5 things The Life List portrayed differently from the original novel

The Life List is a film in the romantic comedy-drama genre and it was written and directed by Adam Brooks. Produced by Liza Chasin, the film is an adaptation of Lori Nelson Spielman's 2013 namesake best-selling novel. It was released on Netflix on March 28, 2025.

Here's the official synopsis:

When her mother sends her on a quest to complete a teenage bucket list, a young woman uncovers family secrets, finds romance and rediscovers herself.

There are certain changes the makers made from the source material. Here are five things the film portrays differently compared to the original novel.

5 differences in The Life List from the original novel

1) Alex has a different name

Alex (played by Sofia Carson) is the protagonist in The Life List. However, in Spielman's book, the character is named Brett Bohlinger. This is a significant change from the source material but still continues the feeling that they feel like a man's name. Besides her, Andrew is called Jay while Julian and Lucas are Joad and Jay.

2) Alex and Brad's eventual fate

In the book, Alex and Brad fall in love with each other. However, in the film, the two fall for one another, but their romance doesn't last long, and they decide to remain only friends. This changes the ending of the film from the book.

3) Elizabeth's role is stretched

In the novel, Elizabeth is already deceased when the story begins, and we only get to know her through the protagonist’s memories. She exists more as an emotional presence than a living character. However, the film adaptation of The Life List alters this by showing Elizabeth alive in the opening scenes. This creative choice significantly changes the mother-daughter dynamic, adding a layer of interaction that wasn’t present in the original book.

4) Elizabeth leaves letters in the book

A still from The Life List | Image via Netflix YouTube

Another change involving Elizabeth is that she leaves letters for her daughter that she can read after achieving a goal. However, in the film, we see that the mother has left video recordings for her daughter. This makes sense because of the format. If the makers followed the book, we could only hear the characters' voices instead of seeing them.

5) Alex's rapport with her father

In The Life List book, we see that Alex's father is not alive. She had a strained relationship with him when he was still around. Initially, the protagonist believes that her mother wants to forgive him but later finds out that he isn't her real father. Her actual father was Johnny Mann. While the film version also has a different angle, we see that the two work on it. Her biological father is not mentioned enough in the film.

The Life List is produced by Liza Chasin under her production banner, 3dot Productions. It was released on March 28, 2025, on Netflix. The cast members of the film include,