It's always exciting to see your favorite book show up on the big screen, but most adaptations tend to fall flat.
These are five books to movie or TV show adaptations that scratch that itch of seeing your favorite characters come to life. While some may do it not as well as others, they all at least manage to follow the plot.
"Bridgerton" season one took the world by storm when it premiered in 2020. But, some might not know that this started as an eight-book series written in the 2000s by Julia Quinn. "Bridgerton" is set in the early 1800s and follows the Bridgerton family, a notable family of eight siblings in English society. Each book and season follows one sibling and how they navigate through the high expectations of marriage while battling feelings within.
The first two seasons are on Netflix now and the third is in the works. The show does an excellent job of following some aspects of the books, like the interactions between the two main love interests and following the storyline there. But the show features characters that aren't focused on in the book, especially Lady Whistledown. One difference made for the best was the inclusion of POC characters, or people of color, in roles such as the Queen of England.
Between the characters' chemistry, the modern-day music turned to instrumental melodies and beautiful imagery, this is one of the better adaptions that will surely make your heart sing.
"Gone Girl," written by Gillian Flynn in 2012, is a thriller about an overtly dysfunctional couple. When Amy Dunne, the wife, goes missing in a very suspicious manner, the husband, Nick Dunne, becomes the main suspect in her murder. Throughout the story, things never go right for Nick.
The movie, which premiered in 2014, followed the storyline amazingly and was met with great reviews. But the film has cringe-worthy dialogue, weird cuts and not-so-good acting, which is strange since the cast has big names like Ben Affleck and Neil Patrick Harris. If you are in the mood for unlikeable characters but a great twist, give this book a read — though, maybe not the movie.
Another Netflix series, "You" became popular in 2018 and shows Joe Goldberg as a New York City bookstore worker when he meets the beautiful Guinevere Beck. He immediately falls in love and, in his mind, justifies stalking and "protecting" Beck. The show goes on to have two other seasons where he meets the equally disturbed Love Quinn, and another season is on its way.
This was a series first written by Caroline Kepnes. The show is very similar to the book, as, in most adaptations, some plot lines are more fleshed out in the book than they are in the show. But both are very eerie and a little bit vulgar, so check out trigger warnings before viewing or reading. That also goes for all the books and movies/shows on this list.
In one of the best book-to-movie adaptations in the history of book-to-movie adaptations, "The Hunger Games" is set in a dystopian world in the future with 12 districts that are at the dispense of the infamous Capitol. Every year, each district must present a young man and woman to fight to the death with 24 tributes in an arena created by the Capitol, and only one survivor can come out.
Suzanne Collins wrote the original book in 2008. She then came out with "Catching Fire" (my favorite) and "Mockingjay," each met with its movie. Recently, Collins came out with "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," with its movie premiering in 2023. The films so far follow the books closely, like how conversations in the books can be seen in the film. Both the movies and books are amazing if you feel nostalgic and miss the 2014 dystopian era.
The newest movie on this list, "Where the Crawdads Sing," is set in the 1950s and follows a little girl, Kya Clark, who was abandoned and forced to fend for herself in the marshes of North Carolina, while also following a murder trial in the present where Clark is the main suspect.
The book is a cult classic BookTok, a side of TikTok that features book recommendations. While the movie does a good job of following the storyline, Clark, no matter the age she was in the movie, always had her hair perfectly brushed and light makeup on, which doesn't make sense if she has been living in the marsh her whole life. The movie also portrays a pretty graphic scene with no warning.
While some flop (but still follow the general plot) and others are a gift, everyone should check out these five book-to-screen adaptations. Books can be found at our local Barnes and Noble located on Forest Drive or on Amazon.