Here's What 20 Popular YA Book Characters Look Like Based On Their Book Descriptions Vs. How They Looked In The Movies
Have you ever been super excited to hear that your favorite book is finally being turned into a movie, only to get a glimpse of the characters on screen and see they're nothing like you imagined in your head?
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Sorry, but the character in my head is right, casting directors are wrong. 🤷🏻♀️
Well, we used AI to take 20 popular YA characters from the page to your phone screen, so we could see what they'd look like IRL based on their descriptions in the books. Using Artbreader, we combined preexisting faces that resembled the characters, then added specific traits to get them juuuust right (or, at least, as accurate as possible).
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Finally, we compared them to the actors who played them in the film/TV adaptations. Some were great and some...well...left something to be desired. Without further ado, take a look at all 20 of them for yourself:
1.Here's Lara Jean Covey as described in the To All the Boys I've Loved Before books:
She's described as having long black hair and dark eyes. Lara's mother is Korean and her father is white, but she's described as looking more like her mother than her sisters do. She's 16 years old in the first book.
Here's Lara Jean Covey as played by Lana Condor:
And here's the two of them side by side:
2.Here's Peter Kavinsky as described in the To All the Boys I've Loved Before books:
He's described as being tall, athletic, and a "cardboard cutout of a 'cool guy' in a movie about high school." Lara described his look as that of a "Handsome Boy from a different time...handsome enough for a girl to wait years for him to come back from war." He's in the same year of high school as Lara Jean, so he's also 16 or 17 years old.
Here's Peter Kavinsky as played by Noah Centineo:
And here's the two of them side by side:
3.Here's John Ambrose McClaren as described in the To All the Boys I've Loved Before books:
Lara Jean describes him by saying, "With his fair hair and milky skin and rosy cheeks, he looks like he could be an English farmer's son. But he's slim, so maybe the sensitive farmer's son who steals away to the barn to read." He's 17 years old in the second book, in which he appears.
Here's John Ambrose McClaren as played by Jordan Fisher:
And here's the two of them side by side:
4.Here's Hazel Grace Lancaster as described in The Fault in Our Stars:
She is described as having green eyes, dark brown hair, a pageboy-like haircut, and "chipmunk cheeks." She's 16 years old.
Here's Hazel Grace Lancaster as played by Shailene Woodley:
And here's the two of them side by side:
5.Here's Augustus Waters as described in The Fault in Our Stars:
He's described as having blue eyes, mahogany hair, and having a well-built body from his basketball days. He's 17 years old.
Here's Augustus Waters as played by Ansel Elgort:
And here's the two of them side by side:
6.Here's Beatrice "Tris" Prior as described in the Divergent books:
She described herself as having "a narrow face, wide, round eyes, and a long, thin nose." She has blue gray eyes, blonde hair, and striking features she felt as though she'd not yet grown into. She's also often described as bird-like. In the first book, she is 16 years old.
Here's Beatrice "Tris" Prior as played by Shailene Woodley:
And here's the two of them side by side:
7.Here's Tobias "Four" Eaton as described in the Divergent books:
He's described as being tall — around 6 feet — with short brown hair, blue eyes, and long eyelashes. He has a thin upper lip and a fuller lower lip, like his mother. He's fit, muscular, slightly tan, and has an intimidating face. He's 18 years old in the first book.
Here's Tobias "Four" Eaton as played by Theo James:
And here's the two of them side by side:
8.Here's Percy Jackson as described in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians books:
He's described as having beachy, jet black hair, sea-green eyes, a tanned, Mediterranean skin tone, and the smile of a troublemaker. He's about 12 years old in the first book of the series.
Here's Percy Jackson as played by Logan Lerman:
And here's the two of them side by side:
9.Here's Annabeth Chase as described in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians books:
Percy described Annabeth as "probably my age, maybe a couple of inches taller, and a whole lot more athletic looking. With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except her eyes ruined the image. They were startling gray, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she were analyzing the best way to take me down in a fight." She's about 12 years old in the first book.
Here's Annabeth Chase as played by Alexandra Daddario:
And here's the two of them side by side:
10.Here's Grover Underwood as described in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians books:
He's described as a tall satyr with a head of curly brown hair, a brown beard, and brown eyes. He has small horns and goat legs. He's 28 years old in the first book, but he's still in the sixth grade with the others because "satyrs mature half as fast as humans."
Here's Grover Underwood as played by Brandon T. Jackson:
And here's the two of them side by side:
11.Here's Clary Fray as described in The Mortal Instruments books:
She's described having green eyes, curly, carrot-colored hair, freckles, and being short and slender. She's 15 years old in the first book.
Here's Clary Fray as played by Lily Collins:
Here's Clary Fray as played by Katherine McNamara:
And here's the three of them side by side:
12.Here's Jace Wayland as described in The Mortal Instruments books:
He's described as having curly blond hair, tawny, amber eyes, long eyelashes, and being slim but muscular. He's tall — almost 6 feet — and is known for being good-looking. He's 16 years old in the first book, almost 17.
Here's Jace Wayland as played by Jamie Campbell Bower:
Here's Jace Wayland as played by Dominic Sherwood:
And here's the three of them side by side:
13.Here's Magnus Bane as described in The Mortal Instruments books:
He's described as having brown skin, high checkbones, black hair, and slanted green/gold eyes that have "vertical slit pupils, like a cat's." He's Asian, young looking (he's 400 years old but stopped aging at 19), tall, and lean.
Here's Magnus Bane as played by Godfrey Gao:
Here's Magnus Bane as played by Harry Shum Jr.:
And here's the three of them side by side:
14.Here's Simon Spier as described in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda:
He's described as having blonde hair, gray eyes, and glasses that make him look like Harry Potter. He's 16 years old.
Here's Simon Spier as played by Nick Robinson:
And here's the two of them side by side:
15.Here's Blue/Bram Greenfeld as described in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda:
He's described by Simon as having "expressive brown eyes, light brown skin, soft dark curls and cute, knobbly hands."
Here's Blue/Bram Greenfeld as played by Keiynan Lonsdale:
And here's the two of them side by side:
16.Here's Alina Starkov as described in the Shadow & Bone books:
As a child, she was described as being "pale and sour, like a glass of milk that's turned." She's skinny, has "dull" brown hair, shadows under her eyes, and "sallow skin." After coming into her powers, she becomes healthier, her hair grows thicker, and her skin gets tanner. She's 17 years old in the first book.
Here's Alina Starkov as played by Jessie Mei Li:
And here's the two of them side by side:
17.Here's Kaz Brekker as described in the Shadow & Bone books:
He's described as having pale skin, a sharp jaw, a narrow face, and dark hair that's trimmed shorter on the sides. In Six of Crows, Inej describes his eyes as "the color of strong tea." He's thin but muscular and is 17 years old.
Here's Kaz Brekker as played by Freddy Carter:
And here's the two of them side by side:
18.Here's General Kirigan/The Darkling as described in the Shadow & Bone books:
He's described by Alina as having a "sharp, beautiful face, a shock of thick black hair, and clear gray eyes that glimmered like quartz." He's at least 400 years old, but Alina says he doesn't look much older than she does.
Here's General Kirigan/The Darkling as played by Ben Barnes:
And here's the two of them side by side:
19.Here's Thomas as described in The Maze Runner books:
He's described as having sandy brown hair and we're told that he looks 16 years old, though he says he feels much older.
Here's Thomas as played by Dylan O'Brien:
And here's the two of them side by side:
20.Here's Teresa Agness as described in The Maze Runner books:
She's described by Thomas as having "stark black" hair, white skin "pale as pearls," and blue eyes. He says she looks like she could be 15 or 16 years old.
Here's Teresa Agness as played by Kaya Scodelario:
And here's the two of them side by side:
