Pretty Little Liars---Books vs. TV Show

Hi guys,

 So I finally started watching the Pretty Little Liars tv series. This was after reading almost all of the books. (I still need to read Burned, Crushed, and Deadly) There are rumors circulating that Burned is the last book, but according to Wikipedia there are two more books at least.

  SPOILERS BELOW!!!

Pretty Little Liars TV Show

Pretty Little Liars Book Series        

So there are definitely some major differences between the show and the books. First off, the girls themselves look different from the book descriptions. An example, would be that Hanna is a brunette in the books and she is blonde in the series. It's like they switched hair color, for Spencer and Hanna.

  Emily

 Emily's father is not in Afghanistan in the books.

Emily has siblings in the books.

Emily looks very different from the book.

There is a lot that bothers me about Emily's character and her family in the tv series vs. the books.

And it doesn't help that Emily is probably one of my least favorite characters. She comes off very whiny to me in the books and then in the series she is all loud with herself, which is great, but totally deviates from the vulnerable character in the book.

  Spencer

 Spencer's tv character is growing on me and I can kind of see how she relates more to her book counterpart.

In the first season, Ian and Melissa (Spencer's sister) elope and Melissa becomes pregnant. This never happens in the book.

Toby Cavanaugh and Spencer never get together. The Emily and Toby date happened, but that was the extent of that. Toby also commits suicide in book one.

 I love the actress playing Melissa. She completely fits the part. I think they cast her way better than I even could. ;)

 and now on to my favorite characters---

  Aria

Ezra and Aria being together longer in the tv series is interesting! Ezra is still a charming yet frustrating character. Aria is immature and yet she has a depth to her that is intriguing.

Aria's parents are starting to grow on me as well. I didn't like them at first, but I'm thinking they match their book counterparts better than I first expected.

Meredith plays a greater role in the books. I don't know if they plan on doing more with her later in the tv series, but she hasn't been used much there.

They don't act as if they are going to put Mike (Aria's brother) and Hanna together. This makes me sad.

They were very cute in the books together.

The guy playing Jason annoys me. I just don't like him. It kinda looked like they were going to put him with Spencer, which would have went away from the books. It now looks like they will stay true to the books and he and Aria will get together for a time.

  Hanna

 I love Hanna even more now. She is my favorite character.

My brain is hazy on this Caleb character. Was he in the book? They are cute together, but I'm Team Lucas forever. He is just too stinkin cute!

Mona was another character that I had to adjust to, but I like her and she seems to work.

 I feel like Hanna is much closer to her mom in the tv series. I think all of the girls are closer to their parents. It's interesting...

  Other Characters and Observations:

 Jenna is just wicked. She is much darker in the tv series and I kind of love to hate her.

 Noel and Ian are both darker too.

 Garrett is a made up character, I guess he replaced officer Wilden.

 Maya had a much bigger run time in the book, but I think I read that she comes back in season 2 and has an unpleasant demise. :/ Also Maya wasn't sent away in the books, Emily was! (She ends up having another relationship in the book with another girl---which is obviously not talked about in the tv show because she never leaves Rosewood.)

 Apparently, in the tv series (at some point) it is hinted at that Ali was pregnant. When in the books it was Emily.

 Alison's character is pretty spot on and very nasty.

I think the girls have a lot more heart than they do in the books. The books portray them more as spoiled, rich girls, which they are. BUT I think they are easier to relate to on the show.

 In the book, it is revealed that Courtney is Ali's twin and that the real Ali is the one that has been blackmailing the girls. In a Yahoo article, written by Amanda Austin, she states that there has been no mention of Courtney and there is suspicion of her showing up in Season 3's finale.

 And here are a few more of the differences: http://pretty-little-liars.wikia.com/wiki/Forum:How_the_books_and_TV_show_are_so_different


Do you watch Pretty Little Liars? Read the books? What do you think of the differences?

<3 anna