Send us Fan Mail

We finally catch up with Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (2025), and it’s a weird feeling: we like it, we admire it, and we still don’t love it the way we expected to. If you’ve been searching for a real “Frankenstein book vs movie” breakdown that goes beyond plot summary, we get specific about what del Toro changes, why some of it works, and why a few choices dull the emotional punch Mary Shelley built into the novel.

We talk about Victor Frankenstein as a protagonist you actively want to lose, and how the film pushes that with an added tragic backstory, overt mommy issues, and a casting decision that makes the subtext impossible to miss. We also unpack the movie’s most del Toro-coded twist: the tenderness and hinted attraction between Elizabeth and the creature, plus a sharper, uglier read on Victor that veers into incel territory. Along the way, we dig into the rewritten blind man sequence, how it reframes the creature’s rejection, and why it changes the logic without removing the heartbreak.

Then we get stuck on the ending. The creature’s forgiveness might prove his humanity, but we argue it also hands Victor a kind of closure he never earns. Add in regeneration and implied immortality, and suddenly the story isn’t just gothic horror, it’s existential dread about outliving everyone you love. We also shout out the performances that make this adaptation worth your time, especially Oscar Isaac’s expertly hateable Victor and Jacob Elordi’s surprisingly moving physical work under all that makeup.

Listen, share this with a Frankenstein fan, and leave us a review if you want more book-to-screen debates. Where do you land: does del Toro’s take beat the novel, or does Mary Shelley still win?

All episodes of the podcast can be found on our website: https://booksvsmovies.buzzsprout.com/share

Connect with me: Instagram | Threads | Bookshop | Goodreads | Blog

Send us Fan Mail

A woman’s cells reshape modern medicine, and her name almost disappears. I read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot and watched the 2017 adaptation starring Oprah Winfrey and Rose Byrne, and the contrast raises an uncomfortable question: how do you title something after Henrietta Lacks while giving viewers so little of Henrietta?

I talk through what the book makes clear about HeLa cells, informed consent, and the massive ripple effects across research, vaccines, and biotech profits. Then I get honest about what didn’t land for me, including how the story can drift toward the author’s reporting journey and Deborah Lacks’ relationship with that journey, sometimes at the cost of Henrietta’s own presence. I also bring in reader reactions from friends who rated it everywhere from two to five stars, and I unpack why some people experience the book as important history while others read it as intrusive, biased, or ethically messy.

From there, I zoom out to bioethics and medical racism: what it means to benefit from stolen tissue, why the Lacks family’s financial reality matters, and how these patterns echo older abuses that medicine still struggles to fully reckon with. I end with my ratings, my book vs. movie winner, and the big takeaway that won’t go away: medical progress is not the same thing as justice.

Subscribe for more book-to-screen comparisons, share this episode with a friend who loves true stories, and leave a rating and review so more listeners can find the show.

All episodes of the podcast can be found on our website: https://booksvsmovies.buzzsprout.com/share

Connect with me: Instagram | Threads | Bookshop | Goodreads | Blog

Send us Fan Mail

A story this intense leaves no room for sloppy choices, which is why comparing Room by Emma Donoghue with the 2015 Room movie is so fascinating. I walk through what stays the same, what shifts, and how adaptation decisions can quietly change the way we judge a character’s survival, parenting, and recovery. If you love book vs movie breakdowns, literary adaptations, and performance-driven films, this one gives you plenty to argue about.

I start with the premise: Jack is five, and the only world he knows is Room. From there, I map the biggest differences between the novel and the film, especially the details the book includes that the movie cuts for time and tone. Then I follow the escape plan step by step and talk about how even a small change outside the room alters the danger level and the way we experience Jack’s first contact with the real world.

The biggest shift comes after the rescue. The book is clearer about timelines and how much happens while they are still in the hospital, while the film reshuffles events to hit harder at home. That leads into the interview scene and the ethical line between “asking hard questions” and exploiting a traumatized survivor. I also get into one of my favorite film-only touches: Jack’s “strong” haircut and why turning it into a gift for Ma adds a surprising kind of tenderness. Along the way, I unpack the book’s stronger thread of religion, Emma Donoghue’s role in adapting her own story, and the Oscars conversation around Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay.

Listen through to the end for my ratings and the final verdict on whether the book or the movie wins, then subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a rating and review so more readers and movie lovers can find me.

All episodes of the podcast can be found on our website: https://booksvsmovies.buzzsprout.com/share

Connect with me: Instagram | Threads | Bookshop | Goodreads | Blog