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W.F.'s Reviews > Bear, Otter, and the Kid
Bear, Otter, and the Kid (Bear, Otter, and the Kid, #1)
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by
Let me start by saying the author has excellent writing skills, and that the book was well written. However, I can't view it as an original novel, since it is a complete rip-off of the gay themed movie "Shelter" (2007 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0942384/).
I saw the movie a couple of years ago and this book has the same characters, same story development, same guy-gives-up-scholarship-to-take-care-of-small-child plot. Both the movie and this book even start with the same scene -- he's driving to pick up his wealthy best friend and take him somewhere. I watched the movie again after reading this book and there is no mistake that complete scenes, situations, etc. were copied -- some almost exactly.
His best friend's older brother comes home from southern California after a bad breakup in both the movie and the book. The scene where the best friend arrives at his house to find the older brother there is nearly the same. The same tension and awareness between the older brother and the hero are there in the book as was in the movie.
In the movie and this book, his on-and-off girlfriend since grade school works at the same grocery store with him -- the book even mentions a bench and table outside the front entrance of the store which is in a scene in the movie.
All the characters have the same personalities in both the movie and the book. The locations are similar -- the best friend's house is on a beach, for instance, and the older brother had moved to southern California and become a 'big shot'.
Throughout the movie, the hero struggles with his feelings for his best friend's older brother, hiding his feelings from others and denying it to himself. His girlfriend suspects his feelings for the older brother and they break up for good. He and the older brother get together, and then the hero breaks up with him. The older brother eventually convinces the hero to move in with him and let him help raise the child in both the book and movie.
The only differences are that in the movie, his sister leaves her son (his young nephew) in his care, while in the book, his mother leaves his younger brother in his care, (the sister is homphobic in the movie and the mother is homophobic in the book, and both leave with a man who says "the kid can't come"). In the movie, the sister doesn't leave until later, but she is absent a lot and the full care of the child falls on the hero most of the time. Some of the scenes in the book where he remembers his mother drinking with a man at the kitchen table are exactly like the scenes in the movie where his sister is drunk and drinking with a man at the kitchen table. In the movie, the sister never came back so there was no custody question.
Also in the book, his best friend and ex-girlfriend end up together, which did not happen in the movie. These are minor differences compared to the overwhelming parallels. Mr. Klune left out the hero's artistic talent and how the hero and older brother spend time together surfing, but the character personalities, the events, and almost exact circumstances in the movie "Shelter" are exactly the same in this book.
In the author's bio at the end of this book, the author says his first story was a "sweeping epic version of the video game Super Metroid—he didn‟t think the game ended very well and wanted to offer his own take on it."
Well, it looks like Mr. Klune is still offering his take on stories that he didn't think ended well, because this book is almost a clone of the movie "Shelter" with only a few minor changes.
I know the saying goes that 'there is no plot that has not already been written,' but this book passes beyond 'similar' and goes into 'copied' territory, or at least 80% copied anyway.
EDIT:
A couple of people said they saw no similarities or only superficial similarities between the movie Shelter and Mr. Klunes book. So I made a list. I'm sure there are more, but I got bored with it afer a while.
Plot (both book and movie): boy, who has taken on the care of a young child, falls in love with his best friend's older brother, breaks up with his girlfriend, starts a relationship with his best friend's older brother, breaks up with his best friend's older brother, makes up with his best friend's older brother, and the two decide to live together and raise the child.
Core Characters:
Main Character (MC) Characterization (both book and movie): 20ish. Lower middle-class. Fiercely loyal to the child. Introverted. Struggles with his sexuality and the changes in his life. Spends a lot of time thinking.
Best Friend (BF) Characterization (both book and movie): 20ish. Wealthy. Partier. College student (out of town college). Extraverted. Loyal to MC. Makes 'fag' jokes and references to tease his Older Brother (OB). Talks trash about girls sometimes. Loves his brother and doesn't care if he's gay. Accepts the Main Character's new relationship with his Older Brother.
Older Brother (OB) Characterization (both book and move): 30ish. Successful. Gay. Moved away the southern California for a few years. Caring, supportive, and patient most of the time. Allows MC time and tells no one about their relationship. Struggles with artistic motivation (book: photogrophy, movie: writing) while at his parent's house. Likes the child and is good with him. Has loved MC for a long time. Wants to help MC and raise the child with him.
Girl Friend (GF) Characterization (both book and movie): 20ish. Caring, intuitive, loyal. Knows MC inside and out. Angry when they break up for good, but loves MC and the child even after break up.
Child Characterization (both book and movie): Has anxiety issues and is extremely dependent on the Main Character. His mother leaves him in the Main Character's care at age 5.
Character Circumstances and Scenes:
Movie: One of the opening scenes is the Main Character (MC) driving his wealthy best friend (BF) to get a ride some of his friends from college. The child pretends to sleep. The BF talks crudely about girls and his career options after college. The MC and BF tease each other about their differing economic statuses (wealthy/not wealthy).
Book: One of the opening scenes is the MC driving to pick up his wealthy BF from the airport because he is coming home from college for summer. The child is present. The MC thinks of past conversations with his BF and what career options his BF will have afer college. The BF talks crudely about "some girl he boned". The MC thinks about their differing economic statuses (wealthy/not wealthy). (pages 7-12)
Movie: The MC and the child share a bedroom because the child can't stand to be sleep anywhere else.
Book: The MC and the child share a bedroom because the child can't stand to be sleep anywhere else. (page 59)
Movie: The MC says, "I'm sick of being your childhood wet dream. Find another fantasy." OB calls MC a coward. (break up scene)
Book: The MC says, “...this obsession you have with me needs to end.” OB calls MC a coward. (break up scene: page 255-256)
Movie: The MC's and OB's deeper relationship starts with one drunken kiss. MC freaks out when he wakes up the next day.
Book: The MC's and OB's deeper relationship starts with one drunken kiss. MC freaks out. (page 64)
Movie: The OB tells MC he has a choice about taking on the care of the child and the MC insists that he does not.
Book: His friends tell him he has a choice about taking on the care of the child and the MC insists he does not.
Movie: The MC has an on-and-off girl friend (GF) who is also his female best friend. They work at the same grocery store together. The grocery store has a bench and table near the front entrance.
Book: The MC has an on-and-off girl friend (GF) who is also his female best friend. They work at the same grocery store together. The grocery store has a bench and table near the front entrance. (pages 25 and 150)
Movie: The sister leaves with a man to go to Portland, Oregon where the man has found a job. The man says the child can't come. The sister smokes and drinks. There is a scene where the sister is drunk and still drinking with a man in their kitchen.
Book: The mother leaves Oregon to go with a man to an out-of-state location where the man has found a job. The man says the child can't come. The mother smokes and drinks. There is a flashback scene where the mother is drunk and still drinking with a man in their kitchen. (pages 1-3 and 232-233)
Movie: THe MC gave up a college scholarship in order to take on the care of his young nephew.
Book: THe MC gave up a college scholarship in order to take on the care of his young brother. (page 40)
Movie: MC's sister doesn't think MC needs college. Discourages it. She's also homophobic.
Book: MC's mother doesn't think MC needs college. Discourages it. She's also homophobic. (pages 1-3 and 227-248)
Movie: The BF's parents are away the entire movie. The house large and is on the beach.
Book: The BF's parents are away the entire book. The house large and is on the beach. (pages 7, 12, and 83)
Movie: The MC spends a lot of time just thinking about things.
Book: The MC spend a lot of time just thinking about things (extensive internal dialogue throughout the book).
Movie: The OB has an old home video of MC and BF. He watches it.
Book: The OB has a photo of younger MC that he looks at a lot. (pages 127-128 and others)
Movie: BF teases OB with many references to "fag" things and gay stereotypes.
Book: BF teases OB with many references to "fag" things and gay stereotypes. (numerous examples throughout the book)
Movie: The OB shows MC a secluded beach that no one ever went to, and they hang out there a lot. The MC sometimes goes there by himself just to sit and think.
Book: They all know of a secluded beach that no one ever went to, and the MC plans to have OB meet him there for a romantic dinner. The MC goes there by himself when he doesn't want to be found and needs to think. (pages 194 and 306)
Movie: The OB asks when MC is going back to college. Encourages it.
Book: The OB asks when MC is going back to college. Encourages it. (page 121 and more)
Movie: Ex-GF suggests MC can go to the local community collge.
Book: Ex-GF suggests MC go to college. (pages 28-29)
Movie: The MC deliberately looks at other men after the kiss to see if he's attracted to them too or just OB. Apparently he is not. (scene at beach)
Book: The MC deliberately looks at other men after the kiss to see if he's attracted to them too or just OB. Apparently he is not. (pages 155-156)
Movie: The MC denies his feelings and is paranoid and rude about OB touching him in front of other people while he struggles with himself about being attracted to OB and what it will change in his life. MC thinks about what is best for the child. (several scenes in movie)
Book: The MC denies his feelings and is paranoid and rude about OB touching him in front of other people while he struggles with himself about being attracted to OB and what it will change in his life. MC thinks about what is best for the child. (extensive internal dialogue and rude behavior to OB throughout the book)
Movie: The OB cooks for MC and the child at his parents' beach house and makes whatever the kid wants. (scene in movie after MC accepts his feelings for OB)
Book: The OB cooks for MC and the child at his parents' beach house and makes whatever the kid wants. (104)
Movie: For the MC, the child is family, and he will take care of the child no matter what, putting the child first, even if that means he can't have OB. OB says, "You don't have to take care of [child]," and MC says, "Yeah, I do." (several scenes in movie)
Book: For the MC, the child is family, and he will take care of the child no matter what, putting the child first, even if that means he can't have OB. (multiple repitition of internal dialogue in several chapters)
Movie: The child likes OB a lot. Asks when they can see him again.
Book: The child likes OB a lot. Asks when they can see him again. (multiple times in several chapters)
Movie: The MC spends a lot of time with OB but doesn't tell anyone and is distant from OB in front of others. OB tries to be patient. (several scenes in movie)
Book: The MC spends a lot of time with OB but doesn't tell anyone and is distant from OB in front of others. OB tries to be patient. (several scenes in multiple chapters)
Movie: After the BF finds out about MC and OB, he says that he and MC are still bros. He also asks if guys give better head. The MC is uncomfortable and won't answer.
Book: After the BF finds out about MC and OB, he says that he and MC are still brothers. He also asks if "butt sex" hurts. The MC is uncomfortable and won't answer. (page 286)
Movie: The child questions why MC doesn't see OB anymore.
Book: The child questions why MC doesn't see OB anymore. (a lot of internal and external dialogue)
Movie: The MC finds his sister in her bedroom, sleeping, seemingly suffering from depression, with a pill bottle next to her.
Book: The MC remembers a time when his mother spent most of her time in her bedroom sleeping, depressed, and only leaving her room to buy cigarettes and bourbon. (page 232)
Movie: The BF gives a big party at his home.
Book: The BF gives a big party at his home. (chapters 13 and 14)
Movie: The MC tells ex-GF that he always thought he would be with her forever.
Book: THe GF tells almost-ex-MC, "I never thought it would come to this. I always thought that we would….” The implication is that that they would be together forever. (page 97)
Movie: The OB has his luggage packed and waiting at the front door (implication that he is leaving town) when MC shows up to make up with him.
Book: The BF calls MC and tells him that OB is about to leave town. THe MC drives over there to make up with him. It doesn't quite work out immediately but is resolved within 24 hours. (pages 301-314)
Movie: The end scenes show MC, child, and OB playing on the beach. All are happy.
Book: The cover shows MC, child, and OB on the beach. All are happy.
Movie Locations: Ocean-side towns on west coast. Many scenes are on the beach. MC and OB spend time surfing and at OB's house to bond with each other.
Book Locations: Ocean-side towns on west coast. Some scenes are on the beach. MC and OB spend time at OB's house to bond with each other.
The book differs from the movie due to removed surfing references, partial changes to the child's personality, and the addition of an elderly neighbor. The sister is present but unmotherly throughout most of the movie, while in the book the unmotherly mother is gone, but shows up in flashbacks and in person once.
Surfing is used in the movie as an activity that allows the MC and OB to spend time together and bond. The movie also uses scenes from the OB's home, especially his bedroom and the kitchen. The book left out the surfing backdrop, but left in the time spent together in the OB's home, especially in the OB's bedroom and kitchen.
The movie has limited time to diplay characterizations, so is concise with their development. For example, to show that the child has anxiety issues and is very attached and dependent on the MC, the movie shows scenes of their shared bedroom, a picture of the sad child drawn by the MC, and a couple of lines of dialogue that say the child won't sleep anywhere else (but in the MC's bedroom) and that the child does not like to wake up in a strange place. The book uses entire chapters repeating these themes.
Another example from the movie is that to show the MC is very contemplative and struggling with his feelings, the movie uses many scenes of the MC just sitting by himself brooding (on the beach, in his car, zoning out at his BF's party, etc.). The books spends chapters on internal dialogue of the MC where he broods about everything, including struggling with his feelings.
The core plot, characters, circumstances, and events found in the movie are intact in the book.
Second Edit: Thanks to the person who pointed this out:
Movie: The MC breaks up with OB after his sister confronts him about hanging out with a fag (OB) and tells him she doesn't want her child around that.
Book: The MC breaks up with OB after his mother confronts him about hanging out with a fag (OB) and tells him she doesn't want her child around that.
I saw the movie a couple of years ago and this book has the same characters, same story development, same guy-gives-up-scholarship-to-take-care-of-small-child plot. Both the movie and this book even start with the same scene -- he's driving to pick up his wealthy best friend and take him somewhere. I watched the movie again after reading this book and there is no mistake that complete scenes, situations, etc. were copied -- some almost exactly.
His best friend's older brother comes home from southern California after a bad breakup in both the movie and the book. The scene where the best friend arrives at his house to find the older brother there is nearly the same. The same tension and awareness between the older brother and the hero are there in the book as was in the movie.
In the movie and this book, his on-and-off girlfriend since grade school works at the same grocery store with him -- the book even mentions a bench and table outside the front entrance of the store which is in a scene in the movie.
All the characters have the same personalities in both the movie and the book. The locations are similar -- the best friend's house is on a beach, for instance, and the older brother had moved to southern California and become a 'big shot'.
Throughout the movie, the hero struggles with his feelings for his best friend's older brother, hiding his feelings from others and denying it to himself. His girlfriend suspects his feelings for the older brother and they break up for good. He and the older brother get together, and then the hero breaks up with him. The older brother eventually convinces the hero to move in with him and let him help raise the child in both the book and movie.
The only differences are that in the movie, his sister leaves her son (his young nephew) in his care, while in the book, his mother leaves his younger brother in his care, (the sister is homphobic in the movie and the mother is homophobic in the book, and both leave with a man who says "the kid can't come"). In the movie, the sister doesn't leave until later, but she is absent a lot and the full care of the child falls on the hero most of the time. Some of the scenes in the book where he remembers his mother drinking with a man at the kitchen table are exactly like the scenes in the movie where his sister is drunk and drinking with a man at the kitchen table. In the movie, the sister never came back so there was no custody question.
Also in the book, his best friend and ex-girlfriend end up together, which did not happen in the movie. These are minor differences compared to the overwhelming parallels. Mr. Klune left out the hero's artistic talent and how the hero and older brother spend time together surfing, but the character personalities, the events, and almost exact circumstances in the movie "Shelter" are exactly the same in this book.
In the author's bio at the end of this book, the author says his first story was a "sweeping epic version of the video game Super Metroid—he didn‟t think the game ended very well and wanted to offer his own take on it."
Well, it looks like Mr. Klune is still offering his take on stories that he didn't think ended well, because this book is almost a clone of the movie "Shelter" with only a few minor changes.
I know the saying goes that 'there is no plot that has not already been written,' but this book passes beyond 'similar' and goes into 'copied' territory, or at least 80% copied anyway.
EDIT:
A couple of people said they saw no similarities or only superficial similarities between the movie Shelter and Mr. Klunes book. So I made a list. I'm sure there are more, but I got bored with it afer a while.
Plot (both book and movie): boy, who has taken on the care of a young child, falls in love with his best friend's older brother, breaks up with his girlfriend, starts a relationship with his best friend's older brother, breaks up with his best friend's older brother, makes up with his best friend's older brother, and the two decide to live together and raise the child.
Core Characters:
Main Character (MC) Characterization (both book and movie): 20ish. Lower middle-class. Fiercely loyal to the child. Introverted. Struggles with his sexuality and the changes in his life. Spends a lot of time thinking.
Best Friend (BF) Characterization (both book and movie): 20ish. Wealthy. Partier. College student (out of town college). Extraverted. Loyal to MC. Makes 'fag' jokes and references to tease his Older Brother (OB). Talks trash about girls sometimes. Loves his brother and doesn't care if he's gay. Accepts the Main Character's new relationship with his Older Brother.
Older Brother (OB) Characterization (both book and move): 30ish. Successful. Gay. Moved away the southern California for a few years. Caring, supportive, and patient most of the time. Allows MC time and tells no one about their relationship. Struggles with artistic motivation (book: photogrophy, movie: writing) while at his parent's house. Likes the child and is good with him. Has loved MC for a long time. Wants to help MC and raise the child with him.
Girl Friend (GF) Characterization (both book and movie): 20ish. Caring, intuitive, loyal. Knows MC inside and out. Angry when they break up for good, but loves MC and the child even after break up.
Child Characterization (both book and movie): Has anxiety issues and is extremely dependent on the Main Character. His mother leaves him in the Main Character's care at age 5.
Character Circumstances and Scenes:
Movie: One of the opening scenes is the Main Character (MC) driving his wealthy best friend (BF) to get a ride some of his friends from college. The child pretends to sleep. The BF talks crudely about girls and his career options after college. The MC and BF tease each other about their differing economic statuses (wealthy/not wealthy).
Book: One of the opening scenes is the MC driving to pick up his wealthy BF from the airport because he is coming home from college for summer. The child is present. The MC thinks of past conversations with his BF and what career options his BF will have afer college. The BF talks crudely about "some girl he boned". The MC thinks about their differing economic statuses (wealthy/not wealthy). (pages 7-12)
Movie: The MC and the child share a bedroom because the child can't stand to be sleep anywhere else.
Book: The MC and the child share a bedroom because the child can't stand to be sleep anywhere else. (page 59)
Movie: The MC says, "I'm sick of being your childhood wet dream. Find another fantasy." OB calls MC a coward. (break up scene)
Book: The MC says, “...this obsession you have with me needs to end.” OB calls MC a coward. (break up scene: page 255-256)
Movie: The MC's and OB's deeper relationship starts with one drunken kiss. MC freaks out when he wakes up the next day.
Book: The MC's and OB's deeper relationship starts with one drunken kiss. MC freaks out. (page 64)
Movie: The OB tells MC he has a choice about taking on the care of the child and the MC insists that he does not.
Book: His friends tell him he has a choice about taking on the care of the child and the MC insists he does not.
Movie: The MC has an on-and-off girl friend (GF) who is also his female best friend. They work at the same grocery store together. The grocery store has a bench and table near the front entrance.
Book: The MC has an on-and-off girl friend (GF) who is also his female best friend. They work at the same grocery store together. The grocery store has a bench and table near the front entrance. (pages 25 and 150)
Movie: The sister leaves with a man to go to Portland, Oregon where the man has found a job. The man says the child can't come. The sister smokes and drinks. There is a scene where the sister is drunk and still drinking with a man in their kitchen.
Book: The mother leaves Oregon to go with a man to an out-of-state location where the man has found a job. The man says the child can't come. The mother smokes and drinks. There is a flashback scene where the mother is drunk and still drinking with a man in their kitchen. (pages 1-3 and 232-233)
Movie: THe MC gave up a college scholarship in order to take on the care of his young nephew.
Book: THe MC gave up a college scholarship in order to take on the care of his young brother. (page 40)
Movie: MC's sister doesn't think MC needs college. Discourages it. She's also homophobic.
Book: MC's mother doesn't think MC needs college. Discourages it. She's also homophobic. (pages 1-3 and 227-248)
Movie: The BF's parents are away the entire movie. The house large and is on the beach.
Book: The BF's parents are away the entire book. The house large and is on the beach. (pages 7, 12, and 83)
Movie: The MC spends a lot of time just thinking about things.
Book: The MC spend a lot of time just thinking about things (extensive internal dialogue throughout the book).
Movie: The OB has an old home video of MC and BF. He watches it.
Book: The OB has a photo of younger MC that he looks at a lot. (pages 127-128 and others)
Movie: BF teases OB with many references to "fag" things and gay stereotypes.
Book: BF teases OB with many references to "fag" things and gay stereotypes. (numerous examples throughout the book)
Movie: The OB shows MC a secluded beach that no one ever went to, and they hang out there a lot. The MC sometimes goes there by himself just to sit and think.
Book: They all know of a secluded beach that no one ever went to, and the MC plans to have OB meet him there for a romantic dinner. The MC goes there by himself when he doesn't want to be found and needs to think. (pages 194 and 306)
Movie: The OB asks when MC is going back to college. Encourages it.
Book: The OB asks when MC is going back to college. Encourages it. (page 121 and more)
Movie: Ex-GF suggests MC can go to the local community collge.
Book: Ex-GF suggests MC go to college. (pages 28-29)
Movie: The MC deliberately looks at other men after the kiss to see if he's attracted to them too or just OB. Apparently he is not. (scene at beach)
Book: The MC deliberately looks at other men after the kiss to see if he's attracted to them too or just OB. Apparently he is not. (pages 155-156)
Movie: The MC denies his feelings and is paranoid and rude about OB touching him in front of other people while he struggles with himself about being attracted to OB and what it will change in his life. MC thinks about what is best for the child. (several scenes in movie)
Book: The MC denies his feelings and is paranoid and rude about OB touching him in front of other people while he struggles with himself about being attracted to OB and what it will change in his life. MC thinks about what is best for the child. (extensive internal dialogue and rude behavior to OB throughout the book)
Movie: The OB cooks for MC and the child at his parents' beach house and makes whatever the kid wants. (scene in movie after MC accepts his feelings for OB)
Book: The OB cooks for MC and the child at his parents' beach house and makes whatever the kid wants. (104)
Movie: For the MC, the child is family, and he will take care of the child no matter what, putting the child first, even if that means he can't have OB. OB says, "You don't have to take care of [child]," and MC says, "Yeah, I do." (several scenes in movie)
Book: For the MC, the child is family, and he will take care of the child no matter what, putting the child first, even if that means he can't have OB. (multiple repitition of internal dialogue in several chapters)
Movie: The child likes OB a lot. Asks when they can see him again.
Book: The child likes OB a lot. Asks when they can see him again. (multiple times in several chapters)
Movie: The MC spends a lot of time with OB but doesn't tell anyone and is distant from OB in front of others. OB tries to be patient. (several scenes in movie)
Book: The MC spends a lot of time with OB but doesn't tell anyone and is distant from OB in front of others. OB tries to be patient. (several scenes in multiple chapters)
Movie: After the BF finds out about MC and OB, he says that he and MC are still bros. He also asks if guys give better head. The MC is uncomfortable and won't answer.
Book: After the BF finds out about MC and OB, he says that he and MC are still brothers. He also asks if "butt sex" hurts. The MC is uncomfortable and won't answer. (page 286)
Movie: The child questions why MC doesn't see OB anymore.
Book: The child questions why MC doesn't see OB anymore. (a lot of internal and external dialogue)
Movie: The MC finds his sister in her bedroom, sleeping, seemingly suffering from depression, with a pill bottle next to her.
Book: The MC remembers a time when his mother spent most of her time in her bedroom sleeping, depressed, and only leaving her room to buy cigarettes and bourbon. (page 232)
Movie: The BF gives a big party at his home.
Book: The BF gives a big party at his home. (chapters 13 and 14)
Movie: The MC tells ex-GF that he always thought he would be with her forever.
Book: THe GF tells almost-ex-MC, "I never thought it would come to this. I always thought that we would….” The implication is that that they would be together forever. (page 97)
Movie: The OB has his luggage packed and waiting at the front door (implication that he is leaving town) when MC shows up to make up with him.
Book: The BF calls MC and tells him that OB is about to leave town. THe MC drives over there to make up with him. It doesn't quite work out immediately but is resolved within 24 hours. (pages 301-314)
Movie: The end scenes show MC, child, and OB playing on the beach. All are happy.
Book: The cover shows MC, child, and OB on the beach. All are happy.
Movie Locations: Ocean-side towns on west coast. Many scenes are on the beach. MC and OB spend time surfing and at OB's house to bond with each other.
Book Locations: Ocean-side towns on west coast. Some scenes are on the beach. MC and OB spend time at OB's house to bond with each other.
The book differs from the movie due to removed surfing references, partial changes to the child's personality, and the addition of an elderly neighbor. The sister is present but unmotherly throughout most of the movie, while in the book the unmotherly mother is gone, but shows up in flashbacks and in person once.
Surfing is used in the movie as an activity that allows the MC and OB to spend time together and bond. The movie also uses scenes from the OB's home, especially his bedroom and the kitchen. The book left out the surfing backdrop, but left in the time spent together in the OB's home, especially in the OB's bedroom and kitchen.
The movie has limited time to diplay characterizations, so is concise with their development. For example, to show that the child has anxiety issues and is very attached and dependent on the MC, the movie shows scenes of their shared bedroom, a picture of the sad child drawn by the MC, and a couple of lines of dialogue that say the child won't sleep anywhere else (but in the MC's bedroom) and that the child does not like to wake up in a strange place. The book uses entire chapters repeating these themes.
Another example from the movie is that to show the MC is very contemplative and struggling with his feelings, the movie uses many scenes of the MC just sitting by himself brooding (on the beach, in his car, zoning out at his BF's party, etc.). The books spends chapters on internal dialogue of the MC where he broods about everything, including struggling with his feelings.
The core plot, characters, circumstances, and events found in the movie are intact in the book.
Second Edit: Thanks to the person who pointed this out:
Movie: The MC breaks up with OB after his sister confronts him about hanging out with a fag (OB) and tells him she doesn't want her child around that.
Book: The MC breaks up with OB after his mother confronts him about hanging out with a fag (OB) and tells him she doesn't want her child around that.
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
February 20, 2012
– Shelved
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Arthur
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rated it 2 stars
Feb 22, 2012 03:39PM
Thanks for a very insightful review. It seems m/m romance book readers are a different group from m/m movie watchers. If I have to make a guess, I'd say the readers are mostly (not all) women who enjoy reading about men getting on with each other, while the movie watchers are men--more likely to be gay men. Since they're of different crowds, authors can easily do this without much trouble. Interestingly, not the other way around. Producers could get into a lot of trouble if they make movies inspired by a novel without proper attribution.
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Shelter is one of my favorite movies of all time. I had Bear, Otter and the Kid on my Wish List. I will now be removing it. Jonah Markowitz wrote and directed that wonderful movie and I have no desire to read a possibly sub-standard copy of Zach, Shaun and Cody's story.So thank you for your review.
You're edits are awesome. It's funny how some people still can't see how they're similar.
Wow, WF... this is like forensic report that could hold in court. If people still do not see their similarities, I don't know what else could. Perhaps if the book is titled 'Shelters for Bear, Otter and the Kid' they would.
I saw the link to this review over on Dear Author. This is AWESOME. I can't thank you enough for all the hard work that you've put into this. A point by point rip-off like this doesn't even qualify as Fan Fic in my book. With all the plagarism and rip off stories right now, I'm happy there are people like you who go the extra mile.
chanceofbooks wrote: "I saw the link to this review over on Dear Author. This is AWESOME. I can't thank you enough for all the hard work that you've put into this. A point by point rip-off like this doesn't even qualify..."I wouldn't have said anything about the plot being the same, because there are on new plots, but when the plot is the same, the characters are the same, and the circumstances are the same, really, that's too far.
You can't convince me he didn't lift this straight from the movie. If you disregard the movie settings and only pay attention to the characters' dialogue, personal interactions, and specific personalities and circumstances, then BOatK is 80% a copy of the movie.
The other 20% is adding a neighbor, some internal dialogue, and making the child unbelievably smart, but that doesn't make this book 'original' in any stretch of the imagination.
Arthur wrote: "Wow, WF... this is like forensic report that could hold in court. If people still do not see their similarities, I don't know what else could. Perhaps if the book is titled 'Shelters for Bear, Otte..."Thanks, Arthur. Tell me if I left anything out. :-)
W.F. wrote: that doesn't make this book 'original' in any stretch of the imagination. ."
Agreed. Man this makes me so mad. I loved DSP b/c it's where I discovered LGBT romance. I'm happy most of my autobuy authors over there like Marie Sexton are jumping ship. I won't be buying them again. It looks like this was a fairly small budget movie too. I think they should sue him. It makes me so sad that this won tons and tons of 2011 awards and praise.
Wow. That's an impressive comparison list. :) I've not read the book, but I definitly recognize the plot of Shelter. It almost sounds like it is an attempt at a novelizaion of the film. I'll have to give it a miss--just watch the movie instead. lol Kinda like being back in high school.
I didn't read the book but I want to watch the movie now!
Well, think about the comparison aboutHunger Games and Battle Royale...and notice how the author defends her story.
The book and movie do not start with the same scene. The movie has the MC skateboarding around the city tagging buildings. There are no scenes in the two that are the same. Please re-read or re-watch.
Moniqee wrote: "Well, think about the comparison aboutHunger Games and Battle Royale...and notice how the author defends her story."Oh good she will have something to steal for her defense.
I have not read hunger games or know anything about the author or what/how that author defends her story
Cris S. wrote: "The book and movie do not start with the same scene. The movie has the MC skateboarding around the city tagging buildings. There are no scenes in the two that are the same. Please re-read or re-..."Cris, I said one of the first scenes, not the first scene. He's skate boarding during the opening credits. The car scene happens a couple of minutes after that.
Mr. Klune took movie scenes that took about 3 to 5 minutes on screen, added copious amounts of internal dialogue for the main character, paraphrased the movie dialogue, and then claimed it is his original story idea. That is wrong.
I've updated the list again. Thanks to the person who pointed that plot point out to me. It's just another similarity between the book and movie.
Another great point too... NOT sure how anyone cant see that the author just completely copied the movie.Didn't use it as inspiration to write something original, just copied the movie.
It's easy to not to see things when you don't want to, and those who do not want to believe Tj Klune plagiarized large portions of Shelter are going to keep finding arguments why it "just ain't so". You can't convince people who have already made up their mind.
it's just so obvious he did.
And not a word from him or DS yet?
Nope, just that disingenuous blog post on Chicks & Dicks trying to justify filing the serial numbers of fanfic as inspiration or something. Because, you know, everyone does it. Even Shakespeare plagiarized.
Some cases it's not cut and dried and no one would claim that it was. In this case it is really obvious and I'm tired of people rationalizing and excusing it.
I think I have to leave GR this afternoon and go elsewhere. Some of the inhabitants are getting on my nerves.
Some cases it's not cut and dried and no one would claim that it was. In this case it is really obvious and I'm tired of people rationalizing and excusing it.
I think I have to leave GR this afternoon and go elsewhere. Some of the inhabitants are getting on my nerves.
Go sweep your driveway ;) therapy...
Damn, I could have saved so much work if I'd just re-written the script for Godfather I-III (fixed some of the awful dialogue) and added some gay sex. (Only, of course, that Paramount would be on me like a ton of BRICKS.)
Aleksandr wrote: "Damn, I could have saved so much work if I'd just re-written the script for Godfather I-III (fixed some of the awful dialogue) and added some gay sex. (Only, of course, that Paramount would be on m..."I think Godfather I-III would have been improved by gay sex. :-)
The third part had absolutely atrocious dialogue. Would have loved to fix that, to be honest. But young Vito Corleone doing what he must to survive (tehehehe) and the true Big Love was definitely between Michael and Tom. I could so run with that - part of my brain is in a very happy place right now. Hey, it's all homosocial, definitely homoerotic, now the last step is missing. :)
You could have Aleks, but why would you when you can actually write? Three weeks...
To be honest, I'm awful at fanfiction. It's a skill, and the only character I ever truly "got" that wasn't mine is Frank Castle, the Punisher. But generally speaking, I go deep to find something that resonates with me, and somebody else's stories usually just don't do it for me. I can't get excited enough about somebody else's intellectual property/brain child to want to invest the time and effort to copy it and "make it my own". Co-writing is as far as I've ever come. (And I fully acknowledge the existence of my Punisher fanfiction novel.)
But it was free and noted as such on your site, right?
Absolutely - completely free, and even contains a note to Marvel to please not take it personally that I (and my co-writer) borrowed the characters. If Marvel or any of the rightsholders came after me, the story would vanish and i'd be the first to kowtow and post an apology.I wouldn't dream of turning this into "original" fiction, even if it's a damn good novel and I had huge amounts of fun doing it. And all I did borrow was the character - everything else is original, plot, writing, beats, scenes.
I think most media franchises whether it is anime or movies don't mind fanfiction because it is basically free advertising and brings fans in.I know Anne Rice viciously attacks anyone writing fanfiction about her books/movies, but behavior like that is usually an exception.
Besides, fanfiction writers don't even pretend to own the characters and usually post "please don't sue me" disclaimers all over the place. :-)
What gets me is you'd think the authors who do this must live in fear of this very thing happening. Why put yourself through it? Change it up more and be free of the worry.
As a writer, I really don't mind fanfiction (and I keep saying so everywhere). I regard it as flattery - I mean, how awesome is it to inspire another artist to put in blood sweat and tears? I love inspiring people. Any emotional response is great. In many ways, that's an artist's job. Would I go ballistic if somebody took my characters (without asking me first), wrote a story and made a profit from it? Yes.
Similarly, this story seems to have taken all the twists and turns, scenes and even story beats - structure is plagiarism, too. There was a huge brouhaha a while back in Germany when a high-profile fantasy writer essentially ripped off a classic in that way. He renamed the characters, but used the whole structure of the novella - beats, conversations, who says what when) - and turned it into a lukewarm fantasy novella. Thing is, they called him out immediately, because, guess what? Every school in Germany studies that novella (and analyses its structure). That seems a similarly bald-faced attempt.
Why do they study it? ETA-the orig or the fake?
Lori - I honestly think these authors think people are fucking stupid. In my experience, they are not. Like that fantasy author - he thought he'd gotten away with it scott-free and embarrassed Heyne (Random House) to the bones. It was even a hardcover, huge print-run, big advertising - something that "honest" writers never got. Big scandal.
Dsp said as they understood it this book was semi-autobiographical... For who the fictional character in the movie shelter?
Lori - the original. It's by Duerrenmatt, I think he won a Nobel Prize for literature. One of the most highly-decorated writers in the German language. And that fantasy writer nitwit just took Duerrenmatt's work and ripped it wholesale. To me, that feels like kidnapping and raping another author's brainchild.
Well damn, now I have to take this off of my to-read list.............liked the premise of it too. (if I were younger and it worked I would pout over this)
@ WF you aren't accepting PMs I wonder why? Anyway I was going to say I borrowed from your review for my amazon review comments. I gave credit of course
Really classic stories, like fairytales (Cinderella, etc.) or Shakespeare's works (The Taming of the Shrew), are modernized to a contempory novel all the time. I don't have any problems with that. I don't think folktales even have an original author, and Shakespeare is public domain. There is no copyright violation to use stories like that as your basis for a new story. But don't copy Disney's Cinderella or you'll be screwed.
My point is that Bridget Jones' Diary and those types of books that create a new spin on a classic novel seem okay to me, but more importantly, the authors of the new fictional work usually state up front something like, "I wondered what a modern day "Pride and Prejudice" would be like if Jane Austen wrote it now? That was my inspiration."
That seems okay to me.
Bubbles.. Dane wrote: "@ WF you aren't accepting PMs I wonder why? Anyway I was going to say I borrowed from your review for my amazon review comments. I gave credit of course"Sorry Bubbles..Dane. I'll go look at my GR settings. Feel free to borrow anything you like from my review. :-)
WF - There's a gray area between reworking something and ripping it off. The discussion over at Dear Author covers a huge amount of very important territory in that respect.
Bubbles.. Dane wrote: "Dsp said as they understood it this book was semi-autobiographical...
For who the fictional character in the movie shelter?"
Oh, for Pete's sake. Going from bad to worse here!!!
For who the fictional character in the movie shelter?"
Oh, for Pete's sake. Going from bad to worse here!!!
Aleksandr wrote: "Lori - the original. It's by Duerrenmatt, I think he won a Nobel Prize for literature. One of the most highly-decorated writers in the German language. And that fantasy writer nitwit just took Duer..."Oh God, that is too bold. You'd think a huge publisher would have noticed.
They noticed, but they couldn't pull the book in time. Ooops. And those were really educated, old-style print editors that were fooled.
Do you know if producers/screenwriters have ever sued?
Aleksandr wrote: "WF - There's a gray area between reworking something and ripping it off. The discussion over at Dear Author covers a huge amount of very important territory in that respect."Very true. I'd be disturbed if Mr. Darcy had all the same dialogue in Briget Jones's Diary that he had in Pride and Prejudice. You are correct there.
Kate wrote: "Bubbles.. Dane wrote: "Dsp said as they understood it this book was semi-autobiographical... For who the fictional character in the movie shelter?"
Oh, for Pete's sake. Going from bad to worse ..."
It was at the chicks n dicks blog. The place the dsp editor wrote how to change your fan fic just enough to not set off red flags so they can sell it. They ordered shelter to watch, it was on Netflix instant stream, not sure if it still is
Remember the good old days when my little review caused a minor shit storm?
I do. And it's still there for a reminder
@ Lori K:Yes, the Harry Potter franchise has sued or threatened to sue a time or two. The Lord of the Rings movie producers made enough noise over the movie adaptations of Christopher Paolini's dragon books (which were accused of heavily borrowing from LotR), so much so that the producers of the dragon movies removed entire portions of the book in the screenplay.
