Jacquelyn Mitchard's "The Good Son"

Jacquelyn Mitchard is the New York Times bestselling author of 22 novels for adults and teenagers, and the recipient of Great Britain’s Talkabout prize, The Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson awards, and named to the short list for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Her first novel, The Deep End of the Ocean, was the inaugural selection of the Oprah Winfrey Book Club, with more than 3 million copies in print in 34 languages. It was later adapted into a major feature film starring Michelle Pfeiffer.

Here Mitchard dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, The Good Son:

I’d love to have my book made into a movie (and when writers say that they just hope that Hollywood doesn’t get its hands on their wonderful story and “ruin” it, they’re generally lying and trying to sound virtuous because no one makes you take that option money … you could just not take it …).

If this story were adapted, I think of who might play the role of the main character, Thea. It’s clearer to me who would play Julie, Thea’s wonderful best friend, and that would be Julianne Moore (not because of the name). She has a sort of patrician generosity that is the hallmark of Julie’s character. For Thea, I would see someone who is very down-to-earth and intense, like Kate Winslet or Rashida Jones. Thea is a reader and very involved with language and I have no idea why I think these actors bespeak that quality, I just do.

Who would play Stefan? He’s athletic and dark-haired and has a very “open” face and personality. Maybe it would be Jake Sim, who was in the movie It.

Visit Jacquelyn Mitchard's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Good Son.

Q&A with Jacquelyn Mitchard.

--Marshal Zeringue