Book VS. Movie: The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants

10 Facts of Difference:
1. In the book, the girls are fifteen entering the summer before their sixteenth birthdays. In the movie, the girls are already sixteen years old.

2. Bridget has a twin bother, Perry, in the book that is left out of the movie. Lena also has a younger sister, Effie, who is left out as well (although the producers actually included her in the second movie, which I thought was strange).

3. In the movie, the Tibby/Baily relationship begins when Tibby accompanies Bailey to the hospital after she faints in Wallman’s, which she does not do in the book. Tibby even goes to Bailey’s house afterward. In the movie, the Tibby/Bailey relationship truly begins when Bailey comes to Tibby’s house claiming that the Pants have been delivered to her house by mistake.

4. In the book, Lena’s grandmother adores Kostos and immediately tries to set him and Lena up the day she arrives in Greece. Lena is absolutely disgusted by her grandmother’s intentions and so Lena tries to look extra unattractive for Kostos to prove to her grandmother that she has no interest in a summer romance. However, in the movie, Lena’s grandmother hates Kostos and tells Lena that she should have nothing to do with him for controversy between their families.

5. In the book, Lena is spied on by Kostos while she is skinny dipping in a local secluded lake area (well she thought so anyway). She gets so angry at him that she doesn’t take the time to dress herself correctly upon leaving and tells her grandmother that “Kostos is NOT a nice boy”. Lena’s grandmother is then given reason to believe that Kostos has violated Lena causing a severe fude between Lena’s grandfather and Kostos’s grandfather. This never happens in the movie since the Kostos/Lena plot is completely different.

6. In the book, Eric is a handsome Mexican man instead of the blonde American he is portrayed as in the movie. And Brian is a mossy-haired geek boy in the book rather than an Asian like in the movie.

7. In the book, Tibby and Carmen meet Lena and Effie at the airport when they return from Greece, and Lena immediately discuses what has happened to Bridget at camp and how she is aching for someone to come down and be by her side. Carmen, Tibby, and Effie all agree that Lena should use the last of her and her sister’s traveling money to fly to Bridget’s camp ground in Mexico. In the movie, Bridget is already home and accompanies Carmen and Tibby to the airport to meet Lena when she returns home from Greece. Bridget has also already sorted out all the problems she has been having at camp by this point in the movie.

8. Tibby goes through a deep depression in the book over Bailey long after she is gone. She can’t eat, sleep, or do anything she used to do. All she can do is watch Oprah and ignore the rest of the spinning world. In the movie, Tibby bounces back pretty quickly and is back to normal in a much shorter period of time.

9. In the book, Carmen finds The Pants in a thrift store when she goes shopping with Lena. It was Lena’s idea to go in the thrift store in the first place and Carmen didn’t really want to go, so Carmen solely buys a pair of jeans atop the checkout counter (The Pants) just to feel that she went with Lena to the store for a purpose. After the pants have been purchased, she throws them in the back of her closet in attempt to forget them. Much later when she is cleaning out her closet, Carmen sit’s the pants aside with other objects she plans to get rid of. When Tibby sees the pants in Carmen’s “get rid of” pile and wants them is when the four girls develop an interest in The Pants and discover their magic. In the movie, the pants are discovered in a vintage store the day the four plan to depart on their individual summer adventures.

10. In the movie, all four girls of the Sisterhood accompany Carmen to her father’s wedding, but in the book it is just Carmen who goes. Lena has gone to Mexico to be with Bridget, and Tibby has decided to face her sadness of Bailey during that time in the book.


VS. Review:
Because The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants is hands down my favorite series and book of all time, that makes this review a little tougher. In all honesty, the movie and the book are so completely different that it is hard to even compare them because they are almost like two entirely separate stories with the same exact themes, if that makes sense. Within each individual girl’s story, I would have to say that Carmen’s story in the movie is most exact to the one in the book. And if you haven’t guessed by the ten facts above, in the movie, Lena’s story was completely and totally different from her story in the book. In fact, the first time you see the movie after reading the book, Lena’s story is so ridiculously different, it kind of makes you mad and takes time to grow on you to the point where you appreciate it as much as you appreciate the book’s story. But don’t let that keep you from watching the movie. I love the movie because I absolutely love the atmosphere of the movie. Now the atmosphere in the movie was perfection. It was just like the book; very emotional, relatable, and hopeful. There are so many details from the book that have been left out of the movie, it’s hard not to be a little critical, but even so I think that the movie is great the way it is. The first time I saw the movie, I was a really pretty shocked by some of the abrupt changes made to the story compared to those of the stories in the book. But I really did end up loving, enjoying, and watching the movie over and over again much like I love and enjoy reading the book over and over again. I think if you’re a true sisterhood fan, you will really like, if not love, the movie. If you haven’t seen the movie yet and have read the book, I hope these factors will help you to go in with an open mind and know a little bit of what to expect. I truly love both the movie and the book.

Fat Cat by Robin Brande

Plot:
Cat smart, sassy, and funny—but thin, she’s not. Until her class science project. That’s when she winds up doing an experiment—on herself. Before she knows it, Cat is living—and eating—like the hominids, our earliest human ancestors. True, no chips or TV is a bummer and no car is a pain, but healthful eating and walking everywhere do have their benefits.

As the pounds drop off, the guys pile on. All this newfound male attention is enough to drive a girl crazy! If only she weren’t too busy hating Matt McKinney to notice. . . .

This funny and thoughtful novel explores how girls feel about their bodies, and the ways they can best take care of their most precious resource: themselves.

Review:
Fat Cat was one of the more thoroughly thought out books I’ve ever read. No questions went unanswered or unnoticed. On top of that it had some really funny moments where I actually laughed out loud. The one flaw that the book had was the character of Cat’s best friend, Amanda. I found Amanda's old world attitude that a girl HAS to have a boyfriend to be a little obnoxious and annoying. There were times when I just wanted to tell her “Shut up!” and other times I thought, “Why is Cat even friends with her?”. I wish I would have liked Amanda’s role as the best friend more than I did. But really, that was the only thing about the book I thought could have been better and why I did not give this novel a straight 5 stars. The romance aspects of the story were great because they weren’t cliché or cheesy at all. They were actually quite comical and opposite of what you’d expect. I especially loved the books acknowledgement of the vegetarian lifestyle and the various ways everyone can change the way they take care of themselves. Fat Cat is definitely a novel that makes you think and may even be a little convincing when it comes to influencing you to kick at least some of your bad habits.

Rating:
4.5
Read again?
Most likely.

Update 12/7/09

I have a special announcement! If you don't already know, I have an Etsy shop where I sell lots of unique plushies I make. The characters are often from books, popular stories, various foods, and loved objects. I am proud to announce that I am adding a plush book series to this. My goal is to creat dolls of the girls from The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants as well as Plush Books to accent your bookshelf with. There will be lots of cool things to choose from. I would also like to make Bethafauna's 64th Shelf notebooks and t-shirts as well, but I'm still experimenting with that so we'll see how it all turns out. Stay tuned and thanks for reading my blog! My gratitude goes out to each of you.

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Plot:
Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl's castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there's far more to Howl-and herself-than first meets the eye.

Review:
This book took me by surprise. I’d seen the Hayao Miyazaki movie first so I kind of knew what to expect in a way, but I have to admit that the book was WAAAY more thorough. The twists and turns were actually much more interesting and the time-traveling aspects kept me on my toes. It was definitely one of those stories where you read a chapter, put the book down, think about what you just read, and go “Oh!..OHH!!! Oh wow!! I get it now! That’s crazy!!!” A lot of the dots get connected by bits and pieces throughout and the best part is that you’re never expecting them. Howl’s Moving Castle is an adventure and a twisty one at that. If you like modernized, old English novels, with lots of mystery, magic, and adventure, you will LOVE this book. Fantastic, hands down.

Rating:
4.5
Read again?
Possibly

Update 8/22/09

Hey everyone! I just wanted to let everyone know that I have some new reviews in the works as well as some comparisons. A contest is also in the making, but that's still on the to do list somewhat. Don't worry. I'll have some new and exciting posts soon enough. Thanks for following and I hope to continue to bring great blogs to this page. =]

Though we're far apart you're always in my heart. I <3 you MJ!

I literally cried all night and for days after when I found out Michael had passed away. MJ pretty much defines my childhood. Everything I remember from when I was little has some source of Michael and his music in it. I was born in 90' and can honestly say that he was definitely the first singer I ever knew. There are so many memories involving him and my childhood that I feel it would take up the pages of an entire book to name them all so I'll name some of my favorites. I remember being four years old and standing in front of the tv for hours, watching videos of MJ that my mom had recorded onto a tape. My favorite song of Michael's is Heal The World and I truly remember, as a four-year-old child, watching a video of him and many, many children singing it at a stadium together, wishing I could have been there and been one of the kids. Later I found out that it was a halftime performance he did at one of the NFL Superbowls. Also, one of my very, very absolute earliest memories is as a toddler (I must have been 2 or 3) watching the beginning of Thriller and crying because it scared me. I probably remember it so well because of the amount of times I watched the video later on in my childhood. And finally, one of my funniest memories is this: My sisters and I all idolized MJ. So one of my older sisters came up with this story when I ask her if I could sleep in her room one night. She said, "You can, but I just want you to know that Michael Jackson hides in my closet at night in his Thriller outfit." Partially thrilled & partially confused I said, "Well that's kind of cool. I mean then we'll actually get to meet him!" She said, "No, he's a zombie in there. He'll turn you into one too just like those others turn him into one in the video." Hahaha I must have been 5 and my sister 9. Then what's even funnier is that a few months later she told me, "Ya know that song In The Closet? Well he wrote that about my closet and how he hides in it!" Hahahaha I have so many heartwarming memories of MJ, they always are there to make me smile. I know his childhood was not the best so I just want to thank him for making mine so wonderful. Thank you Michael. You are more than the King of Pop, but the King of Entertainment, Giving, Love, and Selflessness. I love you and will miss you always.

Love, Bethany

Book VS. Movie: A Little Princess

10 Facts of Difference:

1. The movie takes place in 1914 during WWI, but the book was written in 1905 before the war. Therefore, war is not the reason for Sara's father's departure in the book.

2. Sara goes to school in Paris in the book & New York in the movie.

3. Sara is a rather unusual looking child in the book with thick black hair and piercing green eyes. In the movie, Sara is a very pretty little girl with curled light brown hair, although her eyes are correct.

4. In the book, Sara's room and wealth is much more apparent than in the movie. She has not only a bedroom, but a sitting room, personal maid, and personal horse and carriage. In the movie Sara only has a spectacular bedroom.

5. Lavinia is four years older than Sara in the book. The movie shows that Lavinia and Sara are both the same age.

6. In the book, Becky's english is very poor and very broken. In the book she speaks correctly and clearly without any sort of accent.

7. The one scene in the movie that is exact to the chapter it is based off of in the book is the scene where Miss Minchin discontinues Sara's eleventh birthday to tell her of her father's death.

8. Sara is a maid at the school for five years before the truth is discovered. Plus, the magic food and furnishings in the attic take a very long process in the book and are present for months, not just one day as portrayed in the movie.

9. The movie expresses the loss Sara feels towards her deceased mother, especially when it comes to her mother's locket. In the book, there is no locket and Sara describes how she feels no real loss towards her mother because she had never known her so she has no reason.

10. In the movie, everyone (except a select few) refer to Sara as Princess. In the book, though many still refer to Sara as Princess, Lottie refers to Sara as Mother because of the constant comfort and support she gives her when she feels saddened by the loss of her real mother.

VS. Review:

In each form (book and movie) A Little Princess is a favorite of mine. I guess the biggest differences between the book and the movie are the endings, length of time the whole story takes (which is short in the movie and years long in the book), and the decade in which the story lives in. Like in all adapted movies, there are quite a few minor details and side story lines left untold that are told in the book, but that's usually what's expected, isn't it? I have rarely come across a movie that is exact to the book. There have only been a couple times. Which do I like better? It's hard to answer since the stories seem quite different to me in many ways. I am more use to the movie since I saw it before reading the book but there are different sequences of the story I like in each. I like the movie's ending better, but I like how the magic in the book is more thoroughly explained, and what I mean by that is that it makes more since. In the end, I would probably have to purpose a fifty/fifty on this one. Genuinely. I highly encourage all to participate in both forms of this story though. It is really quite fantastic in either form.