Pretty Little Liars is undeniably one of the biggest shows on TV right now. It’s also one of the most popular YA book series that’s come out in recent times. This week, we decided to look at some of the major differences between the book series and the TV series and trace the evolution from book to screen as it’s one of the more interesting stories in Hollywood. The differences between the two are undeniable. Considering the books were meant as a limited series and the TV show has well surpassed the scope of the books, it makes sense that the TV writers would have to make up new storylines and allow some characters to live longer in order to provide more nuanced storytelling. Our favorite example of this is Mona….she died in the books but clearly she’s alive and well in the show following her fall. We’re glad for it, because without Mona the drama quotient on the show would be far lower…and not in a good way.

Considering the show cast actresses based on the strength of their performances and not solely on the way the characters were imagined in the books, there are also some major differences between the literary characters and the TV characters. For example, Hanna has reddish-brown hair in the books, but in the show she’s one of our favorite blondes. Similarly, Spencer is a blonde in the books, but a favorite brunette of ours on screen.

Two more noteworthy changes between book and screen deal with deaths. In the books, Toby committed suicide…pretty major difference in our opinion, considering what happened on the show! Maya doesn’t die in the books, instead she and Emily break up. Do you like the changes we’ve outlined above? Have you read the books? Which do you like better? We’re huge fans of both so it’s hard to decide. Tweet us book versus TV thoughts on #PLL @YAmzine!