this book is awsome

I listened to the audiobook read by David Tennant and his scottish accent was in full force. It was totally different from the movie and full of middle-school boy humor. A true delight.

all 12 are precious to me beyond belief

As read by David Tennant. Awesome :)

I read this out loud to my five-year-old son. We are huge fans of the movies so we thought we'd try the books. While we enjoyed the book, it is nothing like the movie! On it's own the book is fun although since I was the one reading it out loud, I have to admit that I struggled to pronounce some of the words (still working out how to pronounce "Seadragonus"). Overall, we enjoyed the books and my three-year-old son (who listened while he played on the floor) even laughed out loud several times.

BookClub: Me, Myself & I *
Month: December, 2022
Theme: Read a Book-To-Movie Adaptation
* BookClub Me, Myself & I is just a "book club" where I pick up a prompt each month and I have to "force" myself to read a book that fits that prompt.


Have you ever read a book from which the movie is inspired but the stories are lowkey so different?

Synopsis:

This story follows Hiccup, the quiet and thoughtful son of the Chief of one of the Norse tribes, as he tries to pass the Viking initiation by catching and training a dragon. If he fails, he’ll be exiled from the tribe and deemed a stranger.

Review:

If you’re reading this, you mostly likely liked/loved the DreamWorks animated movie and want to know how the book is.

Well, I’m glad you assist you in your quest, my friend.

Without comparing to the movie, the book stands on its own. It’s really good, cosy and brings a level of comfort most middle grade’s books do. Some moments are funny, making you crack a smile, especially because of Toothless.

I really liked how the worldbuilding, especially the dragons and such, were created. Throughout the book, you have a few pages here and there explaining the dragons to you (similar to what we see in the movie).

However, it is when we start comparing the book to the movie that everything turns dull. The animated movie – one of my favourites – has taken inspiration from the book, clearly, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end.

In the book, Hiccup is quiet but not clumsy; he is still the son of the chief and has a huge responsibility on his shoulders – people are actually rooting for him. Completely different from the clumsy, outcast and misunderstood movie!Hiccup. He doesn’t have friends, aside from his father’s best friend whereas, in the book, he quickly befriends another boy who seems to have served as inspiration to movie!Hiccup.

In the book, dragons actually talk which stunned the hell out of me. Hiccup has the ability to understand dragonese (the language of dragons) and that’s how he communicates with Toothless and the other dragons in the final battle. He is also sent to talk to the big dragon that will soon terrorize the town.

The differences are 85/90% of the story, if not more, and it really stunned me because I was not expecting such a difference between the two materials. Does this make this book bad? Not at all. As I said, the book’s story is cosier and incredibly funny while maintaining a profoundly children mentality.

The movie relies on heavier, deeper themes (even though underneath) and, therefore, if you’re an adult, you might relate more to the movie. The book was not created to rely on heavy theme but for the entertainment of the reader (main target: children) and provide those readers a cosy, funny and light reading.

That being said, one advise: If you’re going to read this book because of the movie, forget everything you know and love about the movie because you won’t find it here. It is not a replica, not even half inspired, therefore you will find yourself disappointed.


Reviews of books from the 2022 ‘Me, Myself & I’ bookclub:
✨ Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
✨ The Song of Achilles
✨ All Rhodes Lead Here
✨ Caraval
✨ Daughter Of The Deep
✨ After The Kiss
✨ Ninth House
✨ The Lies of Locke Lamora
✨ Belladonna
✨ The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
✨ Clockwork Boys

3.75 stars // Read this with my 7yo and we really enjoyed it. My son loved all the funny names and dragons in the book. I really liked some of the underline messages of even though you may not be the strongest or biggest person, you can still be a “hero” and important.

I checked this out to fill some of the 6 hours of driving time I did over the weekend as a nod to my middle-school days, and I was shocked to realize that all the memories I have of "reading" this book as a kid have been reshaped by the film adaptation, which has so many issues--don't even get me started.

Aside from my immediate shock and disappointment in myself for allowing a movie version to influence how I remember a book, I was able to jump right back into the story from my youth. I have to say, as cute as the movie version of Toothless is, I absolutely adore the petulant, self-centered, but ultimately loyal, book Toothless better. He comes alive in the story as his own stand-alone character who I just adore. He's whiny and stubborn and comical. Hiccup is scared and brave at the same time and I found myself entranced by his willingness to do the right thing even when it could cost him his life. I will definitely be getting back into this series.