"I Forever Lament Its Loss In The Film Adaptation": 19 Book Adaptation Changes That Bothered And Bummed Out Fans

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A little while back, we asked the enthusiastic readers of the BuzzFeed Community about the changes made in book adaptations that provoked responses ranging from "mild frustration" to "I AM FILLED WITH INCANDESCENT RAGE." They were extremely generous with their responses, so here are 19 book adaptation plot changes that rankled viewers, even if they otherwise enjoyed the TV show or movie based on their beloved source material.

Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity. 

1."For me, it's when they change the location it's set in. Off the top of my head, I can think of The Girl on the Train (London to New York), Confessions of a Shopaholic (London to New York) and P.S. I Love You (Dublin to New York). These were all books I read and looked forward to seeing the adaptions of, but they lost something for me with the change of location. Not everything needs to be set in New York!"

Screenshot from "The Girl on the Train"
Universal / courtesy Everett Collection

2."I think it's a pity that The Hunger Games changed the appearance of wolf mutts (the ones that terrorize Katniss and Peeta toward the end). In the novel, they're a genetically enhanced hybrid of dogs and former tributes. This messes with Katniss's head because she can see former tributes' faces in the mutts, making her hesitate whether she should kill them. For some reason, the film chose to portray those mutts as generic monster dogs, with no trace of a tribute's face in them."

Screenshot from "The Hunger Games"
Lionsgate

3."In The Giver, when they made Jonas 17. He was 13 in the book. I suppose they did this to have the romance aspect added — which was also an awful and unneeded change — but it was more compelling how this society runs off the memories received by a literal child and how everyone else was given their fate at that age. This is not how it was done in the movie."

Screenshot from "The Giver"
Weinstein Company / Courtesy Everett Collection

4."I think I speak for the entire Twilight fandom when I say the fight scene in Breaking Dawn: Part 2 gave all of us a collective heart attack when we first viewed it."

Screenshot from "Breaking Dawn: Part 2"

5."Paper Towns, when they finally find Margo. In the book, it's more dramatic, and you fear the worst with all the clues she left, like you're not sure what they're going to find. In the movie, it was so anti-climactic and just fell flat. Actually, I think the whole movie fell flat compared to the book, but the end was just bad."

Screenshot from "Paper Towns"

6."The Hunger Games: Not having Peeta lose his leg. It explains why he is so slow in the second arena, and it was good representation."

Peeta in "Catching Fire"
Lionsgate / Courtesy Everett Collection

7."Okay, so I really liked the True Blood books, and the show changed absolutely loads in ways I didn't like. One specific thing, though: At the end of Season 1, Sookie gets rescued. In the books, she saves herself! That really annoyed me, and I fell off the show after that."

Screenshot from "True Blood"

8."The movie adaptation of The Other Boleyn Girl was horrendous. The casting and costumes were great, but the script featured so many changes that it felt absolutely nothing like the book. Even the way the scenes were cut was abrupt and jarring. Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn shaking and sobbing before her execution was so bizarre considering that in the book she was resigned to her fate and walked out with her head held high."

Screenshot from "The Other Boleyn Girl"

"Also, the book is supposed to be about the OTHER Boleyn girl, Mary, and the movie really didn't focus on her at all."

—Anonymous, 33, Louisiana

Focus Features / Courtesy Everett Collection

9."Definitely have to say the fate of the Elder Wand in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In the book, Harry decides to use the Elder Wand only once: To repair his own broken wand, before returning it to Dumbledore’s tomb. This way, when he dies, the wand’s power will die with him. It is an extremely noble and selfless act, showing he doesn’t want that kind of power and just wants to be Harry Potter. You’d think such a powerful decision would make it into the movie, right? WRONG! What does he do instead? He breaks it and throws it off the bridge at Hogwarts. *Face palm* This bothered me so much when I saw it in theaters."

Screenshot from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2"

10."In The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Charlie is supposed to run into Susan at the mall, and he has a breakdown and asks if she even misses Michael. I thought Logan Lerman would’ve crushed that scene, but it never happened"

Screenshot from "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"
Summit Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection

11."In Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, they switched Emma and Olive's characters, changing Emma from a fierce firebrand (literally) who could stand on her own into a wispy, more 'traditionally feminine' love interest. They also increased Olive's age so that she could also be turned into a love interest. There was no reason for these changes to be made. They did nothing to serve the adaptation or enhance the story, and in fact reduced two excellent female characters to nothing but romantic objects for male characters who were seen as 'more important.'"

Screenshot from "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children"
20th Century Fox / courtesy Everett Collection

12."The love triangle in Season 2 of Bridgerton ruined it for me. In the books, Edwina has no real interest in Anthony — she's actually interested in someone else — and the sisters are so devoted to each other. The story in the book is really, really good, and the show isn't bad, but it didn't tell that story."

Screenshot from "Bridgerton"
Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection

13."A lot about the Percy Jackson movie adaptations bothers me, but the most annoying to me was how they don't even mention Clarisse in The Lightning Thief."

Screenshot from "The Lightning Thief"

—Anonymous, 21, Washington D.C.

20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection

14."Shadow and Bone: In the books, the Darkling doesn’t reveal his true name to Alina until the third book in a very raw, honest moment between the two of them. It’s very powerful and humanizes him after all they’ve gone through. In the show, he just throws out his name randomly in, like, the fourth episode of Season 1. It bothered me so much because that reveal was such a big deal in the books."

Screenshot from "Shadow and Bone"
Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

15."In the Hunger Games film adaptations, they completely ERASED the storyline of the origins of the mockingjay pin. I can usually forgive most changes when books go to film, but this one was unforgivable. As the symbol of the revolution, the mockingjay pin deserved far better in its storytelling. If I remember correctly, it was given to Katniss after she was picked at the Reaping by the daughter of the District 12 mayor. It was such a small but powerful moment, and I forever lament its loss in the film adaptation."

Screenshot from "The Hunger Games"

—Anonymous, 22, Georgia

Lionsgate

16."The way the Game of Thrones adaptation did Ellaria Sand dirty. In the books, she's the only pacifist in Westeros. She wants revenge for Oberyn's death, but she doesn't want to start a war over it. Ellaria fears where it may end, and she explicitly doesn't want to risk her own children or her stepdaughter's lives. In general, so far, the Martell family and the people of Dorne seem to be the most wholesome, minding their own business and genuinely caring for each other (even though you never know what George R. R. Martin has in store for them). In the series, Ellaria is a crazy and murderous harpy caring for no one. It really bothers me because she's one of my favorite characters in the books, and I really admire her view on things."

Screenshot from "Game of Thrones"

17."The entirety of Ella Enchanted. That movie absolutely ruined my all-time favorite book. Worst offenses: Ella constantly being rescued by Prince Char instead of saving herself, the elves being medieval showgirls for some reason, Char having an evil uncle instead of a loving family, Mandy being a bumbling, insecure fool rather than a wise, supportive friend, the magic book being a person for some reason and only able to do a fraction of what it does in the book, and the setting being some sort of weird, fake Ren Fair place (with malls and escalators and fan clubs) instead of just regular medieval. And those are just the broad strokes of what they changed."

Screenshot from "Ella Enchanted"
Miramax / Courtesy Everett Collection

18."I loveee the book Where the Crawdads Sing. I was really disappointed in how the movie adaptation pretty much skipped the entire trial. I would have loved to see the investigation and proof they presented at the trial in the book on the big screen."

Screenshot from "Where the Crawdads Sing"

—Anonymous, 29, Kentucky

Sony Pictures Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection

19.And finally, the change that upset the most readers, based on my informal survey of responses: "My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. In the book, Anna dies, and Campbell decides that Kate gets the kidney. In the movie, Kate dies."

Screenshot from "My Sister's Keeper"