25 book adaptations that surprisingly lived up to the books they’re based on

The 100

Kass Morgan’s The 100 laid the groundwork for the CW television series based on it, but Jason Rothenberg took Morgan’s premise and made the story his own. While both versions of The 100 begin with 100 delinquents being sent to the ground to see if it’s survivable, that’s really where the similarities end.

Though Clarke, Bellamy, and Octavia are the leading characters in both the book and the show, their personalities are drastically different in both mediums. Clarke and Bellamy have much stronger presences in the television series, both asserting their natural authority early on. Sadly, their book counterparts command nowhere near as much attention in the beginning. And Octavia’s storyline is quite different from the books. She remains in the peripheral for most of the series, and she certainly doesn’t grow into the fierce warrior we love from the show.

But Rothenberg also added plenty of new characters into the mix, many of whom quickly became fan favorites with their own storylines to follow. Finn, for example, never appears in Morgan’s novels; nor do Raven, Monty, or Jasper. And though the grounders are present in the books, the novels don’t dive into their individual stories—meaning we don’t get to see compelling perspectives like Lexa’s or Indra’s in the novels.

The CW version of The 100 has also allowed fans to explore more of the post-apocalyptic world than Morgan’s novels. In fact, the most recent season of the show even introduced an entirely new planet—even further severing its ties with the story that inspired it.