50 YA Books We Want Adapted to the Big or Small Screen

Cover to The Iron King by Julie Kagawa. Image via Harlequin Teen.

45. Iron Fey

Vampires and werewolves have a tendency to get a majority of the love when it comes to adaptations. However, there’s more to the world of the supernatural than just bloodsuckers and shapeshifters. What about something like the fey?

Enter Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey series, which starts with The Iron King. Her heroine is Meghan, who ventures into the Nevernever in order to save her half-brother, Ethan. However, she’ll learn soon enough that she’s found something far more dangerous: the titular Iron Fey, who Kagawa writes were inspired by the old myths that say faery cannot stand the touch of iron. This new species has started to corrupt the Nevernever with its metallic touch.

Of course, Meghan also happens to be a half-faery herself, and also a princess. Our male protagonist is Ash, an Unseelie prince, but there’s just a hint of a love triangle as well, with the legendary Robin Goodfellow having a crush on Meghan, too, since he’s spent time pretending to be her best friend and keeping her safe.

A clever series like this could find a home on TV more easily than film, if the emergence of series like The Shannara Chronicles on MTV is any indication. Kagawa’s own above-linked FAQ points out that she doesn’t have much say in what happens, though.