Here are some of my favorite books that have been made into movies (and my thoughts on how well they did.) I would say, My Top 5 Favorite Books of all Time Turned into Movies! or some catchy phrase like that, but inevitably I will completely forget some amazing book that I forgot to list and then I’d feel all guilty. Therefore, this is just a list of Some of my Favorite Books Turned Movies! 🙂 Enjoy!
1. The Fault in our Stars by John Green – OK, this one tops the list simply because the movie just came out and there’s massive hysteria circling around John Green. This book is about teens with terminal cancer and how they emotionally deal with it, as they go from surviving to living with the time they have left. Suffice to say, it is sad. It’s about teens with cancer, so it was never going to be anything but sad. BUT Mr. Green also does an incredible job of adding humor at just the right moments. It’s an intelligent, direct work of fiction that is reflective of the real world of those living with a terminal illness. The movie more than does the book justice and I’m so pleased they didn’t screw it up. Five Stars to the book AND movie.
2. Divergent by Veronica Roth – Yep. I’m on this bandwagon, too, people. Please don’t get angry with me that I’m just repeating what other people have said about recent books to movies – this is truly of my favs! Anywho, here’s another Dystopian Society novel, centering around Tris, a girl out of her element as she reaches the age to choose which part of society she wants to live in – the one she grew up in, or one of four others. She obviously chooses a different one, essentially losing her family, and having to learn an entirely new way of life. But all things are not as they seem in future America, as she uncovers that she is not only special but that there’s a plot against her own part of society that she left. This book had quite a lot of content to it, so I wasn’t surprised to find a few things cut or combined to make things simple. Overall, I was very impressed with the movie – again, happy they didn’t screw it up. And yes, you are seeing double, as that is the same actress that plays in the above mentioned book/movie! Five Stars to book AND movie!
3. Harry Potter by JK Rowling – OK, if I have to give an account for each of these seven books, then you’ve been living under a rock for like, 15 years. Sorry. This is a series of 7 books about a boy wizard who ultimately defeats the evil wizard who killed his parents and threatened all of humanity. There. Sorry if I spoiled it for you. These books are amazingly written and are (and will remain) one of my favorite series, forever. (Hope that was dramatic enough for you.) Anywho, each of these movies were made by different directors and/or producers, etc, so it’s tough to necessarily rate each one. Some I liked better than others, but that may be because the length of each novel got subsequently longer, and there was just no way to cram all of the sub-plots, etc, into 2.5 hours. The last book was made into 2 movies, for Pete’s sake! Five stars for the books, and Four or Five stars for the movies, depending on which one you’re watching.
4. The Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkien – I’ve read these books multiple times, not only to myself but out loud to my husband, as well. I can’t tell you how much I love these books! They are amazing – if you’ve only seen the movies, please go read the books, now! Basic storyline – long ago a powerful ring was created that could make the bearer ruler over all. It was lost but was found by an unlikely, common hobbit named Frodo. The only way to stop the bad guy, Sauron, from hunting him down for the ring and taking over the world, is to destroy it. Said quest becoming the plot for all three books. Bam. And yes, I know what you’re thinking: what about The Hobbit? The prequel to this series that tells another tale involving the ring? Well, I will say, it too is one of my favorite books, but I won’t comment further here, since not all the movies have been released yet 🙂 Having said that, the movies for the trilogy were done incredibly well, probably because Peter Jackson chose to shoot them all at once, over a 2 year period. Again, although these books are massive in size and whole sub-plots and sections had to be cut to accommodate that and things added to provide explanation to the viewer, they were still excellently done! Five stars to the books AND movies!
5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – OK, so I probably shouldn’t be writing about this one, since I haven’t seen the movie in a few years and sort of forget my initial feelings on it. But from what I remember, I thought it was very well made (considering the year it was done, and all!) so I’m going with that and trusting that I loved it 🙂 I will say, this is one of my favorite books of all time. I can vividly remember reading it in 9th grade and growing so emotional at one point that I threw the book across the room and burst into tears. I’m not sure I had ever become so attached to a novel prior to that point in my life! The story: Early 1930’s Alabama, the story is told through the eyes of a young girl named Scout, who lives with her older brother and father. It takes place over a few years and is her story of how she came to mature and understand the world in a better way. Her father is a lawyer, who is at the center of a very controversial racially based court case in which she is burdened to see the judicial system fail bring about the fair verdict that she expected it to. There’s way more to it than that, but that’s all you get with three sentences 🙂 If you haven’t read this one yet, you really should add it to your bucket list. Five stars for the book and going by my memory, Four or Five stars for the movie. (It’s black and white – watch out!)
Well, that’s all I can write for now, but I’m realizing I have way more books to movies than I thought I might, so I’ll continue this another time. What are your favorite book to movie adaptations? Please leave your thoughts below!!
Happy reading!!