Within six months, book series grew by 567% after the release of their TV show adaptations in 2020-2021, according to Booknet Canada. Many of these adaptations have gone on to become award winning shows, leading to a growth in the fandoms. 

Percy Jackson & the Olympians

A five-part book series written from 2005-2009 by author Rick Riordan, “Percy Jackson & the Olympians” follows the protagonist Percy Jackson as he attempts to defeat various enemies and monsters from Greek mythology. Since the book’s release, this series had two movies created in 2010 and 2013 along with the release of an ongoing TV show that started streaming on Disney+ and Hulu in December of 2023 with a rating of TV-PG.

“I think the original episode was pretty close to the first couple chapters from the book,” English teacher Tatiana Kinsel said. “It was very different from the movie which was good; they added too much in the first movie. In the book, you’re always based on description, which is good, that’s what a book is supposed to do. But there’s that old saying that, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ and I really liked the way that the show portrayed the characters and the Greek monsters.

According to Metacritic, the first Percy Jackson movie, “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief,” received mixed feelings by audiences. The majority of the viewers found it mediocre or bad, often noting that the movie was inaccurate compared to the books and ignored the source material. The TV show, however, was received positively by most viewers, according to Metacritic. Many commented on how precise it was and how it honored the books. 

“Every time I think about the TV show and the book, I’m also comparing it to the movie that came out many years ago,” Kinsel said. “The movie said, ‘we’re gonna make this our way despite what the book is for.’ Whereas, I think this TV show is saying this is for the people that loved the books. They are respecting the book, regardless of what they change.”

Gossip Girl

The 14-part book series “Gossip Girl” was written by Cecily von Ziegesar from 2002 to 2011. The main characters Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf are frenemies, and the story follows rich wealthy teens whose scandals are being exposed by an anonymous blogger. The TV show “Gossip Girl” streamed on Netflix with six seasons ranging from 2007 to 2012 and a rating of TV-14. From 2021 to 2023 HBO Max streamed a reboot of “Gossip Girl” with a rating of TV-MA. 

“I like how entertaining it is,” junior Sanjana Vasireddy said. “They’re all teenagers so that makes it easy to watch but also it’s just so interesting. There’s always something new happening every episode, and I like shows like that instead of there being one thing throughout the whole season.”

According to Screen Rants, many changes were made in the TV show, ranging from the main character’s love life to completely different plot lines. Despite that, fans like Vasireddy have not been deterred from an interest in getting into the book series. 

“I’ve heard that the books are very different from the show,” Vasireddy said. “I’m not a big reader, but if I were to read something it would be Gossip Girl. I like reading something already knowing an overview about it. It makes it easier to follow along.”

Bridgerton

Each book of the eight-part book series written by Julia Quinn from 2000 to 2006, “Bridgerton” follows the perspective of one of the eight Bridgerton siblings. The TV show adaptation streams on Netflix with four seasons and a rating of TV-MA. According to Netflix, the first part of season four was ranked #1 on Netflix’s top 10 list with 23.4 million views in one week, with seasons one and three also making the top ten list.

“What drew me in was the setting, mainly because I like history myself, and also my sister dragged me into it,” sophomore Rene Goswani said. “I liked the plots. They kind of ragebait me with the characters, but besides that it is the plot and how funny the characters are.”

According to Julia Quinn’s website, more than 20 million copies of the series have been sold in the United States. Fans like Goswani, who have purchased and read these books, discover contrasts between the original and its screen adaptation. Some notable ones, according to Women’s Weekly, is the representation and inclusion of diversity such as getting people of color and of queer identity to play main characters.

“For the book, I feel like they’ve gone into more descriptions vividly, while in the show, they just kind of made it in the background, so I feel more connected to the book than I did with the show,” Goswami said. “The TV show has more imagery because you watch it than the book. Also, when a book describes the characters, you don’t think of the actors that they’ve cast. I thought of a lot of the characters completely different.”