Some book adaptations are infamous for their inaccuracy, with many people not being fully satisfied with them, but movie novelizations change up the game. Coco: A Story about Music, Shoes, and Family by Diana Lopez, is the novelization of the 2017 Disney-Pixar film Coco. 

In the movie, after Miguel’s great-great grandfather left his family to pursue music, the Rivera family shunned music, turning toward shoemaking instead. But for Miguel, who idolizes Ernesto de la Cruz, there’s nothing he wants to do more than music.

For much of the book, the author sticks to the movie’s lines, but the third-person book adds some of its own details as well. These give some of the side characters, such as Miguel’s family, a significantly larger amount of character depth. For example, although the movie focused on Miguel, a few times in the book were flashbacks of Coco’s life, where she struggled with her love of music just like Miguel. Miguel’s family, who searches for him in the Land of the Dead, also are shown which provides readers with more information about the family.

However, even though the side characters are greatly improved upon, the writing itself was extremely descriptive to the point where it felt like reading a movie script at times. There was a lot more ‘telling’ than ‘showing’ that made the world very colorful at times, and exhausting to read at others. 

In the beginning, in the Land of the Living, the characters are also made more real, more alive. Miguel’s abuelita is shown helping a boy in her own way, walking around advising people on their shoes, and the book provides explanations for some of the things movie-watchers see.

In addition, the characters are given a backstory, making it really seem that they lived a life together. Ultimately, it’s a lot of fun to read Coco: A Story about Music, Shoes, and Family after having watched the movie as the book adds to the story originally told in the movie.