Fans love seeing their favorite books being adapted into movies and television shows. But not all adaptations are great. That is why we decided to list 11 book adaptations that were horrible. Keep reading to find out which adaptations made our list!
But as most fans know, the book is better than the movie. That is true for most books. Part of the reason for that could be that the source material had to be shrunk down or cut out. The problem is that the parts they cut out are central for the plot of the book.
Other times, the directors or the writers aren’t fans of the source material. Sometimes, they don’t even read the book or books. And that is evident when you watch the movie. Even when the author is involved, they don’t have that much say.
11 Book Adaptations That Were Downright Horrible
- The Maze Runner, The Maze Runner by James Dashner
- The Giver, The Giver by Lois Lowry
- Eragon, Eragon by Christopher Paolini
- The Dark Tower, The Dark Tower by Stephen King
- The Book Thief, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
- A Wrinkle in Time, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
- Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
- The Time Traveler’s Wife, The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
- The Lovely Bones, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
- The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Horrible Book Adaptations
The first book adaptation on our list is The Maze Runner. The movies were never as good as the books but that didn’t stop them from making sequels. Another adaptation that was bad was Eragon. It had the potential to be something great but it may have been adapted in the wrong era.
Seeing classics being butchered is one of the worst feelings. ever. Novels like The Book Thief and The Giver deserve great adaptations. But that was not meant to be. Even Percy Jackson has great potential, but it never lived up to it.
Conclusion
Wishing for your favorite novels to be adapted may not be the best idea. Or it may end up being one of the worst book adaptations of all time. What other book adaptations should have made this list? Let us know in the comments below!
Though I’ve read most of these books, I haven’t seen most of the film adaptations. I think someone warned me of the reviews ahead of time in a few cases.
I feel like most of the time the book adaptations are bad. Watch the movie first.
The recent BBC serial adaptation of ‘Great Expectations’ was a shocker. I don’t know what they were thinking, but Dickens was certainly turning in his grave.