Title: Altered
Author: Aubrey Coletti
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When Toni, Joseph and Charlie arrive at their new boarding school, they are glad to leave their families – and respective problems – behind. Isolated as boarders, they meet a handsome senior with a personality like iced snake’s blood, teachers with a penchant for physical punishment, and four other outcasts who reveal that their being brought to the Academy wasn’t random at all. When the arrivals discover that their new school is engaged in “behavior modification” through electric shocks, isolation, restraints, and an ever-evolving set of methods to “fix” them, they declare war on their Academy. During their campaign of sabotage, they fight, hate, scorn, love, and begin to uncover the reasons why they were brought to the school. But as their war against the school escalates beyond their control, will they become the very things the Academy believes they are: dangerous, delinquent – and mad?
~From the Author~
I wouldn’t go so far as to say every author nowadays dreams of having their book made into a movie: but probably most of us do. I will openly confess that I spend a good percentage of my day, ahem, planning out the “Altered” film (the rest of my time is spent in the all important acts of perusing the internet, sleeping, and, every now and then, working). So why not join me and encourage my totally productive lifestyle? You agree? Oh, lovely.
Casting for “Altered” would require mostly unknowns, as the main characters are all teenagers, none of whom I can see being played by current young adult actors. What is more, I am not generally a fan of the practice of having twenty-year-olds play fourteen and fifteen year olds in movies and shows. While I understand that due to child labor laws many studios prefer actors over eighteen, as a former anorexic I can say that watching fully physically developed actors in their twenties playing fifteen-year-olds does contribute to our media’s unrealistic body image. I tried to make “Altered” as true to life as possible in the writing, so I would only feel right casting actors within the age range of the characters. In terms of the adult main characters, however, I do have some ideas. Mrs. Carter is, in essence, a loving mother gone too far: and I can think of few actresses who can combine sweetness and steel better than Morena Baccarin. Opposite (and often opposing) Mrs. Carter is the Headmistress, a character who needs to be both alluring and frightening, traits which actress Lucy Lawless has perfected over the years.
“Altered” is a very fast-paced action- and drama-packed novel, so adapting the book to script wouldn’t be difficult. The trick would be striking the balance between the twists and turns of the plot, and the necessity of keeping the characters and their struggles at the forefront. But, like so many authors, it is a challenge I would love to have the chance to meet.
~About the Author~
Aubrey is a twenty year old author, singer-songwriter, dancer and choreographer who attends Sarah Lawrence College. In love with reading since she was young, her favorite writers include Tamora Pierce, Joss Whedon, and Chris Claremont. A passionate fan of those artists and writers she enjoys, she may be found answering questions for fans on her own website any day of the week. Ms. Coletti is currently working on the sequel to “Altered.”
Interesting book, I have not heard of this author before and I am always looking for book like these.
Interesting book, I have not heard of this author before and I am always looking for book like these.