Geek Girl 👓 Tv Show 📺 Vs Book 📖
- Aug 21, 2024
- 7 min read
My review of the show 'Geek Girl' and how it differentiates from the book 😃
Content warnings: Bullying, swearing
Over three months ago, on May 30th Geek Girl came out on Netflix. I didn't even know it was going to become a TV show until I saw it advertised a few weeks previously...and there began the countdown.
I originally bought the book from WHSmith about two years ago because I wanted to mix up what I was reading at the time - mainly romance - and try something else out. Geek Girl may be aimed at young adults, but I think it is helpful for all ages due to the life messages that the story evokes. After that, I started my Geek Girl collection, until this passing Christmas when I finally brought the last three books. There is romance in it but there is also so much more, with how she learns to deal with her new family structure, life lessons of being a teenager, and the main one – there’s nothing wrong with being herself.
This ten-part series follows the story of Harriet Manners who everyone calls a geek - though there is nothing wrong with being a “geek” - who accidentally gets spotted by a modelling agency on a school trip. Set in the UK she is soon to start her A Levels with her best friend Nat and stalker-to-friend Toby. She is whisked away to Canada for a modelling shoot and must learn how to quickly become a model, whilst being bogged down by the guilt of lying to her stepmom
A few of the character's names were changed or were not present in the show but in general the tv show followed the book pretty well and I once again enjoyed a book adaptation to the visual screen.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Breakdown of the episodes
NOTE = The page numbers given in relation to each chapter may not all be entirely accurate because the show changes the order of some of the scenes from the book, however, they are as close as possible to the storyline and plot points talked about below
Ep 1 (pg.1-62)
Like in the original plotline, Toby is her friendly neighbourhood stalker
In the book, her dad has red hair but in the show. he doesn’t seem to have
Is Alexa (book) nickname Lexi (show)? = An idea could be potentially writing the name on the screen with a freeze frame or even showing the writing of her to-do list popping up on the screen
On the bus, Toby throws up on them in the book instead of the green juice that is thrown everywhere (show). I suppose it must be because the juice is less gross. They also went to lost property (show) instead of from the football bags kit (book) pg.36
Harriet has a Backpack (show) instead of a satchel (book) but it still says “Geek” on it in red
Harriet ruined that hat stand in both and then she meets Wilbur Evans for the first time
Wilbur is exactly as I imagined him with the nicknames and the “pizazz” *
She doesn't hide under the table to meet Lion Boy 😭
Nicholas Hidaka is his real name in the book but has been changed to Nick Park in the show
Ep 2 (pg.62-106)
"Essence of Yuji Lee"(show) has been changed from Yuka Ito (book)
Poppy and Nick are fake dating for their views in the show which I don’t think happened in the book
Nat hasn’t found out about the modelling in the show yet when she found out pretty quickly in the book
Wilbur goes to find her at school to try and scout her
Lexi is a bully to Harriet in both and causes a panic attack
She and Nat are both going to a casting instead of in the book when they have already fallen out
Ep 3 (pg.137)
In the show, there wasn’t an argument about what her parents thought about the modelling, which is in the book
The nickname of lion boy (for Nick) made it into the third episode when it should have been in episode one – due to her saying when they first meet in the book
It was really cute to see her have the moment with Nick when he was trying to show the different poses to make her feel less stressed
Nat is supportive of Harriet trying out for modelling straight away compared to the novel
Annabel has been continually against the modelling from the beginning
She does her presentations for her parents but in the show, they are paintings compared to the usual PowerPoint presentation
Ep 4 (pg.177)
The entire episode was just them doing casting for Yuji Lee which I really liked (Different from the book)
I also like the voiceover – There were two types with one being her thoughts and the other being the information that is being told to the audience as the storyline
It has been structured very differently from the novel because now Harriet isn't telling Nat that she got the modelling part (which happened sooner in the book) and Nick has "broken up" with Poppy and asked for Harriet’s phone number
Her dad is going off to Canada for her modelling gig – this is all without telling Annabel
Ep 5
In the book, she actually goes to Moscow, Russia but in the show it is Canada
It is quite funny that she kisses Yugi thinking that it is a normal way to greet someone when it is because Nick is related to her
She went sightseeing with a supermodel, her fashion agent, and her dad
Her dad got fired from his job because he didn't get permission to go on holiday to Canada – He also get fired in the book
We see Annabel with a pregnancy test in the show
Ep 6
I really like the moment when they are modelling together and Nick helps her to de-stress by having fun when the photos are being taken
There is a date to a museum that, though doesn’t happen in the book, is actually really cute
In the show, Nick is from America and has no friends (In the book, he is actually from Australia and has a group of friends that he goes back to later in the series)
It shows that Harriet has panic attacks and probably some form of OCD or anxiety
Nat has found out that Harriet was modelling because of a photo of Nick and Harriet at the museum – In the book, it was a newspaper article of her in Russia that outed her to Nat
Ep 7
Annabel apologises to Harriet, but she is still annoyed with Harriet’s dad because he acts like a child
Lexi seems to be nice in the TV show after she is hanging with Nick whereas in the book she just continued being mean to her as she didn't believe Nick would go out with Harriet
We never get to meet the enemy of Fleur from the book because her “mean girl” personality is given to Poppy
Nick shows up at her school with a posh car to take her on a picnic date
Ep 8
It's really funny that her parents get escorted off the premises because they were too busy messing with the sets
Poppy posts about Harriet "kissing" another model because she is trying to get back at her for being with Nick
Annabel didn't leave the family after all the lying (book) and she actually told him that she was pregnant (show) instead of leaving it for a while and telling Harriet first on the back of a sticky note (book)
Ep 9
She released details about the perfume shoot and screwed up her modelling career but got her friend back
Nick showed up at the school to tell her not to quit modelling
Doesn't have the coming of age aspect where she has to try and win back Nat and Annabel
Doesn't have any launderette scenes which was her favourite place in the book and the meeting place of her friend group later on😭
The polar bear speech with Toby is basically word for word because I think it is an important scene for her to learn there is nothing wrong with her being different (pg.322-325)
Lexi and her friends make fun of Harriet in front of all the parents at the talent show ...including Harriet’s parents (This doesn’t happen in the book from what I can remember)
Harriet throws a bucket of blue paint all over Lexi at the talent show (show)...instead of the haircut that Nat gives her for a different misdemeanor in the book
Ep 10
Wilbur has quit the agency and reassigned Nick as well to help try and get Harriet at the modelling show instead of poppy
I find it quite sweet that throughout the series there are moments where Yuji Lee has small smiles and laughs when she witnesses Nick and Harriet be themselves...it seems she is proud of them 😁
We finally get to see the infamous 'people who hate Harriet Manners list' in the last episode...the moment when Annabel tells her she needs to stop hating herself "The only person that matters on that list is you. Stop hating yourself and everyone else suddenly won't matter very much at all"...obviously in book, it is used for when she is trying to get Annabel back after she left her dad but it still hits home the correct way
I like that Yuji Lee was able to have a moment where she seems not as robotic and serious as she is made out to be and that makes her easily relatable with those rare moments that are so heartwarming
Though most of the show had the key plot points. I made a list of a few things that were missing from the TV show, that were in the book, and that might have been nice to see:
Harriet actually meets Nick under the table at the fashion con and is much better than the way they met in the show
Though they were no longer friends at that point, Nat cut off Alexa’s (Lexi – show) hair to get back at Alexa for bullying Harriet
Harriet gets back at Alexa (Lexi – show) in the book by just apologising which shows she was actually the bigger person
Harriet has to try and get Annabel back because she and her dad both feel bad for lying to her and though they had the important quotes and the moments between Annabel and Harriet in the show it was not the same as trying to win her back
Watch the show. Read the book. Share the message. I think it is an incredible story of being yourself and never needing to change.
Her name is Harriet Manners and she is a geek. And maybe that's not so bad after all.
Until the Next Chapter
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