Michelle Gagnon's "Don't Turn Around"

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Michelle Gagnon has been a modern dancer, a dog walker, a bartender, a freelance journalist, a personal trainer, and a model. Her bestselling thrillers for adults have been published in numerous countries and include The Tunnels, Boneyard, The Gatekeeper, and Kidnap & Ransom.

Here she shares some ideas for casting an adaptation of Don't Turn Around, her first novel for young adults:

I actually had photos of each of my main characters posted alongside their descriptions in Scrivener, which helped dramatically with framing the plot. But some of those were of actors who would be too old to play the part now, and others are better known for modeling than acting.

So when it comes to actual casting, I have other people in mind... I really love Dylan Minnette, the actor who played the son in the (sadly) short-lived series Awake. He didn’t have much of a chance to display humor in that role, but he’s such a talented actor that I believe he’d be a perfect Peter.

Then there’s Amanda Berns, Peter’s erstwhile girlfriend who never met a cause she didn’t love: Amanda Seyfried would be fantastic. I’ve loved her work ever since I first saw her in Big Love, and she definitely has the chops to make self-righteous Amanda likeable.

Noa is a tricky one. Christian Serratos has the right look, but I’m not sure if she has the edge. I’d really love a slightly younger Rooney Mara.

For Cody, who so far has been the fan favorite, I’d love to see Michael B. Jordan in the role. He pretty much broke my heart as Wallace in The Wire, and I think he’d be perfect in this role.

Learn more about the book and author at Michelle Gagnon's website.

The Page 69 Test: Don't Turn Around.

--Marshal Zeringue