This is an idea that I've loved from the beginning but I've never really put much effort into making it happen. So when I lost my job and I had the spare time I decided its time to try it out and what better book to do it with than the Kissing Booth! I really did this backward because the first introduction to this book for me was the movie! I used to be one of those people who always had to read the book first or I refused to watch the movie. As I've gotten older this isn't always possible and there are times that I don't even look to see if the movie has a book it's based on nowadays. That's really what happened with this movie, I saw it on Netflix one day and decided to watch it! Now let me tell you I've been so obsessed with this movie since it came out! I really watch it all the time it's definitely one of my go-to movies when I can't find something to watch. I've been wanting to pick the book up for some time but I just haven't done it yet. I think I found it on sale during Christmas time and I've finally bought it last week. But I was really in the mood that I was going to buy this book regardless of the price and I'm so glad that I did. I jumped right into the book and I've devoured it! But it wasn't necessarily because it was a fantastic book and I just loved it!
Book vs Movie Thoughts
I should've done a review of just the book, but this thought didn't occur to me until I was almost done with the book! So let's pretend I've never seen the movie and this is the very first thing I have ever known about this book. I took notes all throughout this book which is something that I definitely need to integrate into my everyday reading. This is why I love using my Kindle because I can just note the book up and bookmark it and it doesn't mess the book up. So let's get back to the topic at hand!
The book had a lot of ups but also a lot of downs at least in my opinion. I really did fly through this book but I think that was mostly because of my little project that I had going with it. My biggest complaint with the book was that it was missing the comedy part of this story that the movie really added. The timeline of the book seemed so rushed because, in the beginning, we learn that the whole book was supposed to take place in just the spring semester of school! The book takes forever to explain what happened to Elle's mother and we don't have any moments with Lee's parents until Noah disappeared. The movie has them all involved more and we learn about Elle's mom so fast which is tragic but we aren't questioning what happened to her like we did in the book. The Kissing Booth was the dance club's (Elle and Lee) booth for the spring carnival. So if we take this little piece of information and throw it to the movie everything had to happen in just the ending of school, and the might've been what the movie was saying too but I just felt like it happened over a longer time because at the beginning of the movie Elle's pants issue happened on the first day of school! That's another example of a huge comedy moment in the movie! But in the book, we are left with her getting mad at Thomas for smacking her there and Noah getting ticked off and fighting with him. This scene was crazy in the movie. But the one thing that I wished the movie did during this scene that the book did was the fact that Elle was fighting back on her own and got mad at Noah for interfering with her for protecting her self. All of this info comes flying at you in the first couple of pages so I don't really see this much as a spoiler-y.
Another big thing that the book does that the movie doesn't expand on Elle, Lee, and Noah's relationship. We know from the movie that they all grew up together but other than the moments where Elle is finding Noah extremely attractive you don't see much interaction between the three of them. Which left me feeling like Lee was fine with how Elle felt towards Noah! Lee would make jokes about her crush on him all the time and the first two-thirds of the book Lee would do just that and really not care how Elle felt towards Noah. It wasn't until the final part of the book that Lee was mad at Elle and to me, it seemed like he was only mad at her because she didn't tell him that they were dating. If she would've been upfront and honest about her feelings about Noah along with their dating I think Lee would've been okay with it. But over in the book Elle and Lee had a bunch of rules that they made up while they were only kids. One of the rules was that you can't date the other's siblings. So right out the door, you can already see that Lee is not okay with Elle having any feelings towards Noah. You as the viewer cannot question how he would feel about Elle and Noah being together like I definitely did in the book.
As for characters the OMG girls didn't exist in the book. I don't think there was anyone that was flat out mean to Lee and Elle. There were girls who would always grab Elle and ask her what was going on every school scene and it got annoying so fast to the point that I wish there were just three girls who were the 'popular' girls who would've been jealous of Elle because of her connection to Noah. I wish Elle and Lee's little group was in the movie. In the movie it felt like the only two people they had were each other and it was so annoying to see that there was more to their group in the book. On one hand, I think it would've been nice to see them in a group but at the same time, I liked seeing how close the two were in the movie. I do wish Elle and Rachael had more of a friendship in the movie. Towards the end of the book, you saw the four really hang out and be friends. This would've been cool to see them come to the level of being able to hang out together. I want that in the second movie and somehow fit in the chocolate shop scene because I loved that!
So who one in my opinion? I have to admit that the movie was better than the movie! This is insane and something that never happens for me. I'm not sure if this result happened because I love the movie so much and I read the book after I watched the movie or what. This is something that never happens! I usually always love the book more because of the detail that gets left out in the movie is crazy. But I really think the comedy is where it went downhill for me because the comedy in the movie is what pulled me in and gets me rewatching it so much. I made a few little graphs to narrow down my thoughts a little bit because there was just so much going on in this project that I feel like I'm rambling just a little bit too much.
Book
|
|
Pros
|
Cons
|
1. You
really got to see more of Noah/Flynn’s feelings towards Elle in the book
2. There
was more parent involvement, at least on Elle’s dad perspective
3. You saw more of Elle and Noah’s relationship throughout the book. It wasn’t like they just kissed and bam they were a couple. He was very protective over Elle throughout the book and in the movie, he wasn’t as protective.
4. Elle’s costume at their birthday party was explained. It might have been robin in the movie but it didn’t look anything like robin and I love the idea of her and Lee matching costumes on their birthday!
5. The book was overall really fast-paced and an easy read
|
1. Elle
was so self-centered and she couldn’t decide on how she felt about Noah the whole entire time!
2. Lee
was completely fine with the fact that Elle had feelings for Noah and only started acting like that was an issue the last third of the book!
3. The
book only happened during the last half of school because it was the spring
festival that they had the Kissing Booth
4. Lee
and Noah’s parents were nowhere to be found in the majority of the book. They were having a party because they were gone, you never saw them except after Noah disappears! (Elle’s mom)
5. There were no dancing, no rules, and you really didn’t get to see Lee and Elle’s friendship
|
Movie
|
|
Pros
|
Cons
|
1. It
was a hilarious movie that was fast-paced and really kept you engaged
2. Elle
cared about Lee just as much as Noah if not more and you really saw her feelings evolve over time.
3. Elle’s back story is explained right at the beginning of the movie, especially what
happened to her mom
4. I
loved the timeline of the movie it seemed like it was spanned over the entire school year! You had people throwing fits over the Kissing Booth, the parties and school, and how can I not mention that prom! That was the best prom ever and I loved it so much!
5. At
the end of the movie during Elle’s monologue you come out thinking that Elle
has come out a better person and learned a huge life lesson
|
1. You
saw interactions between Elle and Noah but you didn’t see a lot compared to
what was in the book
2. I
hated how mean the OMG girls were to Lee just because he wasn’t Noah during
the Kissing Booth
3. Once
Elle and Noah’s relationship actually started it felt rushed and it was all just a bunch of scenes cut together. I wanted more of this forbidden love, like
the chocolate shop
4. I
wish Noah had more scenes to show that he wasn’t just a Violence Junkie
5. In
the movie it looked like Lee was Elle’s only friend and they were just
tagging along with Noah’s popularity but in the book, they were the people who were
just friends with everyone and it would’ve been nice to have that friend group
expanded a little bit
|
Top
5 Differences Between Book and Movie
|
||
Book
|
Movie
|
|
Lee
|
He acted like he
really didn’t care what happened between Elle and Noah. He was definitely
best friends with Elle but he was really off just doing his own thing the
whole entire time
Lee disappears
for most of the book because he gets his girlfriend really early and then
Elle is just off on her own with Noah.
|
I never had to
question how Lee fit into the story or how he felt about Noah and Elle. Even
after he got his girlfriend and he did disappear a little but I never had to
wonder how he would feel about Elle and Noah
|
Noah
|
Book
Noah was just as aggressive as the movie Noah but he showed his feelings towards Elle so much more. In a way, we saw his feelings towards her grow it wasn’t just something that just happened one day like it did in the movie. We also got to see how smart he was and he did have consequences of running away like he did. Another thing was Harvard he was questioning whether or not he
should go but Elle said no you are going.
|
I
don’t think movie Noah was as complex as book Noah. Movie Noah was the popular football guy that everyone found hot. The way he came out and told
Elle, she was the only one that was falling at his feet he found so attractive and annoying. I just miss the way she would call him cute all the time! But overall I wish we could’ve merged the two because I love movie Noah but I
would’ve loved to see this sensitive side too.
|
Elle
|
The most aggravating character in the book was Elle herself! One she couldn’t decide on how she felt. One moment she loved Noah but only as long as no one knew that she loved him. Two the fact that she lied and she didn’t even need too! Lee was mad at her for lying to him, everything could’ve been avoided if she would’ve just sat Lee down and told him what was going on. Elle was really just so freaking selfish in the book that I was screaming at the book because I was so mad at her!
HER
NAME ISN’T ELLE?!?! Elle was a nickname she goes by but Lee and Noah call her Shelly. It was a huge pet peeve while reading because Lee threw out
Shelly all the time!
|
I
loved the movie, Elle. She was one of my favorite characters! She was independent,
she was funny, and she went through so much but came out stronger. The book didn’t do Elle justice and I’m so glad that movie Elle was so much better! I
love at the end she says that she hopes her and Noah works out but if not that’s okay and it was crazy that everything happened because of the kissing booth!
I loved it!
|
The
Parents
|
We
see a lot of Elle’s dad in the book. He comes off more strict in the book but
at the same time as long as Elle does what he says she can pretty much do
whatever she wants as long as she does what her father tells her too such as
driving her brother's places.
It
takes forever for the book to explain what happens to Elle’s mom.
Another thing that drove me nuts in the book when it came to the parents was the fact
that Noah’s parents were always gone we don’t really see them until he runs away. One of the things that I love more in the book was how they sent
Noah off to school they were all there not just Elle which makes so much more
sense but I love how the movie ends.
|
We
get glimpses of the parents here and there throughout the movie. One of my favorite scenes is Elle hiding under the bed in Noah’s room and June (his mother) comes in the room to get his dirty clothes! Elle finds his stash and
June spills about her crush to Noah! This scene was so funny for so many different reasons! The book didn’t have comedy but it also didn’t have much of Noah’s parents.
|
Kissing
Booth
|
Everyone
thinks the Kissing Booth is a cool idea and they have no issue getting people to participate in the booth. So it was hard to believe when Elle gets thrown
out there since everyone was fine with doing the booth.
|
Elle
couldn’t get anyone to do the Kissing Booth until she lies about Noah being
in it, which causes all kinds of issues because the OMG girls were so mean to
Lee!
|
How
Lee Finds Out
|
As
much as the way Lee finds out in the movie annoys me to let me tell you the book version is way worse! Elle and Noah are at school and for some reason, they are in the parking lot and pretty much start making out because they were already late for school. The bell just rang! Lee sees them and starts
freaking out!
|
In
the movie Lee finds out by coming home one day and Noah is helping Elle after she fell down in the garage. He pretty much walks in on her kissing Noah which is a scene that drives me little nuts because it makes no sense to me. Lee walks in and asks if Noah hit Elle. Elle gets Lee to walk away and convinces him that nothing like that happened. Once he is gone Elle calms
Noah down and kisses him. Boom Lee walks in on them and gets mad and runs away! This was crazy why you would kiss him, Elle, if you knew Lee was there and how he felt.
|
Final Results
Overall I prefer the movie over the book. I loved the movie so much I really rewatch it all the time! It is one of my go-to movies! I'm kind of disappointed that the first book vs movie ended up being the movie winning but if it had to end this way I'm so glad that it was the Kissing Booth. I think the book cover might have been a prequel to the movie winning because I loved the movie book cover more than the actual book cover! Another fact that totally blows my mind because the movie covers always suck compared to book covers. I can't wait to watch the next movie but I don't think I'll read the next book. It was a rough read even though I devoured it. I definitely want to get a better format for this and any suggestions would definitely be appreciated. I know my rambling is getting annoying and that is definitely what happened here. I have a lot of these planned so I think should figure out a better format as I go. One format that I think will be better is to do the book review in one post and then the book vs movie in its own post. I think that format will make it a smaller post and maybe make these top differences, and pros and cons for both the movie and book. Anyway here is my aesthetic for this book that I've been working on. This is another thing that I want to get better at doing is making book aesthetics which is something that I was introduced to from Kayla over at Books and Lala! I love her and these things are so cool! She makes them for all of her books and I've been dying to make one I think it's fitting that this movie was the first to do this type of thing with and then the first book aesthetic I've ever made.
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