June #23 Online Library Newsletter

Book VS Movie

After watching a movie, we often hear the phrase “The book was so much better!” But is that always true?

This article looks at three books that have been adapted into movies and compares which was better!

1.  The Harry Potter series:

Yes, the Harry Potter series is more than one book but if I compared them all individually this article would go on way too long!

Since JK Rowling released the first book in 1997, the seven-book series has sold over 450 million copies, it has also had a big impact on the number of young people who read for fun. A study by a market research firm in 2006 showed that 51% of kids, who were ages 5 to 17, said that they never read books for fun before the Harry Potter series; 75% of children stated that the series had encouraged them to start reading other books. So, let’s take a look at the movies.

One of the most controversial differences between the books and movies is the role of some of the characters (secondary and main characters); in the series, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are Harry’s best friends and each have a major part in giving Harry the love and support he was deprived of for the first 11 years of his life. In the books, the trio fit perfectly together however in the movies that is completely different, movie Ron becomes more of a filler as all of his traits (making harry laugh and always being there for him emotionally) are given to movie Hermione. In the books Hermione cries a lot and Ron gives Harry advice however in the movies Hermione is very headstrong and Ron is very sarcastic and makes fun of Hermione. An example of this is when Snape calls Hermione a ‘Know-it-all’ In the books, Ron talks back to Snape “You asked us a question and she knows the answer! Why ask if you don't want to be told?” Because of this Ron gets a detention which shows how much he cares for his friends, in the books however Ron just says “He's got a point, you know.” So instead of looking out for her, he just twists the knife. There are also many, many more characters who didn’t get the recognition they deserved in the movies, these include: Ginny Weasley, Percy Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Peeves, and many more.

I asked ten people to choose whether the books or movies were better and 90% said the books were better…so get reading!

2.  Everything, Everything:

The book Everything, Everything, written by J. Mills Goodloe, generally moves quite slowly and actually doesn’t include some of the scenes from the movie. In the book, characters (excluding Madeline, her mother, Olly, and Carla) hold no significance and are introduced then discarded very quickly. The YA novel sticks to the themes of sick teenagers and a teen romance so if you’re not a fan of cliché then this book might not be for you! The movie changes many aspects of the book, for example Maddy doesn’t talk to other people online and some of the scenes are simplified; an example of this is Olly and Madeline’s reunion, Maddy decides to find Olly again in the book, so she leads him on a small scavenger hunt through a bookstore in New York City, where he has to find her copy of The Little Prince. Once he finds it, she’s waiting there for him. In the movie, the whole element of The Little Prince is gone and they just find each other. On the other hand, the movie gives some characters a much bigger presence, for example, Carla’s daughter. In the book Carla simply mentions her daughter however in the movies her daughter actually interacts with Maddie and they have a closer relationship.

Again, I asked 10 people what they thought: 50% said the book was better and 50% said the movie was…so it’s up to you!

3.  The Fault in Our Stars:

TFIOS is a heart-wrenching novel written by John Green that has sold over 10.7 million copies, the movie has an average rating of 9/10 stars on Imdb so it generally has a very good ranking.

John green takes the typical theme of teen romance and turns it into something beautifully tragic, surprisingly the movie stayed very true to the book in terms of character personalities and the significance of some scenes.

Hazel Grace is a very mature girl who keeps people at a distance and knows what she wants, in the book she has a best friend called Kaitlynn who knows everything about her budding romance with Augustus and hears all the gossip however Kaitlynn is non-existent in the movie.

The movie does miss out a few important scenes from the book such as how the death of Augustus’s former girlfriend, Caroline is something that Hazel struggles to stop thinking about whereas in the movie there is no mention of Caroline or how her death impacted Gus and Hazel. In addition, the movie also missed a crucial scene where Hazel and Mrs. Lancaster overhear Gus crying and shouting at his mother right before they leave for their trip to Amsterdam. In the book, this foreshadows the return of Gus’ cancer.

Overall 60% of people say the book is better but whether you’re reading or watching it, I recommend having a box of tissues handy!