As someone with a genuine love for reading, I get excited when I see books I enjoyed being adapted for TV or film.
Sometimes, that hype is warranted. There have been some really awesome adaptations in recent years that prove that with the right team, the integrity of a book can be honored while still making the changes needed to bring the piece to life.
Other times, however, creators miss the mark. In trying to make the story perfect for the limitations of TV and cinema, they lose some of the core pieces that are the real draw of the story.
So, here are 10 TV and movie adaptations that did the book justice vs. 10 that really missed the mark:
Warning: There are some spoilers below!
1. A GREAT ADAPTATION: Under the Banner of Heaven was adapted from Jon Krakauer's true crime novel of the same name, which is based on true events.
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A Mormon detective questions his feelings on faith and family after investigating a fundamentalist Mormon family. The cast of the limited series got awards buzz for the show, which stuck to the source material except for a few artistic embellishments.
2. NEEDS A REDO: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle is a classic, but the same cannot be said for the Disney-fied film.
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The tone of the film is never quite right. Where it should be charming, it comes across corny. Where it should be understated and making a point, the grandeur of the big-budget picture takes over. A lot of fans of the novel were disappointed by the handling of it and argued some of what the story represented was watered down by the movie's handling.
3. A GREAT ADAPTATION: Greta Gerwig's take on Little Women is one of many adaptations of the novel, but it's arguably one of the best.
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In not telling the story in a linear fashion, many people believe that the film breathed life into an old story without changing too many of the fundamentals of it.
4. NEEDS A REDO: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold was a huge success in the early '00s. When it came time for the movie, a lot of the focus shifted from the main character, Susie (Saoirse Ronan), to her dad (Mark Wahlberg).
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Despite the excitement for Peter Jackson's involvement, some of the more fantasy-based elements of the film were so overdone that it took away from the heart of the story, which is pretty dark in the source material.
5. A GREAT ADAPTATION: Daisy Jones & the Six tells the story of the trials and tribulations of a fictional '70s rock band, based on the novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
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While adding and subtracting from the book's contents, the author even praised the adaptation because it "honors the book in a really lovely way and yet also adds to it," author Taylor Jenkins Reid tells Town & Country over Zoom.
6. NEEDS A REDO: The Woman in the Window was originally a novel by A. J. Finn before it became the movie that inspired its own parody series.
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Despite having a lot of big names attached to it, The Woman in the Window couldn't capture the psychological thriller just right. The vibes are supposed to be Hitchcock-esque, but without the right tension, it feels like you're waiting for something to happen at different points.
7. A GREAT ADAPTATION: Shadow and Bone, based on the trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, honors the complex fantasy world of the novel while still making it accessible to the audience.
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In some places, it brings more fun to the plot, while in others, it brings clarity to areas fans have speculated about for years.
8. NEEDS A REDO: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins had a lot of excitement, but fans felt the adaptation was a little lackluster.
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Other than keeping the movie's villain the same, changes in location and character traits made the film version lose a lot more of its mysterious and thrilling elements.Â
9. A GREAT ADAPTATION: Where the Crawdads Sing, based on the novel by Delia Owens, stays very close to the material while still making some changes that amplify the story.
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The thriller navigates the two timelines well, and though it changes the order of some events, it doesn't change the spirit of the story.Â
10. NEEDS A REDO: The School for Good and Evil is based on the series by Soman Chainani, but didn't give fans everything they were hoping for.
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Condensing six (soon to be seven) books down to one film would be a challenge for anyone, and naturally, that means omitting certain aspects of the story. But a lot of fans of the book series felt it would have been better served as a series that could honor the details that made them develop their appreciation.Â
11. A GREAT ADAPTATION: Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll was very worthy of all its praise, and the film adaptation is surprisingly underrated for starring Mila Kunis.
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The movie doesn't go into all the detail that the book does, and that does take away from the experience, but it still hits powerful notes in all the same areas as the book, even with differing endings.
12. NEEDS A REDO: With less of a focus on Roland and more of a focus on Jake, The Dark Tower (based on the eight-book series by Stephen King) disappointed a lot of eager readers-turned-moviegoers.
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In trying to simplify the story for a wider audience, it cut out way too much and watered down the substance. Boiling over 800 pages into 90 minutes, coupled with the perspective change, frustrated readers.Â
13. A GREAT ADAPTATION: She Said started out as a New York Times best-seller by journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, detailing the investigation that kicked off the #MeToo movement.
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Made so soon after the events transpired, the film almost didn't have a choice but to stay pretty close to the events as they unfolded.
14. NEEDS A REDO: A lot of the controversy around the13 Reasons Why series made folks forget the show was based on a way less chaotic novel by the same name.
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The first season of the Netflix series was based on the source material but made changes (like making Clay and Hannah's relationship seem more one-sided than reciprocal) that impacted the characters as they tried to amp up the drama and further the storyline (with a lot of seriously graphic additions) in subsequent seasons.Â
15. A GREAT ADAPTATION: Anatomy of a Scandal is a powerful limited series that does a great job of staying true to the novel by Sarah Vaughan.
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The page-turner is just as bingeable as the Netflix adaptation. The dialogue can be a little much at times, but it's another great project by David E. Kelley overall.
16. NEEDS A REDO: Ready Player One had a lot of hype after the popularity of the novel by Ernest Cline, but focusing on visuals over plot lost the movie audience.
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Steven Spielberg worked with Ernest Cline on the film, but that didn't stop major plot points from being cut out, not to mention the questionable treatment of female characters on screen.
17. A GREAT ADAPTATION: Heartstopper is a recent example of how amazing a series that sticks to its source material (the four-part graphic novel by Alice Oseman) can be.
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This series is getting so much love for being representative and respectful of different LGBTQ+ identities, thanks to a diverse cast and crew that were dedicated to replicating the story the right way.
18. NEEDS A REDO: Paper Towns was adapted to film at the height of John Green's novels skyrocketing to popularity, but it didn't do the book justice.
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In not building up why Q is so drawn to Margo, it kind of feels like an over-the-top pursuit of a crush. Plus, Quentin's friendships with his buddies don't get the screen time they deserve, and those were just as important as his connection to Margo in the book.
19. AN (UPCOMING) GREAT ADAPTATION: With Rick Riordan at the helm, there is no way the Disney+ Percy Jackson series won't be good.
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This is a little bit of future-casting, of course, but with Rick Riordan's constant updates, there's a lot to be excited about with the upcoming series, which promises to stay true to the first book in the five-book series.
20. And finally, NEEDS A REDO: On the other hand, you have the 2010s Percy Jackson movies, which are what led fans of the books to beg for another try at an adaptation.
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Fans and Riordan alike haven't hidden their disdain for The Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters, which made major changes to the characters' personalities and the timeline while also missing the mark on dialogue.