends intersectional and intertextual themes effectively. Best of all, the novel is never dragged down by its weighty concerns, managing to balance the heaviness with a strong sense of humour and self-awareness.
Initially, Iris’s resentment at being sent by her father to the set of the film production of her late grandmother’s very popular fantasy trilogy, basically to serve as babysitter to her younger brother Ryder, makes us believe this will be a family drama in which Iris grows as a character, learns things about herself and reconciles with her family dysfunction. And it is that. But it’s also her love story, her guilt story, and her connecting to her past story. Little brother Ryder is pivotal to the family drama, but he is also a connection to the larger world—his attempted kidnapping by a crazed fan of grandma Thorne’s novels has soured Iris’s love for the books, and her parents too. It’s hoped that the film might relieve Ryder of his nightmares, and Iris of her guilt in her role in the kidnapping, but it’s going to take a lot more to solve the problem of their emotional abusive father, and their absent mother.
Ireland stands in for the fantasy locations, and it’s in this landscape that Iris finds some peace, and of course, a boy who challenges her self-perception, and her hostile attitude to her grandmother. There are two potential love interests, but this quickly becomes a non-issue, thankfully, and while tensions run hot and cold between our two love-birds, they soon become emotionally connected to ensuring the film gets made, and this bond, as well as their mutual concern for Ryder, means they look out for each other, and make suitable sacrifices to prove their love.
A lot of the story revolves around the adaptation of the book into the film. We are reminded of real life scenarios like Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes literally on the page. The constant crossing boundaries of what is real and what is fictional, creates an additional layer of meaning, and fans of these texts will either love it or hate it. There are always so many compromises necessary when adapting a text, and McCarthy seems to have a genuine understanding and I found these sections authentic. She deepens it when the fans intrude into the filmmaking process, and the duality of their passion is again believable and often frustrating. They love the work so much, they actually become a barrier to the production because they fear too many changes, they don’t like the chosen cast, and their viral exploitation of social media impacts on financial resources. McCarthy includes all this seamlessly through the plot, and it never feels like a rant or a plea.
However, there is a soapbox element, which is forgivable because it’s such an interesting and relevant issue. The director of the film, Cate has longed to adapt the novel because it spoke to her as a young female at film school. McCarthy shows us how hard it is for women directors to get their chance, and it’s really moving how much of a role model and mentor Cate wants to be for Iris. Her discussions about feminism, power and political games guide Iris eventually, but along the way, we see how much Cate has put on the line for this film. Her depiction is sympathetic and once again, very timely in our climate of positive change for women and society at large.
Iris navigates this story as a flawed character. She is unhappy, resentful, and full of self-doubt, particularly in relation to her own dreams of becoming a full time musician. While it seems like there is a lot going on, the different issues are all related and converge neatly with Iris gaining much insight into her family’s past, ensuring Ryder is given the opportunity to follow his dreams, and securing the film’s future. Her own happiness is well deserved, and McCarthy does well to not solve all her problems too quickly or conveniently. There’s still a way to go, with her father, the fans of the novel, and her own musical journey. But we leave her in a happy place.
Thanks to Sourcefire Books and to Netgalley for advanced copy. Now a Major Motion Picture did come out in the US a couple of weeks ago, and here in Australia, I urge you to keep an eye out for this complicated, feminist novel. Recommended to readers who like their contemporaries involving and messy. The secondary characters are diverse, and all treated well, with strong backstories. The interplay between the film and the book are familiar to readers who spend time creating their own fantasy cast for a hypothetical movie. It asks passionate fans to reconsider how they use social media, and is often the case, challenges people to always try to be kind. I really enjoyed Iris’s quest.

The cover and description of this book made me expect a certain kind of story, something light and sweet—girl meets boy, awkward interactions ensue, then they fall in love. Those elements were definitely there, but the story is actually a lot deeper than that.

The blurb does convey the basics of the plot. Iris Thorne reluctantly takes her younger brother to the filming of a movie based on her grandmother’s beloved fantasy novels, even though she doesn’t want to be there because the books have cast a shadow over her life. Iris wants to be free to pursue her own artistic ambition of songwriting without the avid attention of the devoted fans of the series. Once she gets there, though, Iris meets the very attractive Eamon, who tried out for one of the starring roles in the movie because he loves the books. From talking to him and others on the movie set, Iris starts to see that her grandmother’s novels have more importance and meaning than she ever realized.

Yes, there’s a very cute love story between Iris and Eamon in the book, but there’s also a lot of pain that shadows the narrative. Iris’s family is severely dysfunctional—a tragedy lies behind the creation of the trilogy, and that suffering has reverberated through their relationships. Also, Iris’s dislike of the books isn’t superficial. The fervent fans annoy her, true, but one of them actually attacked her brother, and both of them continue to suffer fallout from that incident.

Eamon is the cute, sweet boy I expected, but Iris is much more than the awkward artsy girl. She obviously has issues to overcome, and that includes massive insecurity caused by the way her father treats her. But she’s sharp and clever and funny as well, and I really enjoyed her as a character.
Perhaps most surprising to me was the feminist message in the book. The director of the movie is a woman who has had to fight and claw for her place in Hollywood. Part of the reason she wants to film the book is because it inspired her to believe women can be strong, and she encourages Iris to find the strength to pursue her own dreams.

So, this is far from the bubblegum teen novel I expected, and I’d highly recommend it for anyone looking for a good contemporary YA read.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed this story! Set in Ireland and about the making of a movie and a contemporary love story as well. This book shows some of the other sides to fame and how it can affect those who are not the famous person but the family members of the famous person.

Not sure why I waited so long to read this book! This is a YA book about the granddaughter of the author of a book that is becoming a major motion picture. She flew to Ireland with her brother to be part of the filming. As the film starts to fall apart, she starts to fall in love. So many things chanced in a matter of 11 days. I enjoyed this book and did not want to put it down, but alas sleep won and I finished on day two.

It's always fun to read something based on fandom culture. You can put this alongside other great ones like "the Only Thing Worse Than Me is You" and "The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love" and love each one.

I really enjoyed this book as well as it’s concept. This may sound odd, but I imagine fans of The Hazel Wood would enjoy this one!

A lovely YA contemporary, swoony romance, with lovable characters, A fun and light book!

Now a Major Motion Picture was such a fun read, and had me dreaming of going to Ireland and exploring all of the beautiful places that are described in this book. Iris Thorne wants nothing to do with her grandmother's famous fantasy novels, or the film adaptation that's in the works. Her little brother desperately wants to go, and their father decides Iris will go and chaperone him, much to her dismay.

Throughout the book, Iris grows a lot, and learns what it means to be Iris Thorne on her own terms, and not based off of her father's expectations for her. Iris meets a lot of strong women who help her to come into herself, and learn who she really is. The cast of characters in this book is really strong, and so diverse, which is always a positive in my book. The world needs ALL of the diverse books.

NAMMP does a great job of showing the other side of fandom and fan culture. The fans of Elementia are extremely passionate, and they have no issues making their thoughts known. I think a lot of people can relate to the fans in this book, wanting an adaptation of a book to be just right, and scared that it won't live up to their expectations. I'd never even thought about what that would be like from the actor's perspectives until I read this book. It was an interesting perspective that I had never considered.

One of the things that I love most about Cori McCarthy is that their books are all so different. There's Breaking Sky, which follows group of badass pilots, and You Were Here, about a girl who goes through a tough time after her brother's passing. Cori's writing is so versatile, and everything they write captivates me and keeps me flipping the pages. I really loved Now a Major Motion Picture. I give it 5/5 stars, and you should definitely go pick it up when it hits shelves.

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE by Cori McCarthy (April 1, 2018; Sourcebooks; SLJ: Grade 8 up) is an unusual blend of present day movie making and a fantasy story. As it begins, Iris Thorne (17) and her young brother Ryder are arriving in Ireland to observe the filming of their grandmother's fantasy epic named Elementia. Iris has a trust fund established by her grandmother and is clearly privileged. She doesn't seem to recognize this and spends an inordinate amount of time sulking and bemoaning her in loco parentis role as well as obsessing over the strained relationship she has with her father. Good for her that there are several supportive cast members and an empowering, feminist-leaning director. Seemingly on a quest herself and experiencing romance for the first time, Iris does an amazing amount of maturing in just over a week or so as the filming zigs and zags from one crisis to another.

Although not too realistic, NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE is ultimately an uplifting, hopeful story and I have two favorite quotes: "My ma has a saying. It's a life policy, really. Do something that scares you every day." And... "Say that the book is a sculpture. You can walk around the story. You can touch it. You can view it up close or far away. That is why people love books. The stories interact with your memories, your experiences. They are personalized. Movies? Movies are a picture of that same statue. The parameters are set. The characters have defined faces. The scenes artistically rendered to one person’s vision." Can’t wait to use that description in my next booktalk! In the meantime, hope you find a book that speaks to YOU.

This was a fun quick read. I love nerdy romance so this was perfect for me. Most of the characters are likable and the setting is great (who doesn't love Ireland!).