I saw this tag post floating around various different blogs and Youtube channels and thought that it was quite interesting and unlike any other that I'd seen before. When I review books, I often outline how I'd like them to change or what I feel would've worked better if it was altered. This tag is a way of summarising all of this and telling you some of my top picks when it comes to changing book series. From characters that should've met different fates and books that should've ended sooner, I really have covered it all!
Totally Should've Gotten a Sequel - This was a difficult one to choose, as I haven't read many stand-alone books and I often prefer to invest myself in a series of events and characters. However, the Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbovsky was my pick for this, simply because it ended with much more potential for exploring and developing the events. I became really invested in Charlie, Sam and Patrick whilst reading and thought that their stories shouldn't have been cut short at the end of the novel. There's also the possibility of writing a sequel from the POV of the person receiving the letters, which would definitely have proved to be an interesting twist.
Totally Should've Gotten a Spinoff Series - I'd definitely love a spinoff of the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman as I feel as though the world that he created has lots of potential and I'd love to see other characters face it or experience adventures similar to those of Lyra and Will. There's so much more which could be covered, ranging from the detailed history to the geographical presence of the different worlds, which I'd love to be explored in more depth and by different people. (Sidenote: I decided to research into this and turns out Philip Pullman is writing a companion novel to the His Dark Materials series, entitled The Book of Dust! I'm excited for it to be released!)
An Author Who Should Write More Books - Suzanne Collins was my choice for this, simply because she is an amazing author yet she seems to be wasting her potential. The Hunger Games, as you obviously know, was an outstanding series and gained a lot of popularity, but since its publication, she hasn't written anything else. I'm not sure if she's got a new novel in progress or is just taking a break from writing, but hopefully, her novels will be back soon, as they have been highly anticipated after the tremendous support of her previous.
A Character Who Should've Ended Up With Someone Else - I had to pick the Hush Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick for this since I've always been partially unhappy with the verdict in Finale. Although I do really like Nora and Patch as a couple, it was predictable and meant to be right from the start, a bit like Bella and Edward in Twilight. However, I really hoped that Nora and Scott would stand a chance, especially since they seemed to have more of a chemistry and it would be the more interesting route for the novel to take.
Totally Should've Ended Differently - I struggled to choose this one, as there isn't a book that I've read where I distinctly hated the ending, but I would've preferred Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer to take a different route. Alice's vision / the big battle scene towards the end of the film was hugely suspenseful and really played with my emotions, as characters died and others were successful. However, this scene wasn't in the book, as it couldn't take place in Bella's point of view, but I feel as though it was missing this final bit of fear and anticipation.
Totally Should Have a Movie Franchise - I feel as though the book Reason to Breathe by Rebecca Donovan would be an excellent candidate for a movie franchise as it's a powerful and chilling story that would have the audience on the edge of their seat throughout. The story is incredibly emotional, which would make it hard hitting with the audience, and I feel as though it has the potential for an artistic shoot and choice of screenplay, depending on what vibe the director wanted to go for. I just feel as though lots of potential lies within this book and its sequels, which would be perfectly translated onto the big screen.
Totally Should Have a TV Show - Envy by Gregg Olsen would be, in my opinion, the perfect book for a TV show, as I think that the events and general style of the story would really be suited to showing it through episodes. It's a murder-mystery thriller, which means that episodes could be released giving tiny clues and loose ends, only to reveal the killer in the series finale. I feel as though this would work much better than as a movie as it would give the audience more time to connect with the possible suspects and work out who killed Katelyn. Also, the mysteries of Hayley and Taylor, alongside the possible paranormal element, would work as a compelling sub-plot.
Totally Should've Had One Point of View - I found it really difficult to choose this answer, as POVs are usually added to make the reading experience better, and I usually find that this is true whenever I read a book. However, I didn't like the constant changing of voice in Wonder by R. J. Palacio, as it was sometimes unnecessary and too big of a shift from the narrator's voice. Also, I really dislike it when writing purposely involves spelling mistakes or grammatical errors to show that it's a certain character, which is something that happened often within this book.
Totally Should've Had a Cover Change - Although I quite like all of the book covers that I've seen, I do think that Blood Ties by Sophie Mckenzie could be updated. Personally, I think that they look really old fashioned and really stand out from other YA books, but probably not in the best way. They also look quite out of place, like the cover designer was trying to create an adult thriller series, rather than a teenage science-fiction series.
Totally Should've Kept the Original Covers - I think that the original cover for The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black was beautiful, with the cover-art being relevant to the series and suitable for the audience, as well as just looking appealing. However, they have been updated to the new white covers, which I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with. They definitely look sleeker and more mature, but these backgrounds make the pale details not stand out and they hurt the eyes to look at a bit.
Totally Should've Stopped at One Book - The more that I think about it, I realise that the events of The Selection by Kiera Cass could've easily been contained in one book, even including some development of the dystopian world. However, it has been made into a trilogy and a spin-off series has begun, all of which wasn't completely necessary. In my opinion, it was quite obvious who was going to win from the start, so I would've much rather had a beautifully crafted book that traced the events with thought, rather than them being spread thin over numerous books.
Thank you for reading this post and hopefully it was interesting to hear my answers, as these are how I would change and adapt many young adult books. I'd love to know your answers to these questions or your thoughts on what I've said, so make you leave any feedback down in the comments. Thank you for reading and I'll see you on Sunday with a new post!
Love from Daisy x
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