Movie Mondays: On the occasional Monday, I will review a book series or novel that has been made into a movie. I will then answer the question that everyone asks: which is better, the movie or the book? Here is this week’s offering:
Book: Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern | Movie: Love, Rosie (2014)
Which did I read/see first? the MOVIE
Book Cover | Movie Poster
Author: Cecelia Ahern
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Point of View: First Person, Multiple (Told via letters, texts, insta-messaging)
This is one of those rare cases where I decided to watch the movie before I read the book. Mainly because I wanted to be surprised when I watched the movie–and truth be told I wanted to watch the movie more than I wanted to read the book. Sometimes with certain movies/books it’s better to watch the movie first so that you don’t know what is going to happen in a movie and that’s what I wanted when I watched Love, Rosie. (I know that you are probably going: “It’s a rom-com, of course you know how it is going to end” but if you watch the trailer you can probably see why I felt this need to be surprised).
My good friend read this book before I did and lent me her copy. She told me that it was a quick cute read but that Rosie really started to get on her nerves as the story progressed so I felt like I had fair warning.
And thank goodness that I did or else I would have quit reading!
I’m sympathetic to Rosie’s situation, don’t get me wrong. So I can understand where her selfish tendencies might arise. However, at the same time, I would expect a situation like hers to accelerate her maturity; and for a while it did. But then it (her immaturity) comes back and it just rubbed me the wrong way. There is no other way to phrase it other than that she is a quite selfish person and that makes her hard to like at times.
As for the plot: it is the ultimate second chance love story. As my new book BFF Ruby puts it:
“You know, you two have the worst timing ever…when will you ever learn to catch up with each other?”
And that is how the entire book goes. It is simply a collection of letters, instant messages and emails contributing to the final question: will these two ever get together? Which is cute but gets a little tedious over time especially when you have to deal with an annoying Rosie (and Alex for that matter too). I often found myself wanting to smack some sense into these two but thankfully there are a few characters who were willing to do that for me as I read.
The ultimate lesson I learned from this book: just go for it! This book is all about taking a chance when you should have; never assuming anything and making the best of whatever life throws at you. However, I found it to be very tedious and long. If it was hundred pages shorter, I would have found it a lot more enjoyable.
Rating: 3/5
- The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot (Boy Series #1)
- I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
- Trapped by Beverley Kendall (Trapped Series #1)
- On Jamaica Lane by Samantha Young (On Dublin Street Series #1)
Were My Expectations Met?
I’ve wanted to see Love, Rosie since the summer of 2014–only bummer part was that it wasn’t coming to Canada until February 2015 so I “patiently” waited until it arrived.
I really liked the movie! I thought it was charming and sweet and I laughed quite a bit throughout it. It’s everything you like in a rom-com. Sure, it was a little cliche at times but I mean really: the story is about two best friends who have always loved each other! The entire premise is a cliche! Still, I really wasn’t sure how everything was going to wrap up in the movie so that was exciting. Plus, I just loved watching everything happen and a part of that major reason is the acting.
How Close is it to the Book?
I actually read the book months after I saw the movie but they are vastly different. Many of the situations are similar but the order is different or the people involved have been changed.
I actually prefer the pacing of the movie mainly because it is faster but the events were also much more dramatic. I would say the book is perhaps more realistic while the movie is more “Hollywood” drama but I found the movie to be more entertaining in that respect.
What I also like about the movie is that it actually shows Rosie and Alex interacting. The problem with the letters/etc. is that most things are being described after the fact whereas with the movie you see everything happen in front of you. You see their relationship from start to finish, see how the events actually unfold and it just forges a better connection with the characters.
Did I Like the Cast?
Perhaps I’m biased because I love Lily Collins as an actress. I’m not sure why I like her so much, but I’ve always enjoyed her movies. She reminds me a lot of Jennifer Lawrence for some reason; probably because she can do awkward funny really well. Sam Claflin was also great as Alex! If you didn’t already have a crush on him, you will probably walk out with one after this movie. He does adorkable-sexy so well 😉 I thought they had great chemistry on screen as well which made it such fun to watch. The rest of the cast was awesome as well.
The characters are also much more likeable. I think that is a result of how the plot progresses and how they make the characters react to that. I actually rooted for these two when I watched the movie whereas when I read the novel, it was more of a “are they finally together yet?” and I just wanted them to be together to resolve everything.
The movie is the definitely winner for me! I just thought the execution was much better; the characters were more likeable and I prefer the format. Reading everything as letters are great but I like watching events unfold before me, not hearing about them afterward.
Do you agree? Leave a comment below!
Synopsis for Love, Rosie (from Goodreads):
Rosie and Alex are destined for one another, and everyone seems to know it but them. Best friends since childhood, their relationship gets closer by the day, until Alex gets the news that his family is leaving Dublin and moving to Boston. At 17, Rosie and Alex have just started to see each other in a more romantic light. Devastated, the two make plans for Rosie to apply to colleges in the U.S.She gets into Boston University, Alex gets into Harvard, and everything is falling into place, when on the eve of her departure, Rosie gets news that will change their lives forever: She’s pregnant by a boy she’d gone out with while on the rebound from Alex.
Her dreams for college, Alex, and a glamorous career dashed, Rosie stays in Dublin to become a single mother, while Alex pursues a medical career and a new love in Boston. But destiny is a funny thing, and in this novel, structured as a series of clever e-mails, letters, notes, and a trail of missed opportunities, Alex and Rosie find out that fate isn’t done with them yet.
Trailer:
I didn’t read the book, but I absolutely loved this movie. I’m not sure if I will read the book, though, I think for this one, I’ll stay with just the movie! 🙂
Honestly, stick with the movie! The story is so much better! I got very, very annoyed with the characters in the book–I almost stopped reading it!
I think I’ll just do that! What would I do without you…! 🙂
loved the movie, but still insure about reading the book
If you loved the movie, I wouldn’t recommend the book. It has a completely different feel to it and I much preferred the plot of the movie to the book.
I loved the movie and I completely agree that the movie is the winner here–I thought it was wonderfully acted, and I really like Sam Claflin! I read the book aaaages ago and loved it too, though, because at that time there weren’t that many books told in text messages/IM conversations/etc. Tbh overall Cecilia Ahern is a bit of a hit-or-miss for me. :p
Sam was perfect I think…I left that theatre with the biggest crush on him! I really want to see these two do more movies together because they were great together!
I got the impression after finishing the book that Cecilia Ahern would be a hit or miss author for me as well. It really reminded me of the later Shopaholic books or any other book by Sophie Kinsella where the characters are very, very hard to connect to.
And ya know, the letter/email format of the book was really refreshing. I’m just not sure it worked for this particular story. I’ve read Meg Cabot’s Boy series which is told in a similar way (mostly emails) and I feel like it worked better there. I still found it hard to connect to the characters and root for the romance but it is a refreshing take on the traditional romance–made it lighter but I feel like this story is much heavier and needed that time to develop in front of the reader with full chapters.
Totally with you with Sophie Kinsella–I loved her books when I was younger, but then as I got older, her characters started coming across as really immature and irritating, and I just never got back into it. Have you read her YA novel, Finding Audrey?
You’re right, though. This story is heavier than the typical friends-turned-lovers novel; they keep it strong through the years, kids, marriages, divorces, etc. I haven’t read the Boy series yet but Meg Cabot is a queen of formats–the Princess Diaries is such a YA classic for me.
Because I didn’t end on a high note with Sophie Kinsella I haven’t decided if I’m going to read Finding Audrey. I’ve read mixed reviews for it.
I also preferred the movie over the book. Lily Collins was hilarious and the pace was much more bearable. The book took me a while to read. There was a lot of eye rolling while reading this book because Rosie kind of annoyed me & then even though the ending was cute, I wished they would have gotten together sooner.
So true! There were quite a few times I was reading where I was like “please get together now” because it was so tedious to keep it going!
I didn’t realise until almost the end of the post that I have actually read this book, which I think says a lot for how much effect it had on me. I think it was one of the first books I read that was all written through letters etc, though, which I liked about it.
I have not watched the movie, but Netflix is always throwing it up, so I’m sure I will do on some boring Sunday in the future.
I can believe that, besides being super annoyed at Rosie I really don’t remember much else from the book.
And I think it makes a great “let’s watch something on Netflix” rom-com. I hope you get a chance to watch it.