What is the last book you read? Other than English class books, chances are it was “It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hoover, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” by Jenny Han or “Daisy Jones & the Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid. All these books share an origin: TikTok.
The term “Booktok” derives from the combination of the word “book” and the social media platform “TikTok,” as the app began as a haven for bookworms in 2019. An app that was once full of dances, lip-sync videos and vlogs opened up a nook for readers to engage in their favorite type of content: conversations about books. Influencers Kathy Ellen Davis and Cait Jacobs were the initial creators who drove the “Booktok” scene through less than 60-second reviews, commentaries and recommendations. Since then, creators Haley Pham and Kierra Lewis have continued to keep “Booktok” alive with consistent content and high engagement.
“Booktok” provided somewhat of a literature renaissance as it turned the art of reading, which was seen as mundane, into a healthy and productive activity that captivates its own aesthetic, inviting viewers to participate. Titles like “The Song of Achilles,” by Madeline Miller, “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Reid and “They Both Die at the End” by Adam Silvera became the most popular books in these past years, shaping a new age of readers. However, what comes with acclaim and popularity for an author also comes with another “make it or break it” decision: adaptations.
The ultimatum with book adaptations is how it will be received by the members of the audience who are already fans of the book. Books that go viral have a die-hard audience and a movement behind them. It is a struggle adapting novels to the audience’s appeal. Even recently, book-to-movie adaptations like “The Housemaid” and “It Ends with Us” were poorly received by viewers, and many fans are even begging for the book adaptations to stop. If a book is going to be adapted into a motion picture or television series, the adaptation needs to be a direct showcase of the writing of the book. A director or screenwriter cannot butcher the plot of the book for the “cinematic appeal,” as it upsets fans and devalues what the original story was.
The reason for this fan criticism is that adaptations do not give the fans what they want: an accurate adaptation. Each adaptation misses key plot points from the book to the movie, and it worsens the quality of the movie or series. The failure to capture the original storyline from page to screen is a disappointment for readers. For example, the movie “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief,” adapted from Rick Riordan’s book, was a massive disappointment to many fans as the movie removed the storyline of Ares, which was an integral part of the book, as it served as a plot catalyst for the main conflict. With this missing from the movie, fans could not help but question the plot rather than enjoy the movie.
It is true that, in the book-to-screen process, it is necessary for production companies to make multiple plot changes for the production. If a 300-page book is translated into a less than two-hour feature film, screenwriters and directors need to make cuts and keep what they interpret as needed on screen. This also allows more room for creative freedom for the director, writers, and actors, so that an entirely new story can be told. Despite that, this undermines fans’ expectations because they have the pre-conceived notion that the plot does not adhere to their standards, making the movie unappealing.
Time after time, fans have been disappointed by their favorite books being adapted into movies that do not hold up to the original standard. If a production company chooses to adapt a book, it must adhere to the original writing of the novel and stick to that for a script. If a book already has a fanbase, then large plot-cuts do not need to be made; fans want to sit through however long it takes to convey the author’s original message. If there is a need for those creative preferences from the director’s side, the movie should not be an adaptation but rather an “inspired by” movie, so fans are not led on and the movie has a chance to perform well against large fan bases.
“Booktok” continues to grow and promote titles and authors across all genres. With this, readers will see more of their favorite books not only trending on their “For You Page,” but also on a movie poster in front of a cinema. The question of which books need to be adapted versus others is up for debate, but it shows the strength of BookTok and how it promotes the reading and publishing industries.
