Harlan Coben's Shelter

It's refreshing to watch a show that isn't super popular with a zillion raving reviews and spammed as a meme online.

I am aware of this author and his work and I'm also aware of the Young Adult novel this is based off of. And yes, the novel and show are different. For one, at least the show attempts to portray teenagers as they are. Yes, 16 year olds curse like sailors, talk about and have sex. Rebellious and aloof.

I prefer the show version of Mickey than the book. It's strongly apparent that book Mickey sounds nor behaves ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like a teenager.

Book Mickey sounds and acts like a former 15 year old FBI agent who stands a freakish 6' 8" tall who retired into high school to play basketball. This is solely because he has been written by a mid age man. This isn't too much of a dealbreaker.

The show has taken some creative liberties of changing up the characters, and including new dynamics that weren't present in the book. Some viewers have taken issue that Mickey isn't portrayed as he was in the books, albeit, he very much is. The only difference is that the actor playing him is mixed race, and I actually lol-ed when one review went something along the lines of "so much for Mickey earning the respect of his fellow pickup ball players in Newark 🙄." Gee, I didn't know being white was a vital trait for this aspect to work.

Other than that, Ema is an overweight goth in the books but that's changed in the show. There're also elements of LGBTQ rep in the show that wasn't present in the books.

As for the show itself, it's good. If you go in expecting SUCCESSION or some other critically acclaimed film, you're going of be disappointed. Adjust your expectations and you'll enjoy this show. It's magical realism with a hefty dose of Scooby Doo. It's corny and wildly unbelievable, just like the books they're based off of.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

Really enjoying this show. Usually I get lost with Harlen Coben's series but this one I can follow. Maybe because I'm actually watching it and not on my phone. Trust me you DO NOT want to be distracted during this show. Something big happens in every scene, and the series moves very fast. The acting is great, with lots of fun characters. (The nerdy kid with glasses is really funny, and all the main actors are very good.) Can't wait to see what future episodes bring! If you want more, hey, hit pause and Amazon will even sell you the book! I have to write 600 characters so here you go Internet Movie Database.

As some others have said, there were drastic changes from the book adaption and they weren't good changes! The book doesn't even have an Aunt Shira so that threw me off immediately. Then there's a whole separate storyline of her becoming a lesbian? I guess they felt they needed to diversify the characters, but it felt really unnecessary to me and didn't add anything of value to the story. On a positive note some of the episodes were very suspenseful and there were some good twists. Another thing mentioned by other reviewers was the foul language. The cursing was really excessive which surprises me because it was supposed to be targeting young teens so I thought it would be a bit more family friendly. I have enjoyed the adaptation of other Coben books, but this one was overall a big disappointment. Read or listen to the book instead! Not sure if there's going to be a season two, but if there is, I hope they clean it up! So much potential from the book for the screen adaptation to be good. Such a waste.

Harlan Coben is a fabulous writer with really interesting characters and great stories. I've read all his books about Myron Bolitor and his nephew Micky Bolitor, including the books upon which this series is based but I don't recall any ascerbic aunt! Where's Myron?? What the hell? I am Halfway through episode 1 and I just can't do it. Sigh. I have such high hopes when my favourite authors get their books made into movies or television series and, inevitably, such disappointment when I watch. I'll stick to the books. (I cannot watch Tom Cruise play Jack Reacher either.). It's probably a good show, based on other reviews, but it's not for me.

Interesting plot and characters. I always enjoy the mysteries that have a historical element to them. Cold cases, unsolved disappearances, wrongful convictions. I have to say though - the language in the thing is exaggeratedly foul. Gratuitous use of the f-bomb. Coben didn't write that way. He didn't need to throw in excess bad language in order to make his point or create the mood of the scene. To me - not an informed critic - just an avid reader and viewer - it takes a LOT away from the show. The screenwriters make it sound like they can't write a sentence without using the word f--. Pretty disappointing.