The Best Adaptations of the Century So Far

Adaptation: Murderbot (TV series, Apple TV, 2025)

As a rabid fan of the Murderbot series, I admit I was very skeptical of an adaptation. After all, successful adaptations of books don't happen very often, and this is a series that I love with the heat of a thousand suns. But the 10-episode first season that premiered on Apple TV in 2025 far exceeded my hopes and dreams! It has a stellar cast, with Alexander Skarsgård starring as the misanthropic, (secretly) self-aware security unit helping a team of scientists. The show does an excellent job of providing Murderbot's inner monologue as it helps keep the humans safe from danger. The show is funny and moving, and a must-see for sci-fi fans!

Adaptation: Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret (film, 2023)

Even though Judy Blume’s coming-of-age novel spent decades passing , waiting 50+ years for this adaptation was the right call. Abby Ryder Forston is the perfect Margaret, and Rachel McAdams brings more pathos to Barbara than was present in the book (told only through Margaret’s eyes). The delights of this movie are endless, from the girls’ period-accurate outfits to every sentence uttered by Kathy Bates as Grandma Sylvia. The few changes from Blume’s original book serve to deepen the overall story, making Margaret more thoughtful and everyone around her more relatable. The adaptation perfectly captures the joy and pain of growing up.

Adaptation: Atonement (film, 2007)

After its late 2007 release, Atonement's amazing acting (James McAvoy and Keira Knightley star), beautiful cinematography, and touching wartime love story had it nominated or flat out winning all the things—from BAFTAs to Golden Globes to Oscars. In 1930s England, a young girl accuses a man of a crime he didn't commit. The falsehood spells certain doom for two lovers from different classes, and changes everyone's lives forever.

Adaptation: Black Panther (film, 2018)

When I say the adaptation of Marvel Comics' Black Panther was a moment, I mean it was a moment. It's an undeniable fact to anyone who lived through 2018, who witnessed the lead-up to, the premiere, and impact of Ryan Coogler's Black Panther. Amidst the many headlines about the breathtaking cast (we miss you, Chadwick Boseman), the numerous accolades, and one epic story brought to life by Coogler and co-writer Joe Robert Cole, what stands out is the emphasis on getting Black kids into theaters to watch and be empowered by the wonders of Wakanda.

Adaptation: Bridget Jones's Diary (film, 2001)

A lot can go wrong when you’re making an adaptation of a book that is itself an adaptation of a perennially popular classic, but in director Sharon Maguire’s hands, Helen Fielding’s reimagining of Pride and Prejudice is both timeless and undeniably ‘90s (1990s, that is). Renee Zellweger charms as Bridget Jones, unlucky in love until she finds herself at the center of a very handsome love triangle formed by Colin Firth and Hugh Grant. Even if a few notes haven’t aged well—Bridget is a victim of diet culture, and her boss hits on her—I will continue to like this movie very much. Just as it is.

Adaptation: Brokeback Mountain (film, 2005)

Brokeback Mountain should have won the Academy Award in 2006 over Crash. That has become part of this film's legacy. But let's talk about why. Ang Lee’s film adaptation expands Annie Proulx’s short story while staying true to the source material's quiet emotional depth. As Ennis and Jack, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal share an electric chemistry, and their melancholic longing feels fully earned. Beyond romance, the film explores marital struggles, toxic masculinity, and the heavy toll of hiding in the shadows. This deeply moving narrative forever remains an iconic moment in queer cinema. I wish I knew how to quit you.

Adaptation: Crazy Rich Asians (film, 2018)

I see at least one person watching this movie nearly every time I fly, and with good reason: it's dishy, glamorous, hilarious, and a feast for the eyes, perfect for airplane entertainment or whenever you crave some escapism. The film featured an all-Asian cast—the first North American film to do so since The Joy Luck Club in 1993— and did wild numbers at the box office: with $117 million over its opening weekend, it became the most successful U.S. studio rom-com in nine years. It's a real bummer that the sequels never materialized, but at least we have this one gorgeous installment to watch again and again.

Adaptation: Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle (anime series, 2025)

By the time I had finally watched the first episode of the Demon Slayer anime, I'd been an anime fan for decades. And still, I felt it managed to breathe something fresh into the action-filled fantasy shounen. Its unique blend of stunning animation, novel fight scenes, touching backstories, and a historical setting that is brutally real at times has led to two of its major film releases becoming the highest-grossing Japanese films ever. I know this story of Tanjiro, a young and compassionate charcoal seller embarking on a dangerous quest to turn his demon sister back into a human, will enchant generations of anime fans to come.

Adaptation: Emma (film, 2020)

While there are many adaptations of Jane Austen’s classic books, I’d argue that this 2020 film directed by Autumn de Wilde is one of the best. I love that Emma is one of Austen’s more flawed protagonists. She makes mistakes, then attempts to make amends. She’s more relatable to me in that sense, and her neighbor love story woos me more with the slow burn, friends-to-lovers arc. The 2020 film features a fantastic cast, including Anya Taylor-Joy as the misguided matchmaker Emma and Bill Nighy as her hilariously hypochondriac father. It received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, and truly brings to life the comedy of Austen’s Emma.

Adaptation: American Fiction (film, 2024)

If there were an Oscar for bold moves, Cord Jefferson would have won it for his directorial debut based on Percival Everett’s 2001 novel about a writer who, after being criticized for being too avant-garde, pens a story using all the worst stereotypes of Black fiction and is dismayed to discover that not only do readers fail to recognize it as satire, they love it unironically. Geoffrey Wright is masterful as Thelonius “Monk” Ellison, damned every way he turns, supported by a cast of all-stars delivering A+ performances and having a ball. This is as fun, funny, and sharp on the big screen as it was on the page, and that’s no easy feat.

Adaptation: Fences (film, 2016)

Troy Maxson is a sanitation worker in his 50s in 1950s Pittsburgh. Systemic racism destroyed his dream of being a Major League baseball player. Now, his youngest son, Cory, wants to be a pro football player. August Wilson wrote the screenplay, adapted from his 1985 stage play. Denzel Washington, who was nominated for an Academy Award for playing Troy, directed the film. Viola Davis received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Troy’s wife, Rose. Brilliant writing and acting make this movie feel as intimate as watching a play. It explores intergenerational trauma and how it affects people’s choices and relationships.

Adaptation: The Handmaiden (film, 2016)

I enjoyed the BBC adaptation of Fingersmith, but Park Chan-Wook's version is on another level. It relocates this twisty sapphic historical thriller from Victorian England to Japan-occupied Korea. The cinematography is gorgeous, and the acting is incredible—The Handmaiden's long list of accolades speaks for itself—but it's the ending that stuck with me. It diverges from the novel in a complementary way; I feel like these two versions of the story are in conversation with each other. It speaks to the skill of this film that it can so dramatically change a story I love and still be one of my favourite adaptations.

Adaptation: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (TV series, 2009)

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is one of the best anime adaptations of the last quarter-century. When brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric attempt to resurrect their mother with forbidden alchemy, they lose parts of their bodies in exchange for the failed attempt. Now, Edward works as the youngest state alchemist to hunt for a way to get them back. Although the series released in 2009, the effortless action sequences and unique visual thumbprint still stun modern audiences. Exploring fascism, genocide, grief, love, religion, and the limits of science, Arakawa's impressive source material shines in an anime adaptation that has inspired a generation.

Adaptation: Game of Thrones (TV series, HBO, 2011)

Whether you acknowledge that eighth season or not, there's no denying that GOT was that girl. Based on George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books, its run marked one of the last moments of true water-cooler culture, launching a thousand live-tweets and recaps chronicling the political machinations, rivalries, sex, and, of course, the dragons. The genius of this worldwide phenomenon wasn't just in the score or the costumes, or the scope of those epic battles (though I do have some questions for the lighting team). Where GOT really shone bright was the dialogue-rich scenes that drew us into the fray and into the characters' complex psyches. No matter the end, when it was good, it was great.

Adaptation: Gone Girl (film, 2014)

It’s hard to imagine a better director for Gone Girl than David Fincher, known for explorations of obsession, ambition, and the dark sides of modern society. In Fincher’s hands, Gillian Flynn’s story about a seemingly perfect woman whose sudden disappearance makes her husband the prime suspect in her apparent murder is thrilling and terrifying in all the right ways. Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck are note-perfect as Amy and Nick Dunne. Neil Patrick Harris chews up the scenery with psychotic glee. Carrie Coon holds it down with quiet gravity. All against a soundtrack by Trent Reznor, which is how you know this was always a horror story.

Adaptation: Hamnet (film, 2025)

Chloe Zhao's Hamnet is an absolute triumph. From the lush scenery of Agnes and the playwright's courtship to the tender moments of quotidian bliss when all is well in their family of five, the quiet beauty almost makes you forget that you've known your soul would be crushed from the start. Paul Mescal is wonderful as the unnamed Shakespeare, but Jessie Buckley is transcendent as Agnes, delivering one of the most guttural portrayals of grief I've ever seen on screen. When I think about her reaching for that stage to the slow sell of Max Richter's On the Nature of Daylight, I have to blink back tears. What a beautiful way to be truly undone.

Adaptation: Heartstopper (TV series, Netflix, 2022)

Dare I say?: Heartstopper is the perfect adaptation. (In fact, the Emmy Award-winning first season has 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.) This webcomic-turned graphic novel series was adapted by a team whose love for the source material shines. At the heart of that is Alice Oseman themselves, who wrote every episode and the movie. The Heartstopper TV show is able to keep the iconic moments from the comics—often a panel-by-panel reenactment—and expand on the stories of side characters. The queer joy and community of Heartstopper has been life-changing for so many fans, and it's bittersweet to see Nick and Charlie's story conclude this year.

Adaptation: Heated Rivalry (TV series, Crave, 2025)

From Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series, Heated Rivalry is the breakout Canadian TV show written and directed by Jacob Tierney. The show follows queer hockey players building community and romantic relationships in league that is historically antagonistic toward the queer community. Tierney respects the romance genre and Reid as a talented author by painstakingly highlighting the emotional core of the series, as well as the talent of the cast and crew, in the best romance adaptation I have ever seen. Heated Rivalry’s success ultimately demonstrates that audiences want authentic queer stories, new talent, and limited studio interference.

Adaptation: Howl's Moving Castle (film, 2004)

For a movie adaptation that is so different from the book, I think it’s absolutely perfect. It has stood the test of time, being one of the most successful Japanese films in history. I’d argue it’s even more popular than the book! That’s because the movie took the source material's themes of empathy, found family, and self-acceptance and mixed them with a powerful anti-war story that is visually stunning and truly emotional. Making this whimsical world a little bigger so that more people can discover and find comfort in it. Because a heart may be a heavy burden, but Howl’s Moving Castle is the kind of story that will let it fly.

Adaptation: If Beale Street Could Talk (film, 2018)

When a project unites the artistry and intellect of both director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) and author James Baldwin, you know it's going to be powerful. The 2018 adaptation of If Beale Street Could Talk attracted talents including Regina King and Colman Domingo, and received multiple Academy Award and Golden Globe wins and nominations. The film breathed new life into Baldwin's 1974 novel about a young, Black couple's enduring love as racism and bigotry warp their lives and future together, and introduced a new audience to the breadth of Baldwin's work.

Adaptation: Legally Blonde (film, 2001)

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a book is better than its movie... most of the time. Occasionally, an adaptation transcends its source material. Based on Amanda Brown's own experiences at law school, the Legally Blonde movie adaptation managed to be both feel-good popcorn watching and feminist text. (Reese Witherspoon has said that at least once a week, a woman will share with her that the movie inspired her to go to law school.) 25 years after it first came to the screen, it still feels timely—it's no wonder it keeps being adapted to the screen and stage. Elle, the prequel series, came out in July 2026 with Prime Video.

Adaptation: Like Water for Chocolate (TV series, HBO, 2024)

This two-season production is proof that an adaptation can veer from the source text and still soar. Major character arcs are changed, some of the grosser scenes omitted, and the magical realism is more lived-in and less obviously, well, magical. In exchange, we get more historical context, character development, and stunning cinematography you’ll want to pause to fully drink in. I’m on the fence about the final episode, but the show is so culturally rich and beautifully shot, with expertly curated music that heightens each scene (the cooking scenes in particular, whew!). Will Tita and Pedro make you want to pull your hair out? Yes, but you knew that. It's still so deliciously sexy.

Adaptation: Little Fires Everywhere (TV series, Hulu, 2020)

Inspired by Celeste Ng’s bestselling novel, this propulsive miniseries starring Reese Witherspoon as obsessed-with-perfection Elena Richardson and Kerry Washington as charismatic Mia Warren includes eight episodes. In Shaker Heights, a Cleveland suburb, the arrival of Mia and her daughter, Pearl, rattles the Richardson family. The drama’s March 2020 premiere, “The Spark,” begins—like the book—with a fire. The adaptation further examines race and privilege by making Mia and Pearl Black and Mia and Izzy queer. Earning five Emmy nominations, this must-watch about art, motherhood, and secrets pinned my eyes to my TV and tugged tears from them.

Adaptation: Little Women (film, 2019)

It’s a high-stakes endeavor to adapt one of the most beloved stories in American literature. While Greta Gerwig’s film may not be strictly faithful to the timeline and organization of the novel, it is absolutely true to the book’s spirit. Seen through Gerwig’s lens, the March household is warm and lively, and the world of the film lived-in and lovely. Saoirse Ronan especially shines as the bookish and unconventional Jo, but whichever March sister you identify with, there’s something for you here. Gerwig, much like Alcott herself, created a world that feels both specific to its original time and place and undeniably modern.

Adaptation: Lovecraft Country (TV series, HBO, 2020)

The lead actor of this show is a convicted abuser and recent news shows us he continues to make disgusting choices. The adaptation’s treatment of queer characters was terrible. Still, the adaptation’s creative team took source material which was good and turned it into a cultural phenomenon. The times that this show aired were some of the best times on Black Twitter. For many of us, this was the first time we understood that Black horror could also be a vehicle for collective healing. I cried so many times watching this show not from fear, but from the feeling of being seen. Though many parts were legitimately terrifying, too.

Adaptation: Nimona (TV series, Netflix, 2023)

I've never seen a graphic novel so perfectly captured in animation as Nimona. I started reading Nimona when it was still being published as a web comic, so it holds a very special place in my heart, and the movie captured the quirky style, humorous and heartfelt antics, and medieval-meets-science-fantasy vibe perfectly. The fact that it's so rare to see queer characters in feature-length animation makes this adaptation all the more special.

Adaptation: One Piece (anime series, 2004 - US release)

One Piece's story of pirates, found family, and Monkey D. Luffy's quest to attain the fabled One Piece treasure, making him the King of the Pirates, comprises one of the longest-running anime series ever. Love for Luffy's ragtag crew and their sea-faring adventures has stretched over 15 major film releases, successful live-action renditions, and more than 1,000 episodes—and still, fans want more. Most impressive of all, though? How One Piece's message of empathy and freedom—both personal and from corrupt authorities—has inspired Gen Z activists around the world to push back against inequality.

Adaptation: Pachinko (TV series, Apple TV, 2022)

Min Jin Lee’s book Pachinko received a number of accolades, including National Book Award Finalist, and Soo Hugh has created an incredible TV series adaptation of it. The show has earned many awards as well, including Critics Choice and AFI Awards, as well as Emmy and BAFTA nominations. The cast truly breathe life into their characters from the book as we follow a Korean family forward and backward in time over the course of a century in Korea and Japan. The show includes two seasons from 2022-2024, and while Hugh has expressed interest in a third and perhaps fourth season, they haven’t been greenlit yet. Let’s hope they make another one!

Adaptation: Persepolis (film, 2007)

Co-directed by Satrapi herself and illustrator Vincent Paronnaud, this animated adaptation of her iconic two-part graphic novel retains the exact art style of her book, but brought to life in a completely new way. Set in stark black and white, young Marji watches as her home becomes a dangerous place to be a young girl who talks back. Like the comic, the animation is impressionistic in parts, with imposing figures growing in size above Marji when she’s afraid, and Marji’s travels through Vienna stylized as a painting. Not only is this movie adapted from a great story, it takes visual leaps in the new story format.

Adaptation: Pride & Prejudice (film, 2005)

From the tantalizing Dario Marianelli soundtrack to the muted beauty of the landscape, Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice has been much imitated but not matched. The chemistry between Keira Knightley's Lizzie and Matthew Macfadyen's Darcy sizzles, and the side characters do real work behind the scenes—Rosamund Pike as shy Jane and Simon Woods as earnest Mr. Bingley. The almost-kiss in the rain and the hand flex heard around the world helped cement this adaptation as a paragon of confused yearning that changed historical romance forever and made this the comfort movie of thousands.

Adaptation: Lizzie Bennet Diaries (web series, 2012)

For a brief moment in the 2010s, vlog adaptations of classic novels were in style, and we have the Emmy Award-winning Lizzie Bennet Diaries to thank for it. Sure, the format feels dated now, but the performance and chemistry are still compelling, and it's worth watching for Kitty's storyline alone. Watching this larger-than-life personality lose herself in an abusive relationship is harrowing—and impressive, given how few minutes she's on screen. The web series was made into two novels, in an ouroboros of adaptations. Also check out Ashley Clements's commentary, posted 10 years later. (For another great vlog adaptation, watch Carmilla!)

Adaptation: Precious (film, 2009)

Push, Sapphire's debut novel, and Lee Daniels' film adaptation, Precious, introduce us to Precious Jones, an illiterate 16-year-old who's lived a hard life of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. The Sundance Film Festival winner that turned Gabourey Sidibe into an overnight celebrity has been called everything from revelatory to exploitative. If you read Erasure (adapted into American Fiction, also on this list!), you remember Thelonious Ellison's vendetta against "ghetto literature," and Push might as well have been named outright in Everett's satirical novel. But show me a person saying this tense story didn't make massive waves.

Adaptation: Mean Girls (film, 2004)

Fetch happened in the form of Mean Girls. The beloved teen comedy, first released in 2004, immediately captured audiences with its humor and insights into how and where cliques operate in high school. Not only was the movie a smash hit in theaters, but it also spawned a sequel and a hit Broadway show-turned-film. Comedian Tina Fey was inspired to create the film after reading the nonfiction book Queen Bees and Wanna Bes—the kind of title that would likely never translate across audiences easily—and she made it a cultural phenomenon. Perfect? No. Worthwhile 20+ years on? Absolutely.

Adaptation: I Am Not Your Negro (documentary film, 2016)

The book that would become the basis for 2016's I Am Not Your Negro was not really a book at all. Instead, Remember This House was a 30-page unfinished manuscript that James Baldwin had been working on when he passed away. It was meant to be a memoir through which he revisited his experiences with three of the Civil Rights Movement's biggest leaders. The resulting work that came from director Raoul Peck gaining access to Baldwin's unfinished book was a medley of things that included everything from speech excerpts to clippings from an FBI file on Baldwin that feels like it achieved what the legendary writer had envisioned.

Adaptation: Say Nothing (TV series, Hulu, 2024)

Patrick Radden Keefe cemented himself as one of my favorite writers with Say Nothing, a masterclass in narrative nonfiction that opens with a notorious Northern Ireland killing in a wider history of The Troubles. The story was brought to screen in 2024 in a series that's every bit as compelling and evocative as PRK's text, confronting the violence of this tumultuous history and how relentless persecution can lead to radicalization. Lola Petticrew, Hazel Doupe, and Anthony Boyle each turn in electric performances that I could not look away from, even when I desperately wanted to. The book taught me a lot I didn't know, and the series made it all viscerally real.

Adaptation: Slow Horses (TV series, Apple TV, 2022)

While the argument over who should be the next Bond raged on, the Slow Horses adaptation gave us a group of nothing-like-Bond spies to love, and deeply laugh at. And in an age where viewers are always holding their breath awaiting for a series renewal, Slow Horses is a unicorn of a show that Apple TV renewed for seasons 6 and 7 before season 5 had even aired, making it the longest-running series on Apple TV. The show is a chef’s kiss mix of spy thriller, action, twists, exceptional casting (including Kristin Scott Thomas and Gary Oldman), and excellent dark comedy.

Adaptation: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (film, 2018)

In an era oversaturated with superhero media, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse presents a stunningly fresh take on what a superhero story can look like on the big screen. Miles Morales, the Afro-Latine lead, finally gets his much-deserved chance to shine, and other Spider-Verse characters like Gwen Stacy AKA Spider-Gwen AKA Spider-Woman show that the Spider mantle is no longer only what three consecutive reboots of Peter Parker by the MCU might lead you to believe. The comics-inspired animation style quite literally changed the game. Not to mention it’s a joy to watch. 10/10, no notes.

Adaptation: Station Eleven (TV series, HBO, 2021)

The band of performers at the center of this story—among the small percentage of humans not wiped out by a devastating global pandemic—live by a simple yet powerful creed: “survival is insufficient.” Out of the rubble of modern society, they’ve built a community focused on connection, generosity, and art. It’s a powerful and touching message that could be treacly in the wrong hands but is poignant and joyful in Patrick Somerville’s reimagining of Emily St. John Mandel’s beloved and critically acclaimed novel. Few works of art in any medium have moved me as deeply or brought me as close to levitating. Perfectly cast and flawlessly executed.

Adaptation: Arrival (film, 2016)

Ted Chiang's novelette contained so much greatness, it had to be adapted into a feature-length film. Both the story and its adaptation amassed critical acclaim, awards, and love from readers and viewers alike, captivated by an at-once cerebral and thrilling story of a linguistic scholar recruited to learn the language of newly-arrived extraterrestrials. Though the film and the original story differ, both deliver an emotional gut-punch and existential depth that, in my opinion, makes it one of the best examples of savvy adaptation out there.

Adaptation: The Devil Wears Prada (film, 2006)

We love a juicy, gossipy story about driven women and The Devil Wears Prada adaptation delivered. The bestselling book by a former assistant to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour spilled tea on the grueling toil and humiliations beneath the glamor of the fashion industry through the story of Andy, newly hired as assistant to a powerful (seemingly sadistic) fashion magazine editor. Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and Emily Blunt brought the novel's characters to life and haven't stopped entertaining us. We're not surprised by the swell of attention this year's sequel received.

Adaptation: Bridgerton (TV series, Netflix, 2020)

The first Bridgerton book served as the inspiration for the first season of the Netflix adaptation. This series treated Simon and Daphne’s love story with deep respect for the romance genre. It also included more diversity by creating an alternate history with a Black Queen Charlotte and more racial equality within the aristocracy. The first season arrived at a point in the pandemic when viewers were craving a fun show with a happy ending. Afterwards, the series and historical romance became more popular than ever. The demand even caused many bookstores to carry romance novels for the first time. 

Adaptation: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (film, 2001)

The first film in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings introduced the characters and their journey, immersing viewers in Middle-earth. From the New Zealand landscapes to Howard Shore’s musical score, the movie was immediately distinctive. It eliminated many book characters and events, even changing the way the One Ring’s power worked. This epic book trilogy was adapted into equally epic films that fans still debate. With CGI that seems cutting-edge today, the movie is still influential. The books had already had a fandom for decades, but the movies helped make SF/F movies, TV shows, and games more mainstream.

Adaptation: The Great Gatsby (film, 2013)

While some disagree, I firmly believe Baz Luhrmann's rendition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic is the best adaptation we've gotten yet. It drips and sparkles with colorful glamour that is outwardly entrancing but emotionally empty. Leonardo DiCaprio is a superb, suave, and magnetic Gatsby, while Tobey Maguire is a perfectly sheepish Nick. But the best part is the modern soundtrack, which overlays modern soulful pop and R&B with the sensuous tones of jazz, drawing parallels between one age of disconnected rich people and our own. Is that world, it asks, really as beautiful as it looks?

Adaptation: The Hate U Give (film, 2018)

Amandla Stenberg gives a stellar performance as 16-year-old Starr Carter in the adaptation of a YA novel that took teens and adult readers by storm. The story confronts police brutality without flinching, delivering an emotionally gripping narrative in both print and on screen. While it's justifiably full of rage, anger, and grief, Angie Thomas's debut is also about the role social justice plays in building a better, safer, and more equitable world—even, and especially, amid the slow pace of change. The film remains one of the most critically acclaimed and viewer-acclaimed YA adaptations.

Adaptation: The House of the Spirits (TV series, Prime Video, 2026)

How do you successfully adapt one of the biggest classics of Latin American literature? It’s certainly a challenge, one this show tackled very well! This iteration of The House of the Spirits shines because of how it respects yet expands upon the original story. The central themes of family, memory, politics and generational trauma are all there, mixed with a very subtle magical realism that feels grounded. While the show did make some changes to the story, the atmosphere and tone stayed the same. It’s too soon to say if this adaptation will live on like the ghosts of the Trueba del Valle family, but they have certainly found a new home. 

Adaptation: The Hunger Games (film, 2012)

Among the few true crossover audience successes this century, The Hunger Games took moviegoers by storm in its first film and in each of its subsequent entries. The near-future dystopian depicts a world that viewers could not imagine, and very much could imagine. But what makes this story endure are the human elements: young Katniss making a life-altering choice out of love for her family, juggling romantic feelings for different people, and experiencing ups and downs among fellow tributes. It's an adaptation that neatly weaves source material with creative expansion and interpretation.

Adaptation: The Nickel Boys (film, 2024)

Colson Whitehead’s brilliant and heartbreaking novel The Nickel Boys draws on the real history of a long-running Florida reform school for boys that was discovered to be a site of horrifying abuse. A 2012 investigation performed a year after the school shut down uncovered almost 100 deaths and many unmarked graves. Whitehead explores this history through protagonist Elwood, a Black teenager who is sent to the school after one small mistake and later grapples with his trauma as an adult. Director RaMell Ross turned Whitehead’s story into a visually stunning narrative with a unique first-person POV that allows viewers to see the world through Elwood’s eyes. Both the book and adaptation do a remarkable job of turning painful history into powerful art.

Adaptation: The Notebook (film, 2004)

In the 1940s, Allie and Noah are teenagers falling in love, despite family disapproval and coming from different social classes. Sixty years later, Allie is in a nursing home and Noah reads to her every day, even though she doesn’t recognize him anymore. Even if you don’t like Nicholas Sparks books, it’s undeniable that the blend of romance and sentimentality makes very popular movies. The Notebook became an instant romance classic that spurred on eight more adaptations of his novels and delivered iconic lines from stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, like: “If I’m a bird, you’re a bird.”

Adaptation: Carol (film, 2015)

Patricia Highsmith’s The Price of Salt became an instant classic of lesbian literature in 1952. It was the first pulp novel to show two women falling in love and getting a relatively happy ending (emphasis on “relatively”). Highsmith’s publisher refused to publish the book, and she released it under a pseudonym after her agent warned that the story was “career suicide.” Instead, it developed a cult following. A whole new generation became obsessed with this forbidden love story with director Todd Haynes’ elegant film adaptation. Rooney Mara’s sapphic yearning for the devastatingly beautiful Cate Blanchett over the toy counter at a 1950s department store has become required viewing for any lesbian Christmas fête.

Adaptation: The Princess Diaries (film, 2001)

The Princess Diaries was one of my favorite book series, but the 2001 Disney film is a certified sleepover classic. Mia, 15, is told by her estranged grandmother that she is the princess of a small European nation. Between learning to drive, first loves, and friendship woes, Mia must decide if she will take on the legal responsibilities of being a princess. Taking the setting from NYC to San Francisco and casting Julie Andrews as Queen Clarisse (who is mean and kind of scary in the novels) was absolutely genius. What makes this adaptation work so well is that it keeps the charm and snarky humor of the books in a movie that appeals to all ages.

Adaptation: Ripley (TV series, Netflix, 2024)

It’s a controversial take for those of us who grew up on Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Philip Seymour Hoffman in the shiny and beguiling 1999 film, but Steve Zaillian’s eight-episode series starring Andrew Scott should actually be the canonical adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel. Ripley is dark and twisty, bordering on sinister, and truer to the vibe of the original text. Zaillian brings Highsmith’s subtext to the fore and addresses it with nuance and skillful sensitivity, eliciting a career-defining performance from Scott and using the supporting cast—Dakota Fanning, Johnny Flynn, and Eliot Sumner—to great effect.

Adaptation: To All The Boys I've Loved Before (TV series, Netflix, 2018)

Despite the wave of YA adaptations that emerged in the 2010s, few were original adaptations made through streaming services. With Jenny Han's beloved and best-selling series about a shy girl whose love letters to her crushes accidentally get sent to them, Netflix showed just how hungry audiences were not only for teen rom-coms but also for adaptations centered on stories by people of color. To All The Boys not only captured viewers, both new and familiar, but it also invited the adaptation of the two additional titles in the series and a popular spin-off series.

Adaptation: Watchmen (TV series, HBO, 2019)

If you haven't seen HBO's Watchmen, you're probably not ready for it. I know I wasn't when I first saw it in 2019. It mixes the real-world tragedy of the Tulsa Massacre and the rise of white supremacist groups with surreal storytelling elements that intimately show what trauma does to memory and surviving generations. Regina King stars as Tulsa Police detective Angela Abar, who has to masquerade as vigilante Sister Night to fight criminals. This award-winning series is one of the best shows I have ever seen.

Adaptation: Wicked (film, 2024)

When I read Gregory Maguire's debut adult novel shortly after it was released in 1995, I could not have imagined that it would be adapted into both a Broadway musical sensation that would then, much later, be adapted into a film adaptation of the darkly imaginative allegorical take on The Wizard of Oz that dominated pop culture. Maguire's novel defied expectations by achieving a rare staying power across a variety of mediums.

Adaptation: Younger (TV series, 2015)

If you create a TV series that centers the publishing industry (a tiny industry with a big cultural impact), the commentary on what it gets right, wrong, and ridiculous will be unending entertainment. This was the case when Younger premiered in 2015: tons of bibliophiles and publishing industry folks live-tweeted the show weekly to discuss things like author parodies and ageism. Not only did we get a love triangle, friendship, a 40-year-old pretending to be 26, plenty of drama, and a New York City backdrop, but the show itself was fun. It also helped that it premiered at the height of Twitter discourse and when “water cooler culture” still existed.