Op-Ed: What Makes BookTok Faves So Successful For Adaptation? – The Fandomentals
This is a guest piece by writer Daria Ershova. You can read more of her work on her Substack: http://unaccredited.substack.com/
In the past year we have spent the summer at Cousins Beach, cozied up at “the Cottage”, and attended parties at Briar University. Book-to-screen adaptations like these are nothing new. After all, Narnia, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games proved more than a decade ago that loyal readers make loyal audiences. What is new, however, are the audiences those adaptations are being made for. So it’s no wonder that Hollywood took a liking to famous BookTok sensations like Off-Campus. Studios don’t invest in a movement without it being a sure thing, so what makes BookTok so successful as a source for adaptation?
From Small Screen Hype To Streaming Sensation
BookTok first appeared on the internet’s radar around Covid-19. Back in those days, it was all about simply finding recommendations, reading for pleasure, and creating a community during a very strange and difficult time. As years went on, and more people started finding their ways back into imaginary worlds, the buzz spread. As people started actively engaging in book fandoms, we saw the rise of “Book Influencers” and book clubs began to flourish again. According to the Publisher’s Association, almost two-thirds (59%) of 16-25 year olds say that BookTok or book influencers have helped them discover a passion for reading. Some of the BookTok most hyped series include fan favorites Off-Campus series by Elle Kennedy, which released on X or Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, which was acquired by Prime Video and Michael Jordan’s Outlier Society.
In my opinion, Hollywood is making a smart move, claiming stakes in these popular BookTok hits. These series come with loyal fans that have read, and reread, the books multiple times. The fans have created edits, Pinterest folders, and regularly create fancasts suggesting to casting directors who might be good picks for their favorite characters. And it definitely makes it easy to sell and market something when you have a crowd of people ready to see their favorite love stories play out on their screens and not just their imagination. As soon as that cast is set and the first look behind the scenes gets dropped, the hype machine is on.
Everyone Loves A Love Story
Everyone loves a love story with a happy ending. In a dating crisis that has infiltrated most of the Gen Z population, finding love and hope in the books is the only thing that keeps them hopeful. Books like The Summer I Turned Pretty, Off Campus, Heated Rivalry, Every Summer After all fulfill that need we’re missing. We follow friends that turn to lovers, we see enemies find solitude and peace in each other, we follow second chance romances. And for once, men are the ones who are yearning, working on bettering themselves and saving those relationships.
For decades, the biggest book-to-screen adaptations were built around male audiences. The Lord of The Rings, Game of Thrones, and The Witcher dominated screens and budgets alike for 20 years. Yet despite female readers existed in enormous numbers, they were not being catered to. BookTok closed this gap. According to YouScan data, women aged 25-34 led the trend, closely followed by the 18-24 age group. With cinemas actively trying to bring Gen Z back to the theaters, that gap is finally closing
The Look Of Love
On screen, romance translates beautifully visually. Audiences are drawn to tension between the leads – the longing, the holding breath as the characters steal glances across the room. And the setting of these books add to it, with the setting becoming a character in and of itself. Take Cousins Beach or Briar University as an example. These places are cinematic by nature, and you can not get enough of them.
One of the most compelling and fantasy-like reasons are the male leads themselves. On paper they are almost too good to be true – and on screen, they flourish and deliver. It is exciting to see a man yearn, work on the relationship, and get his girl in a live motion. It cannot help but remind audiences about the 2000s romantic comedy era. Remember 50 First Dates, The Notebook, or Bridget Jones Diary? People are starved and pretty nostalgic for that kind of love story and BookTok adaptations are slowly giving the audience exactly that. BookTok didn’t just bring back mass reading, it also revived the love story the cinema forgot all about.
If you are asking which adaptation I personally cannot wait to see, the answer is Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. The first time I read it, it pulled me straight out of a year-long reading slump. I was immediately immersed in the world of Basgiath War College, buzzing with excitement, feet rubbing together rooting for Violet and Xaden. The only downside was having to wait for each book to come out one at a time. With Amazon Prime’s track record of adapting BookTok favourites so well, and with Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society involved in production, I have full faith they will do this world justice. My only request? A theatrical release. Because the dragons, the battles, and the love story deserve the biggest screen possible.
BookTok did not JUST bring readers back to books. It proved something Hollywood had been very slow to accept. The female-driven stories are not so niche anymore, they are currently THE market. Romance, romantasy, and young adult fiction have always had passionate fanbases but they were not taken into consideration. Now studios are finally paying attention, and the results are speaking for themselves. For the first time, the girls who built Pinterest boards, wrote fan fiction, and debated cast choices in the comment sections are watching their fantasy worlds come to life on screen. That is a cultural shift, and it is only getting started.
Images via respective owners
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