I really like what you said about the difference between the focuses of the movie and the book. It's true that the fear for Margo's life almost went unmentioned in the movies, whereas it was a constant pressure in the book. I will definitely keep this in mind when I read the book again.P_hernandez wrote:I loved the book. The book spoke to me based on the clues and all the scavenger hunts around the town. And the poetry. And the fact that driving them in their quest was the threat of death. I was disappointed in the movie when the focus was taken off of the possibility of an impending death and placed more on growing up around this vacancy left by someone else's choices. John greens wit and excellent writing carried through from the book to the movie, though, and the characters never wavered from page to screen. It was a good movie, just not what I expected.
That said, I enjoyed the movie a lot as I thought the casting was done terrifically. When I watch a movie based on a book, I don't want it to be an exact translation onto the screen, as that's simply impossible. I think seeing a different medium explore different aspects of a story is a valuable reason to adapt a book in the first place. There were moments that more time could have been spent on, like the treasure hunting bits, but I think overall the spirit of the book was captured pretty well.