For me, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas has always been the coziest part of the year – filled with cold nights spent inside with family or friends, and the lights of the Christmas tree glimmering in my living room. It’s a time of tradition and togetherness. Throughout the years, I have developed multiple holiday traditions with my friends. For example, not a year has gone by since 2011 that my friend Shannon and I haven’t texted each other on November 25th to celebrate “30 Days Day,” the day when there are 30 days until Christmas. It is a holiday we made up in middle school, which we celebrate by listening to “30 days” by NeverShoutNever (our favorite band from middle school).
Since eighth grade, my friend Sara and I have also read the book Let It Snow during this time of the year. Let It Snow is a collection of three intertwined short stories, written by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle. As the semester wraps up, I was disheartened due to the realization that I wasn’t going to have the time to read it this year – so you can imagine my elation when I logged onto Netflix and saw the film adaptation across the top of my home screen.
At first I had no idea that it was the same Let It Snow; I assumed Netflix had just released a movie with the same title. After all, John Green has had multiple books adapted into movies (and more recently a Hulu mini-series), and they were all well-advertised before their releases. There was no way I could have missed one of my favorite John Green books becoming a movie. After all, he was my favorite author during my early teens, and I still love nostalgically re-reading his books. However, as I read the movie description on Netflix, I realized it was indeed an adaptation of the book I loved!
I set an hour and a half aside to watch it the next weekend after a stressful week of assignments and exams would finally come to an end. I went home for the weekend, and decided to watch the movie with my family. We all love to watch cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies as soon as Halloween is over, so I figured a teen holiday rom-com would go over pretty well.
As soon as the movie started, I noticed how much of the plot had been changed to adapt the book from page to screen. It surprised me just how different the film was, especially because film adaptations based on John Green’s novels are some of the most accurate book to movie adaptations I have seen. Honestly, it usually really bothers me when a movie is not truthful to its source story, but I decided to ignore my initial judgements embrace the movie for what it is – a cheesy Netflix original.
Withholding these judgements allowed me to enjoy the movie a lot more than I would have otherwise. In the beginning, there were many moments when I wanted to point out something that had been different in the book. However, I quickly came to terms with the fact that this version of Let It Snow was its own entity. And I don’t say that lightly: what remains truthful to the book are just the characters’ names and a few iconic scenes or elements that couldn’t be changed. A majority of the plot, however, had been rewritten.
After ruminating on the movie for almost a week, I still felt disappointed that I didn’t get to see the stories I’ve reread every year come to life. However, I recognize why Netflix produced it the way they did. After all, they had to find a way to fit three intricate and detailed stories into a cohesive and entertaining 1.5 hour movie. As a result, much of the plot is more fast-paced (and happens in different ways) than in the book.
As much as I don’t like to admit that a movie did something better than the book, some of the changes in the film actually strengthened the stories. For example, (without giving away too much detail) I enjoyed the depth that was added to the character of Julie, who struggled with whether it was more important to look out for her family or herself. A sub-plot of the movie adaptation alsofollows a new love story between two girls; while some critics may say Netflix is just trying to receive praise for inclusivity, I think it’s important to normalize non-heteronormative relationships in mainstream movies.
While much of the movie differs from the book, it retains the same spirit. At their core, both versions of Let It Snow are about the magic of Christmas. And though it may seem cliché, I think that’s what the holidays are about. They’re a time to indulge in the little things, and this movie allowed me to do just that. I highly recommend putting aside some time to watch it, especially if you’re looking for a way to unwind during the end of the semester. I guarantee it will make you to forget about your stress — even if only for an hour and a half — and get you excited to spend the holidays with your loved ones.
I will still always prefer the book, but I love that I can experience the stories of these characters in a new format. I hope you love them as much as I do.