Written by Carli Varble
It’s the age-old debate, do you prefer the miniseries or the book? Personally, I’m usually on team book. I probably spend an unhealthy amount of time dwelling on things that were changed for show, and I definitely spend an annoying amount of time talking about it to people who don’t really care. Cut to me in 2012 absolutely raging about how Effie Trinket said hat instead of buttons, my dad about ready to leave me at the movies. That being said, after watching the show and reading the novel Little Fires Everywhere, I am actually pretty on the fence of which I like more. So, I decided to write up a little comparison for myself, and for those of you who are also deeply invested in this debate. There will be spoilers ahead! You have been warned.
I think the main aspect that made me want to write about this was the relationship between Elena and Izzy. I watched the show first, and really remember disliking Elena a lot more because of how she treated Izzy. The show implies that Elena, an overwhelmed working mother, didn’t want another child, and that’s why she’s so terrible to Izzy. This made me hate Elena so much more. The fact that Elena was so cruel to Izzy (cutting her out of family pictures, actually telling her she wasn’t wanted) just made her character so much more irredeemable. Not that she isn’t also awful in the book, but the book paints a very different picture.
In the book, Elena’s criticisms of Izzy stem from Izzy being a premature baby with lots of health complications. While it doesn’t justify Elena’s actions, they definitely take on a bit of a different meaning especially with the absence of some of Elena’s crueler actions that are in the show. For this aspect, I am team book.
The next thing I want to talk about is the big blowout between Elena and Mia. If I’m being honest, the book left a lot to be desired. I finished this part of the book, and I was a little disappointed. For me, the fallout from the argument in the show really helped me see why Mia decided to leave Shaker Heights, but the argument in the book made me wonder why Mia—no nonsense, doesn’t care about other people’s opinions—decided that she had to leave. Yes, they were renting from the Richardson’s and working for them to cover the rent, but it was established that Mia didn’t need to work for the Richardson’s so why not just find a new apartment? I prefer clearer motivation, which I found in the show and not in the book. Point to team show!
Now I’ve got to address Lexie and Pearl. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I really think the show did Lexie wrong. She wasn’t stellar in the book, but like her mom, she was so much worse in the show. In the show, you miss out on Lexie taking Pearl shopping and the two lending clothes to each other. The book actually shows a friendship between the two rather than Lexie taking advantage of Pearl. Like Elena and Izzy’s relationship, this stems from one event. Book Pearl offers to write Book Lexie’s college admissions essay rather than Cinematic Lexie stealing Cinematic Pearl’s experience for her essay.
These are two drastically different events that show Lexie in two very different lights, which I guess is my big problem with it. Lexie is still not great in the book. She leaves Pearl at a party and uses Pearl’s name at the clinic, but it’s almost like the people behind the show were concerned we wouldn’t dislike the Richardson’s enough and had to make them worse, which brings up a whole other list of questions in my brain that I don’t have the time to cover in this piece. Point to team book for its portrayal of Lexie.
Lastly: that ending. Both the book and the show did great with the ending. Despite knowing the house was going to burn down, I was still pretty amazed with how they got there. There is just something about the plot twist in the show that just makes it slightly better than the book in my opinion. In the book, all signs point to Izzy the whole time. You get to the end and it plays out and you’re pretty satisfied. The show twists this on its head by making you think its Izzy, but it’s actually the other siblings.
I love this plot twist so much because it shows some good sibling solidarity that we don’t really get in the book. The book ends with Izzy leaving because she feels like she’s absolutely alone in the world, but the show ends with her siblings sticking up for her. You get the sense that the siblings have grown closer together rather than further apart which puts me on team miniseries for this aspect.
I have so many more thoughts about the show and the book, but these were the things that stuck out the most to me. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the show and reading the book, and definitely recommend both to anyone looking for something to watch or read. Leave your thoughts in the comments!
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