Author: Jesse Andrews
Publication Date: March 1st, 2012
Release Date: July 1st, 2015
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Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment. He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics.
Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.
Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—-cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—-but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.
And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight.
Review
Characters1. Movie Greg is more likeable than book Greg
The representation of movie Greg is somewhat accurate to book Greg but his personality is a lot more likeable and relatable in the movie. I could empathise with his insecurities and struggles and appreciated the friendship he tried to build with Rachel. In the book, Greg's reaction and actions to the situation he has to encounter is a lot more realistic though. I could definitely understand why he felt the way he did even though he did come across as a lot more mean and selfish.
2. Earl is my favourite character!
Earl has a lot more character depth than anyone else in the book, and his backstory makes him a lot more realistic. Movie Earl is a lot more involved in the story than book Earl - his friendship with Greg is a lot more obvious and I could see that he cared for him. His story is a lot more fleshed out as well, which meant that I could see some type of character arc. He was real and straight to the point, what I liked about him.
Plot
1. Shared the same meaning
Both the movie and the book conveyed the same meaning around friendship, trust, life and death etc. It was a bittersweet feeling but I did find myself just a bit sadder whilst watching the movie.
2. Realistic plot progression and story arc
I think that's what I liked most about the storyline. The fact that it developed at a good, realistic pace and there wasn't forced troupes that can make the plot a cliche/stereotype. I think the book did this a bit better than the movie because the movie had a time constraint to deliver everything they had to. I'm glad the movie incorporated most of the book plot, with a few tweaks, but didn't change my enjoyment for it.
Overall
I would say I liked the movie more because I appreciated being able to watch the story visually play out in front of me. They both had different plot developments, which I enjoyed, but it was easier to process the story whilst watching and was a lot more impactful in the short time frame.
Book Rating
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