Movie vs. Book: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

As the prequel to The Hunger Games series, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a fun origin story on the evil of Coriolanus Snow, who essentially develops the modern-day Hunger Games that is then ended (spoiler alert!) in the final book of the series. The movie adaptation of this prequel novel does a pretty good job of sticking to the story, which is long. The fun surprise of both is that the Hunger Games only make up the first half of the story, but there is much more to develop afterward. Here are the few differences the movie does make from the novel.

1. The movie allowed Lucy Gray to finish her “performance” at the reaping
   • In the movie, when Lucy Gray has her name called at the reaping ceremony, she take the stage and performs. She is allowed to complete her performance because the audience is so awestruck by her talent and charm. In the novel, however, the evil of the people in charge of the Games shines through, as she is dragged off the stage, mid-performance.
2. No funerals for killed mentors :
   • In both the book and movie, a bunch of mentors for the Hunger Games are killed before the Games even begin. In the novel, each of the mentors killed are honored in a proper funeral, which delay the start of the Hunger Games. The funerals are eliminated from the movie.
3. Clemensia isn’t seen again after being bit by the snakes
   • As part of the torturing of the mentors in the story, one of them, Clemensia, is bitten by snakes. Coriolanus Snow’s relationship with Clemensia is complicated, as are many of his relationships in the novel. He sees her in the hospital as he recovers from his own injuries, but avoids visiting her as she recovers in the hospital. He eventually apologizes to her, and they reconcile, but the instance emphasizes the damage caused by the snakes. Much of this is eliminated from the movie.
4. Explanation and severity of the snakes
   • Speaking of the snakes, their power and the damage they inflict is a bit of a mystery in the novel. Corio has to figure out what they do and how they operate and harm people so that he can use that as a tactic to help Lucy Gray later in the games. But in the movie, Dr. Gaul outright explains to him and the other mentors what the snakes do, which drops some of the creepy mystery of it all. The snakes also seem a little more severe in the film, in that Lucy Gray almost dies from them at the end of the Hunger Games. In the novel, her singing keeps them at bay. In the movie, her singing calms them a bit, but they continue to still move slowly up her body until the mentors convince those in charge to end the Hunger Games.
5. Cornucopia bloodbath
   • In the novel, the Hunger Games competitors die more slowly and one at a time. In the film, the start of the Hunger Games is a bloodbath — similar to that seen in the other books and movies — where the competitors fight over supplies and weapons and instantly kill many of each other just as the Games begin. The movie is clearly trying to speed the plot along here.
6. Love story between Lucy Gray and Snow
   • The biggest bummer to me is that the love story between Lucy Gray and Snow is much better and more believable in the book. I believe they kiss sooner in the novel, and because the book is told from Snow’s point of view, the reader is getting more insight into his strong feelings for Lucy Gray. That helps in making it difficult to see how evil he really is until the very end. In the film, the love story is not as heavy of a focus. This is not a problem for the romance, but for the evolution of Snow’s character. Because the viewer is not seeing him as infatuated with her, he seems evil from the start, so his dark actions at the end of the novel don’t appear to be that shocking or haunting.

Review: It Starts With Us

Recap: It Starts With Us is the sequel to Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us and picks up immediately following the epilogue of It Ends With Us. That epilogue ends with about a year’s time jump and a brief interaction between Lily and Atlas, Lily’s first boyfriend from high school. As this second book in the series starts off, Lily is wondering if it’s even possible to make that relationship work again when she still has Ryle in her life. She and Ryle are now divorced, and their daughter is now about a year old. Co-parenting has not been easy. It never is, but when your ex is an abuser, there are added layers of challenges. She and Ryle have learned to get along while passing the baby between them but Ryle is clearly still holding out hope that they will get back together. He doesn’t quite understand the deep-seeded fear that now lies in Lily’s body. She quite literally contracts when he’s near. And he seems to be near a lot as he still has access to Lily’s apartment.

For the first time in the story of Lily and Atlas, the reader gets a clearer idea of how Atlas feels about their history and relationship. The book alternates narration between Lily and Atlas, bringing Atlas to the forefront of the story, compared to the first book in the series. As Lily deals with creating distance and space between her and Ryle to make room for Atlas, Atlas is ready to make room for Lily in his life, but it comes at a bad time. Someone has been vandalizing his new restaurant, and he quickly learns there’s a personal connection. As the two try to navigate all the complicated relationships around them, the one relationship they know they don’t have to question is the one they have with each other.

Analysis: After not loving much of It Ends With Us, I was concerned I would like It Starts With Us even less. But I was wrong. Revisiting familiar characters got me on board with the sequel much more willingly. I was happy to see Lily finally get the true happiness and joy she deserved. I was also happy to see Atlas deal with some of the abuse he faced when he was younger. It’s a point of pride – and relief – when Lily finally creates space between her and Ryle. My biggest gripe is her best friend, Allysa, who also happens to be the sister of Lily’s ex, Ryle. Though Ryle’s actions were reprehensible, it felt pretty implausible for her best friend to so quickly and willingly denounce her brother and stand by her friend. That makes her strong, sure. And her actions are right. But I do find it hard to believe that someone who loves her brother would so quickly take the other side.

It’s interesting to note that author Colleen Hoover did not originally plan to write this sequel at all, but her fans – and later, publisher – demanded it. It was nice to the rest of the story flushed out though. This is a rare occasion in which I feel the sequel actually added something of value, allowing for a real happy ending for Atlas and Lily and a more clear picture of and plan for how Lily and Ryle would continue to co-parent their daughter despite their relationship status. After having read this book, it makes It Ends With Us feel unfinished. This really completes the tale.

MVP: Atlas. He really is the best. He takes on new challenges without doubts and instead, full confidence that he can either a) handle it or b) it will all work out even if he can’t.

Get It Starts With Us in paperback for $9.65.

Or on your Kindle for $13.99.

Review: Naturally Tan

In my ongoing theme of reading Queer Eye stars’ memoirs before watching the latest season of the show (no, I still haven’t gotten around to it; there are a lot of shows to watch!), I read Tan France’s memoir in quick succession after reading JVN’s. Anticipating it to be not-so-great after reading and not loving JVN’s, Naturally Tan turned out to be a pleasant and vast improvement in the way of QE books. Naturally Tan is as fabulous as the author himself. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so surprised after all. Tan France, as we know from the show, is fashionable, prim, proper, soft-spoken and kind. From his memoir, we also learn he’s an intellect who is extremely in touch with his feelings, self-aware, and lives with intent and love. His showcases all this through his book, which is much more than just a memoir.

It’s part memoir, part self-help, part fashion how-to with chapters about him and his life growing up gay and brown in England interspersed with “PSAs” about little black somethings, T-shirts and accessories as well as life advice asides about not gossiping in the workplace and dating dos-and-don’ts. If it seems like that might be a lot to mix into one book or if it seems like that might become a jumbled mess, it actually isn’t and doesn’t. With the bullying and rebellion Tan went through growing up as a brown outsider, the love he found in his partner and the the no-bullshit approach he’s taken to become an extremely successful business owner and TV personality, the reader quickly trusts him with every piece of advice he offers. After reading about his businesses and the hard work he put into building them, including hiring associates, his chapter on not gossiping with or about coworkers affected me and made me want to be a kinder, more generous employee. His chapters about clothes made me re-think my closet. Even his dos and don’ts of dating forced me to consider the way I treat my partner and myself.

When a person you respect offers advice, you’re more inclined to listen. Naturally Tan enforces – or if you’ve watched Queer Eye, reinforces – that Tan is a person to not only be respected, but admired. He may only be 40 years old, but he’s lived quite some life, one worth writing a memoir about and one worth reading about.

Get Naturally Tan in hardcover for $18.20.

Or on your Kindle for $11.99.

Review: Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother’s Soul

Oh my, it feels like it’s been 100 years since I’ve read a Chicken Soup for the Soul book. They were all the rage in the 90’s! And I read so many of them as a teenager. So as an expectant mother myself, when I received this book as a gift, I was excited to crack it open and step into the nostalgia for the series and read some great stories about pregnancy, delivery and children.

It mostly lived up to the hype! There were some great emotional stories that brought me near tears, cute cartoons and funny stories that I read out loud to my husband. The book includes a pretty wide variety of real-life stories from those with infertility issues, those who adopted, those who delivered early and those who delivered late. Considering the book is now more than 20 years old (!!), it did feel a bit dated in its diversity. If it were to be published in 2021 for instance, I would expect there to be more inclusive stories of gay couples or interracial couples having children. But I understand that in 2000, those kinds of stories were not likely to be included.

I also was surprised to find that there were no “celebrity” entries. At some point as I was reading, I remembered many of the Chicken Soup books of yesteryear promoted the stories by “famous” people on the front cover. It was always exciting when you’d come across an entry from Maya Angelou or Garry Marshall.

I also remember feeling the stories were better written back in the day and cut to the heart a little more. But that also may be because I was a teenager when I was reading those books and not as well versed in good writing. It’s hard to come across profoundly gut-wrenching writing when the stories are submitted by amateurs.

Truly though, that does not detract from the stories and content itself! Reading the book made me grateful for the relatively easy and healthy pregnancy I’ve had, hopeful – and a little nervous! – for delivery and excited to be a mother.

Get Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother’s Soul in paperback for $15.59.

Or on your Kindle for $9.99.

Movie vs. Book: To All the Boys: Always and Forever

In their senior year of high school, Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky are still together and have been going strong for more than a year now. There are no other people interfering in their relationship, but there is one thing that is: college. They have a plan to go away to school together. But as we all know, God laughs as we make our little plans.

In a shocking (or maybe not-so-shocking) twist of events, Lara Jean learns that despite her phenomenal grades and extra-curriculars, she is rejected by the very school that has accepted Peter and offered him a lacrosse scholarship. Initially they are devastated until they devise a new plan: Lara Jean will go to the school where she was accepted and then transfer to Peter’s school sophomore year. But Lara Jean continues to hear the voice of her mother and older sister in her head, telling her never to follow a boy to school. She is torn. And the more she learns about the school where she’s been accepted, the more she falls in love with it, especially after a whirlwind visit there solidifies things.

She keeps all of these feelings a secret from Peter, but he senses it. He separates himself from her, distancing just as prom approaches – as well as Lara Jean’s father’s second wedding – and everything erupts.

It’s a typical high school love story and it checks all the boxes. College! Prom! Senior trip! Wedding! And yet, those tropes work for a reason. Whether you’re currently in high school or an adult looking back at it, you know how big those moments feel as a teenager. Everything is at a monumental magnitude when you’re young – and especially young and in love. Those big moments lend themselves to big feelings, and it’s hard not to understand how both Peter and Lara Jean are feeling about everything going on.

The movie takes some liberties from the book to dramatize the situation even more. The book takes place in Virginia, so Peter is going to UVA, which rejected Lara Jean. Lara Jean plans instead to go to William & Mary. The schools are only a few hours away, which is truly doable even if they stayed long distance for the duration of college. But in the movie, they live in California. So Peter is going to Stanford, while Lara Jean is going to NYU on the other side of the country. Clearly the distance feels far more insurmountable.

The book also includes a section in which Lara Jean’s friend from the nursing home, Stormy, dies. At her funeral, she learns that John Ambrose (from the previous To All the Boys novel) is going to William & Mary, further complicating Peter’s feelings about Lara Jean going there. This is cut from the movie, which is probably for the best. It would be kind of a downer to have a funeral scene dropped in the middle of the movie, not to mention an unnecessary appearance from John Ambrose when Lara Jean clearly loves Peter.

Both movie and book end the same way, which is to say I WON’T SPOIL IT, but Lara Jean and Peter get to have it both ways, no matter how implausible it may seem. The only difference is that in the movie, Lara Jean and Peter ultimately have sex. They do not in the novel, but that never made sense to me. I know the novel is YA, and maybe the author was trying to be PC about it. Not to mention, Lara Jean has always been written as a character who is nervous to do things sexually. But not with Peter. And after more than a year of dating as they’re about to graduate, I don’t many high schoolers who wouldn’t have sex at that point.

Both the book and movie are truly satisfying and much more emotional, fun, full circle and impactful than the second book/movie in the series. What started out as a great premise in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is really tied up in a beautiful bow in Always and Forever, Lara Jean.

Get Always and Forever, Lara Jean in paperback for $5.99.

Or on your Kindle for $9.99.

Movie vs. Book: To All the Boys: P.S.: I Still Love You

The second book in this cute rom com chick lit YA series picks up right where the first left off. Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky have broken up, after a ski trip make-out session spreads rumors about them having done more sexually and Peter doesn’t deny it. It’s been a sad, lonely winter break for Lara Jean. But it’s not long before she and Peter decide to move forward. Peter stands up for Lara Jean regarding the video of them in the hot tub that’s now spreading on social media, making Lara Jean fall even harder for Peter.

But Genevieve. There’s always a Genevieve factor when it comes to Lara Jean and Peter. Lara Jean is convinced Gen is the one who took the video and spread it on social media. Then she and Chris start to see Gen and Peter continuing to spend time together, his arms always wrapped around her. When Lara Jean confronts Peter, he denies anything is going on and simply tells her Gen is dealing with family stuff.

As this is all happening, Lara Jean receives a letter…from John Ambrose McClaren! He was the only other person who received one of Lara Jean’s love letters who she never heard back from, until now. The strike up a pen pal relationship. Then as Lara Jean starts to volunteer at a senior living community and befriends an elderly woman named Stormy, she learns that John Ambrose is Stormy’s grandson. That does nothing but lead to Lara Jean and John Ambrose spending more time together and further confusing Lara Jean about her feelings.

The Netflix movie adaptation of the book automatically starts very differently. After all, the first movie took some of the content from the second book so it could wrap up the hot tub video fiasco in a neat little bow at the end. So all of that drama from the beginning of P.S. I Still Love You, the novel, is eliminated from the movie. It works because the movie is then able to spend much more time on the Lara Jean/John Ambrose/Peter/Genevieve situation.

And yet somehow the slow burn buildup of Lara Jean and John Ambrose’s relationship is more richly explored in the book, so the impact and payoff at the end are much more satisfying. The movie makes it feel like John Ambrose was never really a consideration for Lara Jean, while in the book he very much was.

The movie also took out the tidbit of John Ambrose being Stormy’s grandson. Instead he was a fellow volunteer at the home, and I like this better because a) it allowed for Lara Jean and John Ambrose to spend time together in a way that made sense and b) it also allowed for further diversity casting.

Ultimately the biggest difference may have come at the end. The way Lara Jean learns what Genevieve is going through with her family is completely different from the book, and it’s also handled differently. Both the book and movie have the two girls talking about the situation, ultimately leading to Lara Jean feeling confident in her decision about which boy she wants to date. But in the book, Gen’s family crisis a lot darker, and the conversation between the girls is far more confrontational. The movie cut out some of the risque factor of Gen’s home life, and portrayed a much more emotionally healthy conversation between her and Lara Jean. But I would argue that 16-year-old girls are not that emotionally healthy, and can be very hormonal and angsty. So the book seems to have a more realistic take on this. The book’s version of this conversation also speaks to another very sad, but common teenage rite of passage: breaking up with friends.

When it comes to this one, I loved both the book and movie. The book was better plotted, paced and explored.. But no matter the changes, you can’t help but fall in love with Lana Condor, Noel Centineo and Jordan Fisher on screen.

Review: Dead If You Don’t

Recap: It was supposed to be a fun Saturday soccer (football) game. Everyone and their mother seemed to be going — or father as the case may be. But the day quickly turned as stadium officials received threats of a terrorist attack at the game, threatening to kill and injure hundreds of fans. But that was just the beginning. Before the game even began, Kipp Brown realized his son, Mungo, was missing. They’d been fighting earlier, but surely his teenage son wouldn’t leave the biggest game of the year over a fight with his father.

The police are slammed, facing both a potential terror attack and kidnapping. The kidnapping is no big surprise considering who Mungo’s father is; Kipp is a well-known and successful business. Anyone would go after him for his money, but they’d be sadly surprised to learn that Brown also has a massive gambling problem and little to no money to his name.

The ransom calls start coming in, and soon Detective Superintendent Roy Grace must step in to deter the terror attack and find Kipp’s son. The investigation leads him to a group of dangerous Albanian men who have made a life for themselves in England by killing anyone who gets in the way of their greedy quest for money, wealth and power. But where is Mungo? And will they get to him in time before he becomes another victim?

Analysis: A straight-up crime detective novel, Dead If You Don’t pulls no punches, getting right to the many tropes that make a crime novel a good one: lots of characters, winding and intertwined storylines, good guys and bad guys, unforeseen turns and short chapters with little cliffhangers that help move the story along quickly.

It didn’t, however, necessarily feel like Roy Grace was the main character of the story. I was more invested in Kipp Brown, his family and his financial stupidity — hoping and praying that he’d learn his lesson when it comes to money. To be fair, of all the officers, Roy Grace was the one whose name I knew the best; he was clearly the star of the unit and the man in charge, but his story was less compelling than some of the other characters in the book. Basic in its structure, but effective in its plotting, Dead If You Don’t was the perfect read if you’re in the mood for a quick and easy crime novel.

MVP: Roy Grace, for the sole reason that he saves the day and Kipp Brown never quite lives up to his full potential.

Get Dead If You Don’t in paperback now for $14.35.

Or on your Kindle for $7.99.

Movie vs. Book: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

There’s nothing like a sweet teen romance, especially when it involves the uncool girl getting the cool guy. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before fits this trope in a romantic, whimsical way while still remaining current and modern. Lara Jean, the hopeless romantic, always likes the boys she can’t have. To move on from them, she writes them letters that she has no intention of sending and hides them in a hat box in her bedroom. But when she upsets her little sister, her sister mails the letters, leading to the completely horrifying moment — especially for a 16-year-old girl — when all of your crushes past and present realize you’re in love with them.

In Lara Jean’s case, one of those boys includes the most popular guy in school, Peter Kavinsky. One of the others is her next door neighbor, Josh, who also just so happened to have broken up with her older sister after two years of dating. And so enters the love triangle.

In an unexpected twist, Lara Jean and Peter Kavinksy decide to fake date each other in order to make their “real” crushes jealous. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is essentially the plot of the 1990’s teen movie, Drive Me Crazy.

The movie version of To All the Boys (available on Netflix) follows the storyline of the book fairly well. But of course it makes a few changes — some for obvious dramatic flair and others that were surprising. For instance, in the book Lara Jean and Josh kiss, and when Lara Jean’s sister finds out, it results in a huge blowout. But the two never kiss in the movie. Maybe producers felt it was too harsh of her to have kissed her sister’s ex-boyfriend. Or maybe they thought it was a more streamlined story to document just one relationship and not a love triangle with a third party. Whatever the reason, it seemed odd to leave out the kiss since in the book, that really heightened the stakes.

The bigger change comes at the end of the movie. In both the book and the movie, a rumor circulates that Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky had sex on an overnight school ski trip. In both, it’s enough to shatter their fake-not-so-fake relationship. This takes Lara Jean on a journey to self-discovery in the novel, which ends more or less unresolved. The final pages are the beginning of another letter she starts to write to Peter Kavinsky. The book is obviously left open-ended to make way for the next novel in the series.

But in the movie, they up the ante. Not only is there a rumor that the two had sex; there’s also a “sex tape” that’s being shared among students at the school. The choice is understandable: it’s dramatic, forces Lara Jean to more quickly decide what she wants to do and leads to a happy, definitive ending. But it still felt like a bit much. Sure, explicit videos being shared among high school students is a modern problem that does, in fact, happen. But for a story that feels so innocent up until this moment, this movie felt out of place.

The good news, there are more books in the series and Netflix has already announced plans to make a second movie as well, so the story’s not done yet (and neither are my reviews of them).

Get To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before in paperback for $8.79. 

Or on your Kindle for $8.99.

Review: Ann M. Martin: The Story of the Author of the Baby-Sitters Club

Recap: Ann M. Martin is the brilliant creator and writer of The Baby-Sitters Club series that I binged ferociously throughout elementary school. I wanted friends like the girls in the club, and I wanted a side job like they had so I could make money to shop at Claire’s. Ann M. Martin was J.K. Rowling before J.K. Rowling. She was a badass woman who created an entire world of people and problems to which every kid could relate. Finally learning a little more about her as a person was exciting and interesting.

The book is a true biography of her life and climb to the top as a children’s author. It includes details of her family, her childhood, the fall that caused her to deal with lifelong pain and illness and how she started writing professionally. When you read her biography, it becomes clear why she wrote about what she wrote about. She always loved children, writing and babysitting. For most of her young life, she thought she would be a teacher, but things ultimately changed direction as they so often do.

It was also interesting, maybe not so surprising, and a little disappointing to learn that once the series became so popular, she wasn’t necessarily the author writing all The Baby-Sitters Club books.

Analysis: A little backstory on this: I received this book in the mail as a response to a fan letter I wrote to Ann M. Martin probably when I was about eight years old. Clearly, author meant for me to read it then, but I didn’t and it fell into the abyss of my childhood bedroom. I rediscovered the book several years ago when my family moved out of that house, so I finally decided to read it.

It was extremely thoroughly and painted a beautiful, wholesome picture of the woman who will always remain wholesome in my pain.

That said, I wish I’d read it when I was eight. Though her story was interesting, it was clearly written for kids. The writing is extremely basic, especially when compared to some of the other adult memoirs and biographies out there. (I mean hell, I read Ron Chernow’s Hamilton a few years ago.) But it is the perfect biography for children who probably love Ann M. Martin as much as they love her books.

‘Pretty Little Liars’ Author To Debut First Adult Fiction Novel

She’s already published dozens of books, had them adapted for television and became a huge bestseller, but now Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game author Sara Shepard is set to release her first adult fiction novel.

According to Entertainment Weekly, The Elizas is about a debut novelist (sound familiar?) named Eliza who claims she was pushed when she was found at the bottom of a hotel pool. Her family assumes it was just another failed suicide attempt. In an effort to prove them wrong, Eliza begins to investigate her own death and find that her life and character’s life are intertwining. Memory loss from the accident doesn’t help either.

Creepy, huh? Shepard knows a thing or two about creepy thrillers.

The Elizas is set to be released on April 17th. EW has an exclusive available excerpt now.