Flynn Meaney's "The Boy Recession"

Flynn Meaney is an alumna of the University of Notre Dame; she also earned a M.F.A. in the Creative Writing program at Hunter College.

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of her latest novel, The Boy Recession:

My second YA novel, The Boy Recession, is narrated by two different characters. Hunter is a laid-back slacker who’s smart and musically talented, but lazy. When writing Hunter, I pictured him with long, shaggy blonde hair and a low-key vibe. I saw a few episodes of the American version of Skins, and Stanley, played by Daniel Flaherty, reminded me of Hunter. But I didn’t realize just how perfect Daniel would be for the role of Hunter until I did some online research…his MTV biography says Daniel “spends his free time skateboarding, playing guitar and singing in his band,” which is exactly like Hunter! Apparently Daniel even sang on an episode of Skins, so he could definitely play Hunter in a Boy Recession movie—no skateboarding stunt doubles or lip-synching needed!

The female narrator, Kelly, is down-to-earth, sarcastic, and the voice of reason for her crazy friends. Someone like Emma Stone would be great as Kelly, and I think a Boy Recession movie would have a similar tone to Emma’s movie Easy A, which I really loved. I could also see Ariel Winter from Modern Family as Kelly; in her TV role, she is overshadowed by an older sister, and Kelly is overshadowed by her friends.

And of course the actors playing Hunter and Kelly would have to screen test together to make sure they have chemistry, because they spend a lot of The Boy Recession flirting and falling for each other!

Learn more about the book and author at Flynn Meaney's website.

--Marshal Zeringue