There is nothing better than seeing that your favorite book is turning into a movie, until everything the film gets changed. It’s the worst. I looked at some of our favorite book/movie adaptations and tried to figure out what went right and what went wrong. Let me know what you guys think down below and what movies you would add to the list!
BEST
The Hunger Games
These movies were terrific! While they were missing a few things (like Madge and avox), these movies did a pretty good job of sticking to the books! It’s pretty rare for me to love a book and movie equally, but The Hunger Games and did it! I really love the little things that were added to the movies that weren’t in the book, like THAT kiss in the last movie! I needed that in the books honestly!
Harry Potter
Okay, this series could honestly go into the best and the worst depending on which movie we are talking about. As a series, I believe the movies go along with the books pretty well! There are quite a few things that are left out that I would of liked to have seen in the movies like certain back stories, but these movies are captivating! I never got into HP until about 2012ish so I was very late to the game, and yes I saw the movies first. But now I’ve read the book and seen the movies many times!
The Fault in Our Stars
Bring on the tears! Both the book and movie will break your heart! The movie does leave out some important people and scenes, like Hazel and her mom overhearing Gus crying and yelling at his mom before they leave on their trip to Amsterdam. This was okay with me, though, because it was more of a surprise that Gus’s cancer has returned.
The Kite Runner
This is a must watch and a must-read! Before reading the book, I watched the movie, and it was such a help! In a culture that is so different than ours, having the book and movie be similar was great! This is such a crazy story, but such an inspiring story of friendship and betrayal!
To Kill a Mockingbird
Classic, beautiful, timeless. The movie may have been missing a few things, but the essential points are still present in the film. The two are actually very similar to each other, which is pretty rare! While the movie is not being watched as much anymore, the book is still a classic, must-read, and beloved.
WORST
The Percy Jackson series
This was horrible. I don’t even know where to start. The books got mixed together, ages were changed, how Percy found out who his father was changed, it was just wrong. There were very few things that actually were similar to the books. The whole Rick Riordan world could have been huge and maybe of been the next Harry Potter, but it was ruined. Rick was teased that a series could be in work though, so can it be saved?
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
This is such a quirky, fun, twisted book that could have had an epic movie, but we have another flop. There was an unneeded romance, things were downplayed, and the whole movie just felt off. Some of the peculiarities were even changed, which changed the story as well as a change of the villain. While Tim Burton has some beautiful films, he couldn’t do it with this book.
Divergent
Why was this movie so dull compared to the book? I’m not going to lie. I only watched the first movie because I hated the movie so much. And that’s coming from me who cried after finishing the last book. The previews I saw of the other movies didn’t look like anything I read in the books, and I am pretty sure that they didn’t even finish filming the last film. I heard that there was a completely different ending in the movies, but someone, please tell me if that is true.
Papertowns
This is such a great book, but an okay movie. A lot of the seriousness in this book was taken out, and it became very light-hearted. The book was much darker while uncovering Margo’s hidden messages, and they rush to find her in fear she was going to hurt herself or worse. In the book, the group leaves graduation to find her, with a few of our favorite people not wearing clothes under their grown, but in the movie, I think it was the day of prom. Someone, please let me know if I am correct.
The Giver
Another beautiful classic that was ruined by a movie. The book was so unique and fun, but the movie just fell flat. The romance was overplayed, the power of the giver wasn’t entirely there, and the culture of society was missed. The book gave a glimpse of everything that was happening but never fully let us into the world.
Ah man… The Giver was such a mess! 🙁